News from Book People

BookPeople Weekly Media Update - 1/26/12

2012-01-26T06:36:00.001-08:00

BookPeople Events!

For questions about events, contact BookPeople Marketing Director Mandy Brooks at 512.472.4288 x 411 or mandy@bookpeople.com.

Events start at 7PM unless otherwise indicated. List updated Thursday, January 26.

*** - denotes new event

***BookPeople is working closely with the Central Texas Chapter of World Book Night to encourage individuals and groups in Austin to sign up to distribute free books in our area on April 23 as part of a worldwide effort to encourage literacy and share our love of books. Individuals can sign up on the World Book Night organization's website: http://www.us.worldbooknight.org/ Groups who would like to register are welcome to come to an open meeting at BookPeople on Monday, January 30, 12pm. Groups should contact Steve Bercu steve@bookpeople.com if intersted in attending.

JANUARY 2012

Thursday 26 5:30p - Happy Hour at the Highball Book Club discussing Under the Banner of Heaven by Jon Krakauer.
What's better than talking about a book with a group of friends? Talking about a book with a group of friends during Happy Hour at The HighBall! Come hang out with Mandy and Joel the last Thursday of every month at 5:30PM where we'll discuss books over cocktails. This month's book is Under the Banner of Heaven by Jon Krakauer.

Thursday 26 7p - Panel Discussion Presenting Three Messages and A Warning: Contemporary Mexican Short Stories of the Fantastic.
Editors Chris N. Brown and Eduardo Jiménez Mayo, and featured authors Bernardo Fernández and Pepe Rojo will celebrate, the publication of Three Messages and a Warning: Contemporary Mexican Short Stories of the Fantastic at BookPeople with a reading, discussion, and audience Q&A. This huge anthology of more than thirty all-original Mexican science fiction and fantasy features ghost stories, supernatural folktales, alien incursions, and apocalyptic narratives, as well as science-based chronicles of highly unusual mental states in which the borders of fantasy and reality reach unprecedented levels of ambiguity. Stereotypes of Mexican identity are explored and transcended by the thoroughly cosmopolitan consciousnesses underlying these works.

Friday 27 7p - MysteryPeople Presents: International Bestselling Author R. J. ELLORY speaking & signing A Quiet Vendetta.
(R. J. Ellory is a huge thriller writer in the UK, on par with James Patterson, Lee Child, and similar writers here in the states.) MysteryPeople is thrilled to welcome R.J. Ellory to Austin! The author of eight novels, including the bestselling A Quiet Belief in Angels, which was the Strand Magazine's Thriller of the Year, nominated for the Barry Award, and a finalist for the SIBA Award, Ellory will be here with his novel A Quiet Vendetta. In addition to speaking and signing, Ellory, who is also a musician, will perform at this event. When Catherine Ducane disappears in the heart of New Orleans, the local cops react rapidly - she is the daughter of the Governor of Louisiana after all. But the case gets very strange, very quickly. Quickly dragged down to the deep South, Ray Hartmann puzzles over why he has been summoned and why the mysterious kidnapper, an elderly Cuban named Ernesto Perez, wants to tell him his life story. It's only when he realises that Ernesto has been a brutal hitman for the Mob since the 1950s that things start to come together. But by the time the pieces fall into place, it's already too late...

Saturday 28 7:30p - Bestselling Author DANIEL HANDLER & Acclaimed Illustrator MAIRA KALMAN speaking & signing Why We Broke Up.
Bestselling author of, among other things, the Lemony Snicket series of books, Daniel Handler has teamed up with renowned artist Maira Kalman to create this wonderful new YA book that delves into that most painful of human experiences - The Break Up. In Why We Broke Up, Min and Ed are breaking up, so Min is writing Ed a letter and giving him a box. Each item in the box represents a different moment in their relationship, and is illustrated by the incredibly talented Maira Kalman. The book inspired Handler and Kalman to create The Why We Broke Up Project, whose tumblr account (http://whywebrokeupproject.tumblr.com/) invites people to share their own break-up stories. In January, BookPeople will create a correlating in-store display wall inviting Austinites to anonymously share their own break-up stories.

Sunday 29 5p - Voyage Out Book Club discussing The Tiger's Wife.
Join Clint and Brian C. the last Sunday of every month at 5PM as we use wonderful books to travel the world. We're actually taking a break from a specific region at the moment, and instead choosing to read books on our "to read" list. This month we are reading The Tiger's Wife by Tea Obreht. (Due to the Christmas holiday, we have 2 meeting dates in January. The first date is 1/1, the second is 1/29.)

Monday 30 7p - New and Noteworthy Book Club discussing A Prayer for Owen Meany by John Irving.
Perhaps more aptly named the "sometimes new/always noteworthy" book club, here is a place to discover recent gems and to revisit old favorites. Come join Kester and Jamie the last Monday of every month at 7PM. This month's book is A Prayer for Owen Meany by John Irving.

Monday 30 7p - Vietnam Historian & US Military Academy Graduate LEWIS SORLEY speaking & signing Westmoreland: The General Who Lost Vietnam
In this definitive new biography, leading military Vietnam historian Lewis Sorley asks the question: Is General William Westmoreland the real reason the Vietnam War was lost? How did he get there, why did he fail, and how did he last so long? An Eagle Scout at fifteen, First Captain of his West Point class, Westmoreland fought in World War II and Korea, rising rapidly to command the 101st Airborne Division and become Superintendent at West Point, then was chosen to lead the war effort in Vietnam. Sorley examines how he failed to understand a complex war, choosing a flawed strategy, sticking to it in the face of all opposition, and misrepresenting the results when truth mattered most. In so doing he squandered four years of support by Congress, much of the media, and the American people. Lewis Sorley served in Vietnam, and in the Pentagon in the offices of Secretary of Defense James R. Schlesinger and Army Chief of Staff General William C. Westmoreland. He also taught at West Point and the Army War College.

FEBRUARY

Wednesday 1 7p - Rewritten History Book Club discussing Gates of the Alamo
You are cordially invited to join Merrilee and Ann the first Wednesday of every month to explore and discuss works of historical fiction. This month's book is Gates of the Alamo by Stephen Harrigan.

Friday 3 7p - LOCAL AUTHOR NIGHT featuring L. AUDEL CAYCE & BRUCE MARSHALL
We love our local authors here at BookPeople, and tonight we're pleased to have with us two local Austin writers who will present their work. L. AUDEL CAYCE will present Windland's Rescue, a coming of age tale with a cast of characters that span time and galaxies; energy grids and traveling portals. BRUCE MARSHALL will present City of Silver, a tale, based on a true story, of a Confederate officer from Texas and an Irish-born deserter fromt he American Army during the Mexican War struggling to defend the silver mines of Alamos while the Imperial regime of Emperor Maximillion of Mexico and the Republicans under Juarez battle for it.

Saturday 4 7p - Novelist JACQUELINE LUCKETT in conversation with Acclaimed Literary Author ZZ PACKER
(ZZ Packer will lead the discussion this evening. This is the second event in our new series with American Short Fiction.) BookPeople and American Short Fiction literary magazine are proud to join together to host an evening with notable literary author and current Austinite ZZ PACKER and novelist JACQUELINE LUCKETT at BookPeople. ZZ Packer, author of the acclaimed short story collection Drinking Coffee Elsewhere,has been named one of America's Best Young Novelists by Granta literary magazine, and recognized as one The New Yorker's elite list of "20 Under 40" writers. As a literary author of extreme merit, Packer has let it be known that, "Luckett is a writer to watch and admire." A fan and supporter of Luckett's work, Packer will lead the conversation about Luckett's new novel, Passing Love, at this event. Luckett is also the author of the novel Searching for Tina Turner.

Sunday 5 3:30p - History of Mystery Class discussing In a Lonely Place and Screening the Film
The History of Mystery Class will be discussing Dorothy Hughes' In A Lonely Place. We'll be watching the 1950 film starring Humphrey Bogart starting at 3:30, then begining the discussion around both the book and the film starting at 6PM. MysteryPeople favorite Megan Abbott will be calling in to join in our discussion.

Monday 6 7p - 7% Solution Book Club discussing Sandman Slim
Come join Tommy and Wil the first Monday of every month at 7PM as they explore the worlds of fiction's greatest mysteries. But you must hurry - the game is already afoot. This month's title is Sandman Slim by Richard Kadrey.

Tuesday 7 7p - RANDY FERTEL speaking & signing The Gorilla Man and the Empress of Steak: A New Orleans Family Memoir
(Fertel is the son of the woman who founded Ruth's Chris Steakhouse. The book tells her story, and the story of his father, both colorful New Orleans characters.) The Gorilla Man and the Empress of Steak is the story of two larger-than-life characters and the son whom their lives helped to shape. Ruth Fertel was a petite, smart, tough-as-nails blonde, who founded the Ruth's Chris Steak House empire. Rodney Fertel was a gold-plated, one-of-a-kind personality, who ran for mayor of New Orleans on a single campaign promise--buying a pair of gorillas for the zoo. This is a New Orleans story, featuring the distinctive characters, color, food, and history of that city--before Hurricane Katrina and after. But it also is the universal story of family and the full magnitude of outsize follies leavened with equal measures of humor, rage, and rue.

Wednesday 8 8p - OFF SITE: Good vs Evil: ANTHONY BOURDAIN & ERIC RIPERT at the Paramount Theater
BookPeople is pleased to once again be working with the Paramount Theater, this time to sell books at their event with Anthony Bourdain and Eric Ripert. Tickets and more information are available at the theater's website.

Wednesday 8 7p - Party for the Winners of the Austin Chronicle Short Story Contest
You are invited to hear the first, second, and third place winners of the Twentieth Annual Austin Chronicle Short Story Contest read their short stories tonight at a special reception and party! Honorable mentions will also be announced. All the manuscripts submitted were the original work of the contestants and have never been published. Be the first one to hear them tonight at 7PM!

Thursday 9 7p - JAMES SCURLOCK speaking & signing King Larry: The Life and Ruins of a Billionaire Genius
James Scurlock tells the riveting story of Larry Hillblom, who, after graduating from Boalt Hall School of Law in 1969, cofounded DHL. Hillblom's expatriate life began twelve years later, when he retreated to a small tax haven in the Western Pacific. There, Scurlock reveals, Hillblom led the resistance to American meddling in the Mariana Islands, rewrote the tax code and real-estate laws, and became a Supreme Court justice—among other unlikely exploits. When his seaplane disappeared off the coast of Anatahan in May 1995, he left behind an estate worth close to a billion dollars. Weeks later, five impoverished women and their attorneys came forward to challenge Hillblom's will, provoking a legal battle that has raged for over fifteen years. Scurlock has written for numerous publications, including Slate, Newsweek, The Huffington Post, and AARP Magazine. He has also appeared on numerous programs, including Nightline, The Today Show, and CNBC's Power Lunch.

Friday 10 7p - My Vicious Valentine: Spine-Tingling YA Panel
Moderated by Sean Petrie, six top YA authors dish on the devilish, gab about ghosts, and soar with the angels in this panel celebrating spine-tingling stories, supernatural creatures, and perhaps scariest of all, true love. Featuring authors: Rosemary Clement-Moore, Jordan Dane, P. J. Hoover, Mari Mancusi, Cynthia Leitich Smith, LA Weatherly.

Saturday 11 7p - StoryCorps Founder DAVE ISAY speaking & signing All There Is: Love Stories from StoryCorps
(There's a StoryCorps van parked outside of the Bob Bullock Museum through the beginning of Feb. There will be heavy support for this book on NPR. Previous StoryCorps collections have all been NYT bestsellers.) With Valentine's Day only a few days away, love of all types - true, unrequited, lost and found - is in the air. Join us this evening when Dave Isay shares stories of love and marriage from the revolutionary oral history project StoryCorps, revealing the many and remarkable paths that relationships can take. As the storytellers in this book start careers, build homes, and raise families, we witness the life-affirming joy of partnership, the comfort of shared sorrows, and profound gratitude in the face of loss. These stories are also testament to love's remarkable endurance.Dave Isay is the founder of StoryCorps and the recipient of numerous broadcasting honors, including five Peabody Awards and a MacArthur "Genius" Fellowship.

Sunday 12 2p - Required Reading Revisited discussing The Invisible Man
Remember those books you were required to read in school? Required Reading Revisited is a chance to take a second (or first) look at some of the books you were made to read in school. Meeting the second Sunday of every month at 2PM, this month's title is Invisible Man by Ralph Ellison.

Sunday 12 5p - FYA Book Club discussing The Scorpio Race
Are you tired of feeling ashamed every time you creep into the Young Adult section of BookPeople? Well, the Forever Young Adult Book Club is here to offer you relief! We're a group of adults (technically) who meet at 5 PM the second Sunday of every month. This month's book is The Scorpio Races by Maggie Steifvater, so leave your shame at the door, grab a cocktail, and join us! The location of the meeting changes, so please email foreveryoungadult@gmail.com to learn more.

Monday 13 7p - Austin Author SEAN HILL speaking & signing Very Short Stories
In 2009, Sean Hill, founder of Austin's own The Hideout Theater, came up with a brilliant project that combined his love of technology with his love of writing: he created the Twitter feed @VeryShortStory, where he writes 140 character stories. The feed quickly gather followers, and now he's gathered the best of his Very Short Stories into this colleciton. Celebrating brevity, precision, and the art of subtle communication, author Sean Hill has crafted hundreds of engaging, evocative stories that conjure an entire novel in a sentence or two. The compelling stories in this one-of-a-kind collection pack the emotional punch and storytelling genius of lengthy works of fiction.

Wednesday 15 7p - Football Star & New York Times Bestselling Author MICHAEL OHER speaking & signing I Beat the Odds: From Homelessness, to the Blind Side, and Beyond
(The hit book/film The Blind Side is based on Oher's life. This memoir hit the NYT bestseller in hardcover.) Michael Lewis' bestselling book The Blind Side, turned into a blockbuster film starring Sandra Bullock, made Michael Oher a household name by sharing his inspirational story of going from homeless teen to football star. In I Beat the Odds, Oher tells his own story, looking back on how he went from being a homeless child in Memphis to playing in the NFL. He talks about the goals he had to break out of the cycle of poverty, addiction, and hopelessness that trapped his family, and describes the absolute necessity of seeking out positive role models and good friends who share the same values to achieve one's dreams. Michael Oher is an American football offensive tackle for the Baltimore Ravens of the National Football League.

Wednesday 15 7p - Stranger Than Fiction Book Club discussing The Social Animal
Reading fiction to escape reality is a great way to unwind, but exploring reality can sometimes be even more rewarding. Meet Cindy and Merrilee the third Wednesday of every month where we'll read books about fascinating people, places, and things. This month's book is The Social Animal by David Brooks.

Friday 17 7p - Bestselling Science Fiction & Fantasy Author ROBIN HOBB speaking & signing City of Dragons
(Hobb also writes as Megan Lindholm. She's won the Asimov's Reader's Award and has been a finalist for a Nebula and Hugo Award.) New York Times bestselling author Robin Hobb returns to the world of the Rain Wilds—called "one of the most gripping settings in modern fantasy" (Booklist)—in City of Dragons. Continuing the enthralling journey she began in her acclaimed Dragon Keeper and Dragon Haven, Hobb rejoins a small group of weak, half-formed and unwanted dragons and their displaced human companions as they search for a legendary sanctuary. Now, as the misfit band approaches its final destination, dragons and keepers alike face a challenge so insurmountable that it threatens to render their long, difficult odyssey utterly meaningless.

Saturday 18 4p - MysteryPeople Presents HILARY DAVIDSON speaking & signing The Next One to Fall
Hilary Davidson's The Damage Done — called a "razor sharp mystery debut" by Publishers Weekly — won the 2011 Anthony Award for Best First Novel and the Crimespree Award for Best First Novel. In her latest novel, travel writer Lily Moore discovers a woman clinging to life at the bottom of an ancient stone staircase at Machu Picchu. Just before the woman dies, she tells Lily the name of the man who pushed her. Unable to accept the official ruling of accidental death, Lily hunts down the wealthy man who was the dead woman's traveling companion and discovers a pattern of dead and missing women in his wake. Obsessed with getting justice for these women, Lily sets in motion a violent chain of events with devastating consequences.

Saturday 18 7p - LEONARD PIERCE speaking & signing If You Like the Sopranos
From Robin Hood and his Merry Men to the bloody aftermath of Macbeth, fictional lawbreakers have been both celebrated and vilified in every era. If You Like The Sopranos… provides an illuminating portrait of those elements that came together to create the stellar artistic achievement that is The Sopranos, and it follows the new trails the television show left when it exploded into the cultural consciousness, heralding the arrival of a new era of storytelling.

Sunday 19 4p - Bestselling Novelist RACHEL SIMON speaking & signing The Story of Beautiful Girl
(This novel was an Indiebound & NYT bestseller in hardcover, and recommended by Oprah Winfrey. The paperback edition is expected to have a similar positive reception, particularly among book groups.) A IndieBound and New York Times bestseller and one of Oprah Winfrey's "Ten Titles to Pick Up Now" last summer, The Story of Beautiful Girl, now out in paperback, has been celebrated as a deft combination of love story and story of social accountability. It is 1968. Lynnie, a young white woman with a developmental disability, and Homan, an African American deaf man, are locked away in an institution, the School for the Incurable and Feebleminded. Deeply in love, they escape, and find refuge at the farmhouse of Martha, a retired schoolteacher, where Lynnie gives birth. The same night, authorities catch up to them. Horne escape but Lynnie is caught. And so begins the 40-year epic journey of Lynnie, Homan, Martha, and baby Julia-lives divided by seemingly insurmountable obstacles, yet drawn together by a secret pact and extraordinary love.

Sunday 19 5p - This Book Could Be Your Life discussing Alan Lomax
Get ready for some rock and roll! Dig into the history of rock and roll, its stars and styles, exploring everything from punk to pop. Bosco and Stephana will satisfy your rock and roll obsession the third Sunday of every month at 5PM. This month's book is Alan Lomax by John Szwed.

Monday 20 7p - Ludicrous Speed Book Club discussing American Gods
From speculative fiction, deep space adventures, and alternate histories to epic fantasy realms, all who can admit their dorkdom are welcome. Join Joel and Tommy the third Monday of every month at 7PM. This month we will be discussing American Gods by Neil Gaiman.

***Tuesday 21 8p - OFF SITE: An Evening with DEEPAK CHOPRA at the Long Center
Acknowledged as one of the world's greatest leaders in the field of mind-body medicine, Deepak Chopra continues to transform our understanding of the meaning of health and the crucial connection between body, mind, spirit and healing. BookPeople is pleased to be on hand as the bookseller this evening when Deepak Chopra visits the Long Center.

Tuesday 21 7p - Nightmare Factory Book Club discussing Exquisite Corpse
H.P. Lovecraft said, "The oldest and strongest emotion of mankind is fear. And the oldest and strongest kind of fear is fear of the unknown." Come join our crypt-keepers, Joe and Steven, every third Tuesday of the month as we help you navigate the bloody byways and diabolic depths of your fears with our horrific book club, The Nightmare Factory. This month's book is Exquisite Corpse by Poppy Z. Brite.

Wednesday 22 7p - UT Professor JEREMI SURI speaking & signing Liberty's Surest Guardian
Americans are a nation-building people, and in Liberty's Surest Guardian, Jeremi Suri—Nobel Fellow and leading light in the next generation of policy makers—looks to America's history to see both what it has to offer failed states around the world and what it should avoid. Suri, rovocative historian and one of Smithsonian magazine's "Top Young Innovators" has mined more than two hundred years of American policy in order to explain the five "P"s of nation-building. He takes on the idea of American exceptionalism and turns it into a playbook for President Obama over the next, vital few years. Jeremi Suri is the Mack Brown Distinguished Professor for Global Leadership, History, and Public Policy at the University of Texas at Austin. He is the author of five books on contemporary politics and foreign policy.

