Our Current Season
2022-23
Watch for our 2023-24 Season announcement in August
2022-23 Season
Books Between Bites is held in the large Founders Room at Batavia Public Library
10 S. Batavia Avenue, Batavia, IL Noon - 1 PM Third Thursday/month September thru May Reservations NOT required
We will provide a link to YouTube when the video of each program becomes available there
10 S. Batavia Avenue, Batavia, IL Noon - 1 PM Third Thursday/month September thru May Reservations NOT required
We will provide a link to YouTube when the video of each program becomes available there
2022-23 Program Schedule
Thursday, September 15, 2022
Karl Bruhn
The Story of Recent Major Renovations of the
Old Post Office in Chicago
Local historian Karl Bruhn is a retired history and English
teacher, having taught for 40 years in the Wheaton, IL school system.
He has been a volunteer at the Chicago Architecture Center for the
past 12 years. Local and regional history has always fascinated Karl,
and thus he became interested in the Old Post Office in Chicago since
the major renovations began. We are all familiar with the building
since we have driven through it scores (if not hundreds) of times as the
Eisenhower Expressway, which was started c. 1954, goes right through
this building. The renovations of the Old Post Office are now done, and
the building is about 98% occupied. The renovations were the most
expensive renovation ever done to a private building in the history of
the US. Come and hear (and see!) the exciting history of this great
Chicago landmark.
Thursday, October 20, 2022
Diane Lincoln, Author
Science Discovery Files: 10 Forgotten Stories
of Incredible Scientists
Diane Lincoln is a frequent visitor to Batavia Public Library. During her years as a science teacher, students would often ask, “How do we know that?”
Her book is a compilation of some of the answers, telling how ten diverse people made their scientific discoveries. The book reveals how we learned that an asteroid killed the dinosaurs, that CFCs were destroying the ozone, and about radioactivity, the big bang, and the size of the Milky Way, to name a few.
Her book is a compilation of some of the answers, telling how ten diverse people made their scientific discoveries. The book reveals how we learned that an asteroid killed the dinosaurs, that CFCs were destroying the ozone, and about radioactivity, the big bang, and the size of the Milky Way, to name a few.
Video now on YouTube
Thursday, November 17, 2022
Mayor Jeff Schielke
Lost Batavia Literature
Batavia's Mayor Jeff Schielke, the very first speaker at the very first Books Between Bites in Batavia, makes his 34th visit to the program. He is well known and appreciated as Batavia's resident historian. Mayor Schielke has shared many programs about Batavia history and books and literature that have a connection to our city.
This visit, Mayor Schielke will share his latest discoveries of references to our City found in various literary forms.
This visit, Mayor Schielke will share his latest discoveries of references to our City found in various literary forms.
Video now on YouTube
Thursday, December 15, 2022
Roger Breisch, Author
Humanity's Journey Home: Surrendering to the Wholeness that is Gaia
Batavian Roger Breisch’s newest book, Humanity’s Journey Home:
Surrendering to the Wholeness that is Gaia, is the culmination of 30 years
of reading, living, and thinking deeply about where Homo sapiens is as a
species and what we need to become.
From the Introduction:
“The species Homo sapiens has lost its way. We are
out of sync with the fundamental nature of Gaia or, as I prefer, with the
essence of Pachamama: the goddess revered by indigenous peoples. Homo
sapiens, the only surviving species of the genus Homo, has wandered
far from any path that might have kept it aligned with Pachamama. This
book is about our “lostness,” and whether we can find our way home.
This is a book for our time. In it, Roger documents the
perils we face, the paradigms that brought us here, wisdom & knowledge we
must better understand, and challenging paradoxes we must embrace. It is a book
of hope for the species long-term, but to get there, it is best to recall
Robert Frost's words, “The best way out is always through”. The difficult times
ahead are precisely what we need to gain the humility, gratitude, and wisdom we
need to be invited into the future.
Thursday, January 19, 2023
Lester Munson
Glory Days: The Summer of 1984 and the 90 Days that Changed Sports and Culture Forever by L. Jon Wertheim
Rethinking Fandom:
How to Beat the Sports-Industrial Complex
at Its Own Game by Craig Calcaterra
All In: An Autobiography by Billie Jean King
Rethinking Fandom:
How to Beat the Sports-Industrial Complex
at Its Own Game by Craig Calcaterra
All In: An Autobiography by Billie Jean King
Lester Munson's Jan. 19, 2023 Program on YouTube
Lester Munson is a nationally known commentator, former ESPN senior writer and legal analyst, and frequent guest on WTTW's Chicago Tonight. We were disappointed to cancel his presentation in March 2020, and are delighted for his return to Batavia to share his thoughts on these sport-related books.
