Featured Events in Palo Alto in January, 2025(December Updated)

Join Katy Motiey at Books Inc. Palo Alto for a celebration of her novel Imperfect! Imperfect is the story of one woman's loss, courage, love, and perseverance before and during the Iranian Revolution. Based on the experiences of the author's mother, Vida Shamsa's life takes an unexpected and dramatic turn with the sudden death of her young husband in 1971. Struggling against the patriarchal customs of Iran, she is faced with fighting her husband's family for control of her children and her life. Never giving up fighting for her son and daughter, she challenges Iran's legal and personal injustices against the backdrop of political unrest during the Shah's regime, the rise of Khomeini, and the 1979 Iranian hostage crisis. Imperfect engages the reader in a quest for equality for a single mother who rages against outdated traditions and her need to control her life in order to protect her children, whom she loves above all else. Katy Motiey is an attorney, the Chief Legal, Administrative and Sustainability Officer at a US publicly traded company. She graduated from Georgetown University, undergraduate and law school. Although she was born in Iran, she immigrated to the US from Iran at age ten with her mother and brother during the Iranian Revolution. Katy has been devoted to her work having been General Counsel for seven CEOs and worked for multiple multinational corporations, including three publicly traded companies. Though dedicated to her career, Katy enjoys spending time with family, including her remarkable mother, the subject of her first novel. In 2018, she reconnected and now lives with her loving significant other, Robert, a childhood classmate from Iran, and their adorable dog Molly (aka “Killer”). During her free time, she enjoys playing tennis, skiing, working out, and spending time with amazing friends and neighbors. Information Source: Books Inc. | eventbrite

Join award-winning journalist John M. Glionna at Books Inc. Palo Alto for a reading and discussion of his new book No Friday Night: Reservation Football on the Edge of America. John will be in conversation with photojournalist Randi Lynn Beach. No Friday Night Lights is the story of a rural Nevada high school football team that never wins. Veteran reporter John M. Glionna examines the 2022 season in which the McDermitt Bulldogs practiced for weeks in the summer only to learn once again that they had come up short of the necessary players due to the dwindling population on the Fort McDermitt Indian Reservation on the Nevada-Oregon border. Eight-man football helps give the coaches and kids a sense of community—despite a lack of wins, and despite their home’s status as one of the most remote locations for a public school in the West. Glionna’s relationships with coaches, players, parents—and even those McDermitt residents remotely connected to high school football—provide telling insights into local lives, many of them from the Paiute and Shoshone tribes of Fort McDermitt. Although victory and recognition elude the players, Glionna illuminates their hard work and dedication—leaving the reader with glimpses of life on the ground in “flyover” country. No Friday Night Lights features a smart, sharp reporter taking us to a place we'd never be able to visit on our own—a place, frankly, we probably wouldn't want to visit. Glionna finds humanity and community there, and occasional glimpses of hope. —Will Leitch, Los Angeles Review of Books “In his nuanced, deeply reported, and beautifully written book, John Glionna takes us to a tiny town with a rugged past, uneasy present, and uncertain future. Still, the indomitable residents and their high school’s struggling eight-man football team carry on. Glionna reminds us why such towns and teams matter.”—Steve Padilla, editor with the Los Angeles Times “With a lysergic flair for heart-of-America storytelling, John M. Glionna takes us deep into a football country where few boys are left with what they need to bring a much-needed win to a town on the other side of glory days. Get in the truck and let Glionna take the wheel. You’re in good hands for a periscope view into a contemporary slice of the American West you’ve never before seen.”—Ed Komenda, reporter for the Associated Press “Veteran reporter John Glionna tells the story of McDermitt, Nevada, population 114, a dying former mining town steeped in poverty where the fielding of an eight-man high school football team is a Sisyphean task that underscores how, even in the face of crushing defeat, sport offers hope by building character. For the McDermitt Bulldogs, winning isn’t the goal—simply being able to play the game is.”—Mike Anton, former reporter for the Kansas City Star and Los Angeles Times “Ever a friend of the underdog, John M. Glionna travels the secluded backroads of Nevada to chronicle the travails of a hardscrabble reservation football team. Along the way we encounter all manner of characters, from the young high school athletes and their fans to a supportive if dwindling community clinging to their routines in an abandoned mining town. The McDermitt Bulldogs rarely win, but the players and the town itself remain resilient champions on the field of life.”—Joe Eckdahl, assistant managing editor of the Los Angeles Times, retired “In this terrifically poignant, soulful book about a hollowed-out town and its remaining people, John Glionna makes you feel as though you’re walking through lilies in the field, everything blessed and enlivened by his attentiveness, humor, and real affection.”—Robert Basil, professor of communications at Kwantlen Polytechnic University “While the typical traveler through McDermitt, Nevada, hastens to put this dying, segregated town behind him, John Glionna saw something different, through the lens of the town’s eight-man high school football team, coached by a white and a Native American. Having endured persistent adversity in their personal lives, the coaches fielded teams that, though nearly always scoreless, endured failure with grace and dignity. Glionna’s plainspoken, inspirational study of these young football failures guides the reader into the rich soul of this community.”—David H. Wilson Jr., author of Northern Paiutes of the Malheur: High Desert Reckoning in Oregon Country “John Glionna is one of our best narrative journalists. This book shows why—about a piece of our country that’s never had it easy, now populated with the Say When casino, mercury mines, Paiutes and whites and their history, and a coach who battles each year to field an eight-man high school football team. Haunting yet peaceful as a ranch at dusk, his story doesn’t find endings made in Hollywood but instead in a real and forgotten American small town that no one, not even its own residents, expects to make it.”—Sam Quinones, author of The Least of Us and Dreamland “There are few better feelings for a nonfiction bibliophile than to escape life’s requirements and return to a cast of literary characters you were reluctant to leave in the first place. No Friday Night Lights was that book for me. . . . Small town football is this story’s centerpiece, but those tied to it by seemingly the thinnest of threads are as fascinating as the players and coaches. McDermitt may be a speck on the map, but it looms large in this raconteur’s tale.”—Tris Wykes, reporter for the Valley News (West Lebanon, NH) John M. Glionna is an award-winning journalist who has traveled the world as a newspaper and magazine writer. After twenty-six years at the Los Angeles Times he now works as a freelance writer. He is the author of Outback Nevada: Real Stories from the Silver State. His work has appeared in the New York Times, Washington Post, The Guardian, Los Angeles Times, and Outside and has been included in Best American Sports Writing and Best Los Angeles Times Foreign Reporting. Randi Lynn Beach is an award-winning photojournalist, artist, and filmmaker who has spent the last 15 years working with editorial, non-profit, and corporate clients. Her photographs have appeared in Rolling Stone, People, Seventeen, the Los Angeles Times, The New York Times, and Washington Post among others. Her most recent documentary series can be seen at www.pixchannel.com. Information Source: Books Inc. | eventbrite