Thursday 23 5:30p - Happy Hour Book Club at the Highball discussing Life by Keith Richards
What's better than talking about a book with a group of friends? Talking about a book with a group of friends during Happy Hour at The Highball! Come hang out with Mandy and Joel the last Thursday of every month at 5:30PM where we'll discuss books over cocktails. This month's book is Life by Keith Richards.

Thursday 23 7p - Novelist SERE PRINCE HALVERSON speaking & signing The Underside of Joy
(A debut novel that's already receiving high praise from booksellers and will likely be popular with many book group.) Set against the backdrop of Redwood forests and shimmering vineyards, Seré Prince Halverson's compelling debut tells the story of two women, bound by an unspeakable loss, who each claims to be the mother of the same two children. When an ocean wave takes Joe Beene in its swell, he leaves behind his wife, Ella, and the two children from his first marriage, who believe their biological mother, Paige, has abandoned them. When their mother turns up at the funeral demanding her children back, Ella soon realizes there is more to Joe and Paige's relationship than she knew. The Underside of Joy is not a fairy-tale version of stepmotherhood pitting good Ella against evil Paige, but an exploration of the complex relationship of two mothers.

Friday 24 7p - Award Winning Science Fiction & Fantasy Author ELIZABETH MOON speaking & signing Echoes of Betrayal
The action continues fast and furious in this third installment of Elizabeth Moon's celebrated return to the fantasy world of the paladin Paksenarrion Dorthansdotter. This award-winning author has firsthand military experience and an imagination that knows no bounds. Combine those qualities with an ability to craft flesh-and-blood characters, and the result is the kind of speculative fiction that engages both heart and mind. All is not well in the Eight Kingdoms. In Lyonya, King Kieri is about to celebrate marriage to his beloved, the half-elf Arian. But uncanny whispers from the spirits of his ancestors continue to warn of treachery and murder. Meanwhile, in Tsaia, the young king Mikeli must grapple with unrest among his own nobility over his controversial decision to grant the title and estates of a traitorous magelord to a Verrakaien who not only possesses the forbidden magic but is a woman besides. But even greater danger is looming.

Saturday 25 7p - MysteryPeople Presents Austin Author JOAN HESS speaking & signing Deader Homes and Gardens
Back from her somewhat unusual honeymoon, Claire Malloy must face the harsh reality of life with her new husband, police chief Peter Rosen, and her teenage daughter Caron—three people simply can't fit into her cosy two bedroom apartment. After a week of fruitless looking, she finally finds the perfect place. Then the problems start. The last owner died in circumstances labeled 'accidental' but were actually both 'mysterious' and 'dubious'. When the previous owner's lover dies practically at her feet, Claire decides to take matters into her own hands. After all, to get the house of her dreams, first she has to find a killer. And all's fair in love, war, and real estate.

Sunday 26 7p - Voyage Out Book Club discussing American Rust
Join Clint and Brian C. the last Sunday of every month as we use wonderful books to travel the world. We are currently discussing books that don't fit in a region, and this month we are reading American Rust by Philipp Meyer.

Monday 27 7p - Award Winning Austin Author ROBERT JACKSON BENNETT speaking & signing his new novel, The Troupe
(Bennett graduated from UT and lives in Austin. Last year he won the Shirley Jackson Award for his previous novel, Mr. Shivers.) Already given a starred review by Publisher's Weekly, Bennett's new novel The Troupe tells the story of George Carole, a run-away who joins the Vaudeville circuit. Sixteen years old, uncommonly gifted at the piano, he falls in with a strange troupe -- even for Vaudeville. Under the watchful eye of the enigmatic figure of Silenus, George comes to realize that the members of the troupe are more than they appear to be. And their travels have a purpose that runs deeper than entertainment.Robert Jackson Bennett was born in Baton Rouge, Louisiana, but grew up in Katy, Texas. A UT alum, he currently lives in Austin and is the author of the novels Mr. Shivers, for which he won the 2011 Shirley Jackson Award, and The Company Man.

Monday 27 7p - New and Noteworthy Book Club discussing Pulphead
Perhaps more aptly named the "sometimes new/always noteworthy" book club, here is a place to discover recent gems and to revisit old favorites. Come join Kester and Jamie the last Monday of every month at 7PM. This month's book is Pulphead by John Jeremiah Sullivan.

Tuesday 28 6p - Former First Lady of Houston ANDREA WHITE speaking & signing her new YA novel, Windows on the World
(In addition to being the former First Lady of Houston, White is an award-winning YA novelist. While in Austin, she'll visit schools in support of VIVA.) A vocal advocate for literacy and education, Andrea White is also an established and acclaimed author of fiction for Young Adults. In 2004, her novel Surviving Antarctica was selected for many state reading lists, including the Texas Bluebonnet. In 2005 she won a Texas State Reading Association Golden Spur Award. Now, she presents her latest novel, Windows on the World, a futuristic tale for young adults that explores issues of poverty and privilege. She is a proud supporter of VIVA, Virtual Interaction with Visiting Authors, a pilot program in the Houston School District aimed to connect students with local authors so that they can ask questions and interact via web chats and virtual discussions.

Wednesday 29 7p - Bestselling Author of Snowflower and the Secret Fan LISA SEE speaking & signing Dreams of Joy
(Since Snowflower and the Secret Fan, all of Lisa See's novels have been NYT bestsellers. This novel debuted at #1 on the NYT list in hardcover.) In her beloved New York Times bestsellers Snow Flower and the Secret Fan, Peony in Love, and, most recently, Shanghai Girls, Lisa See has brilliantly illuminated the potent bonds of mother love, romantic love, and love of country. Now, in her most powerful novel yet, she returns to these timeless themes, continuing the story of sisters Pearl and May from Shanghai Girls, and Pearl's strong-willed nineteen-year-old daughter, Joy. Dreams of Joy debuted at #1 on the New York Times bestseller list in hardcover. See will be here for the paperback edition.

Wednesday 29 7p - Hard Word Book Club discussing Cold Shot to the Heart - Author WALLACE STROBY Calling In
Tough stories with hard hombres and dangerous dames, where survival trumps virtue, no matter what side of the law you are on; this is what you'll find in the Hard Word Book Club. Scott and Joe will guide you along the last Wednesday of every month at 7PM. This month's book is Cold Shot to the Heart by Wallace Stroby. Stroby will be calling in, so don't miss this discussion!

MARCH

***Monday 5 7p - Writer, Comedian & Author MICHAEL IAN BLACK speaks & signs You're Not Doing It Right

***Thursday 8 7p - Bestselling Author JOSHUA FOER speaks & signs Moonwalking with Einstein

***Monday 19 7p - BookPeople and American Short Fiction Present T. C. BOYLE speaking & signing When the Killing's Done

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Julie Wernersbach
Publicist
BookPeople
603 N. Lamar Blvd
Austin, TX 78703
http://www.bookpeople.com
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Currently Reading The Lola Quartet by Emily St. John Mandel

PRESS RELEASE: World Book Night to Hold Open Meeting at BookPeople

2012-01-19T09:54:00.001-08:00

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE                                  CONTACT: JULIE WERNERSBACH
THURSDAY, JANUARY 19, 2011                             julie@bookpeople.com   512-472-5050

WORLD BOOK NIGHT TO HOLD OPEN MEETING FOR CENTRAL TEXAS ORGANIZATIONS AT BOOKPEOPLE

The Central Texas Chapter of World Book Night, a national initiative, is organizing a major volunteer effort to distribute thousands of books by hand to Central Texans who will enjoy learning about and reading some of America's best-loved authors. The Central Texas Chapter is holding a meeting at BookPeople—a local sponsor—at noon, Monday, January 30 for organizations that would like to support and participate in this national celebration of the book.

The National Organization's mission—supported by major publishers, authors, booksellers, distributors, and libraries—is to build an annual campaign to give away a million free books across America all on one day, April 23, 2012.   The means to this unprecedented distribution in the U.S. will be the volunteer efforts of 50,000 book lovers committed to promoting reading by going into their communities giving away free copies of a book they especially enjoy. World Book Night was successfully launched in the UK in 2011, and now the U.S. is joining the effort.

On December 14, 2011, World Book Night U.S. announced the selection of its honorary national chairperson, Pulitzer Prize-winning journalist and bestselling author Anna Quindlen, and revealed the WBN 2012 U.S. book picks.

The books were chosen by a panel of independent booksellers, Barnes & Noble buyers, and librarians through several rounds of voting. Thirty-five thousand copies of each World Book Night title will be printed as special, not-for-resale paperbacks, totaling over a million copies to be distributed nationwide.
Central Texas is proud to be part of this initiative and is looking forward to broad community support for the book.

For additional information about the forthcoming meeting please contact: Steve Bercu, BookPeople CEO, steve@bookpeople.com

More information on the national initiative can be found at www.us.worldbooknight.org

The 30 World Book Night U.S. titles for 2012, alphabetical by author, are:

The Absolutely True Diary of a Part-Time Indian by Sherman Alexie (Little, Brown Books for Young Readers)
Wintergirls by Laurie Halse Anderson (Speak)
I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings by Maya Angelou (Ballantine)
Friday Night Lights by H.G. Bissinger (Da Capo)
Kindred by Octavia E. Butler (Beacon Press)
Ender's Game by Orson Scott Card (Tor)
Little Bee by Chris Cleave (Simon & Schuster)
The Hunger Games by Suzanne Collins (Scholastic)
Blood Work by Michael Connelly (Grand Central)
The Brief Wondrous Life of Oscar Wao by Junot Díaz (Riverhead); a Spanish-language edition, La breve y maravillosa vida de Óscar Wao (Vintage Espanol), will also be made available.
Because of Winn-Dixie by Kate DiCamillo (Candlewick)
Zeitoun by Dave Eggers (Vintage)
Peace Like a River by Leif Enger (Grove Atlantic)
A Reliable Wife by Robert Goolrick (Algonquin)
Q is for Quarry by Sue Grafton (Berkley)
The Kite Runner by Khaled Hosseini (Riverhead)
A Prayer for Owen Meany by John Irving (Ballantine)
The Stand by Stephen King (Anchor)
The Poisonwood Bible by Barbara Kingsolver (Perennial)
The History of Love by Nicole Krauss (W.W. Norton)
The Namesake by Jhumpa Lahiri (Mariner)
The Things They Carried by Tim O'Brien (Mariner)
Bel Canto by Ann Patchett (Perennial)
My Sister's Keeper by Jodi Picoult (Atria)
Housekeeping by Marilynne Robinson (Picador)
The Lovely Bones by Alice Sebold (Back Bay)
The Immortal Life of Henrietta Lacks by Rebecca Skloot (Broadway)
Just Kids by Patti Smith (Ecco)
The Glass Castle by Jeannette Walls (Scribner)
The Book Thief by Markus Zusak (Knopf Books for Young Readers)

World Book Night in the U.S. is a non-profit organization, and has filed for 501(c)3 charitable status. World Book Night U.S. is supported by publishers, Barnes & Noble, the American Booksellers Association, the Association of American Publishers, the American Library Association, and Ingram Content Group.

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--
Julie Wernersbach
Publicist
BookPeople
603 N. Lamar Blvd
Austin, TX 78703
http://www.bookpeople.com
BP Facebook
BP Twitter
BP Blog

Currently Reading What We Talk About When We Talk About Anne Frank by Nathan Englander

BookPeople Weekly Media Update - 1/18/12

2012-01-18T11:30:00.001-08:00

BookPeople Events!

For questions about events, contact BookPeople Marketing Director Mandy Brooks at 512.472.4288 x 411 or mandy@bookpeople.com.

Events start at 7PM unless otherwise indicated. List updated Wednesday, January 18.

*** - denotes new event

***Our event with YA author JOHN GREEN at Westlake Performing Arts Center this Sat 1/21 is nearly sold out! Approximately 1,000 of Austin's teen readers will join us for an event the book's publisher is describing as "like being at a rock concert."

JANUARY 2012

Wednesday 18 7p - MysteryPeople Presents: Bestelling Author TAYLOR STEVENS in conversation with Austin's own Nationally Bestselling Thriller Writer JEFF ABBOTT about Stevens' The Innocent.
(Austin's own nationally bestselling thriller writer Jeff Abbott will lead the conversation at this event. Stevens is a MysteryPeople favorite and a NYT bestselling author with a fascinating personal background, having been raised in a cult.) Born into the Children of God, raised in communes across the globe, and denied an education beyond the sixth grade, Taylor Stevens broke free of the cult in order to follow hope and a vague idea of what possibilities lay beyond. She's now a writer living in Texas, whose first novel, The Informationist, was a New York Times bestseller. She'll be here in conversation with Jeff Abbott, bestselling author of Adrenaline, about her second thriller, The Innocent. This latest Vanessa Munroe thriller tells the story of five year old Hannah, who was taken into the world of a cult known as The Chosen. For eight years, followers of The Prophet have hidden the child, moving her from country to country, shielding the man who stole her. Now, those who've searched the longest know where to find her. They are childhood survivors of The Chosen, thirty-somethings born and raised inside the cult who've managed to make lives for themselves on the outside. They understand the mindset, the culture within that world, and turn to Vanessa Michael Munroe for help, knowing that the only possibility of stealing Hannah back and getting her safely out of Argentina is to trust someone who doesn't trust them, and get Munroe on the inside.

Thursday 19 7p - Bestselling & Award-Winning Author LUIS ALBERTO URREA speaks & signs Queen of America.
(Urrea is a BookPeople favorite with an active online presence and tremendous following, and is nationally recognized as an achieved literary author. He was recently featured on NPR.) The remarkable heroine of The Hummingbird's Daughter makes a welcome return in an epic novel of love, loss and miracles in America. Queen of America is based on Luis Urrea's real great-aunt Teresita, who had healing powers and was acclaimed as a saint. Urrea extensively researched historical accounts and family records for decades to get the true story. He recounts a spell-binding tale: After the bloody Tomochic rebellion, Teresita Urrea, beloved healer and "Saint of Cabora," flees with her father to Arizona. But their plans are derailed when she once again is claimed as the spiritual leader of the Mexican Revolution. Besieged by pilgrims and pursued by assassins, Teresita embarks on a journey through turn-of-the-century industrial America-stopping in New York, San Francisco, and St. Louis.

Friday 20 7p - In cooperation with edibleAustin magazine, Assoc. Prof of Women's & Gender Studies at UT ELIZABETH ENGELHARDT speaks & signs Mess of Greens: Southern Gender and Southern Food.
Combining the study of food culture with gender studies and using perspectives from historical, literary, environmental, and American studies, Elizabeth S. D. Engelhardt examines what southern women's choices about food tell us about race, class, gender, and social power. Panelists at this event will include special guests Carol Ann Sayle from Boggy Creek Farm, Stephanie McClenny of confituras, and Lara Nixon of Bad Dog Bar Craft. Enjoy special tastings inspired by the book along with Saint Arnold Brewing Company beverages.

Saturday 21 12p - Children's Author JAN BOZARTH speaking & signing Fairy Godmother Academy Book #5: Sumi's Book
Put on your wings and sprinkle on some fairy dust, because we have a magical event coming for you with one of BookPeople's bestselling authors, Jan Bozarth! More magic and adventure await in this latest Fairy Godmother Academy story. Sumi Hara loves fashion. She always looks beautiful, and always wears the perfect outfit. When she arrives in Aventurine, Sumi is thrilled to learn that she's a shape-shifter.Unfortunately, she's not very good at shape-shifting yet, so she's given a guide named Kano—who's distractingly gorgeous in his human form. When they find out that an evil fairy queen holds the final mirror shard needed to complete their mission, Sumi will have to discover what true beauty and perfection are.

Saturday 21 4p - Award-Winning Debut Novelist & Former Austinite KEIJA PARSSINEN speaks & signs The Ruins of Us.
Saudi-born author Keija Parssinen's stunning debut offers the intricate, emotionally resonant story of an American expatriate who discovers that her husband, a Saudi billionaire, has taken a second bride—an emotionally turbulent revelation that blinds them both to their teenaged son's ominous first steps down the road of radicalization. Readers who enjoyed The Septembers of Shiraz will enjoy Parssinen's story of love and betrayal, fundamentalism, family and country in the Middle East. Keija Parssinen was born in Saudi Arabia and lived there for twelve years as a third-generation expatriate. She also grew up in Lakeway/Lake Travis and lived for many years in Austin. The Ruins of Us, her first novel, received a Michener-Copernicus Award.

Saturday 21 7p - OFF SITE: BookPeople Hosts Bestselling YA Author JOHN GREEN at Westlake Performing Arts Center to speak & sign The Fault In Our Stars.
(John Green has a MASSIVE and loyal online following. Tickets for this event went on sale Fri 12/9 and we've already sold hundreds. He's one of the biggest YA authors writing right now and built significant anticipation among his fans for this new book.) We are absolutely thrilled to be able to bring the one and only John Green to Austin to speak & sign his brand new, highly anticipated book, The Fault In Our Stars! This event will take place at Westlake Performing Arts Center (4100 Westbank Drive, Austin). Tickets are required to attend this event and and cost $25, which includes one signed copy of The Fault In Our Stars and entitles the bearer to one seat at the event. Signed books will be distributed at Westlake Community Performing Arts Center the evening of the event. The event begins at 7p, and doors will open at 6p. Tickets can be purchased three ways: in-store; over the phone (512-472-5050); or online (http:www.bookpeople.com).

Sunday 22 3p - Award Winning Author JAMES CARLOS BLAKE speaks & signs Country of the Bad Wolfes.
A master of the historical novel, James Carlos Blake has been hailed as "a poet of the damned who writes like an angel." (Kirkus Reviews) In Country of the Bad Wolfes, based in part on his own ancestors, Blake presents the story of the Wolfe family—a saga that spans three generations, centers on two sets of identical twins and the women they love, and ranges from New England to the heart of Mexico before concluding in South Texas. James Carlos Blake was born in Mexico and grew up in Texas and Florida. He is the author of nine other novels and a collection of short works . Among his literary honors are the Los Angeles Times Book Prize, the Southwest Book Award, and the Falcon Award.

Monday 23 7p - Local Author Night featuring Jerry Butler & M. E. Patterson
We love our local authors here at BookPeople, and tonight we're pleased to have with us two local Austin writers who will present their work. Jerry Brown will present Wine and Spirit: A Christian's Guide to Enjoying Wine. With passion and a light-hearted spirit, WINE & SPIRIT is a quick, basic guide for everyone who wants to know what the Bible really says about wine. M. E. Patterson will present Devil's Hand. A Las Vegas poker ace with supernatural luck is swept into a world-ending conflict between fallen angels and otherworldly shades, in this thrilling new novel. (This event will happen on our third floor.)

Monday 23 7p - Bestselling YA Authors JAY ASHER & CAROLYN MACKLER speak & sign The Future of Us.
(Jay Asher's previous novel, Thirteen Reasons Why, was a #1 NYT bestseller and continues to be a bestselling book at our store. He and Mackler are two of today's most popular YA authors. The release of this book has garnered extensive media coverage. The book has already been optioned for a film by Warner Bros.) YA lovers, get ready for a very cool event! Tonight we are a very lucky bookstore, indeed, to welcome Jay Asher, author of the #1 New York Times bestseller Thirteen Reasons Why, and bestselling author Carolyn Macker to BookPeople with their new novel, The Future of Us. It's 1996, and less than half of all American high school students have ever used the Internet. Emma just got her first computer and an America Online CD-ROM. Josh is her best friend. They power up and log on--and discover themselves on Facebook, fifteen years in the future. Everybody wonders what their Destiny will be. Josh and Emma are about to find out.

