Category Archives: Events

Birmingham, Book Column, Events, Hoover

Moss Rock Festival

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Today is the last day of the Moss Rock Festival here in Birmingham. It starts at 10 a.m. and wraps at 4 p.m. Yesterday was windy and chilly, but lots of fun. The festival has grown quite a bit in the past couple of years. I scouted it out and found a few booths with books. Check them out if you’re walking around today there are some pretty fun books to be had.

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The Hoover Library – they have a great booth with two tables set up crammed with used books. Hardbacks are going for $2 and paperbacks for $.50.

Five Star Trails: Birmingham – author Tom Spencer will be signing at the Fresh Air Family booth (blue tent, in the kids craft section on the green) today.This hiking guide is the newest outdoor book to the Birmingham area and is published by local publisher Menasha Ridge Press (disclosure: this is one of the imprints I work for). Spencer did all of the research and writing and it is so well done. Check it out!

Birmingham Home and Garden – the magazine folks were there and they had a large beautiful almost-coffee-table-sized book on home decorating. Pretty snazzy looking.

Birmingham Magazine – if you swing by you can get a free magazine, but they also had four books on the South. Mostly Southern photo and photo-essay. I asked and they seemed to be for sale only if you get a subscription, but stop by if you’re interested and see if you get a different answer.

Let me know if I missed anything as I plan on going back to the Moss Rock Festival again today. Hope you all can make it as well. If you can survive the parking madness, it’s really worth it.

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Birmingham, Book Sale, Bookstores, Events, Hoover, library

Book Sale Hoover Library

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This weekend there is a massive used-book sale at the Hoover Library. Looks like hardback books will be $1 a piece and paperbacks will run cheaper. Definitely worth checking out.

The sale will be open on Saturday, June 21st, 10:00 a.m–5:30 p.m. and then open again on Sunday, June 22nd, 2:00 p.m.-5:30 p.m.

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The sale will take place at the Plaza near the Friends of the Hoover Library Bookstore. But be sure while you are there to check out the “extra book room” downstairs. This room is usually full and the books found here are all for sale and always $1. But this weekend it sounds like the $1 fun is spread out through all of their books.

Birmingham, Bookstores, Events

Cool Book Discussion Event

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They are calling it a “Book Hangout with Carrie and Cal“. What it is though is cool! No doubt about it.

Basically you buy a $10 ticket to get in the door at 7 p.m., Tuesday, June 24th. You get eats, coffee and a $10 coupon towards a book. No real loss here is there? But you get to spend that $10 on a book AFTER you’ve sat around and chatted about some of the cool new and old books that are out there. Think about that. When is the last time you got to sit around with smart knowledgeable book folks and talk about books?

Even if you’re in a book club, this event immediately brought to mind the “salons” that were held at Shakespeare & Co. and the discussion groups that F. Scott and Zelda attended all throughout Therese Anne Fowler’s Z: A Novel of Zelda Fitzgerald. You remember… the ones where Zelda and F. Scott would have their public pouting and shouting matches… anyway…

I’m sure this book discussion will be a little more low key than all that, which is all the more reason I would check this event out, if I were you. Birmingham needs more groups and bookish folks gathering to talk about good books and reading. Kudos to Carrie and the crew at Church Street.

Birmingham, Book Talk, Events

Romance Readers & Writers Event

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Tickets for the 2014 Romance Readers Luncheon, Birmingham, AL, are on sale now. The Romance Readers Luncheon isn’t until November 1st, 2014, but with the line-up the SouthernMagic crew have put together you’ll want to mark your calendar.

Romance Readers Silvia DayAuthor Sylvia Day is the 2014 Keynote Speaker. Day is a #1 New York Times bestselling author. She also has written more than 20 novels which have been translated into many languages.

Day is best known for her Crossfire series of romance books.

Romance Readers Naima SimoneSouthern Magic‘s own President  and author Naima Simone has
already been slated to deliver the open remarks. Simone writes erotic romance and romantic suspense.

It sounds like there is limited seating, so click through the links to see about getting tickets at the Early Bird rates, if you’d like to go. And romance writers take note – they also have opportunities for published authors to get their books seen at the event.

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