Take a break from the rush of everyday life and experience a Respite by the River. Monthly summer readings and performances related to life in California’s Central Valley promises witty, wistful, touching and tranquil moments. This month Susan Snyder, author of Beyond Words: 200 Years of Illustrated Diaries, will give a presentation and sign copies of her book.

Free and open to the public; for more information visit riverparkway.org.

Environmentalist, mountaineer and visionary David R. Brower changed the way our society thinks about natural places and, consequently, changed the world. In the year he would have been 100, we celebrate his legacy of activism with a special summer exhibition. The exhibit Thinking Like a River: Art, Advocacy, and the Legacy of David Brower, which runs May 17 through August 31, features the exhibit format books pioneered by Brower, who believed that if people could experience natural places through powerful imagery, they would feel a greater sense of responsibility for protecting them. With stunning nature photography from Bill Curtsinger, best known for capturing deep-sea life, and work by Joseph Holmes, celebrated landscape photographer, the exhibition magnifies the enduring power of art as a tool for advocacy.

There will be a wine reception from 6:00 to 7:30 p.m. and an artists talk with Bill Curtsinger and Kenneth Brower, author of The Wildness Within, from 7:30 to 9:00 p.m.

Free and open to the public, but space is limited; RSVP to contact AT browercenter.org or (510) 809-0900 ext. 116.

Stan Yogi, author of Wherever There’s a Fight, will participate in a panel discussion entitled “Searching for Democracy: World War II and Today,” sponsored by the Monterey Peninsula Chapter of the Japanese American Citizens League and the Monterey Public Library. The program is part of “California Reads: Searching for Democracy,” a series of events including a community-wide reading and discussion of Jeanne Wakatsuki Houston’s memoir Farewell to Manzanar, funded by Cal Humanities as part of its “Searching for Democracy” initiative.

Free and open to the public; for more information call (831) 646-3932.

Shoshana Simons will moderate a discussion between Elaine Elinson (author of Wherever There’s a Fight), Julie Gilgoff, and Rae Abileah about ancestors who continue to inspire their social justice activism, documented in recent books and memoirs about earlier civil rights and social justice struggles that speak strongly to our times. This event is organized by The Workmen’s Circle/Arbeter Ring of Northern California and co-sponsored by Bend the Arc Bay Area.

Free and open to the public; for more information visit bendthearc.us/events/reclaiming-jewish-activism-rediscovering-voices-our-ancestors.

Shirley Spencer, author of Flowering Shrubs of Yosemite and the Sierra Nevada, will give an artistic demonstration and sign copies of her book.

Free and open to the public; for more information visit willowbridgebooks.com.

Brian Komei Dempster and selected contributors to Making Home from War will read from and discuss their book. This event is sponsored by the Asian American Curriculum Project, Inc.

Free and open to the public; for more information call (650) 574-4842.

Ken Brower, author of The Wildness Within, will discuss and sign copies of his book. The exhibit “Thinking Like a River: Art, Advocacy, and the Legacy of David Brower” will be on display.

Fred Setterberg, author of Lunch Bucket Paradise, will discuss and sign copies of his book.

Free and open to the public; for more information visit steinbeck.org.

Carlos Cortés, author of Rose Hill, will give workshops and sign copies of his book at the Summer Institute for Intercultural Communication.

Registration required; for more information visit intercultural.org/siic.php.

David Gilligan, author of Rise of the Ranges of Light, will give a presentation and sign copies of his book.

Free and open to the public; for more information visit spellbinderbookstore.com.