Tuesday 24 7p - Award Winning Fiction Writer BEN MARCUS speaks & signs his new novel, The Flame Alphabet.
(Ben Marcus is a major modern literary figure. His stories have been widely published and have earned him three Pushcart Prizes.) A terrible epidemic has struck the country and the sound of children's speech has become lethal. All Sam and Claire need to do is look around the neighborhood: In the park, parents wither beneath the powerful screams of their children.With Claire nearing collapse, it seems their only means of survival is to flee from their daughter, Esther. But Sam and Claire find it isn't so easy to leave the daughter they still love, even as they waste away from her malevolent speech. The Flame Alphabet asks, What is left of civilization when we lose the ability to communicate with those we love? Ben Marcus is the author of Notable American Women and The Age of Wire and String. His stories have appeared in The New Yorker, Harper's, The Paris Review, Tin House, and elsewhere. In addition to three Pushcart Prizes, he is also the recipient of a Whiting Writers Award, a National Endowment for the Arts grant, and an award from the American Academy of Arts and Letters. He is a Professor of Creative Writing at Columbia University.

Wednesday 25 7p - Hard Word Book Club discussing Death Along the Spirit Road - Author C. M. WENDELBOE Calling In!
Tough stories with hard hombres and dangerous dames, where survival trumps virtue, no matter what side of the law you are on; this is what you'll find in the Hard Word Book Club. Scott and Joe will guide you along the last Wednesday of every month at 7PM. This month's book is Death Along the Spirit Road by C.M. Wendelboe. Wendelboe will be calling in, so don't miss this discussion!

Wednesday 25 7p - KUT Radio Host & Musician KIM SIMPSON speaks & signs Early 70's Radio: The American Format Revolution.
The host of The International Folk Bazaar on Austin's KOOP-FM and co-host for Folkways on KUT 90.5 FM has written a comprehensive book that focuses on the emergence of commercial music radio "formats," which refer to distinct musical genres aimed toward specific audiences. This formatting revolution took place in a period rife with heated politics, identity anxiety, large-scale disappointments and seemingly insoluble social problems. A fresh and accessible exercise in audience interpretation, Early '70s Radio is organized according to the era's five prominent formats and analyzes each of these in relation to their targeted demographics, including Top 40, "soft rock", album-oriented rock, soul and country.

Thursday 26 5:30p - Happy Hour at the Highball Book Club discussing Under the Banner of Heaven by Jon Krakauer.
What's better than talking about a book with a group of friends? Talking about a book with a group of friends during Happy Hour at The HighBall! Come hang out with Mandy and Joel the last Thursday of every month at 5:30PM where we'll discuss books over cocktails. This month's book is Under the Banner of Heaven by Jon Krakauer.

Thursday 26 7p - Panel Discussion Presenting Three Messages and A Warning: Contemporary Mexican Short Stories of the Fantastic.
Editors Chris N. Brown and Eduardo Jiménez Mayo, and featured authors Bernardo Fernández and Pepe Rojo will celebrate, the publication of Three Messages and a Warning: Contemporary Mexican Short Stories of the Fantastic at BookPeople with a reading, discussion, and audience Q&A. This huge anthology of more than thirty all-original Mexican science fiction and fantasy features ghost stories, supernatural folktales, alien incursions, and apocalyptic narratives, as well as science-based chronicles of highly unusual mental states in which the borders of fantasy and reality reach unprecedented levels of ambiguity. Stereotypes of Mexican identity are explored and transcended by the thoroughly cosmopolitan consciousnesses underlying these works.

Friday 27 7p - MysteryPeople Presents: International Bestselling Author R. J. ELLORY speaking & signing A Quiet Vendetta.
(R. J. Ellory is a huge thriller writer in the UK, on par with James Patterson, Lee Child, and similar writers here in the states.) MysteryPeople is thrilled to welcome R.J. Ellory to Austin! The author of eight novels, including the bestselling A Quiet Belief in Angels, which was the Strand Magazine's Thriller of the Year, nominated for the Barry Award, and a finalist for the SIBA Award, Ellory will be here with his novel A Quiet Vendetta. In addition to speaking and signing, Ellory, who is also a musician, will perform at this event. When Catherine Ducane disappears in the heart of New Orleans, the local cops react rapidly - she is the daughter of the Governor of Louisiana after all. But the case gets very strange, very quickly. Quickly dragged down to the deep South, Ray Hartmann puzzles over why he has been summoned and why the mysterious kidnapper, an elderly Cuban named Ernesto Perez, wants to tell him his life story. It's only when he realises that Ernesto has been a brutal hitman for the Mob since the 1950s that things start to come together. But by the time the pieces fall into place, it's already too late...

Saturday 28 7:30p - Bestselling Author DANIEL HANDLER & Acclaimed Illustrator MAIRA KALMAN speaking & signing Why We Broke Up.
Bestselling author of, among other things, the Lemony Snicket series of books, Daniel Handler has teamed up with renowned artist Maira Kalman to create this wonderful new YA book that delves into that most painful of human experiences - The Break Up. In Why We Broke Up, Min and Ed are breaking up, so Min is writing Ed a letter and giving him a box. Each item in the box represents a different moment in their relationship, and is illustrated by the incredibly talented Maira Kalman. The book inspired Handler and Kalman to create The Why We Broke Up Project, whose tumblr account (http://whywebrokeupproject.tumblr.com/) invites people to share their own break-up stories. In January, BookPeople will create a correlating in-store display wall inviting Austinites to anonymously share their own break-up stories.

Sunday 29 5p - Voyage Out Book Club discussing The Tiger's Wife.
Join Clint and Brian C. the last Sunday of every month at 5PM as we use wonderful books to travel the world. We're actually taking a break from a specific region at the moment, and instead choosing to read books on our "to read" list. This month we are reading The Tiger's Wife by Tea Obreht. (Due to the Christmas holiday, we have 2 meeting dates in January. The first date is 1/1, the second is 1/29.)

Monday 30 7p - New and Noteworthy Book Club discussing A Prayer for Owen Meany by John Irving.
Perhaps more aptly named the "sometimes new/always noteworthy" book club, here is a place to discover recent gems and to revisit old favorites. Come join Kester and Jamie the last Monday of every month at 7PM. This month's book is A Prayer for Owen Meany by John Irving.

Monday 30 7p - Vietnam Historian & US Military Academy Graduate LEWIS SORLEY speaking & signing Westmoreland: The General Who Lost Vietnam
In this definitive new biography, leading military Vietnam historian Lewis Sorley asks the question: Is General William Westmoreland the real reason the Vietnam War was lost? How did he get there, why did he fail, and how did he last so long? An Eagle Scout at fifteen, First Captain of his West Point class, Westmoreland fought in World War II and Korea, rising rapidly to command the 101st Airborne Division and become Superintendent at West Point, then was chosen to lead the war effort in Vietnam. Sorley examines how he failed to understand a complex war, choosing a flawed strategy, sticking to it in the face of all opposition, and misrepresenting the results when truth mattered most. In so doing he squandered four years of support by Congress, much of the media, and the American people. Lewis Sorley served in Vietnam, and in the Pentagon in the offices of Secretary of Defense James R. Schlesinger and Army Chief of Staff General William C. Westmoreland. He also taught at West Point and the Army War College.

FEBRUARY

***Wednesday 1 7p - Rewritten History Book Club discussing Gates of the Alamo
You are cordially invited to join Merrilee and Ann the first Wednesday of every month to explore and discuss works of historical fiction. This month's book is Gates of the Alamo by Stephen Harrigan.

Friday 3 7p - LOCAL AUTHOR NIGHT featuring L. AUDEL CAYCE & BRUCE MARSHALL
We love our local authors here at BookPeople, and tonight we're pleased to have with us two local Austin writers who will present their work. L. AUDEL CAYCE will present Windland's Rescue, a coming of age tale with a cast of characters that span time and galaxies; energy grids and traveling portals. BRUCE MARSHALL will present City of Silver, a tale, based on a true story, of a Confederate officer from Texas and an Irish-born deserter fromt he American Army during the Mexican War struggling to defend the silver mines of Alamos while the Imperial regime of Emperor Maximillion of Mexico and the Republicans under Juarez battle for it.

Saturday 4 7p - Novelist JACQUELINE LUCKETT in conversation with Acclaimed Literary Author ZZ PACKER
(ZZ Packer will lead the discussion this evening. This is the second event in our new series with American Short Fiction.) BookPeople and American Short Fiction literary magazine are proud to join together to host an evening with notable literary author and current Austinite ZZ PACKER and novelist JACQUELINE LUCKETT at BookPeople. ZZ Packer, author of the acclaimed short story collection Drinking Coffee Elsewhere,has been named one of America's Best Young Novelists by Granta literary magazine, and recognized as one The New Yorker's elite list of "20 Under 40" writers. As a literary author of extreme merit, Packer has let it be known that, "Luckett is a writer to watch and admire." A fan and supporter of Luckett's work, Packer will lead the conversation about Luckett's new novel, Passing Love, at this event. Luckett is also the author of the novel Searching for Tina Turner.

***Sunday 5 3:30p - History of Mystery Class discussing In a Lonely Place and Screening the Film
The History of Mystery Class will be discussing Dorothy Hughes' In A Lonely Place. We'll be watching the 1950 film starring Humphrey Bogart starting at 3:30, then begining the discussion around both the book and the film starting at 6PM. MysteryPeople favorite Megan Abbott will be calling in to join in our discussion.

***Monday 6 7p - 7% Solution Book Club discussing Sandman Slim
Come join Tommy and Wil the first Monday of every month at 7PM as they explore the worlds of fiction's greatest mysteries. But you must hurry - the game is already afoot. This month's title is Sandman Slim by Richard Kadrey.

Tuesday 7 7p - RANDY FERTEL speaking & signing The Gorilla Man and the Empress of Steak: A New Orleans Family Memoir
(Fertel is the son of the woman who founded Ruth's Chris Steakhouse. The book tells her story, and the story of his father, both colorful New Orleans characters.) The Gorilla Man and the Empress of Steak is the story of two larger-than-life characters and the son whom their lives helped to shape. Ruth Fertel was a petite, smart, tough-as-nails blonde, who founded the Ruth's Chris Steak House empire. Rodney Fertel was a gold-plated, one-of-a-kind personality, who ran for mayor of New Orleans on a single campaign promise--buying a pair of gorillas for the zoo. This is a New Orleans story, featuring the distinctive characters, color, food, and history of that city--before Hurricane Katrina and after. But it also is the universal story of family and the full magnitude of outsize follies leavened with equal measures of humor, rage, and rue.

***Wednesday 8 8p - OFF SITE: Good vs Evil: ANTHONY BOURDAIN & ERIC RIPERT at the Paramount Theater
BookPeople is pleased to once again be working with the Paramount Theater, this time to sell books at their event with Anthony Bourdain and Eric Ripert. Tickets and more information are available at the theater's website.

Wednesday 8 7p - Party for the Winners of the Austin Chronicle Short Story Contest
You are invited to hear the first, second, and third place winners of the Twentieth Annual Austin Chronicle Short Story Contest read their short stories tonight at a special reception and party! Honorable mentions will also be announced. All the manuscripts submitted were the original work of the contestants and have never been published. Be the first one to hear them tonight at 7PM!

Thursday 9 7p - JAMES SCURLOCK speaking & signing King Larry: The Life and Ruins of a Billionaire Genius
James Scurlock tells the riveting story of Larry Hillblom, who, after graduating from Boalt Hall School of Law in 1969, cofounded DHL. Hillblom's expatriate life began twelve years later, when he retreated to a small tax haven in the Western Pacific. There, Scurlock reveals, Hillblom led the resistance to American meddling in the Mariana Islands, rewrote the tax code and real-estate laws, and became a Supreme Court justice—among other unlikely exploits. When his seaplane disappeared off the coast of Anatahan in May 1995, he left behind an estate worth close to a billion dollars. Weeks later, five impoverished women and their attorneys came forward to challenge Hillblom's will, provoking a legal battle that has raged for over fifteen years. Scurlock has written for numerous publications, including Slate, Newsweek, The Huffington Post, and AARP Magazine. He has also appeared on numerous programs, including Nightline, The Today Show, and CNBC's Power Lunch.

Friday 10 7p - My Vicious Valentine: Spine-Tingling YA Panel
Moderated by Sean Petrie, six top YA authors dish on the devilish, gab about ghosts, and soar with the angels in this panel celebrating spine-tingling stories, supernatural creatures, and perhaps scariest of all, true love. Featuring authors: Rosemary Clement-Moore, Jordan Dane, P. J. Hoover, Mari Mancusi, Cynthia Leitich Smith, LA Weatherly.

Saturday 11 7p - StoryCorps Founder DAVE ISAY speaking & signing All There Is: Love Stories from StoryCorps
(There's a StoryCorps van parked outside of the Bob Bullock Museum through the beginning of Feb. There will be heavy support for this book on NPR. Previous StoryCorps collections have all been NYT bestsellers.) With Valentine's Day only a few days away, love of all types - true, unrequited, lost and found - is in the air. Join us this evening when Dave Isay shares stories of love and marriage from the revolutionary oral history project StoryCorps, revealing the many and remarkable paths that relationships can take. As the storytellers in this book start careers, build homes, and raise families, we witness the life-affirming joy of partnership, the comfort of shared sorrows, and profound gratitude in the face of loss. These stories are also testament to love's remarkable endurance.Dave Isay is the founder of StoryCorps and the recipient of numerous broadcasting honors, including five Peabody Awards and a MacArthur "Genius" Fellowship.

***Sunday 12 2p - Required Reading Revisited discussing The Invisible Man
Remember those books you were required to read in school? Required Reading Revisited is a chance to take a second (or first) look at some of the books you were made to read in school. Meeting the second Sunday of every month at 2PM, this month's title is Invisible Man by Ralph Ellison.

***Sunday 12 5p - FYA Book Club discussing The Scorpio Race
Are you tired of feeling ashamed every time you creep into the Young Adult section of BookPeople? Well, the Forever Young Adult Book Club is here to offer you relief! We're a group of adults (technically) who meet at 5 PM the second Sunday of every month. This month's book is The Scorpio Races by Maggie Steifvater, so leave your shame at the door, grab a cocktail, and join us! The location of the meeting changes, so please email foreveryoungadult@gmail.com to learn more.

***Monday 13 7p - Austin Author SEAN HILL speaking & signing Very Short Stories
In 2009, Sean Hill, founder of Austin's own The Hideout Theater, came up with a brilliant project that combined his love of technology with his love of writing: he created the Twitter feed @VeryShortStory, where he writes 140 character stories. The feed quickly gather followers, and now he's gathered the best of his Very Short Stories into this colleciton. Celebrating brevity, precision, and the art of subtle communication, author Sean Hill has crafted hundreds of engaging, evocative stories that conjure an entire novel in a sentence or two. The compelling stories in this one-of-a-kind collection pack the emotional punch and storytelling genius of lengthy works of fiction.

Wednesday 15 7p - Football Star & New York Times Bestselling Author MICHAEL OHER speaking & signing I Beat the Odds: From Homelessness, to the Blind Side, and Beyond
(The hit book/film The Blind Side is based on Oher's life. This memoir hit the NYT bestseller in hardcover.) Michael Lewis' bestselling book The Blind Side, turned into a blockbuster film starring Sandra Bullock, made Michael Oher a household name by sharing his inspirational story of going from homeless teen to football star. In I Beat the Odds, Oher tells his own story, looking back on how he went from being a homeless child in Memphis to playing in the NFL. He talks about the goals he had to break out of the cycle of poverty, addiction, and hopelessness that trapped his family, and describes the absolute necessity of seeking out positive role models and good friends who share the same values to achieve one's dreams. Michael Oher is an American football offensive tackle for the Baltimore Ravens of the National Football League.

***Wednesday 15 7p - Stranger Than Fiction Book Club discussing The Social Animal
Reading fiction to escape reality is a great way to unwind, but exploring reality can sometimes be even more rewarding. Meet Cindy and Merrilee the third Wednesday of every month where we'll read books about fascinating people, places, and things. This month's book is The Social Animal by David Brooks.

Friday 17 7p - Bestselling Science Fiction & Fantasy Author ROBIN HOBB speaking & signing City of Dragons
(Hobb also writes as Megan Lindholm. She's won the Asimov's Reader's Award and has been a finalist for a Nebula and Hugo Award.) New York Times bestselling author Robin Hobb returns to the world of the Rain Wilds—called "one of the most gripping settings in modern fantasy" (Booklist)—in City of Dragons. Continuing the enthralling journey she began in her acclaimed Dragon Keeper and Dragon Haven, Hobb rejoins a small group of weak, half-formed and unwanted dragons and their displaced human companions as they search for a legendary sanctuary. Now, as the misfit band approaches its final destination, dragons and keepers alike face a challenge so insurmountable that it threatens to render their long, difficult odyssey utterly meaningless.

Saturday 18 4p - MysteryPeople Presents HILARY DAVIDSON speaking & signing The Next One to Fall
Hilary Davidson's The Damage Done — called a "razor sharp mystery debut" by Publishers Weekly — won the 2011 Anthony Award for Best First Novel and the Crimespree Award for Best First Novel. In her latest novel, travel writer Lily Moore discovers a woman clinging to life at the bottom of an ancient stone staircase at Machu Picchu. Just before the woman dies, she tells Lily the name of the man who pushed her. Unable to accept the official ruling of accidental death, Lily hunts down the wealthy man who was the dead woman's traveling companion and discovers a pattern of dead and missing women in his wake. Obsessed with getting justice for these women, Lily sets in motion a violent chain of events with devastating consequences.

***Saturday 18 7p - LEONARD PIERCE speaking & signing If You Like the Sopranos
From Robin Hood and his Merry Men to the bloody aftermath of Macbeth, fictional lawbreakers have been both celebrated and vilified in every era. If You Like The Sopranos… provides an illuminating portrait of those elements that came together to create the stellar artistic achievement that is The Sopranos, and it follows the new trails the television show left when it exploded into the cultural consciousness, heralding the arrival of a new era of storytelling.

Sunday 19 4p - Bestselling Novelist RACHEL SIMON speaking & signing The Story of Beautiful Girl
(This novel was an Indiebound & NYT bestseller in hardcover, and recommended by Oprah Winfrey. The paperback edition is expected to have a similar positive reception, particularly among book groups.) A IndieBound and New York Times bestseller and one of Oprah Winfrey's "Ten Titles to Pick Up Now" last summer, The Story of Beautiful Girl, now out in paperback, has been celebrated as a deft combination of love story and story of social accountability. It is 1968. Lynnie, a young white woman with a developmental disability, and Homan, an African American deaf man, are locked away in an institution, the School for the Incurable and Feebleminded. Deeply in love, they escape, and find refuge at the farmhouse of Martha, a retired schoolteacher, where Lynnie gives birth. The same night, authorities catch up to them. Horne escape but Lynnie is caught. And so begins the 40-year epic journey of Lynnie, Homan, Martha, and baby Julia-lives divided by seemingly insurmountable obstacles, yet drawn together by a secret pact and extraordinary love.

***Sunday 19 5p - This Book Could Be Your Life discussing Alan Lomax
Get ready for some rock and roll! Dig into the history of rock and roll, its stars and styles, exploring everything from punk to pop. Bosco and Stephana will satisfy your rock and roll obsession the third Sunday of every month at 5PM. This month's book is Alan Lomax by John Szwed.

***Monday 20 7p - Ludicrous Speed Book Club discussing American Gods
From speculative fiction, deep space adventures, and alternate histories to epic fantasy realms, all who can admit their dorkdom are welcome. Join Joel and Tommy the third Monday of every month at 7PM. This month we will be discussing American Gods by Neil Gaiman.