Is your child ready to embark on an exciting journey of pickleball fun after school? Our program at Duveneck Elementary School, 705 Alester Ave, Palo Alto, CA 94303 is created to kindle their passion for the game or enhance their existing skills, providing an exciting environment. Whether your child is new to pickleball or already familiar with the sport, our sessions offer a perfect blend of skill development, friendly competition, and sheer enjoyment. This program is only for the students attending the school and is not open to the public. Each meet-up is a vibrant mix of engaging games and activities designed to foster growth and teamwork. From serving techniques to strategic play, we cover all aspects of the game to ensure your child thrives on the court. Tailored for students in Kindergarten through 5th grade, our program not only keeps them active but also instills a love for pickleball that will last a lifetime. Join us for an unforgettable experience filled with laughter, learning, and lots of pickleball excitement. Let's rally together and create lasting memories as we serve, volley, and score our way through each session. Sign up today and watch your child's skills soar to new heights! Classes will occur from 1/15 - 3/19 on Wednesdays from 1:15 pm - 2:15 pm. Visit our website today and sign up for our after-school dance program! https://euroschooloftennis.com/after-school-pickleball If you have any questions, feel free to email or call: Email: AST@euroschooloftennis.com Phone: (510) 491-3007 **Drop-ins must be purchased and scheduled before the intended drop-in class with office staff.** Information Source: Euro School of Tennis | eventbrite