"Glory Days" chronicles the arrival of Michael Jordan in Chicago and the story of the great 1984 Cubs team featuring Ryne Sandberg.
Lester Munson is a nationally known commentator, former ESPN senior writer and legal analyst, and frequent guest on WTTW's Chicago Tonight. We were disappointed to cancel his presentation in March 2020, and are delighted for his return to Batavia to share his thoughts on these sport-related books.
"Glory Days" chronicles the arrival of Michael Jordan in Chicago and the story of the great 1984 Cubs team featuring Ryne Sandberg.
Thursday, February 16, 2023
Barb McKittrick
The Overstory by Richard Powers
Long-time Batavian Barb McKittrick grew up next to a Chicago forest preserve, developing an early love for the urban wilds. She is fortunate to now spend all her time in nature as a naturalist and Environmental Education Manager for the Forest Preserve District of Kane County. Barb holds a bachelor’s degree in Biology from Aurora University and an MBA from Northwestern University.
Feed your own inner naturalist with a dive into the world of The Overstory, winner of the 2019 Pulitzer Prize in Fiction. Richard Powers’ deeply researched work of fiction overlays trees and their many intricate parts with interwoven personal stories of activism and discovery. This is an environmental saga where the woodlands and forests are as awe inspiring and complex as the human characters. Powers gives voice to the trees, and the story they tell is both wondrous and perilous.
Video now on YouTube
Thursday,
March 16, 2023
Dan Hoefler
O Say Can You Hear: A Cultural Biography of "The Star-Spangled Banner"
by Mark Clague
Dan Hoefler is president pf the Batavia Historical
Society, current Batavia Citizen of the Year, Rotarian, and member of Calvary
Episcopal Church. He previously presented to our program the books "D-Day, June 6, 1944" and "At Dawn We Slept" about Pearl Harbor.
Video now on YouTube
Note:
We have a change in program due to illness with our original presenter, Teri Dykhuis
Thursday, April 20, 2023
Sammi King, Author
Mom's Time Out
Batavian Sammi King has spent over 50 years as a writer; first as a copywriter
and then as a newspaper columnist. When her husband’s relocation to
Canada forced her to quit her job as Advertising Manager at Dukane
Corporation, she made the decision to work part- time to spend more time
with her kids.
She approached the Aurora Beacon about writing a family column, Mom’s Time Out,
that centered on life with her two young sons. After an eight year run,
she moved to the Daily Herald where she enjoyed over 20 years as a
community columnist, writing about Batavia.
For the past 15 years, she has worked with writers at Covenant Living’s Holmstad campus, promoting the craft of writing.
An
accomplished singer, she has also written music for children, most
notably, “The Careful Critters Traveling Kids Show,” a trilogy that was a
successful fundraiser for the Norris Center in St Charles.
Sammi and her husband, Gary, spend their extra time restoring their 1849 home on Main Street.
Video now on YouTube
Thursday, May 18, 2023
Jay Payleitner, Author
Hooray for Grandparents
Chicago-area author Jay Payleitner is a national speaker and best-selling author of easy-to-read, hard-to-put-down, make-you-think books.
After selling a half million books for parents, he finally wrote one specifically for the parents of parents. (With eight grandkids, that includes Jay! )
This beautifully designed hardcover -- inside and out -- delivers 40 fresh strategies you can use today for giving love, receiving love, leaving a legacy, and being a rock star to your entire family.
Hooray for Grandparents! is from Chronicle Books, a general market publisher. Which means he intentionally applied biblical principles while actually quoting less Scripture. In many ways, that makes the book more appealing to a new and larger audience.
Website: https://jaypayleitner.com/
After selling a half million books for parents, he finally wrote one specifically for the parents of parents. (With eight grandkids, that includes Jay! )
This beautifully designed hardcover -- inside and out -- delivers 40 fresh strategies you can use today for giving love, receiving love, leaving a legacy, and being a rock star to your entire family.
Hooray for Grandparents! is from Chronicle Books, a general market publisher. Which means he intentionally applied biblical principles while actually quoting less Scripture. In many ways, that makes the book more appealing to a new and larger audience.
Website: https://jaypayleitner.com/