***Tuesday 21 7p - Nightmare Factory Book Club discussing Exquisite Corpse
H.P. Lovecraft said, "The oldest and strongest emotion of mankind is fear. And the oldest and strongest kind of fear is fear of the unknown." Come join our crypt-keepers, Joe and Steven, every third Tuesday of the month as we help you navigate the bloody byways and diabolic depths of your fears with our horrific book club, The Nightmare Factory. This month's book is Exquisite Corpse by Poppy Z. Brite.

Wednesday 22 7p - UT Professor JEREMI SURI speaking & signing Liberty's Surest Guardian
Americans are a nation-building people, and in Liberty's Surest Guardian, Jeremi Suri—Nobel Fellow and leading light in the next generation of policy makers—looks to America's history to see both what it has to offer failed states around the world and what it should avoid. Suri, rovocative historian and one of Smithsonian magazine's "Top Young Innovators" has mined more than two hundred years of American policy in order to explain the five "P"s of nation-building. He takes on the idea of American exceptionalism and turns it into a playbook for President Obama over the next, vital few years. Jeremi Suri is the Mack Brown Distinguished Professor for Global Leadership, History, and Public Policy at the University of Texas at Austin. He is the author of five books on contemporary politics and foreign policy.

***Thursday 23 5:30p - Happy Hour Book Club at the Highball discussing Life by Keith Richards
What's better than talking about a book with a group of friends? Talking about a book with a group of friends during Happy Hour at The Highball! Come hang out with Mandy and Joel the last Thursday of every month at 5:30PM where we'll discuss books over cocktails. This month's book is Life by Keith Richards.

Thursday 23 7p - Novelist SERE PRINCE HALVERSON speaking & signing The Underside of Joy
(A debut novel that's already receiving high praise from booksellers and will likely be popular with many book group.) Set against the backdrop of Redwood forests and shimmering vineyards, Seré Prince Halverson's compelling debut tells the story of two women, bound by an unspeakable loss, who each claims to be the mother of the same two children. When an ocean wave takes Joe Beene in its swell, he leaves behind his wife, Ella, and the two children from his first marriage, who believe their biological mother, Paige, has abandoned them. When their mother turns up at the funeral demanding her children back, Ella soon realizes there is more to Joe and Paige's relationship than she knew. The Underside of Joy is not a fairy-tale version of stepmotherhood pitting good Ella against evil Paige, but an exploration of the complex relationship of two mothers.

Friday 24 7p - Award Winning Science Fiction & Fantasy Author ELIZABETH MOON speaking & signing Echoes of Betrayal
The action continues fast and furious in this third installment of Elizabeth Moon's celebrated return to the fantasy world of the paladin Paksenarrion Dorthansdotter. This award-winning author has firsthand military experience and an imagination that knows no bounds. Combine those qualities with an ability to craft flesh-and-blood characters, and the result is the kind of speculative fiction that engages both heart and mind. All is not well in the Eight Kingdoms. In Lyonya, King Kieri is about to celebrate marriage to his beloved, the half-elf Arian. But uncanny whispers from the spirits of his ancestors continue to warn of treachery and murder. Meanwhile, in Tsaia, the young king Mikeli must grapple with unrest among his own nobility over his controversial decision to grant the title and estates of a traitorous magelord to a Verrakaien who not only possesses the forbidden magic but is a woman besides. But even greater danger is looming.

***Saturday 25 7p - MysteryPeople Presents Austin Author JOAN HESS speaking & signing Deader Homes and Gardens
Back from her somewhat unusual honeymoon, Claire Malloy must face the harsh reality of life with her new husband, police chief Peter Rosen, and her teenage daughter Caron—three people simply can't fit into her cosy two bedroom apartment. After a week of fruitless looking, she finally finds the perfect place. Then the problems start. The last owner died in circumstances labeled 'accidental' but were actually both 'mysterious' and 'dubious'. When the previous owner's lover dies practically at her feet, Claire decides to take matters into her own hands. After all, to get the house of her dreams, first she has to find a killer. And all's fair in love, war, and real estate.

***Sunday 26 7p - Voyage Out Book Club discussing American Rust
Join Clint and Brian C. the last Sunday of every month as we use wonderful books to travel the world. We are currently discussing books that don't fit in a region, and this month we are reading American Rust by Philipp Meyer.

Monday 27 7p - Award Winning Austin Author ROBERT JACKSON BENNETT speaking & signing his new novel, The Troupe
(Bennett graduated from UT and lives in Austin. Last year he won the Shirley Jackson Award for his previous novel, Mr. Shivers.) Already given a starred review by Publisher's Weekly, Bennett's new novel The Troupe tells the story of George Carole, a run-away who joins the Vaudeville circuit. Sixteen years old, uncommonly gifted at the piano, he falls in with a strange troupe -- even for Vaudeville. Under the watchful eye of the enigmatic figure of Silenus, George comes to realize that the members of the troupe are more than they appear to be. And their travels have a purpose that runs deeper than entertainment.Robert Jackson Bennett was born in Baton Rouge, Louisiana, but grew up in Katy, Texas. A UT alum, he currently lives in Austin and is the author of the novels Mr. Shivers, for which he won the 2011 Shirley Jackson Award, and The Company Man.

***Monday 27 7p - New and Noteworthy Book Club discussing Pulphead
Perhaps more aptly named the "sometimes new/always noteworthy" book club, here is a place to discover recent gems and to revisit old favorites. Come join Kester and Jamie the last Monday of every month at 7PM. This month's book is Pulphead by John Jeremiah Sullivan.

Tuesday 28 6p - Former First Lady of Houston ANDREA WHITE speaking & signing her new YA novel, Windows on the World
(In addition to being the former First Lady of Houston, White is an award-winning YA novelist. While in Austin, she'll visit schools in support of VIVA.) A vocal advocate for literacy and education, Andrea White is also an established and acclaimed author of fiction for Young Adults. In 2004, her novel Surviving Antarctica was selected for many state reading lists, including the Texas Bluebonnet. In 2005 she won a Texas State Reading Association Golden Spur Award. Now, she presents her latest novel, Windows on the World, a futuristic tale for young adults that explores issues of poverty and privilege. She is a proud supporter of VIVA, Virtual Interaction with Visiting Authors, a pilot program in the Houston School District aimed to connect students with local authors so that they can ask questions and interact via web chats and virtual discussions.

Wednesday 29 7p - Bestselling Author of Snowflower and the Secret Fan LISA SEE speaking & signing Dreams of Joy
(Since Snowflower and the Secret Fan, all of Lisa See's novels have been NYT bestsellers. This novel debuted at #1 on the NYT list in hardcover.) In her beloved New York Times bestsellers Snow Flower and the Secret Fan, Peony in Love, and, most recently, Shanghai Girls, Lisa See has brilliantly illuminated the potent bonds of mother love, romantic love, and love of country. Now, in her most powerful novel yet, she returns to these timeless themes, continuing the story of sisters Pearl and May from Shanghai Girls, and Pearl's strong-willed nineteen-year-old daughter, Joy. Dreams of Joy debuted at #1 on the New York Times bestseller list in hardcover. See will be here for the paperback edition.

***Wednesday 29 7p - Hard Word Book Club discussing Cold Shot to the Heart - Author WALLACE STROBY Calling In
Tough stories with hard hombres and dangerous dames, where survival trumps virtue, no matter what side of the law you are on; this is what you'll find in the Hard Word Book Club. Scott and Joe will guide you along the last Wednesday of every month at 7PM. This month's book is Cold Shot to the Heart by Wallace Stroby. Stroby will be calling in, so don't miss this discussion!
--
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Currently Reading What We Talk About When We Talk About Anne Frank by Nathan Englander

BookPeople Weekly Media Update 1/11/12

2012-01-11T14:25:00.001-08:00

BookPeople Events!

For questions about events, contact BookPeople Marketing Director Mandy Brooks at 512.472.4288 x 411 or mandy@bookpeople.com.

Events start at 7PM unless otherwise indicated. List updated Wednesday, January 11.

*** - denotes new event

***Registration for Star Wars Camp closes on January 15. Some spots are still available. Camp Director Topher Bradfield appeared on MSNBC's Rock Center this week to talk about BookPeople's Literary Camps.

***MysteryPeople, BookPeople's mystery bookstore-within-a-bookstore, has expanded to include its own dedicated blog.

JANUARY 2012

Wednesday 11 7p - Austin Musician RUBY DEE PHILIPPA of Ruby Dee and the Snakehandlers speaking & signing Ruby's Juke Joint Americana Cookbook
We'll kick off this event with a live performance by Austin's own Ruby Dee and the Snakehandlers! Whether it's touring with her band Ruby Dee and the Snakehandlers or serving up a backyard barbeque, Ruby Dee always has something cooking. From the first taste of her feisty and spicy sound to the last bite of a crowd pleasing dish, Ruby Dee is making fans rave and crave her winning recipes. Now, Ruby's collected her favorite Americana recipes in a brand new cookbook. She includes everything from a smorgasbord of enticing recipes for appetizers,drinks, special occasion dinners, and sweet farewells; to stories of Americana dishes; to behind-the-scenes slices of life on the road with the band Ruby Dee and the Snakehandlers. The book also comes with a full-length CD that's a mix of lively Americana tunes.

Thursday 12 7p - Acclaimed author of The Wettest County in the World MATT BONDURANT speaking & signing The Night Swimmer.
(Matt Bondurant's previous novel The Wettest County in the World was a New York Times Editor's Pick, one of the San Francisco Chronicle's 50 Best Books of the Year, and is being made into a major motion picture.) The Night Swimmer is an atmospheric tale infused with Hitchcockian suspense. When Fred and Elly Bulkington arrive in a small town on the southern coast of Ireland from Vermont, having won a pub in a contest, they encounter a wild, strange land and the native resistance to outsiders. As Fred immerses himself in the life of a pub-owner, Elly takes the ferry out to a nearby island where she—to the disbelief of the locals—is consumed by her ritual of open water ocean swimming, pushing herself to the limits. Elly becomes enmeshed in the island's troubles—the power struggles between an enigmatic goat herder and the family that has controlled the area for centuries—while Fred's sanity wavers and their marriage begins to unravel. Matt Bondurant's first novel The Third Translation was an international bestseller, translated into 14 languages worldwide. His short fiction has appeared in journals such as Prairie Schooner, The New England Review, and Glimmer Train, among others.

Friday 13 7p - Star of The Blair Witch Project HEATH DONAHUE speaks & signs her new memoir, Growgirl: How My Life After Blair Witch Project Went to Pot
(The star of the international cult sensation The Blair Witch Project shares the high points of living on a marijuana farm post- Hollywood.) At age thirty-four, Heather Donahue's life went to pot. Literally. After starring in The Blair Witch Project-the tiny indie film- turned-blockbuster that Roger Ebert named one of the ten Most Influential Movies of the Century-she became a household name. But the afterglow of the movie waned, her acting career stalled, and she feared the day her epitaph would read, "Here Lies the Girl from The Blair Witch Project." Determined to start a new life, she left most remnants of the old one in the desert, meditated on things for a few days, then followed her brand-new boyfriend to her brand-new life- growing pot.

Saturday 14 11:30am - Special Musical Storytime with Austin Children's Band THE QUE PASTAS
The musical duo that is sweeping Austin with its groovy tunes & silly antics is stopping off at BookPeople for a little show! Come dance and cut loose with some of Austin's most intriguing & goofy musicians for children, Que Pastas! This morning at 11:30AM.

Tuesday 17 10:30am - Special Storytime and Booksigning with NICK BRUEL, Bestselling Author of the Bad Kitty Series of Children's Books
This morning we're having an especially special storytime with author Nick Bruel. He'll be reading his wonderful books featuring your favorite delightfully cranky & naughty feline, Bad Kitty! Not only will Mr. Bruel be here to read books and sign copies you purchase at BookPeople, but we'll have Bad Kitty LIVE (in costume). It will be the place to be this morning at 10:30AM!

Tuesday 17 7p - Bestselling Author of Memoirs of A Beautiful Boy ROBERT LELEUX speaks & signs The Living End.
(The Memoirs of a Beautiful Boy was named The Houston Press's Best Houston Book of the Year for 2008. Leleux is a native of east Texas.) The Living End is a tribute to an unforgettable woman, and a testimony to the way a disease can awaken an urgent desire for love and forgiveness. Robert Leleux's grandmother JoAnn was a steel magnolia, an elegant and devastatingly witty woman: quick-tongued, generous in her affections, but sometimes oddly indifferent to the emotions of those who most needed her. When JoAnn began exhibiting signs of Alzheimer's, she'd been estranged from her daughter, Robert's mother Jessica, for decades. As her disease progressed, JoAnn lost most of her memories, but she also forgot her old wounds and anger. She became a happy, gentler person who was finally able to reach out to her daughter in what became a strangely life-affirming experience, an unexpected blessing that gave a divided family a second chance.

Wednesday 18 7p - MysteryPeople Presents: Bestelling Author TAYLOR STEVENS in conversation with Austin's own Nationally Bestselling Thriller Writer JEFF ABBOTT about Stevens' The Innocent.
(Austin's own nationally bestselling thriller writer Jeff Abbott will lead the conversation at this event. Stevens is a MysteryPeople favorite and a NYT bestselling author with a fascinating personal background, having been raised in a cult.) Born into the Children of God, raised in communes across the globe, and denied an education beyond the sixth grade, Taylor Stevens broke free of the cult in order to follow hope and a vague idea of what possibilities lay beyond. She's now a writer living in Texas, whose first novel, The Informationist, was a New York Times bestseller. She'll be here in conversation with Jeff Abbott, bestselling author of Adrenaline, about her second thriller, The Innocent. This latest Vanessa Munroe thriller tells the story of five year old Hannah, who was taken into the world of a cult known as The Chosen. For eight years, followers of The Prophet have hidden the child, moving her from country to country, shielding the man who stole her. Now, those who've searched the longest know where to find her. They are childhood survivors of The Chosen, thirty-somethings born and raised inside the cult who've managed to make lives for themselves on the outside. They understand the mindset, the culture within that world, and turn to Vanessa Michael Munroe for help, knowing that the only possibility of stealing Hannah back and getting her safely out of Argentina is to trust someone who doesn't trust them, and get Munroe on the inside.

Thursday 19 7p - Bestselling & Award-Winning Author LUIS ALBERTO URREA speaks & signs Queen of America.
(Urrea is a BookPeople favorite with an active online presence and tremendous following, and is nationally recognized as an achieved literary author. He was recently featured on NPR.) The remarkable heroine of The Hummingbird's Daughter makes a welcome return in an epic novel of love, loss and miracles in America. Queen of America is based on Luis Urrea's real great-aunt Teresita, who had healing powers and was acclaimed as a saint. Urrea extensively researched historical accounts and family records for decades to get the true story. He recounts a spell-binding tale: After the bloody Tomochic rebellion, Teresita Urrea, beloved healer and "Saint of Cabora," flees with her father to Arizona. But their plans are derailed when she once again is claimed as the spiritual leader of the Mexican Revolution. Besieged by pilgrims and pursued by assassins, Teresita embarks on a journey through turn-of-the-century industrial America-stopping in New York, San Francisco, and St. Louis.

Friday 20 7p - In cooperation with edibleAustin magazine, Assoc. Prof of Women's & Gender Studies at UT ELIZABETH ENGELHARDT speaks & signs Mess of Greens: Southern Gender and Southern Food.
Combining the study of food culture with gender studies and using perspectives from historical, literary, environmental, and American studies, Elizabeth S. D. Engelhardt examines what southern women's choices about food tell us about race, class, gender, and social power. Panelists at this event will include special guests Carol Ann Sayle from Boggy Creek Farm, Stephanie McClenny of confituras, and Lara Nixon of Bad Dog Bar Craft. Enjoy special tastings inspired by the book along with Saint Arnold Brewing Company beverages.

Saturday 21 12p - Children's Author JAN BOZARTH speaking & signing Fairy Godmother Academy Book #5: Sumi's Book
Put on your wings and sprinkle on some fairy dust, because we have a magical event coming for you with one of BookPeople's bestselling authors, Jan Bozarth! More magic and adventure await in this latest Fairy Godmother Academy story. Sumi Hara loves fashion. She always looks beautiful, and always wears the perfect outfit. When she arrives in Aventurine, Sumi is thrilled to learn that she's a shape-shifter.Unfortunately, she's not very good at shape-shifting yet, so she's given a guide named Kano—who's distractingly gorgeous in his human form. When they find out that an evil fairy queen holds the final mirror shard needed to complete their mission, Sumi will have to discover what true beauty and perfection are.

Saturday 21 4p - Award-Winning Debut Novelist & Former Austinite KEIJA PARSSINEN speaks & signs The Ruins of Us.
Saudi-born author Keija Parssinen's stunning debut offers the intricate, emotionally resonant story of an American expatriate who discovers that her husband, a Saudi billionaire, has taken a second bride—an emotionally turbulent revelation that blinds them both to their teenaged son's ominous first steps down the road of radicalization. Readers who enjoyed The Septembers of Shiraz will enjoy Parssinen's story of love and betrayal, fundamentalism, family and country in the Middle East. Keija Parssinen was born in Saudi Arabia and lived there for twelve years as a third-generation expatriate. She also grew up in Lakeway/Lake Travis and lived for many years in Austin. The Ruins of Us, her first novel, received a Michener-Copernicus Award.

Saturday 21 7p - OFF SITE: BookPeople Hosts Bestselling YA Author JOHN GREEN at Westlake Performing Arts Center to speak & sign The Fault In Our Stars.
(John Green has a MASSIVE and loyal online following. Tickets for this event went on sale Fri 12/9 and we've already sold hundreds. He's one of the biggest YA authors writing right now and built significant anticipation among his fans for this new book.) We are absolutely thrilled to be able to bring the one and only John Green to Austin to speak & sign his brand new, highly anticipated book, The Fault In Our Stars! This event will take place at Westlake Performing Arts Center (4100 Westbank Drive, Austin). Tickets are required to attend this event and and cost $25, which includes one signed copy of The Fault In Our Stars and entitles the bearer to one seat at the event. Signed books will be distributed at Westlake Community Performing Arts Center the evening of the event. The event begins at 7p, and doors will open at 6p. Tickets can be purchased three ways: in-store; over the phone (512-472-5050); or online (http:www.bookpeople.com).

Sunday 22 3p - Award Winning Author JAMES CARLOS BLAKE speaks & signs Country of the Bad Wolfes.
A master of the historical novel, James Carlos Blake has been hailed as "a poet of the damned who writes like an angel." (Kirkus Reviews) In Country of the Bad Wolfes, based in part on his own ancestors, Blake presents the story of the Wolfe family—a saga that spans three generations, centers on two sets of identical twins and the women they love, and ranges from New England to the heart of Mexico before concluding in South Texas. James Carlos Blake was born in Mexico and grew up in Texas and Florida. He is the author of nine other novels and a collection of short works . Among his literary honors are the Los Angeles Times Book Prize, the Southwest Book Award, and the Falcon Award.

Monday 23 7p - Local Author Night featuring Jerry Butler & M. E. Patterson
We love our local authors here at BookPeople, and tonight we're pleased to have with us two local Austin writers who will present their work. Jerry Brown will present Wine and Spirit: A Christian's Guide to Enjoying Wine. With passion and a light-hearted spirit, WINE & SPIRIT is a quick, basic guide for everyone who wants to know what the Bible really says about wine. M. E. Patterson will present Devil's Hand. A Las Vegas poker ace with supernatural luck is swept into a world-ending conflict between fallen angels and otherworldly shades, in this thrilling new novel. (This event will happen on our third floor.)

