Boris Fishman, the author of the comic novel "A Replacement Life," will kick off the next season of Talk of the Stacks, the free writers series held at Central Library on Nicollet Mall and hosted by Friends of the Hennepin County Library.

Fishman's debut novel is about a young man who invents a story about his family's Holocaust experience in order to receive restitution money from the German government. In the Star Tribune review, critic Mark Athitakis called the book "smart ... deft and funny." Fishman was born in the Soviet Union and immigrated to the United States as a child.

He will be at Central Library at 7 p.m. on Feb. 19.

His appearance is first of three Talk of the Stacks appearances; he will be followed by Lisa See ("China Dolls") on March 25 and then by Dan Buettner ("The Blue Zones") on April 27.

See is a New York Times bestselling novelist who writes about the Asian American experience.

Buettner is a motivational speaker and writer who writes about how to live a longer, happier and more successful life.

All events are free and open to the public and will be followed by book sales and signings. Doors open at 6:15 and seating is first-come, first-served.