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New Releases

Upcoming Events

TUESDAY, JANUARY 8
6pm | PHOENIX | ARCHAEOLOGY CAFÉ — PHOENIX UNDERGROUND: "SONORAN DESERT FOOD AND LIFEWAYS, PAST AND PRESENT" | Knowledge seekers of every kind are welcome at Archaeology Café, where experts share their latest research on Phoenix's deep and diverse history in a jargon-free zone. Dr. Melissa Kruse-Peeples and Bernard Siquieros will explore "Sonoran Desert Food and Lifeways, Past and Present." The Sonoran Desert is definitely not a food desert, but has dozens of edible wild plants and ancient arid-adapted agricultural food crops. In this talk, Kruse-Peeples and Siquieros will provide an overview of the food history of the Sonoran Desert and ways you can enjoy many of the flavors of the desert today. Presented by Archaeology Southwest, a nonprofit organization working across the Southwest to explore and protect the places of our past. More »
7pm | TEMPE | TEEN EVENT | ABIGAIL JOHNSON | EVEN IF I FALL | IN CONVERSATION WITH APRILYNNE PIKE (GLITTER)| The local author shares her third YA novel. Brooke and Heath should never have become friends, let alone fallen in love. A year ago, Brooke Covington lost everything when her beloved older brother, Jason, confessed to the murder of his best friend, Calvin. Brooke and her family became social pariahs, broken and unable to console one another. Brooke's only solace remains the ice-skating rink where she works, but she no longer lets herself dream about a future skating professionally. When Brooke encounters Calvin's younger brother, Heath, on the side of the road and offers him a ride, everything changes. She needs someone to talk to . . . and so does Heath. No one else understands what it's like. Her brother, alive but gone; his brother, dead but everywhere. Soon, they're meeting in secret, despite knowing that both families would be horrified if they found out. In the place of his anger and her guilt, something frighteningly tender begins to develop, drawing them ever closer together. But when a new secret comes out about the murder, Brooke has to choose whose pain she's willing to live with—her family's or Heath's. Because she can't heal one without hurting the other. In conversation with fellow YA author Aprilynne Pike. More »

WEDNESDAY, JANUARY 9
7-8:30pm | TEMPE | MICHELLE FROST | "ORGANIZE THIS! DIY TIPS FROM A PROFESSIONAL" | There's no better time for getting organized than now! Kickstart 2019 with a motivating presentation by organizer Michelle Frost, who shares professional tips for living simply and staying clutter-free in the new year. When the stuff of life becomes a mountain to climb, an organizer will help you tackle big projects and create new habits for easier living! This is a free event. More »
7pm | PHOENIX | FOUND IN TRANSLATION BOOK CLUB | DISORIENTAL | In Found in Translation we'll delve into a work of international literature in a small group setting while enjoying coffee, beer, or wine from First Draft Book Bar, located inside Changing Hands Phoenix. This month we discuss Disoriental by Negar Djavadi, translated by Tina Kover. Kimiâ Sadr fled Iran at the age of ten in the company of her mother and sisters to join her father in France. Now twenty-five and facing the future she has built for herself, as well as the prospect of a new generation, Kimiâ is inundated by her own memories and the stories of her ancestors, which come to her in unstoppable, uncontainable waves. In the waiting room of a Parisian fertility clinic, generations of flamboyant Sadrs return to her, including her formidable great-grandfather Montazemolmolk, with his harem of fifty-two wives, and her parents, Darius and Sara, stalwart opponents of each regime that befalls them. In this high-spirited, kaleidoscopic story, key moments of Iranian history, politics, and culture punctuate stories of family drama and triumph. Yet it is Kimiâ herself—punk-rock aficionado, storyteller extraordinaire, a Scheherazade of our time, and above all a modern woman divided between family traditions and her own "disorientalization"—who forms the heart of this bestselling and beloved novel. More »

THURSDAY, JANUARY 10
9:15am | PHOENIX | FAMILY EVENT | BABY TIME | Babies (accompanied by a favorite adult) enjoy songs, activities to promote movement, rhymes, books, and playtime in each lively session. Baby Time gives your baby the opportunity to hear lots of language while you get to know other families with young children. Also join us in Phoenix at 9:15am on Thursdays, January 17, 24, and 31. More »
10am | PHOENIX | FAMILY EVENT | STORYTIME | Join us for interactive storytime for pre-schoolers and kindergarteners. More »
6:30-8:30pm | PHOENIX | WRITING WORKSHOP WITH AMY SILVERMAN AND DEBORAH SUSSMAN | "WRITE NOW: JUMP START YOUR WRITING FOR 2019" | Amy Silverman and Deborah Sussman present a two-part workshop offering tips and tricks to get you started on a writing project. From prompts designed to get you writing in class to a brainstorming discussion that helps you figure out your next steps (start a blog? submit a story for publication? write a book proposal? make a goal to journal? create a writing group?) and several opportunities to workshop essays, this class will help writers of all genders working in any genre figure out next steps! Cost: $40 (+ fees) for two sessions, January 10 and 17, 2019. Register online. More »