Monday 23 7p - Bestselling YA Authors JAY ASHER & CAROLYN MACKLER speak & sign The Future of Us.
(Jay Asher's previous novel, Thirteen Reasons Why, was a #1 NYT bestseller and continues to be a bestselling book at our store. He and Mackler are two of today's most popular YA authors. The release of this book has garnered extensive media coverage. The book has already been optioned for a film by Warner Bros.) YA lovers, get ready for a very cool event! Tonight we are a very lucky bookstore, indeed, to welcome Jay Asher, author of the #1 New York Times bestseller Thirteen Reasons Why, and bestselling author Carolyn Macker to BookPeople with their new novel, The Future of Us. It's 1996, and less than half of all American high school students have ever used the Internet. Emma just got her first computer and an America Online CD-ROM. Josh is her best friend. They power up and log on--and discover themselves on Facebook, fifteen years in the future. Everybody wonders what their Destiny will be. Josh and Emma are about to find out.

Tuesday 24 7p - Award Winning Fiction Writer BEN MARCUS speaks & signs his new novel, The Flame Alphabet.
(Ben Marcus is a major modern literary figure. His stories have been widely published and have earned him three Pushcart Prizes.) A terrible epidemic has struck the country and the sound of children's speech has become lethal. All Sam and Claire need to do is look around the neighborhood: In the park, parents wither beneath the powerful screams of their children.With Claire nearing collapse, it seems their only means of survival is to flee from their daughter, Esther. But Sam and Claire find it isn't so easy to leave the daughter they still love, even as they waste away from her malevolent speech. The Flame Alphabet asks, What is left of civilization when we lose the ability to communicate with those we love? Ben Marcus is the author of Notable American Women and The Age of Wire and String. His stories have appeared in The New Yorker, Harper's, The Paris Review, Tin House, and elsewhere. In addition to three Pushcart Prizes, he is also the recipient of a Whiting Writers Award, a National Endowment for the Arts grant, and an award from the American Academy of Arts and Letters. He is a Professor of Creative Writing at Columbia University.

Wednesday 25 7p - Hard Word Book Club discussing Death Along the Spirit Road by Margaret Coel.
Tough stories with hard hombres and dangerous dames, where survival trumps virtue, no matter what side of the law you are on; this is what you'll find in the Hard Word Book Club. Scott and Joe will guide you along the last Wednesday of every month at 7PM. This month's book is Death Along the Spirit Road by C.M. Wendelboe. Wendelboe will be calling in, so don't miss this discussion!

Wednesday 25 7p - KUT Radio Host & Musician KIM SIMPSON speaks & signs Early 70's Radio: The American Format Revolution.
The host of The International Folk Bazaar on Austin's KOOP-FM and co-host for Folkways on KUT 90.5 FM has written a comprehensive book that focuses on the emergence of commercial music radio "formats," which refer to distinct musical genres aimed toward specific audiences. This formatting revolution took place in a period rife with heated politics, identity anxiety, large-scale disappointments and seemingly insoluble social problems. A fresh and accessible exercise in audience interpretation, Early '70s Radio is organized according to the era's five prominent formats and analyzes each of these in relation to their targeted demographics, including Top 40, "soft rock", album-oriented rock, soul and country.

Thursday 26 5:30p - Happy Hour at the Highball Book Club discussing Under the Banner of Heaven by Jon Krakauer.
What's better than talking about a book with a group of friends? Talking about a book with a group of friends during Happy Hour at The HighBall! Come hang out with Mandy and Joel the last Thursday of every month at 5:30PM where we'll discuss books over cocktails. This month's book is Under the Banner of Heaven by Jon Krakauer.

Thursday 26 7p - Panel Discussion Presenting Three Messages and A Warning: Contemporary Mexican Short Stories of the Fantastic.
Editors Chris N. Brown and Eduardo Jiménez Mayo, and featured authors Bernardo Fernández and Pepe Rojo will celebrate, the publication of Three Messages and a Warning: Contemporary Mexican Short Stories of the Fantastic at BookPeople with a reading, discussion, and audience Q&A. This huge anthology of more than thirty all-original Mexican science fiction and fantasy features ghost stories, supernatural folktales, alien incursions, and apocalyptic narratives, as well as science-based chronicles of highly unusual mental states in which the borders of fantasy and reality reach unprecedented levels of ambiguity. Stereotypes of Mexican identity are explored and transcended by the thoroughly cosmopolitan consciousnesses underlying these works.

Friday 27 7p - MysteryPeople Presents: International Bestselling Author R. J. ELLORY speaking & signing A Quiet Vendetta.
(R. J. Ellory is a huge thriller writer in the UK, on par with James Patterson, Lee Child, and similar writers here in the states.) MysteryPeople is thrilled to welcome R.J. Ellory to Austin! The author of eight novels, including the bestselling A Quiet Belief in Angels, which was the Strand Magazine's Thriller of the Year, nominated for the Barry Award, and a finalist for the SIBA Award, Ellory will be here with his novel A Quiet Vendetta. In addition to speaking and signing, Ellory, who is also a musician, will perform at this event. When Catherine Ducane disappears in the heart of New Orleans, the local cops react rapidly - she is the daughter of the Governor of Louisiana after all. But the case gets very strange, very quickly. Quickly dragged down to the deep South, Ray Hartmann puzzles over why he has been summoned and why the mysterious kidnapper, an elderly Cuban named Ernesto Perez, wants to tell him his life story. It's only when he realises that Ernesto has been a brutal hitman for the Mob since the 1950s that things start to come together. But by the time the pieces fall into place, it's already too late...

Saturday 28 7:30p - Bestselling Author DANIEL HANDLER & Acclaimed Illustrator MAIRA KALMAN speaking & signing Why We Broke Up.
Bestselling author of, among other things, the Lemony Snicket series of books, Daniel Handler has teamed up with renowned artist Maira Kalman to create this wonderful new YA book that delves into that most painful of human experiences - The Break Up. In Why We Broke Up, Min and Ed are breaking up, so Min is writing Ed a letter and giving him a box. Each item in the box represents a different moment in their relationship, and is illustrated by the incredibly talented Maira Kalman. The book inspired Handler and Kalman to create The Why We Broke Up Project, whose tumblr account (http://whywebrokeupproject.tumblr.com/) invites people to share their own break-up stories. In January, BookPeople will create a correlating in-store display wall inviting Austinites to anonymously share their own break-up stories.

Sunday 29 5p - Voyage Out Book Club discussing The Tiger's Wife.
Join Clint and Brian C. the last Sunday of every month at 5PM as we use wonderful books to travel the world. We're actually taking a break from a specific region at the moment, and instead choosing to read books on our "to read" list. This month we are reading The Tiger's Wife by Tea Obreht. (Due to the Christmas holiday, we have 2 meeting dates in January. The first date is 1/1, the second is 1/29.)

Monday 30 7p - New and Noteworthy Book Club discussing A Prayer for Owen Meany by John Irving.
Perhaps more aptly named the "sometimes new/always noteworthy" book club, here is a place to discover recent gems and to revisit old favorites. Come join Kester and Jamie the last Monday of every month at 7PM. This month's book is A Prayer for Owen Meany by John Irving.

Monday 30 7p - Vietnam Historian & US Military Academy Graduate LEWIS SORLEY speaking & signing Westmoreland: The General Who Lost Vietnam
In this definitive new biography, leading military Vietnam historian Lewis Sorley asks the question: Is General William Westmoreland the real reason the Vietnam War was lost? How did he get there, why did he fail, and how did he last so long? An Eagle Scout at fifteen, First Captain of his West Point class, Westmoreland fought in World War II and Korea, rising rapidly to command the 101st Airborne Division and become Superintendent at West Point, then was chosen to lead the war effort in Vietnam. Sorley examines how he failed to understand a complex war, choosing a flawed strategy, sticking to it in the face of all opposition, and misrepresenting the results when truth mattered most. In so doing he squandered four years of support by Congress, much of the media, and the American people. Lewis Sorley served in Vietnam, and in the Pentagon in the offices of Secretary of Defense James R. Schlesinger and Army Chief of Staff General William C. Westmoreland. He also taught at West Point and the Army War College.

FEBRUARY

***Friday 3 7p - LOCAL AUTHOR NIGHT featuring L. AUDEL CAYCE & BRUCE MARSHALL
We love our local authors here at BookPeople, and tonight we're pleased to have with us two local Austin writers who will present their work. L. AUDEL CAYCE will present Windland's Rescue, a coming of age tale with a cast of characters that span time and galaxies; energy grids and traveling portals. BRUCE MARSHALL will present City of Silver, a tale, based on a true story, of a Confederate officer from Texas and an Irish-born deserter fromt he American Army during the Mexican War struggling to defend the silver mines of Alamos while the Imperial regime of Emperor Maximillion of Mexico and the Republicans under Juarez battle for it.

***Saturday 4 7p - Novelist JACQUELINE LUCKETT in conversation with Acclaimed Literary Author ZZ PACKER
(ZZ Packer will lead the discussion this evening. This is the second event in our new series with American Short Fiction.) BookPeople and American Short Fiction literary magazine are proud to join together to host an evening with notable literary author and current Austinite ZZ PACKER and novelist JACQUELINE LUCKETT at BookPeople. ZZ Packer, author of the acclaimed short story collection Drinking Coffee Elsewhere,has been named one of America's Best Young Novelists by Granta literary magazine, and recognized as one The New Yorker's elite list of "20 Under 40" writers. As a literary author of extreme merit, Packer has let it be known that, "Luckett is a writer to watch and admire." A fan and supporter of Luckett's work, Packer will lead the conversation about Luckett's new novel, Passing Love, at this event. Luckett is also the author of the novel Searching for Tina Turner.

***Tuesday 7 7p - RANDY FERTEL speaking & signing The Gorilla Man and the Empress of Steak: A New Orleans Family Memoir
(Fertel is the son of the woman who founded Ruth's Chris Steakhouse. The book tells her story, and the story of his father, both colorful New Orleans characters.) The Gorilla Man and the Empress of Steak is the story of two larger-than-life characters and the son whom their lives helped to shape. Ruth Fertel was a petite, smart, tough-as-nails blonde, who founded the Ruth's Chris Steak House empire. Rodney Fertel was a gold-plated, one-of-a-kind personality, who ran for mayor of New Orleans on a single campaign promise--buying a pair of gorillas for the zoo. This is a New Orleans story, featuring the distinctive characters, color, food, and history of that city--before Hurricane Katrina and after. But it also is the universal story of family and the full magnitude of outsize follies leavened with equal measures of humor, rage, and rue.

***Wednesday 8 7p - Party for the Winners of the Austin Chronicle Short Story Contest
You are invited to hear the first, second, and third place winners of the Twentieth Annual Austin Chronicle Short Story Contest read their short stories tonight at a special reception and party! Honorable mentions will also be announced. All the manuscripts submitted were the original work of the contestants and have never been published. Be the first one to hear them tonight at 7PM!

***Thursday 9 7p - JAMES SCURLOCK speaking & signing King Larry: The Life and Ruins of a Billionaire Genius
James Scurlock tells the riveting story of Larry Hillblom, who, after graduating from Boalt Hall School of Law in 1969, cofounded DHL. Hillblom's expatriate life began twelve years later, when he retreated to a small tax haven in the Western Pacific. There, Scurlock reveals, Hillblom led the resistance to American meddling in the Mariana Islands, rewrote the tax code and real-estate laws, and became a Supreme Court justice—among other unlikely exploits. When his seaplane disappeared off the coast of Anatahan in May 1995, he left behind an estate worth close to a billion dollars. Weeks later, five impoverished women and their attorneys came forward to challenge Hillblom's will, provoking a legal battle that has raged for over fifteen years. Scurlock has written for numerous publications, including Slate, Newsweek, The Huffington Post, and AARP Magazine. He has also appeared on numerous programs, including Nightline, The Today Show, and CNBC's Power Lunch.

***Friday 10 7p - My Vicious Valentine: Spine-Tingling YA Panel
Moderated by Sean Petrie, six top YA authors dish on the devilish, gab about ghosts, and soar with the angels in this panel celebrating spine-tingling stories, supernatural creatures, and perhaps scariest of all, true love. Featuring authors: Rosemary Clement-Moore, Jordan Dane, P. J. Hoover, Mari Mancusi, Cynthia Leitich Smith, LA Weatherly.

***Saturday 11 7p - StoryCorps Founder DAVE ISAY speaking & signing All There Is: Love Stories from StoryCorps
(There's a StoryCorps van parked outside of the Bob Bullock Museum through the beginning of Feb. There will be heavy support for this book on NPR. Previous StoryCorps collections have all been NYT bestsellers.) With Valentine's Day only a few days away, love of all types - true, unrequited, lost and found - is in the air. Join us this evening when Dave Isay shares stories of love and marriage from the revolutionary oral history project StoryCorps, revealing the many and remarkable paths that relationships can take. As the storytellers in this book start careers, build homes, and raise families, we witness the life-affirming joy of partnership, the comfort of shared sorrows, and profound gratitude in the face of loss. These stories are also testament to love's remarkable endurance.Dave Isay is the founder of StoryCorps and the recipient of numerous broadcasting honors, including five Peabody Awards and a MacArthur "Genius" Fellowship.

***Wednesday 15 7p - Football Star & New York Times Bestselling Author MICHAEL OHER speaking & signing I Beat the Odds: From Homelessness, to the Blind Side, and Beyond
(The hit book/film The Blind Side is based on Oher's life. This memoir hit the NYT bestseller in hardcover.) Michael Lewis' bestselling book The Blind Side, turned into a blockbuster film starring Sandra Bullock, made Michael Oher a household name by sharing his inspirational story of going from homeless teen to football star. In I Beat the Odds, Oher tells his own story, looking back on how he went from being a homeless child in Memphis to playing in the NFL. He talks about the goals he had to break out of the cycle of poverty, addiction, and hopelessness that trapped his family, and describes the absolute necessity of seeking out positive role models and good friends who share the same values to achieve one's dreams. Michael Oher is an American football offensive tackle for the Baltimore Ravens of the National Football League.

***Friday 17 7p - Bestselling Science Fiction & Fantasy Author ROBIN HOBB speaking & signing City of Dragons
(Hobb also writes as Megan Lindholm. She's won the Asimov's Reader's Award and has been a finalist for a Nebula and Hugo Award.) New York Times bestselling author Robin Hobb returns to the world of the Rain Wilds—called "one of the most gripping settings in modern fantasy" (Booklist)—in City of Dragons. Continuing the enthralling journey she began in her acclaimed Dragon Keeper and Dragon Haven, Hobb rejoins a small group of weak, half-formed and unwanted dragons and their displaced human companions as they search for a legendary sanctuary. Now, as the misfit band approaches its final destination, dragons and keepers alike face a challenge so insurmountable that it threatens to render their long, difficult odyssey utterly meaningless.

***Saturday 18 4p - MysteryPeople Presents HILARY DAVIDSON speaking & signing The Next One to Fall
Hilary Davidson's The Damage Done — called a "razor sharp mystery debut" by Publishers Weekly — won the 2011 Anthony Award for Best First Novel and the Crimespree Award for Best First Novel. In her latest novel, travel writer Lily Moore discovers a woman clinging to life at the bottom of an ancient stone staircase at Machu Picchu. Just before the woman dies, she tells Lily the name of the man who pushed her. Unable to accept the official ruling of accidental death, Lily hunts down the wealthy man who was the dead woman's traveling companion and discovers a pattern of dead and missing women in his wake. Obsessed with getting justice for these women, Lily sets in motion a violent chain of events with devastating consequences.

***Sunday 19 4p - Bestselling Novelist RACHEL SIMON speaking & signing The Story of Beautiful Girl
(This novel was an Indiebound & NYT bestseller in hardcover, and recommended by Oprah Winfrey. The paperback edition is expected to have a similar positive reception, particularly among book groups.) A IndieBound and New York Times bestseller and one of Oprah Winfrey's "Ten Titles to Pick Up Now" last summer, The Story of Beautiful Girl, now out in paperback, has been celebrated as a deft combination of love story and story of social accountability. It is 1968. Lynnie, a young white woman with a developmental disability, and Homan, an African American deaf man, are locked away in an institution, the School for the Incurable and Feebleminded. Deeply in love, they escape, and find refuge at the farmhouse of Martha, a retired schoolteacher, where Lynnie gives birth. The same night, authorities catch up to them. Horne escape but Lynnie is caught. And so begins the 40-year epic journey of Lynnie, Homan, Martha, and baby Julia-lives divided by seemingly insurmountable obstacles, yet drawn together by a secret pact and extraordinary love.

***Wednesday 22 7p - UT Professor JEREMI SURI speaking & signing Liberty's Surest Guardian
Americans are a nation-building people, and in Liberty's Surest Guardian, Jeremi Suri—Nobel Fellow and leading light in the next generation of policy makers—looks to America's history to see both what it has to offer failed states around the world and what it should avoid. Suri, rovocative historian and one of Smithsonian magazine's "Top Young Innovators" has mined more than two hundred years of American policy in order to explain the five "P"s of nation-building. He takes on the idea of American exceptionalism and turns it into a playbook for President Obama over the next, vital few years. Jeremi Suri is the Mack Brown Distinguished Professor for Global Leadership, History, and Public Policy at the University of Texas at Austin. He is the author of five books on contemporary politics and foreign policy.

***Thursday 23 7p - Novelist SERE PRINCE HALVERSON speaking & signing The Underside of Joy
(A debut novel that's already receiving high praise from booksellers and will likely be popular with many book group.) Set against the backdrop of Redwood forests and shimmering vineyards, Seré Prince Halverson's compelling debut tells the story of two women, bound by an unspeakable loss, who each claims to be the mother of the same two children. When an ocean wave takes Joe Beene in its swell, he leaves behind his wife, Ella, and the two children from his first marriage, who believe their biological mother, Paige, has abandoned them. When their mother turns up at the funeral demanding her children back, Ella soon realizes there is more to Joe and Paige's relationship than she knew. The Underside of Joy is not a fairy-tale version of stepmotherhood pitting good Ella against evil Paige, but an exploration of the complex relationship of two mothers.

***Friday 24 7p - Award Winning Science Fiction & Fantasy Author ELIZABETH MOON speaking & signing Echoes of Betrayal
The action continues fast and furious in this third installment of Elizabeth Moon's celebrated return to the fantasy world of the paladin Paksenarrion Dorthansdotter. This award-winning author has firsthand military experience and an imagination that knows no bounds. Combine those qualities with an ability to craft flesh-and-blood characters, and the result is the kind of speculative fiction that engages both heart and mind. All is not well in the Eight Kingdoms. In Lyonya, King Kieri is about to celebrate marriage to his beloved, the half-elf Arian. But uncanny whispers from the spirits of his ancestors continue to warn of treachery and murder. Meanwhile, in Tsaia, the young king Mikeli must grapple with unrest among his own nobility over his controversial decision to grant the title and estates of a traitorous magelord to a Verrakaien who not only possesses the forbidden magic but is a woman besides. But even greater danger is looming.

***Monday 27 7p - Award Winning Austin Author ROBERT JACKSON BENNETT speaking & signing his new novel, The Troupe
(Bennett graduated from UT and lives in Austin. Last year he won the Shirley Jackson Award for his previous novel, Mr. Shivers.) Already given a starred review by Publisher's Weekly, Bennett's new novel The Troupe tells the story of George Carole, a run-away who joins the Vaudeville circuit. Sixteen years old, uncommonly gifted at the piano, he falls in with a strange troupe -- even for Vaudeville. Under the watchful eye of the enigmatic figure of Silenus, George comes to realize that the members of the troupe are more than they appear to be. And their travels have a purpose that runs deeper than entertainment.Robert Jackson Bennett was born in Baton Rouge, Louisiana, but grew up in Katy, Texas. A UT alum, he currently lives in Austin and is the author of the novels Mr. Shivers, for which he won the 2011 Shirley Jackson Award, and The Company Man.

