Jane Klonsky and Lynn Downey promote new books in Sonoma

Sonoma photographer Jane Sobel Klonsky sat in her insurance broker’s office in 2012 and found herself interested in the special bond that her broker had with an old bulldog who came to work with her everyday. She discovered a desire to document the connection between dogs in the twilight of their lives and the people who love them.

Klonsky will be at Readers’ Books at 7 p.m. on Monday, Nov. 14 to read from and discuss her book, “Unconditional: Older Dogs, Deeper Love.”

The book, published by National Geographic Books, is a collection of photographs and anecdotes in a celebration of humans’ bond with, and love for, their senior dogs. Learn more at projectunconditional.info/book/

Another Sonoman, Lynn Downey, will be at Readers’ discussing her latest book, “Levi Strauss, The Man Who Gave Blue Jeans to the World” on Tuesday, Nov. 15 at 7 p.m.

Downey was the first in-house historian for Levi Strauss & Co., where for 25 years she built the company’s archive, traveled as its global ambassador and researched the life of its founder.

Despite creating an iconic American brand, Levi Strauss is a mystery. Little is known about the man and in this first full-length biography, Downey sets the record straight about the renowned businessman. Strauss’s life was the classic American success story, filled with lessons about craft and integrity, leadership and innovation.

Downey is the fifth generation of her family to live in Sonoma. She is the author and/or editor of six books. Right now, she is working on her next book: “Life in a Lung Resort,” which tells the story of her grandmother’s experience in a California tuberculosis sanatorium during the Jazz Age of the late 1920s.