Vroman’s Live

Bookstore boasts stellar lineup for July

By Arroyo Staff

The bookstore Vroman’s is hosting virtual and in-person programs throughout July. Register through vromansbookstore. com. Anyone with questions is asked to contact email@ vromansbookstore.com. Vroman’s Virtual events will be presented through Crowdcast.

John Vercher and Chris L. Terry discuss “After the Lights Go Out” 6 p.m. Thursday, July 7

Xavier “Scarecrow” Wallace, a biracial MMA fighter on the wrong side of 30, is facing the fight of his life. Wallace can no longer deny he is losing his battle with chronic traumatic encephalopathy or pugilistic dementia. Through the fog of memory loss, migraines and paranoia, Wallace does his best to stay in shape by training at the Philadelphia gym owned by Shot, a retired champion boxer to whom Wallace owes an unpayable debt.

Wallace makes ends meet while he waits for the call that will reinstate him after a year suspension by teaching youth classes at Shot’s gym and living rent free in the house of his white father, whom Wallace was forced to commit to a nursing home. The progress of father Sam’s end-stage Alzheimer’s has revealed his latent racism, and Wallace finally gains insight into why his Black mother left the family years ago.

Wallace is offered a chance at redemption: a last-minute, highprofile comeback fight. If he can get himself back in the game, he’ll be able to clear his name and begin to pay Shot.

To register, visit crowdcast.io/e/john-vercher-in.

Ned Beauman and Joshua Cohen discuss “Venomous Lumpsucker” 1 p.m. Wednesday, July 13

Soon, thousands of species are going extinct every year and an entire industry has sprung up around their extinctions to help preserve the remnants. For example, biobanks secure archives of DNA samples from which lost organisms might someday be resurrected. But one day, a mysterious cyberattack hits every biobank, wiping out the last traces of the perished species. Karin Resaint and Mark Halyard are concerned with one species in particular: the venomous lumpsucker, the most intelligent fish on the planet. Resaint is an animal cognition scientist consumed with grief over what humans have done to nature, and Halyard is an executive from the extinction industry complicit in the mining operation that destroyed the lumpsucker’s last known habitat.

Across the dystopian landscapes of the 2030s, Resaint and Halyard hunt for a surviving lumpsucker. The further they go, the deeper they’re drawn into the mystery of the attack on the biobanks.

To register, visit crowdcast.io/e/ned-beauman-in.

In-person events

Vroman’s in-person events are no longer ticketed but are free and open to the public. Masks are strongly encouraged for those attending Vroman’s events.

All in-person events will be held at Vroman’s located at 695 E. Colorado Boulevard, Pasadena, unless noted otherwise. For more information, call vromansbookstore.com.

Dave Lopez presents “It’s a Great Life if You Don’t Weaken: Family, Faith, and 48 Years on Television” 7 p.m. Friday, July 8

For nearly 50 years, Dave Lopez covered every major story in the southland and was a nightly presence in LA living rooms on KCBS Channel 2. He garnered Emmys, accolades and thousands of fans along the way.

One of the first Hispanic reporters on a major station, Lopez’s inaugural report on Channel 2 in 1977 concerned an apartment fire that nearly ended in tragedy because none of the firefighters on scene spoke Spanish. Lopez was personally breaking barriers decades before Mexican lives officially “mattered,” a success he credits entirely to his upbringing.

In this nostalgic look back, Lopez recalls the values instilled by his hardworking father, a man he worshipped and feared in equal measures. When Lopez lost his beloved wife and mother and his invincible father fell apart, Lopez finally lost his unflagging optimism and was forced to begin again just as the entire world of news was undergoing a change.

Delia E. Racines presents

“Trust as the Core of Instructional Leadership” 7 p.m. Monday, July 11

Be visible and approachable, unpack necessary conversations with care, and build capacity based on strengths. Author Delia E.

Racines offers these powerful protocols and more to support instructional leaders in building a community of trust in which positive change can occur.

ADVERTISING SALES EXECUTIVE

Since 1998 Times Media Group has been a locally owned news and entertainment media company. Fast forward to today and TMG is now one of the largest print and digital media companies in the Southwest. With this level of growth and expansion we need to add to our multi-media sales team.

Times Media Group is seeking an experienced advertising account executive. This is an excellent opportunity for a highly motivated and experienced advertising sales professional. TMG has grown significantly as a result of its great professional team, and its well-known print and digital media platforms, including the Pasadena Weekly and Arroyo Magazine.

WHAT WE NEED

Two years of outside advertising sales experience is preferred. A good candidate for this position is financially motivated, possesses exceptional organizational skills and is ready to embrace a real opportunity to work on a quality team.

An ideal candidate will be familiar with the San Gabriel Valley area including Pasadena, Alhambra, Altadena, Sierra Madre, South Pasadena and the surrounding areas.

We are seeking an individual who can sell solutions not just ads, who appreciates straight-talk, and is hardworking, motivated, and values working in a positive team environment.

WHAT WE OFFER

+Base Pay + Commission +Health Benefits +401(k) +Paid Vacations and Holidays

If, based on the requirements, you are a qualified candidate and would like to join a quality team and get on with your future, respond with your resume and a cover letter outlining why you believe you are a good fit for the position. We are currently scheduling interviews.

Times Media Group offers a positive work environment, great product line and a significant opportunity for income growth.

Times Media Group: Times Media Group is a digital and print media company that operates in the Phoenix, Tucson, San Diego and Los Angeles markets. It serves a wide variety of demographic audiences and communities.

E-mail Resumes & Cover Letter to: Zac@timespublications.com

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Michael Bourne and Edan Lepucki discuss “Blithedale Canyon” 7 p.m. Thursday, July 14

Trent Wolfer has blown it, in every possible way, over and over. Fresh out of rehab, he’s back in his hometown working a dead-end job at a fast-food joint where he cuts out on his breaks to sneak airplane bottles of alcohol, when he looks up from his register one day to see Suze Randall. Randall, his closest friend from high school, is now a radiant blonde single mother of two.

Set in a small, sun-drenched Northern California town, “Blithedale Canyon” asks whether a man who has spent his whole life screwing up can stop long enough to avoid destroying a woman he loves.

Sarah James and Julie Claiborne Johnson discuss “The Women with Two Shadows” 7 p.m. Tuesday, July 26

Lillian Kaufman hasn’t heard from her twin sister since Eleanor left for a mysterious job at an Army base somewhere in Tennessee. After an unexpected phone call, Lillian learns that Eleanor is missing, and she takes a train from New York down to Oak Ridge to clear up the matter. It turns out the only way into Oak Ridge is to assume Eleanor’s identity, which Lillian plans to do swiftly and perfectly. But Eleanor has vanished without a trace — and she’s not the only one.

How do you find someone in a town so dangerous it doesn’t officially exist, when technically you don’t exist either? Lillian is thrust into the epicenter of the gravest scientific undertaking of all time, with no idea whom she can trust, and the more she pretends to be Eleanor, the more she loses her grip on herself.