Tag: featured

The Friends of University City Public Library will welcome best-selling author Sarah Kendzior to discuss her latest book, The Last American Road Trip. The free program will take place at 7 p.m. Wednesday, April 15 in the UCPL auditorium. She will be interviewed by St. Louis Public Radio’s Rod Milam.

The Last American Road Trip is part memoir, part travel adventure, and a prescient and alarming political critique of the decline of America. Written with both anger and deep affection for her beloved country, the book chronicles the trips she, her husband, and their two children took to National Parks and historic sites; along Route 66; and to obscure and weird roadside attractions, like the giant praying hands sculpture in Webb City, Missouri. Beginning in 2016, through the pandemic years, and as the children grew into teenagers, they continued exploring America with a sense of seeing it before it was too late. She has a PhD. in Anthropology from Washington University and lives and works in University City.

This program is intended for adults, but is free and open to all. Refreshments and book signing after the presentation. Book sales courtesy of Subterranean Books.

Join us at 7 p.m. Tuesday, March 31 in the UCPL auditorium for an in-person visit from local author Alan Kretchmar, who will discuss his new book, Restoring the Glory: Forest Park from 1986 to 2026.

Coming out just in time for the park’s 150th anniversary this year, the book details the last 40 years of Forest Park as it rose from its run-down condition in the 1980s to a beloved regional destination today.

Alan Kretchmar spent 35 years in St. Louis as a practicing ophthalmologist. As he slowed down in his profession, he began living his dream of world travel, visiting 40 countries on 5 continents. Many of his experiences were on a bicycle with his wife, Karen. These experiences inspired his first book, A Leisurely Ride Across France, which told of the misadventures of two inexperienced, middle-aged travelers as they crossed the French countryside on two wheels.

Since retirement in 2011, Alan has volunteered in Forest Park. He knows the love and admiration the people of St. Louis have for our Forest Park and has seen first-hand the effect our park has on visitors to our city.

This program is intended for adults, but free and open to all. Copies of Restoring the Glory will be available for purchase and signing at the event.

Older adults are invited to join us on the second Friday of each month at 11 a.m. in the auditorium for a new series of lunch-and-learn events focused on U.City’s senior residents. The monthly series will feature local experts discussing programs and services that are available for seniors in the St. Louis area.

Lunch is provided free-of-charge to those over 60 who pre-register for the event. Free transportation may be available to those who qualify. Call 636-207-0847 to register and learn more. Visit our events calendar to learn more, and for links to register online.

This series is presented in partnership with the University City Senior Commission and Aging Ahead.

Check out online author events with features bestselling and highly acclaimed authors!

Thanks to a partnership with the Library Speakers Consortium, UCPL is excited to offer a free, virtual series of author talks two to three times a month. The featured writers and thought leaders will cover a wide range of fiction and nonfiction genres, and all events include the opportunity to ask questions of the author. Check out a complete list of events, both upcoming and archived, at https://libraryc.org/ucitylibrary.