FRIDAY, JANUARY 11
7pm | TEMPE | FRIDAY POETRY FEATURING MERLE NUDELMAN | THE SEEKER ASCENDS | Poet Merle Nudelman reads from her latest collection and discusses the creative process of art-inspired poetry as a means of healing and personal enrichment. The poems in The Seeker Ascends trace the emotional and spiritual journey of a woman whose son dies after an arduous battle with cancer. Open reading follows. More »

SATURDAY, JANUARY 12
10am | PHOENIX | FAMILY EVENT | COSTUME STORYTIME: PETE THE CAT | Bring the kiddos and your camera, and join us for stories and pictures with popular children's book character Pete the Cat.
10am | TEMPE | FAMILY EVENT | TIM VASQUEZ | THE TACO STAND | Local author Tim Vasquez, owner and operator of his family's restaurants Someburros and Isabel's Amor, shares his debut children' s book, a story of hard work and love of family. Vasquez explores what happens when Isabel, known throughout Phoenix for her sensational, crave-able tacos, gets an offer to take her tacos mainstream and open a franchise—but the offer comes at the expense of time with family. As Isabel mulls her options and debates how much family time is truly worth, young readers will develop a better understanding of the fact that there are some things in life you simply can't put a price on. More »
3pm | TEMPE | TEEN EVENT | KIERSTEN WHITE | SLAYER | New York Times bestselling author Kiersten White presents the first in a brand-new series set in the world of Buffy the Vampire Slayer that introduces a new Slayer as she grapples with the responsibility of managing incredible powers that she's just beginning to understand. Into every generation a Slayer is born... Nina and her twin sister, Artemis, are far from normal. It's hard to be when you grow up at the Watcher's Academy, which is a bit different from your average boarding school. Here teens are trained as guides for Slayers—girls gifted with supernatural strength to fight the forces of darkness. But while Nina's mother is a prominent member of the Watcher's Council, Nina has never embraced the violent Watcher lifestyle. Instead she follows her instincts to heal, carving out a place for herself as the school medic. Until the day Nina's life changes forever. Thanks to Buffy, the famous (and infamous) Slayer that Nina's father died protecting, Nina is not only the newest Chosen One—she's the last Slayer, ever. Period. As Nina hones her skills with her Watcher-in-training, Leo, there's plenty to keep her occupied: a monster fighting ring, a demon who eats happiness, a shadowy figure that keeps popping up in Nina's dreams. But it's not until bodies start turning up that Nina's new powers will truly be tested—because someone she loves might be next. One thing is clear: Being Chosen is easy. Making choices is hard. More »
5:30-8:30pm | TEMPE | TAROT READINGS | Mystic Journeyz with Suzi Coggins. "Your Angels Are Waiting." Cost: $20 for 15 minutes. Registration at 480.730.0205. More info: mysticjourneyz.com.
7pm | PHOENIX | VINCE BAILEY | PATH OF THE HALF MOON | The local author shares the first in a paranormal trilogy, winner of the Arizona Author Association's 2018 literary contest. When fifteen-year-old Curtis Jefferson is caught crossing the blurry line between prank and delinquency, he finds himself unjustly sentenced to a yearlong confinement at the notorious Fort Grant, a penal outpost in the middle of the Sonoran Desert. Unknown to Curtis, Fort Grant is built on the cursed site of a century-old massacre. The innocent young man's character and endurance are tested in the confines of a racially charged environment that includes a murderous inmate whose sudden hatred for Curtis is fueled by his openly declared racism. But it is the supernatural events arising from the curse that have him questioning his grasp on reality. More »
7:30-9:30pm | PHOENIX | FILM SCREENING | PHX FILM COLLECTIVE | BEING JOHN MALKOVICH | Changing Hands Phoenix hosts the PHX Film Collective, a group of film fans dedicated to bringing culturally relevant cinema to Central Phoenix, to share movie-going experiences with other film buffs. January's event is a screening of Spike Jonze's feature-length debut Being John Malkovich, celebrating the 20th anniversay of its release. Cost: $8. Registration online.