Northshire Bookstore will host three free literary events at 7 p.m. Feb. 6, 7 and 8.

Feb. 6, Northshire booksellers will lead a discussion of this year’s Saratoga Reads book of choice, “And the Mountains Echoed.”

Feb. 7, there will be a reading, discussion and book signing with rising literary star Jenny Offill, author of “Dept. of Speculation.” Offill’s second novel is a portrait of a marriage and a beguiling rumination on the mysteries of intimacy, faith and the condition of universal shipwreck that unites us all. With cool precision, in language that shimmers with rage, wit and fierce longing, the author has crafted an exquisitely suspenseful love story that has the velocity of a train hurtling through the night at top speed. In a starred review, “Publishers Weekly” praised the book’s “popping prose and touching vignettes,” and called it a “must-read.” The New York Times called it “a genuinely moving story.”

Feb. 8, debut author Rachel Urquhart will present her novel “The Visionist.” This enthralling debut novel tells the story of a teenage girl who finds refuge -- but perhaps not -- in an 1840s Shaker community. In this exquisite, transporting novel, 15-year-old Polly Kimball sets fire to the family farm, killing her abusive father. She and her young brother find shelter in a Massachusetts Shaker community called The City of Hope. It is the Era of Manifestations, when young girls in Shaker enclaves all across the Northeast are experiencing extraordinary mystical visions, earning them the honorific of "Visionist" and bringing renown to their settlements. The City of Hope has not yet been blessed with a Visionist, but that changes when Polly arrives and is unexpectedly exalted. 

For more information on this or other events, call 682-4200 or 1-855-339-5990, or visit www.northshire.com.

--Jennie