***Tuesday 28 6p - Former First Lady of Houston ANDREA WHITE speaking & signing her new YA novel, Windows on the World
(In addition to being the former First Lady of Houston, White is an award-winning YA novelist. While in Austin, she'll visit schools in support of VIVA.) A vocal advocate for literacy and education, Andrea White is also an established and acclaimed author of fiction for Young Adults. In 2004, her novel Surviving Antarctica was selected for many state reading lists, including the Texas Bluebonnet. In 2005 she won a Texas State Reading Association Golden Spur Award. Now, she presents her latest novel, Windows on the World, a futuristic tale for young adults that explores issues of poverty and privilege. She is a proud supporter of VIVA, Virtual Interaction with Visiting Authors, a pilot program in the Houston School District aimed to connect students with local authors so that they can ask questions and interact via web chats and virtual discussions.

***Wednesday 29 7p - Bestselling Author of Snowflower and the Secret Fan LISA SEE speaking & signing Dreams of Joy
(Since Snowflower and the Secret Fan, all of Lisa See's novels have been NYT bestsellers. This novel debuted at #1 on the NYT list in hardcover.) In her beloved New York Times bestsellers Snow Flower and the Secret Fan, Peony in Love, and, most recently, Shanghai Girls, Lisa See has brilliantly illuminated the potent bonds of mother love, romantic love, and love of country. Now, in her most powerful novel yet, she returns to these timeless themes, continuing the story of sisters Pearl and May from Shanghai Girls, and Pearl's strong-willed nineteen-year-old daughter, Joy. Dreams of Joy debuted at #1 on the New York Times bestseller list in hardcover. See will be here for the paperback edition.

--
Julie Wernersbach
Publicist
BookPeople
603 N. Lamar Blvd
Austin, TX 78703
http://www.bookpeople.com
BP Facebook
BP Twitter
BP Blog

Currently Reading What We Talk About When We Talk About Anne Frank by Nathan Englander

BookPeople February Event Press Releases

2012-01-09T09:08:00.001-08:00

Full press releases for select BookPeople February events attached. Summaries below:

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE CONTACT: MANDY BROOKS
MONDAY, JANUARY 9, 2012 mandy@bookpeople.com 512-472-5050

IN COOPERATION WITH AMERICAN SHORT FICTION MAGAZINE: AWARD-WINNING AUTHOR ZZ PACKER TO INTERVIEW NOVELIST JACQUELINE LUCKETT AT BOOKPEOPLE

BookPeople and American Short Fiction literary magazine are proud to host an evening with notable literary author and current Austinite ZZ PACKER and novelist JACQUELINE LUCKETT at BookPeople on Saturday, February 4th, 7pm.

ZZ Packer, author of the acclaimed short story collection Drinking Coffee Elsewhere,has been named one of America's Best Young Novelists by Granta literary magazine, and recognized as one The New Yorker's elite list of "20 Under 40" writers. As a literary author of extreme merit, Packer has let it be known that, "Luckett is a writer to watch and admire." A fan and supporter of Luckett's work, Packer will lead the conversation about Luckett's new novel, Passing Love, at this event.

Jacqueline Luckett first made her way to the national spotlight when O Magazine featured the writing group she founded, The Finish Party, seven women writers-of-color who provide support for each other's writing process, in an issue. Her first novel, Searching for Tina Turner, is now in paperback.

This event is free and open to the public. All books signed at BookPeople events must be purchased from BookPeople.

###

STORYCORPS FOUNDER DAVE ISAY TO READ AT BOOKPEOPLE

StoryCorps founder and bestselling author DAVE ISAY will speak and sign his new book, All There Is: Love Stories from StoryCorps (Penguin; $24.95; 2/2/12) at BookPeople on Saturday, February 11th, 7pm.

Since 2003, the nonprofit organization StoryCorps has been traveling the country with the mission to record and preserve Americans' stories. Each conversation is recorded on a free CD to share, and is preserved at the American Folklife Center at the Library of Congress. Each week, millions of people tune in to NPR's Morning Edition to hear the stories broadcast. Right now, StoryCorps is parked outside of Austin's own Bob Bullock Texas State History Museum to record the stories of Central Texans and continue to create an invaluable archive of American voices, wisdom and experience for future generations. Now Isay brings the latest StoryCorps collection, All There Is: Love Stories from StoryCorps to Austin.

This event is free and open to the public. All books signed at BookPeople events must be purchased from BookPeople.

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BLIND SIDE FOOTBALL STAR MICHAEL OHER TO APPEAR AT BOOKPEOPLE

Football star and New York Times bestselling author MICHAEL OHER will speak and sign his memoir, now in paperback, I Beat the Odds: From Homelessness to the Blind Side, and Beyond (Gotham Books; $16.00; 2/7/12) at BookPeople on Wednesday, February 15th, 7pm.

Michael Lewis' bestselling book The Blind Side, turned into a blockbuster film starring Sandra Bullock, made Michael Oher a household name by sharing his inspirational story of going from homeless teen to football star. In I Beat the Odds, Oher tells his own story, looking back on how he went from being a homeless child in Memphis to playing in the NFL.

This event is free and open to the public. All books signed at BookPeople events must be purchased from BookPeople.

###

FORMER FIRST LADY OF HOUSTON ANDREA WHITE TO PRESENT NEW YOUNG ADULT NOVEL AT BOOKPEOPLE

Award-winning author and former First Lady of Houston ANDREA WHITE will speak and sign her new novel for Young Adults, Windows on the World (Namelos; $18.95) at BookPeople on Tuesday, February 28th, 6pm.

A vocal advocate for literacy and education, Andrea White is also an established and acclaimed author of fiction for Young Adults. In 2004, her novel Surviving Antarctica was selected for many state reading lists, including the Texas Bluebonnet. In 2005 she won a Texas State Reading Association Golden Spur Award. Now, she presents her latest novel, Windows on the World, a futuristic tale that explores issues of poverty and privilege.

This event is free and open to the public. All books signed at BookPeople events must be purchased from BookPeople.

###

BESTSELLING AUTHOR LISA SEE TO READ AT BOOKPEOPLE

New York Times Bestselling author of Snowflower and the Secret Fan LISA SEE will speak and sign her latest novel, now out in paperback, Dreams of Joy (Random House; $15.00; 2/7/12) at BookPeople on Wednesday, February 29th, 7pm.

With the publication of Snowflower and the Secret Fan in 2005, Lisa See became a fixture on the New York Times bestseller list and on the reading lists of book groups across the country. Since then, her novels (Peony in Love; Shanghai Girls), which explore the lives of Chinese women across the centuries, have each been bestsellers. See digs deep into the heritage of her own Chinese-American family to create these stories, which explore bonds of mother love, romantic love and love of country.

Her latest novel, Dreams of Joy, debuted at #1 on the New York Times bestseller list. The novel returns to the story of sisters Pearl and May from Shanghai Girls, and Pearl's strong-willed nineteen-year-old daughter, Joy.

This event is free and open to the public. All books signed at BookPeople events must be purchased from BookPeople.

###

--
Julie Wernersbach
Publicist
BookPeople
603 N. Lamar Blvd
Austin, TX 78703
http://www.bookpeople.com
BP Facebook
BP Twitter
BP Blog

Currently Reading A Partial History of Lost Causes by Jennifer Dubois

BookPeople Weekly Media Update 1/4/12

2012-01-04T11:40:00.000-08:00

BookPeople Events!

For questions about events, contact BookPeople Marketing Director Mandy Brooks at 512.472.4288 x 411 or mandy@bookpeople.com.

Events start at 7PM unless otherwise indicated. List updated Wednesday, January 4.

*** - denotes new event

JANUARY 2012

Wednesday 4 7p - UT Psychology Professor ART MARKMAN speaking & signing Smart Thinking: Three Essential Keys to Solve Problems, Innovate, and Get Things Done
Drawing on diverse studies of the mind, from psychology to linguistics, philosophy, and learning science, Art Markman, Ph.D., demonstrates the difference between "smart thinking" and raw intelligence, showing readers how memory works, how to learn effectively, and how to use knowledge to get things done. He then introduces his own three-part formula for readers to employ "smart thinking" in their daily lives. Art Markman is the Annabel Irion Worsham Centennial Professor of Psychology and Marketing at the University of Texas at Austin. He got his ScB from Brown University and his PhD from the University of Illinois. Before coming to the University of Texas, Art taught at Northwestern University and Columbia University.

Sunday 8 2p - Required Reading Revisited Book Club discussing The Brothers Karamazov by Fyodor Dostoevsky.
Remember those books you were required to read in school? Required Reading Revisited is a chance to take a second (or first) look at some of the books you were made to read in school. Meeting the second Sunday of every month at 2PM, this month's title is The Brothers Karamazov by Fyodor Dostoevsky.

Wednesday 11 7p - Austin Musician RUBY DEE PHILIPPA of Ruby Dee and the Snakehandlers speaking & signing Ruby's Juke Joint Americana Cookbook
We'll kick off this event with a live performance by Austin's own Ruby Dee and the Snakehandlers! Whether it's touring with her band Ruby Dee and the Snakehandlers or serving up a backyard barbeque, Ruby Dee always has something cooking. From the first taste of her feisty and spicy sound to the last bite of a crowd pleasing dish, Ruby Dee is making fans rave and crave her winning recipes. Now, Ruby's collected her favorite Americana recipes in a brand new cookbook. She includes everything from a smorgasbord of enticing recipes for appetizers,drinks, special occasion dinners, and sweet farewells; to stories of Americana dishes; to behind-the-scenes slices of life on the road with the band Ruby Dee and the Snakehandlers. The book also comes with a full-length CD that's a mix of lively Americana tunes.

Thursday 12 7p - Acclaimed author of The Wettest County in the World MATT BONDURANT speaking & signing The Night Swimmer.
(Matt Bondurant's previous novel The Wettest County in the World was a New York Times Editor's Pick, one of the San Francisco Chronicle's 50 Best Books of the Year, and is being made into a major motion picture.) The Night Swimmer is an atmospheric tale infused with Hitchcockian suspense. When Fred and Elly Bulkington arrive in a small town on the southern coast of Ireland from Vermont, having won a pub in a contest, they encounter a wild, strange land and the native resistance to outsiders. As Fred immerses himself in the life of a pub-owner, Elly takes the ferry out to a nearby island where she—to the disbelief of the locals—is consumed by her ritual of open water ocean swimming, pushing herself to the limits. Elly becomes enmeshed in the island's troubles—the power struggles between an enigmatic goat herder and the family that has controlled the area for centuries—while Fred's sanity wavers and their marriage begins to unravel. Matt Bondurant's first novel The Third Translation was an international bestseller, translated into 14 languages worldwide. His short fiction has appeared in journals such as Prairie Schooner, The New England Review, and Glimmer Train, among others.

Friday 13 7p - Star of The Blair Witch Project HEATH DONAHUE speaks & signs her new memoir, Growgirl: How My Life After Blair Witch Project Went to Pot
(The star of the international cult sensation The Blair Witch Project shares the high points of living on a marijuana farm post- Hollywood.) At age thirty-four, Heather Donahue's life went to pot. Literally. After starring in The Blair Witch Project-the tiny indie film- turned-blockbuster that Roger Ebert named one of the ten Most Influential Movies of the Century-she became a household name. But the afterglow of the movie waned, her acting career stalled, and she feared the day her epitaph would read, "Here Lies the Girl from The Blair Witch Project." Determined to start a new life, she left most remnants of the old one in the desert, meditated on things for a few days, then followed her brand-new boyfriend to her brand-new life- growing pot.

***Saturday 14 11:30am - Special Musical Storytime with Austin Children's Band THE QUE PASTAS
The musical duo that is sweeping Austin with its groovy tunes & silly antics is stopping off at BookPeople for a little show! Come dance and cut loose with some of Austin's most intriguing & goofy musicians for children, Que Pastas! This morning at 11:30AM.

Tuesday 17 10:30am - Special Storytime and Booksigning with NICK BRUEL, Bestselling Author of the Bad Kitty Series of Children's Books
This morning we're having an especially special storytime with author Nick Bruel. He'll be reading his wonderful books featuring your favorite delightfully cranky & naughty feline, Bad Kitty! Not only will Mr. Bruel be here to read books and sign copies you purchase at BookPeople, but we'll have Bad Kitty LIVE (in costume). It will be the place to be this morning at 10:30AM!

Tuesday 17 7p - Bestselling Author of Memoirs of A Beautiful Boy ROBERT LELEUX speaks & signs The Living End.
(The Memoirs of a Beautiful Boy was named The Houston Press's Best Houston Book of the Year for 2008. Leleux is a native of east Texas.) The Living End is a tribute to an unforgettable woman, and a testimony to the way a disease can awaken an urgent desire for love and forgiveness. Robert Leleux's grandmother JoAnn was a steel magnolia, an elegant and devastatingly witty woman: quick-tongued, generous in her affections, but sometimes oddly indifferent to the emotions of those who most needed her. When JoAnn began exhibiting signs of Alzheimer's, she'd been estranged from her daughter, Robert's mother Jessica, for decades. As her disease progressed, JoAnn lost most of her memories, but she also forgot her old wounds and anger. She became a happy, gentler person who was finally able to reach out to her daughter in what became a strangely life-affirming experience, an unexpected blessing that gave a divided family a second chance.

Wednesday 18 7p - MysteryPeople Presents: Bestelling Author TAYLOR STEVENS in conversation with Austin's own Nationally Bestselling Thriller Writer JEFF ABBOTT about Stevens' The Innocent.
(Austin's own nationally bestselling thriller writer Jeff Abbott will lead the conversation at this event. Stevens is a MysteryPeople favorite and a NYT bestselling author with a fascinating personal background, having been raised in a cult.) Born into the Children of God, raised in communes across the globe, and denied an education beyond the sixth grade, Taylor Stevens broke free of the cult in order to follow hope and a vague idea of what possibilities lay beyond. She's now a writer living in Texas, whose first novel, The Informationist, was a New York Times bestseller. She'll be here in conversation with Jeff Abbott, bestselling author of Adrenaline, about her second thriller, The Innocent. This latest Vanessa Munroe thriller tells the story of five year old Hannah, who was taken into the world of a cult known as The Chosen. For eight years, followers of The Prophet have hidden the child, moving her from country to country, shielding the man who stole her. Now, those who've searched the longest know where to find her. They are childhood survivors of The Chosen, thirty-somethings born and raised inside the cult who've managed to make lives for themselves on the outside. They understand the mindset, the culture within that world, and turn to Vanessa Michael Munroe for help, knowing that the only possibility of stealing Hannah back and getting her safely out of Argentina is to trust someone who doesn't trust them, and get Munroe on the inside.

Thursday 19 7p - Bestselling & Award-Winning Author LUIS ALBERTO URREA speaks & signs Queen of America.
(Urrea is a BookPeople favorite with an active online presence and tremendous following, and is nationally recognized as an achieved literary author. He was recently featured on NPR.) The remarkable heroine of The Hummingbird's Daughter makes a welcome return in an epic novel of love, loss and miracles in America. Queen of America is based on Luis Urrea's real great-aunt Teresita, who had healing powers and was acclaimed as a saint. Urrea extensively researched historical accounts and family records for decades to get the true story. He recounts a spell-binding tale: After the bloody Tomochic rebellion, Teresita Urrea, beloved healer and "Saint of Cabora," flees with her father to Arizona. But their plans are derailed when she once again is claimed as the spiritual leader of the Mexican Revolution. Besieged by pilgrims and pursued by assassins, Teresita embarks on a journey through turn-of-the-century industrial America-stopping in New York, San Francisco, and St. Louis.

Friday 20 7p - In cooperation with edibleAustin magazine, Assoc. Prof of Women's & Gender Studies at UT ELIZABETH ENGELHARDT speaks & signs Mess of Greens: Southern Gender and Southern Food.
Combining the study of food culture with gender studies and using perspectives from historical, literary, environmental, and American studies, Elizabeth S. D. Engelhardt examines what southern women's choices about food tell us about race, class, gender, and social power. Panelists at this event will include special guests Carol Ann Sayle from Boggy Creek Farm, Stephanie McClenny of confituras, and Lara Nixon of Bad Dog Bar Craft. Enjoy special tastings inspired by the book along with Saint Arnold Brewing Company beverages.

Saturday 21 12p - Children's Author JAN BOZARTH speaking & signing Fairy Godmother Academy Book #5: Sumi's Book
Put on your wings and sprinkle on some fairy dust, because we have a magical event coming for you with one of BookPeople's bestselling authors, Jan Bozarth! More magic and adventure await in this latest Fairy Godmother Academy story. Sumi Hara loves fashion. She always looks beautiful, and always wears the perfect outfit. When she arrives in Aventurine, Sumi is thrilled to learn that she's a shape-shifter.Unfortunately, she's not very good at shape-shifting yet, so she's given a guide named Kano—who's distractingly gorgeous in his human form. When they find out that an evil fairy queen holds the final mirror shard needed to complete their mission, Sumi will have to discover what true beauty and perfection are.

Saturday 21 4p - Award-Winning Debut Novelist & Former Austinite KEIJA PARSSINEN speaks & signs The Ruins of Us.
Saudi-born author Keija Parssinen's stunning debut offers the intricate, emotionally resonant story of an American expatriate who discovers that her husband, a Saudi billionaire, has taken a second bride—an emotionally turbulent revelation that blinds them both to their teenaged son's ominous first steps down the road of radicalization. Readers who enjoyed The Septembers of Shiraz will enjoy Parssinen's story of love and betrayal, fundamentalism, family and country in the Middle East. Keija Parssinen was born in Saudi Arabia and lived there for twelve years as a third-generation expatriate. She also grew up in Lakeway/Lake Travis and lived for many years in Austin. The Ruins of Us, her first novel, received a Michener-Copernicus Award.

Saturday 21 7p - OFF SITE: BookPeople Hosts Bestselling YA Author JOHN GREEN at Westlake Performing Arts Center to speak & sign The Fault In Our Stars.
(John Green has a MASSIVE and loyal online following. Tickets for this event went on sale Fri 12/9 and we've already sold hundreds. He's one of the biggest YA authors writing right now and built significant anticipation among his fans for this new book.) We are absolutely thrilled to be able to bring the one and only John Green to Austin to speak & sign his brand new, highly anticipated book, The Fault In Our Stars! This event will take place at Westlake Performing Arts Center (4100 Westbank Drive, Austin). Tickets are required to attend this event and and cost $25, which includes one signed copy of The Fault In Our Stars and entitles the bearer to one seat at the event. Signed books will be distributed at Westlake Community Performing Arts Center the evening of the event. The event begins at 7p, and doors will open at 6p. Tickets can be purchased three ways: in-store; over the phone (512-472-5050); or online (http:www.bookpeople.com).

Sunday 22 3p - Award Winning Author JAMES CARLOS BLAKE speaks & signs Country of the Bad Wolfes.
A master of the historical novel, James Carlos Blake has been hailed as "a poet of the damned who writes like an angel." (Kirkus Reviews) In Country of the Bad Wolfes, based in part on his own ancestors, Blake presents the story of the Wolfe family—a saga that spans three generations, centers on two sets of identical twins and the women they love, and ranges from New England to the heart of Mexico before concluding in South Texas. James Carlos Blake was born in Mexico and grew up in Texas and Florida. He is the author of nine other novels and a collection of short works . Among his literary honors are the Los Angeles Times Book Prize, the Southwest Book Award, and the Falcon Award.

