Category Archives: Authors

Three Upcoming Birmingham Book Events

The gift giving season is just about here and I’m ready for all of the book signings and author events to kick into high gear. If you’re in the Birmingham, AL vicinity here are three upcoming book related events that may interest you.

Tuesday, November 7th, starting at 6 pm

Authors Hank Early (Heaven’s Crooked Finger) & Carrie Smith (Unholy City) will be signing their books at the Little Professor Book Center in Homewood.

Saturday, November 11th, 11:00 am – 03:00 pm

Join authors and readers for day of programs, signings, books and lunch as Southern Magic, the Birmingham chapter of Romance Writers of America, hosts Lynn Raye Harris and special keynote speaker #1 New York Times bestseller Abbi Glines. Tickets are $40 and there are plenty of books, goodie bags and door prizes.

Thursday, November 16th, starting at 5:00 pm

The Alabama Booksmith is hosting author David DiBenedetto for a signing of his new book S Is for Southern: A Guide to the South, from Absinthe to Zydeco, which compiles a bunch of A-Z stories, anecdotes and definitions from the folks and Garden & Gun magazine.

Ann Pachett Interview on CBS Sunday Morning

This past weekend CBS Sunday morning aired a piece on the success of Ann Patchett and her bookstore in Nashville, TN. During the seven and a half minute story they covered everything from bookstore dogs, the launching of new independent bookstores, author tours and even Ann Pachett’s writing style.

Here’s a link to the video. It’s better to click through and watch as CBS has all their embed stuff set to auto-play and I’m not going to do that to you.

When you’re done watching the video, you can click on through to Ann Patchett’s shop’s site and browse as well. Though I can attest, it’s much more fun to visit Parnassus Books in person.

I think CBS Sunday Morning should highlight an indie bookstore every couple of weeks. I feel certain they’d get all of the colorful characters, commentary and quirky video they like to have these days. Anyway, it’s a fun little interview to watch while finishing your morning coffee this week.

New Erik Larson Book

Erik Larson has signed the papers and will publish his 6th book in 2019. This time he’s diving deep into Sir Winston Churchill’s first year as Prime Minister. The working title is The Splendid and the Vile.

Larson’s unique narrative nonfiction style consistently lands him on bestseller lists as well as at the top of recommended reading lists.

Erik Larson In the Garden of BeastsMy book group just finished reading In the Garden of Beasts and it was fantastic. Erik  Larson has a way of lining up all of the diaries, letters reports, and news of the day in a very conversational way. One that truly paints a picture of how things happened  and of the personalities involved.

I hear Dead Wake, about the sinking of the Lusitania, is really good as well. It’s on my list. But now, so is The Splendid and the Vile.

Michael Chabon Has a New Book Coming

We’re about 10 weeks out from the release of Moonglow, Michael Chabon’s new book. It’ll be his most recent book since Telegraph Avenue four years ago.

I have to admit I am pretty excited about this one. While Telegraph Avenue did not exactly “crank my tractor” many of his others have been fan-freaking-tastic. I still find myself recommending The Yiddish Policeman’s Union as well as craving conversation about The Amazing Adventures of Kavalier & Clay. I also enjoyed The Final Solution and The Mysteries of Pittsburgh.

moonglow_coverMoonglow follows the implications of a grandfather’s deathbed confession to his grandson as he recounts family tales and relationships. Many people are expecting to see much of Chabon himself in the novel as Chabon was bedside when his own grandfather passed away in the late 1980’s. We’ll see.

So far all we really know is that it’s 432 pages and jumps around from pre-WW II Jewish slums, to Florida to the birth of the U.S. space program. Though we’ve also gotten a glimpse at some of the text thanks to Chabon sharing on Instagram:

moonglow_text

Hopefully it’ll be another good one. Chabon is one of those authors that I always look forward to reading and discussing with others. The book will be in bookstores on November 22, 2016.