Upcoming events.
Susan Shillinglaw: Steinbeck's Landscapes
Join us at Olivia & Daisy for an intimate evening with world-renowned Steinbeck scholar Dr. Susan Shillinglaw to celebrate her new book, Steinbeck’s Landscapes: Where Story Meets Place. Discover how the soil, sea, and valleys of the Central Coast shaped some of the greatest works in American literature—from East of Eden to Cannery Row.
Among the many reasons that John Steinbeck has reached the highest tier of the American literary canon is what we have come to understand as his prescient progressivism: human dignity in the face of industrialization, a celebration of the migrant laborer, and support of the poor and working class versus the owning classes.
His vision as a writer was also fundamentally ecological, looking at man and nature holistically. To understand people, Steinbeck insisted, you must appreciate the environments they inhabit: the local trees and flowers, soil and rocks, invertebrates and frogs. Always in Steinbeck’s books natural and cultural histories overlap with an animating spirit of place.
Steinbeck’s Landscapes is the first major work to focus on Steinbeck as a predominantly environmental writer. It highlights the places that the Nobel Prize–winning author cherished and explored throughout his life and examines the iconic stories they inspired. We learn how the Salinas Valley of his youth shaped East of Eden; how, in Cannery Row, the improbable diversity of human life washed together in a tight community not unlike a Monterey tidepool; and how, in The Grapes of Wrath, various human connections to land and soil inform every page of Steinbeck’s monumental novel.
The result is a new and fuller understanding of Steinbeck and his work, arguing that the resonant power of his prose owes much to this writer’s keen and abiding sense of place.
Book Club
Join us every six-ish weeks at the shop for lively conversation and reflection!
Sensory Story Time
Join us for a warm, welcoming story time paired with sensory play led by the incredible occupational therapists at Children's Therapy Center in Carmel.
Last Day: Stephanie Wittels Wachs
Join us for an evening of unflinching honesty, deep empathy, and radical hope as we celebrate the release of LAST DAY: How to Stop Losing Our Loved Ones to the Opioid Crisis by bestselling author, podcast creator, and Lemonada Media CEO, Stephanie Wittels Wachs.
Book Club: Is A River Alive? by Robert McFarlane
Join us every six-ish weeks at the shop for lively conversation and reflection!
Sensory Story Time
Join us for a warm, welcoming story time paired with sensory play led by the incredible occupational therapists at Children's Therapy Center in Carmel.
Cookbook Club: Cake Picnic
A different kind of book club is happening in Carmel Valley Village… Join us!
Sensory Story Time
Join us for a warm, welcoming story time paired with sensory play led by the incredible occupational therapists at Children's Therapy Center in Carmel.
Book Club: John of John
Join us every six-ish weeks at the shop for lively conversation and reflection!
Sensory Story Time
Join us for a warm, welcoming story time paired with sensory play led by the incredible occupational therapists at Children's Therapy Center in Carmel.
Book Club: The Things We Never Say, Elizabeth Strout
Join us every six-ish weeks at the shop for lively conversation and reflection!
Book Club: Brawler, Lauren Groff
Join us every six-ish weeks at the shop for lively conversation and reflection!
Indie Bookstore Day
Think: Small Business Saturday, but for book lovers. Unlike a regular trip to a chain store or an online giant, IBD is an event. Here is what you can expect this year at Olivia & Daisy:
Jane Smiley Book Launch
Join us on the release date for Pulitzer-Prize winning author, Jane Smiley’s, new book, Lidie: The Further Travels and Adventures of Lidie Newton.
Cookbook Club: Diaspora Spice Co. Cookbook
A cookbook club, you say? Oui! Exactly what it sounds like–neighbors, pals, and strangers gathering together to discuss and eat select recipes from one cookbook. We’re meeting five times in 2026. We hope you’ll join us!
Sensory Story Time
Join us for a warm, welcoming story time paired with sensory play led by the incredible occupational therapists at Children's Therapy Center in Carmel.
The Diaspora Spice Co. Cookbook Tour Stop: CARMEL
Join us for a very special evening as we welcome Diaspora Co. founder Sana Javeri Kadri and culinary director Asha Loupy as they kick-off The Diaspora Spice Co. Cookbook tour.
This is a ticketed event!
Book Club: The Idiot, Elif Batuman
Join us every six-ish weeks at the shop for lively conversation and reflection!
Sensory Story Time
Join us for a warm, welcoming story time paired with sensory play led by the incredible occupational therapists at Children's Therapy Center in Carmel.