Monday 23 7p - Local Author Night featuring Jerry Butler & M. E. Patterson
We love our local authors here at BookPeople, and tonight we're pleased to have with us two local Austin writers who will present their work. Jerry Brown will present Wine and Spirit: A Christian's Guide to Enjoying Wine. With passion and a light-hearted spirit, WINE & SPIRIT is a quick, basic guide for everyone who wants to know what the Bible really says about wine. M. E. Patterson will present Devil's Hand. A Las Vegas poker ace with supernatural luck is swept into a world-ending conflict between fallen angels and otherworldly shades, in this thrilling new novel. (This event will happen on our third floor.)

Monday 23 7p - Bestselling YA Authors JAY ASHER & CAROLYN MACKLER speak & sign The Future of Us.
(Jay Asher's previous novel, Thirteen Reasons Why, was a #1 NYT bestseller and continues to be a bestselling book at our store. He and Mackler are two of today's most popular YA authors. The release of this book has garnered extensive media coverage. The book has already been optioned for a film by Warner Bros.) YA lovers, get ready for a very cool event! Tonight we are a very lucky bookstore, indeed, to welcome Jay Asher, author of the #1 New York Times bestseller Thirteen Reasons Why, and bestselling author Carolyn Macker to BookPeople with their new novel, The Future of Us. It's 1996, and less than half of all American high school students have ever used the Internet. Emma just got her first computer and an America Online CD-ROM. Josh is her best friend. They power up and log on--and discover themselves on Facebook, fifteen years in the future. Everybody wonders what their Destiny will be. Josh and Emma are about to find out.

Tuesday 24 7p - Award Winning Fiction Writer BEN MARCUS speaks & signs his new novel, The Flame Alphabet.
(Ben Marcus is a major modern literary figure. His stories have been widely published and have earned him three Pushcart Prizes.) A terrible epidemic has struck the country and the sound of children's speech has become lethal. All Sam and Claire need to do is look around the neighborhood: In the park, parents wither beneath the powerful screams of their children.With Claire nearing collapse, it seems their only means of survival is to flee from their daughter, Esther. But Sam and Claire find it isn't so easy to leave the daughter they still love, even as they waste away from her malevolent speech. The Flame Alphabet asks, What is left of civilization when we lose the ability to communicate with those we love? Ben Marcus is the author of Notable American Women and The Age of Wire and String. His stories have appeared in The New Yorker, Harper's, The Paris Review, Tin House, and elsewhere. In addition to three Pushcart Prizes, he is also the recipient of a Whiting Writers Award, a National Endowment for the Arts grant, and an award from the American Academy of Arts and Letters. He is a Professor of Creative Writing at Columbia University.

Wednesday 25 7p - Hard Word Book Club discussing Death Along the Spirit Road by Margaret Coel.
Tough stories with hard hombres and dangerous dames, where survival trumps virtue, no matter what side of the law you are on; this is what you'll find in the Hard Word Book Club. Scott and Joe will guide you along the last Wednesday of every month at 7PM. This month's book is Death Along the Spirit Road by C.M. Wendelboe. Wendelboe will be calling in, so don't miss this discussion!

Wednesday 25 7p - KUT Radio Host & Musician KIM SIMPSON speaks & signs Early 70's Radio: The American Format Revolution.
The host of The International Folk Bazaar on Austin's KOOP-FM and co-host for Folkways on KUT 90.5 FM has written a comprehensive book that focuses on the emergence of commercial music radio "formats," which refer to distinct musical genres aimed toward specific audiences. This formatting revolution took place in a period rife with heated politics, identity anxiety, large-scale disappointments and seemingly insoluble social problems. A fresh and accessible exercise in audience interpretation, Early '70s Radio is organized according to the era's five prominent formats and analyzes each of these in relation to their targeted demographics, including Top 40, "soft rock", album-oriented rock, soul and country.

Thursday 26 5:30p - Happy Hour at the Highball Book Club discussing Under the Banner of Heaven by Jon Krakauer.
What's better than talking about a book with a group of friends? Talking about a book with a group of friends during Happy Hour at The HighBall! Come hang out with Mandy and Joel the last Thursday of every month at 5:30PM where we'll discuss books over cocktails. This month's book is Under the Banner of Heaven by Jon Krakauer.

Thursday 26 7p - Panel Discussion Presenting Three Messages and A Warning: Contemporary Mexican Short Stories of the Fantastic.
Editors Chris N. Brown and Eduardo Jiménez Mayo, and featured authors Bernardo Fernández and Pepe Rojo will celebrate, the publication of Three Messages and a Warning: Contemporary Mexican Short Stories of the Fantastic at BookPeople with a reading, discussion, and audience Q&A. This huge anthology of more than thirty all-original Mexican science fiction and fantasy features ghost stories, supernatural folktales, alien incursions, and apocalyptic narratives, as well as science-based chronicles of highly unusual mental states in which the borders of fantasy and reality reach unprecedented levels of ambiguity. Stereotypes of Mexican identity are explored and transcended by the thoroughly cosmopolitan consciousnesses underlying these works.

Friday 27 7p - MysteryPeople Presents: International Bestselling Author R. J. ELLORY speaking & signing A Quiet Vendetta.
(R. J. Ellory is a huge thriller writer in the UK, on par with James Patterson, Lee Child, and similar writers here in the states.) MysteryPeople is thrilled to welcome R.J. Ellory to Austin! The author of eight novels, including the bestselling A Quiet Belief in Angels, which was the Strand Magazine's Thriller of the Year, nominated for the Barry Award, and a finalist for the SIBA Award, Ellory will be here with his novel A Quiet Vendetta. In addition to speaking and signing, Ellory, who is also a musician, will perform at this event. When Catherine Ducane disappears in the heart of New Orleans, the local cops react rapidly - she is the daughter of the Governor of Louisiana after all. But the case gets very strange, very quickly. Quickly dragged down to the deep South, Ray Hartmann puzzles over why he has been summoned and why the mysterious kidnapper, an elderly Cuban named Ernesto Perez, wants to tell him his life story. It's only when he realises that Ernesto has been a brutal hitman for the Mob since the 1950s that things start to come together. But by the time the pieces fall into place, it's already too late...

Saturday 28 7:30p - Bestselling Author DANIEL HANDLER & Acclaimed Illustrator MAIRA KALMAN speaking & signing Why We Broke Up.
Bestselling author of, among other things, the Lemony Snicket series of books, Daniel Handler has teamed up with renowned artist Maira Kalman to create this wonderful new YA book that delves into that most painful of human experiences - The Break Up. In Why We Broke Up, Min and Ed are breaking up, so Min is writing Ed a letter and giving him a box. Each item in the box represents a different moment in their relationship, and is illustrated by the incredibly talented Maira Kalman. The book inspired Handler and Kalman to create The Why We Broke Up Project, whose tumblr account (http://whywebrokeupproject.tumblr.com/) invites people to share their own break-up stories. In January, BookPeople will create a correlating in-store display wall inviting Austinites to anonymously share their own break-up stories.

Sunday 29 5p - Voyage Out Book Club discussing The Tiger's Wife.
Join Clint and Brian C. the last Sunday of every month at 5PM as we use wonderful books to travel the world. We're actually taking a break from a specific region at the moment, and instead choosing to read books on our "to read" list. This month we are reading The Tiger's Wife by Tea Obreht. (Due to the Christmas holiday, we have 2 meeting dates in January. The first date is 1/1, the second is 1/29.)

Monday 30 7p - New and Noteworthy Book Club discussing A Prayer for Owen Meany by John Irving.
Perhaps more aptly named the "sometimes new/always noteworthy" book club, here is a place to discover recent gems and to revisit old favorites. Come join Kester and Jamie the last Monday of every month at 7PM. This month's book is A Prayer for Owen Meany by John Irving.

Monday 30 7p - Vietnam Historian & US Military Academy Graduate LEWIS SORLEY speaking & signing Westmoreland: The General Who Lost Vietnam
In this definitive new biography, leading military Vietnam historian Lewis Sorley asks the question: Is General William Westmoreland the real reason the Vietnam War was lost? How did he get there, why did he fail, and how did he last so long? An Eagle Scout at fifteen, First Captain of his West Point class, Westmoreland fought in World War II and Korea, rising rapidly to command the 101st Airborne Division and become Superintendent at West Point, then was chosen to lead the war effort in Vietnam. Sorley examines how he failed to understand a complex war, choosing a flawed strategy, sticking to it in the face of all opposition, and misrepresenting the results when truth mattered most. In so doing he squandered four years of support by Congress, much of the media, and the American people. Lewis Sorley served in Vietnam, and in the Pentagon in the offices of Secretary of Defense James R. Schlesinger and Army Chief of Staff General William C. Westmoreland. He also taught at West Point and the Army War College.

--
Julie Wernersbach
Publicist
BookPeople
603 N. Lamar Blvd
Austin, TX 78703
http://www.bookpeople.com
BP Facebook
BP Twitter
BP Blog

Currently Reading A Partial History of Lost Causes by Jennifer Dubois

BookPeople Weekly Media Update - Wed 12/28/11

2011-12-28T07:35:00.001-08:00

BookPeople Events!

For questions about events, contact BookPeople Marketing Director Mandy Brooks at 512.472.4288 x 411 or mandy@bookpeople.com.

Events start at 7PM unless otherwise indicated. List updated Wednesday, December 28.

*** - denotes new event

DECEMBER

Wednesday 28 7p - Hard Word Book Club discussing Nineteen Seventy-Four: The Red Riding Quartet, Book One by David Peace
Tough stories with hard hombres and dangerous dames, where survival trumps virtue, no matter what side of the law you are on; this is what you'll find in the Hard Word Book Club. Scott and Joe will guide you along the last Wednesday of every month at 7PM. This month's book is Nineteen Seventy-Four by David Peace. We'll be watching the film Red Riding: In the Year of Our Lord Nineteen Seventy-Four after the discussion, so come for a fun evening!

Wednesday 29 5:30p - Happy Hour Book Club at the Highball discussing Holidays on Ice by David Sedaris
What's better than talking about a book with a group of friends? Talking about a book with a group of friends during Happy Hour at The Highball! Come hang out with Mandy and Joel the last Thursday of every month at 5:30PM where we'll discuss books over cocktails. This month's book is Holidays on Ice by David Sedaris.

Saturday 31 - BookPeople New Years Eve Hours: 9am - 8pm

JANUARY 2012

Sunday 1 11am - 11pm - CUSTOMER APPRECIATION DAY!
Today, nearly everything in the store is 20% off. Now you can get what you REALLY wanted for the holidays! Thank you for making 2011 an incredible year here at BookPeople. Here's to a happy, healthy year of reading! We're open from 11am - 11pm today.

Sunday 1 5p - Voyage Out Book Club discussing The History of Love by Nicole Krauss
Join Clint and Brian C. the last Sunday of every month at 5PM as we use wonderful books to travel the world. We're actually taking a break from a specific region at the moment, and instead choosing to read books on our "to read" list. This month we are reading The History of Love by Nicole Krauss. (Due to the Christmas holiday, we have 2 meeting dates in January. The first date is 1/1, the second is 1/29.)

Tuesday 3 7p - 7% Solution Book Club discussing Maise Dobbs by Jacqueline Winspear
Come join Sharee and Tommy as they explore the worlds of fiction's greatest mysteries. But you must hurry - the game is already afoot. This month's title is Maisie Dobbs by Jacqueline Winspear. (Normally, this club meets the first Monday of every month. Due to the holidays, we are meeting the first Tuesday of January instead.)

Wednesday 4 7p - UT Psychology Professor ART MARKMAN speaking & signing Smart Thinking: Three Essential Keys to Solve Problems, Innovate, and Get Things Done
Drawing on diverse studies of the mind, from psychology to linguistics, philosophy, and learning science, Art Markman, Ph.D., demonstrates the difference between "smart thinking" and raw intelligence, showing readers how memory works, how to learn effectively, and how to use knowledge to get things done. He then introduces his own three-part formula for readers to employ "smart thinking" in their daily lives. Art Markman is the Annabel Irion Worsham Centennial Professor of Psychology and Marketing at the University of Texas at Austin. He got his ScB from Brown University and his PhD from the University of Illinois. Before coming to the University of Texas, Art taught at Northwestern University and Columbia University.

Sunday 8 2p - Required Reading Revisited Book Club discussing The Brothers Karamazov by Fyodor Dostoevsky.
Remember those books you were required to read in school? Required Reading Revisited is a chance to take a second (or first) look at some of the books you were made to read in school. Meeting the second Sunday of every month at 2PM, this month's title is The Brothers Karamazov by Fyodor Dostoevsky.

***Wednesday 11 7p - Austin Musician RUBY DEE PHILIPPA of Ruby Dee and the Snakehandlers speaking & signing Ruby's Juke Joint Americana Cookbook
We'll kick off this event with a live performance by Austin's own Ruby Dee and the Snakehandlers! Whether it's touring with her band Ruby Dee and the Snakehandlers or serving up a backyard barbeque, Ruby Dee always has something cooking. From the first taste of her feisty and spicy sound to the last bite of a crowd pleasing dish, Ruby Dee is making fans rave and crave her winning recipes. Now, Ruby's collected her favorite Americana recipes in a brand new cookbook. She includes everything from a smorgasbord of enticing recipes for appetizers,drinks, special occasion dinners, and sweet farewells; to stories of Americana dishes; to behind-the-scenes slices of life on the road with the band Ruby Dee and the Snakehandlers. The book also comes with a full-length CD that's a mix of lively Americana tunes.

Thursday 12 7p - Acclaimed author of The Wettest Country in the World MATT BONDURANT speaking & signing The Night Swimmer.
(Matt Bondurant's previous novel The Wettest County in the World was a New York Times Editor's Pick, one of the San Francisco Chronicle 's 50 Best Books of the Year, and is being made into a major motion picture.) The Night Swimmer is an atmospheric tale infused with Hitchcockian suspense. When Fred and Elly Bulkington arrive in a small town on the southern coast of Ireland from Vermont, having won a pub in a contest, they encounter a wild, strange land and the native resistance to outsiders. As Fred immerses himself in the life of a pub-owner, Elly takes the ferry out to a nearby island where she—to the disbelief of the locals—is consumed by her ritual of open water ocean swimming, pushing herself to the limits. Elly becomes enmeshed in the island's troubles—the power struggles between an enigmatic goat herder and the family that has controlled the area for centuries—while Fred's sanity wavers and their marriage begins to unravel. Matt Bondurant's first novel The Third Translation was an international bestseller, translated into 14 languages worldwide. His short fiction has appeared in journals such as Prairie Schooner, The New England Review, and Glimmer Train, among others.

Friday 13 7p - Star of The Blair Witch Project HEATH DONAHUE speaks & signs her new memoir, Growgirl: How My Life After Blair Witch Project Went to Pot
(The star of the international cult sensation The Blair Witch Project shares the high points of living on a marijuana farm post- Hollywood.) At age thirty-four, Heather Donahue's life went to pot. Literally. After starring in The Blair Witch Project-the tiny indie film- turned-blockbuster that Roger Ebert named one of the ten Most Influential Movies of the Century-she became a household name. But the afterglow of the movie waned, her acting career stalled, and she feared the day her epitaph would read, "Here Lies the Girl from The Blair Witch Project." Determined to start a new life, she left most remnants of the old one in the desert, meditated on things for a few days, then followed her brand-new boyfriend to her brand-new life- growing pot.

***Tuesday 17 10:30am - Special Storytime and Booksigning with NICK BRUEL, Bestselling Author of the Bad Kitty Series of Children's Books
This morning we're having an especially special storytime with author Nick Bruel. He'll be reading his wonderful books featuring your favorite delightfully cranky & naughty feline, Bad Kitty! Not only will Mr. Bruel be here to read books and sign copies you purchase at BookPeople, but we'll have Bad Kitty LIVE (in costume). It will be the place to be this morning at 10:30AM!

Tuesday 17 7p - Bestselling Author of Memoirs of A Beautiful Boy ROBERT LELEUX speaks & signs The Living End.
(The Memoirs of a Beautiful Boy was named The Houston Press's Best Houston Book of the Year for 2008. Leleux is a native of east Texas.) The Living End is a tribute to an unforgettable woman, and a testimony to the way a disease can awaken an urgent desire for love and forgiveness. Robert Leleux's grandmother JoAnn was a steel magnolia, an elegant and devastatingly witty woman: quick-tongued, generous in her affections, but sometimes oddly indifferent to the emotions of those who most needed her. When JoAnn began exhibiting signs of Alzheimer's, she'd been estranged from her daughter, Robert's mother Jessica, for decades. As her disease progressed, JoAnn lost most of her memories, but she also forgot her old wounds and anger. She became a happy, gentler person who was finally able to reach out to her daughter in what became a strangely life-affirming experience, an unexpected blessing that gave a divided family a second chance.

***Wednesday 18 7p - MysteryPeople Presents: Bestelling Author TAYLOR STEVENS in conversation with Austin's own Nationally Bestselling Thriller Writer JEFF ABBOTT about Stevens' The Innocent.
(New info: Jeff Abbott will lead the conversation at this event.) (Stevens is a MysteryPeople favorite and a NYT bestselling author with a fascinating personal background, having been raised in a cult.) Born into the Children of God, raised in communes across the globe, and denied an education beyond the sixth grade, Taylor Stevens broke free of the cult in order to follow hope and a vague idea of what possibilities lay beyond. She's now a writer living in Texas, whose first novel, The Informationist, was a New York Times bestseller. She'll be here in conversation with Jeff Abbott, bestselling author of Adrenaline, about her second thriller, The Innocent. This latest Vanessa Munroe thriller tells the story of five year old Hannah, who was taken into the world of a cult known as The Chosen. For eight years, followers of The Prophet have hidden the child, moving her from country to country, shielding the man who stole her. Now, those who've searched the longest know where to find her. They are childhood survivors of The Chosen, thirty-somethings born and raised inside the cult who've managed to make lives for themselves on the outside. They understand the mindset, the culture within that world, and turn to Vanessa Michael Munroe for help, knowing that the only possibility of stealing Hannah back and getting her safely out of Argentina is to trust someone who doesn't trust them, and get Munroe on the inside.

Thursday 19 7p - Bestselling & Award-Winning Author LUIS ALBERTO URREA speaks & signs Queen of America.
(Urrea is a BookPeople favorite with an active online presence and tremendous following, and is nationally recognized as an achieved literary author. He was recently featured on NPR.) The remarkable heroine of The Hummingbird's Daughter makes a welcome return in an epic novel of love, loss and miracles in America. Queen of America is based on Luis Urrea's real great-aunt Teresita, who had healing powers and was acclaimed as a saint. Urrea extensively researched historical accounts and family records for decades to get the true story. He recounts a spell-binding tale: After the bloody Tomochic rebellion, Teresita Urrea, beloved healer and "Saint of Cabora," flees with her father to Arizona. But their plans are derailed when she once again is claimed as the spiritual leader of the Mexican Revolution. Besieged by pilgrims and pursued by assassins, Teresita embarks on a journey through turn-of-the-century industrial America-stopping in New York, San Francisco, and St. Louis.

Friday 20 7p - In cooperation with edibleAustin magazine, Assoc. Prof of Women's & Gender Studies at UT ELIZABETH ENGELHARDT speaks & signs Mess of Greens: Southern Gender and Southern Food.
Combining the study of food culture with gender studies and using perspectives from historical, literary, environmental, and American studies, Elizabeth S. D. Engelhardt examines what southern women's choices about food tell us about race, class, gender, and social power. Panelists at this event will include special guests Carol Ann Sayle from Boggy Creek Farm, Stephanie McClenny of confituras, and Lara Nixon of Bad Dog Bar Craft. Enjoy special tastings inspired by the book along with Saint Arnold Brewing Company beverages.