Join Dr. James Cooke at Books Inc. Palo Alto for a reading and discussion of his book, a compelling, inventive, and revolutionary examination of consciousness, The Dawn of Mind! In Dawn of Mind, Dr. James Cooke explores the profound mystery at the core of human experience: consciousness. Integrating the latest scientific advancements with deep meditative insights and the potential of psychedelic therapy, Cooke challenges long-held views about the self and consciousness. From a transformational personal experience to rigorous scientific analysis, he argues that our individual sense of self is an illusion—a survival mechanism—while proposing that consciousness is a universal feature of all life. This groundbreaking perspective not only questions humanity's assumed dominance over nature but also highlights the critical need to bridge the divide between ourselves and the natural environment amid escalating ecological crises. Cooke's work is both a visionary theoretical framework and a practical guide to understanding our interconnected existence. An invaluable perspective on the elusive connection between matter and mind, this book is essential reading for anyone seeking to understand the greatest enigma of our time. -Shamil Chandaria PhD OBE, Senior Research Fellow at the Centre for Eudaimonia and Human Flourishing, Oxford University You will come away with a new understanding of the nature of mind and cosmos, one that helps bridge the unnecessary gap between science and spirituality. -Bobby Azarian PhD, author of The Romance of Reality A remarkably current and forward-looking treatment... It offers a delightful narrative, grounded in state-of-the-art thinking. -Karl Friston, FRS FMedSci FRSB, University College London James Cooke’s new book is part of a growing movement away from substance metaphysics and materialistic science toward a more process-relational approach to the fundamental nature of reality and our human place within it. Cooke not only skillfully introduces some of the implications of such a shift, which directly challenges reductionism, but also carefully steers clear of idealistic excesses. -Matt Segall PhD, author of Physics of the World-Soul: Alfred North Whitehead's Adventure in Cosmology Dr. James Cooke is a fascinating thinker, neuroscientist, and explorer of consciousness. -W. Keith Campbell PhD, author of The New Science of Narcissism. Dr. James Cooke holds three degrees from Oxford University: a First-class honors Bachelor’s degree in experimental psychology, a Master of Science in neuroscience, and a PhD in neuroscience. He has conducted research into the brain basis of consciousness for over a decade at institutions such as Oxford University, University of California, Berkeley, University College London, Trinity College Dublin, and Riken Brain Sciences Institute in Tokyo. While at the University of London, he achieved the theoretical breakthrough that forms the basis of this book, first publishing his findings in The Journal of Consciousness Studies and later in Entropy. Outside of academia, he has launched the Innerspace Institute, a platform for promoting understanding around science, secular spirituality, and social change. He also works as a science writer and consultant to psychedelic medicine companies such as Nushama Psychedelic Wellness Center in New York City, Beckley Retreats, and Delic Corp. In early 2022, He left academia to focus on public communication full time. Information Source: Books Inc. | eventbrite

Join author and Founder/CEO of Save My Cents Shang Saavedra at Books Inc. Palo Alto for a reading and discussion of her book Wealth is a Mindset! A compassionate guide on personal finance that focuses on the value of your life instead of just fixating on the value of a dollar.” — Erin Lowry, author of the Broke Millennial series. In Wealth Is a Mindset, Shang Saavedra, Founder of Save My Cents and top personal finance coach, creates a judgment-free space for readers to learn about personal finance and make their dreams of financial independence come true, one cent at a time. Shang Saavedra is the Founder and CEO of Save My Cents, a personal-finance education and coaching platform that focuses on the intersection of mental health and financial wealth. Her ethos is that changing one’s finances isn’t merely about making or saving more money. In her mind, personal finance is personal and thus related to one's upbringing, past experiences, family history, and more. It requires bravely facing the traumas and fears of one's past and tracing how they lead to mindsets grounded in scarcity and insecurity, especially as they relate to the handling of money. Drawing upon scientific research on psychology and neuroscience, as well as many mental health experts, Saavedra has developed a methodology called “Trigger, Action, Reward,” which identifies the root causes of unhealthy money behaviors, provides concrete suggestions on how to break those cycles, and guides readers toward an abundance mindset that leads to financial success and security. Through her online classes and coaching lessons in investing, saving for retirement, debt freedom, and more, she has helped thousands of clients implement the TAR strategy and achieve transformative change in their lives. Wealth Is a Mindset provides practical, concrete applications of Saavedra’s mindset-changing methodology. It is also an empathetic memoir that shows how Saavedra and her husband overcame many of their own emotional challenges to attain financial freedom. Dozens of anecdotes from her clients illustrate how the strategy works in real life. More importantly, it shows that we all are human, our inherent worth going far beyond simply a salary and net worth number. Featuring prescriptive, judgment-free exercises and worksheets to show step by step how to pay down debt, raise income, start a side hustle, save more money, invest for retirement, and build generational wealth, Wealth Is a Mindset will help readers find ways to improve their money and their lives, no matter where they are in their personal money story. Shang Saavedra is the Founder and CEO of Save My Cents, an influential personal-finance website and social-media platform. Saavedra teaches readers the key habits and behaviors needed to become less fearful of money and live life with joy. Saavedra was named one of the Twenty-five Most Influential New Voices of Money by TIME/NextAdvisor in 2022 and is an Expert Reviewer and Contributor at CNet Money. She received her bachelor's degree in economics from Harvard and her MBA from the University of Chicago Booth School of Business. Saavedra and her husband finished saving for their retirement by the age of thirty-one and now live a work-optional life in Southern California with their two boys and two cats. Information Source: Books Inc. | eventbrite