Cookbook Club: The Bean Book
A cookbook club, you say? Oui! Exactly what it sounds like–neighbors, pals, and strangers gathering together to discuss and eat select recipes from one cookbook. We’re meeting five times in 2026. We hope you’ll join us!
Sensory Story Time
Join us for a warm, welcoming story time paired with sensory play led by the incredible occupational therapists at Children's Therapy Center in Carmel.
Book Club
Join us every six-ish weeks at the shop for lively conversation and reflection!
Katie Parla x Ad Astra Atelier
Meet us at Ad Astra Atelier in Mid-Valley for a very special collab celebrating NYTimes bestselling author, food critic, and recipe developer, Katie Parla’s newest Coookbook, Rome.
This is a ticketed event!
Author Event: Paula Lafferty, The Once & Future Queen
Join us for a very special stop on Lafferty’s book tour on the central coast, exclusively at Olivia & Daisy Books.
Sensory Story Time
Join us for a warm, welcoming story time paired with sensory play led by the incredible occupational therapists at Children's Therapy Center in Carmel
Secret Night Shop
Santa, take note! We're opening up after dark on Tuesday, December 23rd, from 7-9 PM for a festive night of shopping, bevs, cookies, good cheer, and a few special surprises (hint: sales). Leave with wrapped gifts while the kids (and kids at heart) are asleep. Bring a friend!
Local Author Event: The Love Project | Alison van Diggelen
Join us for a heart-warming evening with Alison van Diggelen, author of the new #1 New Release The Love Project, a vibrant collection of true love stories set in Carmel-by-the-Sea.
Described as “Sex and the City meets Eat, Pray, Love,” The Love Project explores the surprising, funny, and deeply moving ways love reveals itself — at every age and in every corner of a community. Inspired by Alison’s 93-year-old mother, who found the love of her life in her 80s, the book weaves together stories of bohemians, billionaires, immigrants, LGBTQ+ artists and creators, and young culinary leaders from Rancho Cielo. Early readers call it “warm, tender, and hopeful” — the exact tonic our turbulent world needs.
As a seasoned interviewer for BBC World Service and host of Fresh Dialogues, Alison brings her signature curiosity and compassion to every story she tells. Her work has been praised by bestselling authors Sharon Randall, Julian Guthrie, Guy Kawasaki, and NPR’s Michael Krasny.
Join us for:
A reading and conversation with the author
Audience Q&A
Book signing and meet-and-greet
Books will be available for purchase at the event.
We hope to see you there!
Book Club
Join us every six-ish weeks for conveartion and felloship! RSVPs requested: LEARN MORE HERE!
Sensory Story Time
Join us for a warm, welcoming story time paired with sensory play led by the incredible occupational therapists at Children's Therapy Center in Carmel.
This interactive, one-of-a-kind story time experience includes:
🧸 Imaginative readings from 2-3 books
🎶 Soft sounds & movement
🌈 Sensory-friendly fun for toddlers and young children of all abilities
📍 Olivia & Daisy Books
📅 First Wednesday of the month ⏰ 10 AM
👶 Perfect for toddlers + preschoolers
🎟️ Free to join—RSVP or just swing by!
Every child deserves a story time that feels just right 💖📚
Cookbook Club: Koreaworld
What’s a cookbook club?
Exactly what it sounds like–neighbors, pals, and strangers gathering together to discuss and eat select recipes from one cookbook; we’re meeting 6 times a year, roughly every 8 weeks!
How do I join?
Very simple! Purchase your book at O&D then RSVP here! That’s your ticket to attend. Come to every meeting, or just a handful. It’s up to you! Already have the book in question? We hope you’ll make a friend or four that brighten your orbit and help expand your culinary skills.
Do I need to be a Top Chef?
Absolutely not! You don’t have to be an expert cook, just a curious one. We encourage everyone to gather with a beginners mindset. We’re here, first and foremost, to be in community! Added bennies: building our culinary skills, experimenting, and learning about more cuisines.
What should I bring?
Join us in the group chat (plz inquire!) about the book and build a menu that forms a balanced take on the cookbook. Call dibs on a recipe early on, or spend a few weeks mulling things over. Feeling totally inspired to bring more than one? Go wild, sis.
What to expect from O&D:
Bring yourself and your dish! We’ve got the rest covered, i.e., table setting, linens, serving utensils, silverware, and Tupperware to take home leftovers. We’ll also provide wine and non-alcoholic beverage pairings. We don’t have a sink big enough for bulk dishwashing (yet), so we ask that you kindly bring home the container you brought your meal in.