Saturday 21 12p - Children's Author JAN BOZARTH speaking & signing Fairy Godmother Academy Book #5: Sumi's Book
Put on your wings and sprinkle on some fairy dust, because we have a magical event coming for you with one of BookPeople's bestselling authors, Jan Bozarth! More magic and adventure await in this latest Fairy Godmother Academy story. Sumi Hara loves fashion. She always looks beautiful, and always wears the perfect outfit. When she arrives in Aventurine, Sumi is thrilled to learn that she's a shape-shifter.Unfortunately, she's not very good at shape-shifting yet, so she's given a guide named Kano—who's distractingly gorgeous in his human form. When they find out that an evil fairy queen holds the final mirror shard needed to complete their mission, Sumi will have to discover what true beauty and perfection are.

Saturday 21 4p - Award-Winning Debut Novelist & Former Austinite KEIJA PARSSINEN speaks & signs The Ruins of Us.
Saudi-born author Keija Parssinen's stunning debut offers the intricate, emotionally resonant story of an American expatriate who discovers that her husband, a Saudi billionaire, has taken a second bride—an emotionally turbulent revelation that blinds them both to their teenaged son's ominous first steps down the road of radicalization. Readers who enjoyed The Septembers of Shiraz will enjoy Parssinen's story of love and betrayal, fundamentalism, family and country in the Middle East. Keija Parssinen was born in Saudi Arabia and lived there for twelve years as a third-generation expatriate. She also grew up in Lakeway/Lake Travis and lived for many years in Austin. The Ruins of Us, her first novel, received a Michener-Copernicus Award.

Saturday 21 7p - OFF SITE: BookPeople Hosts Bestselling YA Author JOHN GREEN at Westlake Performing Arts Center to speak & sign The Fault In Our Stars.
(John Green has a MASSIVE and loyal online following. Tickets for this event went on sale Fri 12/9 and we've already sold hundreds. He's one of the biggest YA authors writing right now and built significant anticipation among his fans for this new book.) We are absolutely thrilled to be able to bring the one and only John Green to Austin to speak & sign his brand new, highly anticipated book, The Fault In Our Stars! This event will take place at Westlake Performing Arts Center (4100 Westbank Drive, Austin). Tickets are required to attend this event and and cost $25, which includes one signed copy of The Fault In Our Stars and entitles the bearer to one seat at the event. Signed books will be distributed at Westlake Community Performing Arts Center the evening of the event. The event begins at 7p, and doors will open at 6p. Tickets can be purchased three ways: in-store; over the phone (512-472-5050); or online (http:www.bookpeople.com).

Sunday 22 3p - Award Winning Author JAMES CARLOS BLAKE speaks & signs Country of the Bad Wolfes.
A master of the historical novel, James Carlos Blake has been hailed as "a poet of the damned who writes like an angel." (Kirkus Reviews) In Country of the Bad Wolfes, based in part on his own ancestors, Blake presents the story of the Wolfe family—a saga that spans three generations, centers on two sets of identical twins and the women they love, and ranges from New England to the heart of Mexico before concluding in South Texas. James Carlos Blake was born in Mexico and grew up in Texas and Florida. He is the author of nine other novels and a collection of short works . Among his literary honors are the Los Angeles Times Book Prize, the Southwest Book Award, and the Falcon Award.

Monday 23 7p - Local Author Night featuring Jerry Butler & M. E. Patterson
We love our local authors here at BookPeople, and tonight we're pleased to have with us two local Austin writers who will present their work. Jerry Brown will present Wine and Spirit: A Christian's Guide to Enjoying Wine. With passion and a light-hearted spirit, WINE & SPIRIT is a quick, basic guide for everyone who wants to know what the Bible really says about wine. M. E. Patterson will present Devil's Hand. A Las Vegas poker ace with supernatural luck is swept into a world-ending conflict between fallen angels and otherworldly shades, in this thrilling new novel. (This event will happen on our third floor.)

***Monday 23 7p - Bestselling YA Authors JAY ASHER & CAROLYN MACKLER speak & sign The Future of Us.
(Jay Asher's previous novel, Thirteen Reasons Why, was a #1 NYT bestseller and continues to be a bestselling book at our store. He and Mackler are two of today's most popular YA authors. The release of this book has garnered extensive media coverage. The book has already been optioned for a film by Warner Bros.) YA lovers, get ready for a very cool event! Tonight we are a very lucky bookstore, indeed, to welcome Jay Asher, author of the #1 New York Times bestseller Thirteen Reasons Why, and bestselling author Carolyn Macker to BookPeople with their new novel, The Future of Us. It's 1996, and less than half of all American high school students have ever used the Internet. Emma just got her first computer and an America Online CD-ROM. Josh is her best friend. They power up and log on--and discover themselves on Facebook, fifteen years in the future. Everybody wonders what their Destiny will be. Josh and Emma are about to find out.

Tuesday 24 7p - Award Winning Fiction Writer BEN MARCUS speaks & signs his new novel, The Flame Alphabet.
(Ben Marcus is a major modern literary figure. His stories have been widely published and have earned him three Pushcart Prizes.) A terrible epidemic has struck the country and the sound of children's speech has become lethal. All Sam and Claire need to do is look around the neighborhood: In the park, parents wither beneath the powerful screams of their children.With Claire nearing collapse, it seems their only means of survival is to flee from their daughter, Esther. But Sam and Claire find it isn't so easy to leave the daughter they still love, even as they waste away from her malevolent speech. The Flame Alphabet asks, What is left of civilization when we lose the ability to communicate with those we love? Ben Marcus is the author of Notable American Women and The Age of Wire and String. His stories have appeared in The New Yorker, Harper's, The Paris Review, Tin House, and elsewhere. In addition to three Pushcart Prizes, he is also the recipient of a Whiting Writers Award, a National Endowment for the Arts grant, and an award from the American Academy of Arts and Letters. He is a Professor of Creative Writing at Columbia University.

Wednesday 25 7p - Hard Word Book Club discussing Death Along the Spirit Road by Margaret Coel.
Tough stories with hard hombres and dangerous dames, where survival trumps virtue, no matter what side of the law you are on; this is what you'll find in the Hard Word Book Club. Scott and Joe will guide you along the last Wednesday of every month at 7PM. This month's book is Death Along the Spirit Road by C.M. Wendelboe. Wendelboe will be calling in, so don't miss this discussion!

Wednesday 25 7p - KUT Radio Host & Musician KIM SIMPSON speaks & signs Early 70's Radio: The American Format Revolution.
The host of The International Folk Bazaar on Austin's KOOP-FM and co-host for Folkways on KUT 90.5 FM has written a comprehensive book that focuses on the emergence of commercial music radio "formats," which refer to distinct musical genres aimed toward specific audiences. This formatting revolution took place in a period rife with heated politics, identity anxiety, large-scale disappointments and seemingly insoluble social problems. A fresh and accessible exercise in audience interpretation, Early '70s Radio is organized according to the era's five prominent formats and analyzes each of these in relation to their targeted demographics, including Top 40, "soft rock", album-oriented rock, soul and country.

Thursday 26 5:30p - Happy Hour at the Highball Book Club discussing Under the Banner of Heaven by Jon Krakauer.
What's better than talking about a book with a group of friends? Talking about a book with a group of friends during Happy Hour at The HighBall! Come hang out with Mandy and Joel the last Thursday of every month at 5:30PM where we'll discuss books over cocktails. This month's book is Under the Banner of Heaven by Jon Krakauer.

Thursday 26 7p - Panel Discussion Presenting Three Messages and A Warning: Contemporary Mexican Short Stories of the Fantastic.
Editors Chris N. Brown and Eduardo Jiménez Mayo, and featured authors Bernardo Fernández and Pepe Rojo will celebrate, the publication of Three Messages and a Warning: Contemporary Mexican Short Stories of the Fantastic at BookPeople with a reading, discussion, and audience Q&A. This huge anthology of more than thirty all-original Mexican science fiction and fantasy features ghost stories, supernatural folktales, alien incursions, and apocalyptic narratives, as well as science-based chronicles of highly unusual mental states in which the borders of fantasy and reality reach unprecedented levels of ambiguity. Stereotypes of Mexican identity are explored and transcended by the thoroughly cosmopolitan consciousnesses underlying these works.

Friday 27 7p - MysteryPeople Presents: International Bestselling Author R. J. ELLORY speaking & signing A Quiet Vendetta.
(R. J. Ellory is a huge thriller writer in the UK, on par with James Patterson, Lee Child, and similar writers here in the states.) MysteryPeople is thrilled to welcome R.J. Ellory to Austin! The author of eight novels, including the bestselling A Quiet Belief in Angels, which was the Strand Magazine's Thriller of the Year, nominated for the Barry Award, and a finalist for the SIBA Award, Ellory will be here with his novel A Quiet Vendetta. In addition to speaking and signing, Ellory, who is also a musician, will perform at this event. When Catherine Ducane disappears in the heart of New Orleans, the local cops react rapidly - she is the daughter of the Governor of Louisiana after all. But the case gets very strange, very quickly. Quickly dragged down to the deep South, Ray Hartmann puzzles over why he has been summoned and why the mysterious kidnapper, an elderly Cuban named Ernesto Perez, wants to tell him his life story. It's only when he realises that Ernesto has been a brutal hitman for the Mob since the 1950s that things start to come together. But by the time the pieces fall into place, it's already too late...

Saturday 28 7:30p - Bestselling Author DANIEL HANDLER & Acclaimed Illustrator MAIRA KALMAN speaking & signing Why We Broke Up.
Bestselling author of, among other things, the Lemony Snicket series of books, Daniel Handler has teamed up with renowned artist Maira Kalman to create this wonderful new YA book that delves into that most painful of human experiences - The Break Up. In Why We Broke Up, Min and Ed are breaking up, so Min is writing Ed a letter and giving him a box. Each item in the box represents a different moment in their relationship, and is illustrated by the incredibly talented Maira Kalman. The book inspired Handler and Kalman to create The Why We Broke Up Project, whose tumblr account (http://whywebrokeupproject.tumblr.com/) invites people to share their own break-up stories. In January, BookPeople will create a correlating in-store display wall inviting Austinites to anonymously share their own break-up stories.

Sunday 29 5p - Voyage Out Book Club discussing The Tiger's Wife.
Join Clint and Brian C. the last Sunday of every month at 5PM as we use wonderful books to travel the world. We're actually taking a break from a specific region at the moment, and instead choosing to read books on our "to read" list. This month we are reading The Tiger's Wife by Tea Obreht. (Due to the Christmas holiday, we have 2 meeting dates in January. The first date is 1/1, the second is 1/29.)

Monday 30 7p - New and Noteworthy Book Club discussing A Prayer for Owen Meany by John Irving.
Perhaps more aptly named the "sometimes new/always noteworthy" book club, here is a place to discover recent gems and to revisit old favorites. Come join Kester and Jamie the last Monday of every month at 7PM. This month's book is A Prayer for Owen Meany by John Irving.

Monday 30 7p - Vietnam Historian & US Military Academy Graduate LEWIS SORLEY speaking & signing Westmoreland: The General Who Lost Vietnam
In this definitive new biography, leading military Vietnam historian Lewis Sorley asks the question: Is General William Westmoreland the real reason the Vietnam War was lost? How did he get there, why did he fail, and how did he last so long? An Eagle Scout at fifteen, First Captain of his West Point class, Westmoreland fought in World War II and Korea, rising rapidly to command the 101st Airborne Division and become Superintendent at West Point, then was chosen to lead the war effort in Vietnam. Sorley examines how he failed to understand a complex war, choosing a flawed strategy, sticking to it in the face of all opposition, and misrepresenting the results when truth mattered most. In so doing he squandered four years of support by Congress, much of the media, and the American people. Lewis Sorley served in Vietnam, and in the Pentagon in the offices of Secretary of Defense James R. Schlesinger and Army Chief of Staff General William C. Westmoreland. He also taught at West Point and the Army War College.

--
Julie Wernersbach
Publicist
BookPeople
603 N. Lamar Blvd
Austin, TX 78703
http://www.bookpeople.com
BP Facebook
BP Twitter
BP Blog

Currently Reading A Partial History of Lost Causes by Jennifer Dubois

BookPeople Weekly Media Update Wed 12/14/11

2011-12-14T13:11:00.001-08:00

BookPeople Events!

For questions about events, contact BookPeople Marketing Director Mandy Brooks at 512.472.4288 x 411 or mandy@bookpeople.com.

Events start at 7PM unless otherwise indicated. List updated Wednesday, December 14.

*** - denotes new event

DECEMBER

***THIS EVENT HAS BEEN CANCELED: Thursday 15 7p - OFF SITE: UT Professor Dr. Robin Doughty speaking & signing The Albatross and the Fish at REI

Monday 19 7p - Ludicrous Speed Book Club discussing Jurassic Park by Michael Crichton
From speculative fiction, deep space adventures, and alternate histories to epic fantasy realms, all who can admit their dorkdom are welcome. Join Joel and Tommy the third Monday of every month at 7PM. This month we will be discussing Jurassic Park by Michael Crichton.

Tuesday 20 7p - Nightmare Factory Book Club discussing World War Z by Max Brooks
H.P. Lovecraft said, "The oldest and strongest emotion of mankind is fear. And the oldest and strongest kind of fear is fear of the unknown." Come join our crypt-keepers, Joe and Bosco, every third Tuesday of the month as we help you navigate the bloody byways and diabolic depths of your fears with our horrific book club, Nightmare Factory. This month's book is World War Z by Max Brooks.

Wednesday 21 7p - Stranger Than Fiction Book Club discussing The Other Wes Moore by Wes Moore
Reading fiction to escape reality is a great way to unwind, but exploring reality can sometimes be even more rewarding. Meet Cindy and Merrilee the third Wednesday of every month where we'll read books about fascinating people, places, and things. This month's book is The Other Wes Moore by Wes Moore.

Saturday 24 - BookPeople's Christmas Eve Hours: 9am- 9pm

Sunday 25 - BookPeople Christmas Hours: 12p - 6p

Wednesday 28 7p - Hard Word Book Club discussing Nineteen Seventy-Four: The Red Riding Quartet, Book One by David Peace
Tough stories with hard hombres and dangerous dames, where survival trumps virtue, no matter what side of the law you are on; this is what you'll find in the Hard Word Book Club. Scott and Joe will guide you along the last Wednesday of every month at 7PM. This month's book is Nineteen Seventy-Four by David Peace. We'll be watching the film Red Riding: In the Year of Our Lord Nineteen Seventy-Four after the discussion, so come for a fun evening!

Wednesday 29 5:30p - Happy Hour Book Club at the Highball discussing Holidays on Ice by David Sedaris
What's better than talking about a book with a group of friends? Talking about a book with a group of friends during Happy Hour at The Highball! Come hang out with Mandy and Joel the last Thursday of every month at 5:30PM where we'll discuss books over cocktails. This month's book is Holidays on Ice by David Sedaris.

Saturday 31 - BookPeople New Years Eve Hours: 9am - 8pm

JANUARY 2012

***Sunday 1 11am - 11pm - CUSTOMER APPRECIATION DAY!
Today, nearly everything in the store is 20% off. Now you can get what you REALLY wanted for the holidays! Thank you for making 2011 an incredible year here at BookPeople. Here's to a happy, healthy year of reading! We're open from 11am - 11pm today.

***Sunday 1 5p - Voyage Out Book Club discussing The History of Love by Nicole Krauss
Join Clint and Brian C. the last Sunday of every month at 5PM as we use wonderful books to travel the world. We're actually taking a break from a specific region at the moment, and instead choosing to read books on our "to read" list. This month we are reading The History of Love by Nicole Krauss. (Due to the Christmas holiday, we have 2 meeting dates in January. The first date is 1/1, the second is 1/29.)

***Tuesday 3 7p - 7% Solution Book Club discussing Maise Dobbs by Jacqueline Winspear
Come join Sharee and Tommy as they explore the worlds of fiction's greatest mysteries. But you must hurry - the game is already afoot. This month's title is Maisie Dobbs by Jacqueline Winspear. (Normally, this club meets the first Monday of every month. Due to the holidays, we are meeting the first Tuesday of January instead.)

***Wednesday 4 7p - UT Psychology Professor ART MARKMAN speaking & signing Smart Thinking: Three Essential Keys to Solve Problems, Innovate, and Get Things Done
Drawing on diverse studies of the mind, from psychology to linguistics, philosophy, and learning science, Art Markman, Ph.D., demonstrates the difference between "smart thinking" and raw intelligence, showing readers how memory works, how to learn effectively, and how to use knowledge to get things done. He then introduces his own three-part formula for readers to employ "smart thinking" in their daily lives. Art Markman is the Annabel Irion Worsham Centennial Professor of Psychology and Marketing at the University of Texas at Austin. He got his ScB from Brown University and his PhD from the University of Illinois. Before coming to the University of Texas, Art taught at Northwestern University and Columbia University.

***Sunday 8 2p - Required Reading Revisited Book Club discussing The Brothers Karamazov by Fyodor Dostoevsky.
Remember those books you were required to read in school? Required Reading Revisited is a chance to take a second (or first) look at some of the books you were made to read in school. Meeting the second Sunday of every month at 2PM, this month's title is The Brothers Karamazov by Fyodor Dostoevsky.

***Thursday 12 7p - Acclaimed author of The Wettest Country in the World MATT BONDURANT speaking & signing The Night Swimmer.
(Matt Bondurant's previous novel The Wettest County in the World was a New York Times Editor's Pick, one of the San Francisco Chronicle 's 50 Best Books of the Year, and is being made into a major motion picture.) The Night Swimmer is an atmospheric tale infused with Hitchcockian suspense. When Fred and Elly Bulkington arrive in a small town on the southern coast of Ireland from Vermont, having won a pub in a contest, they encounter a wild, strange land and the native resistance to outsiders. As Fred immerses himself in the life of a pub-owner, Elly takes the ferry out to a nearby island where she—to the disbelief of the locals—is consumed by her ritual of open water ocean swimming, pushing herself to the limits. Elly becomes enmeshed in the island's troubles—the power struggles between an enigmatic goat herder and the family that has controlled the area for centuries—while Fred's sanity wavers and their marriage begins to unravel. Matt Bondurant's first novel The Third Translation was an international bestseller, translated into 14 languages worldwide. His short fiction has appeared in journals such as Prairie Schooner, The New England Review, and Glimmer Train, among others.

***Friday 13 7p - Star of The Blair Witch Project HEATH DONAHUE speaks & signs her new memoir, Growgirl: How My Life After Blair Witch Project Went to Pot
(The star of the international cult sensation The Blair Witch Project shares the high points of living on a marijuana farm post- Hollywood.) At age thirty-four, Heather Donahue's life went to pot. Literally. After starring in The Blair Witch Project-the tiny indie film- turned-blockbuster that Roger Ebert named one of the ten Most Influential Movies of the Century-she became a household name. But the afterglow of the movie waned, her acting career stalled, and she feared the day her epitaph would read, "Here Lies the Girl from The Blair Witch Project." Determined to start a new life, she left most remnants of the old one in the desert, meditated on things for a few days, then followed her brand-new boyfriend to her brand-new life- growing pot.

***Tuesday 17 7p - Bestselling Author of Memoirs of A Beautiful Boy ROBERT LELEUX speaks & signs The Living End.
(The Memoirs of a Beautiful Boy was named The Houston Press's Best Houston Book of the Year for 2008. Leleux is a native of east Texas.) The Living End is a tribute to an unforgettable woman, and a testimony to the way a disease can awaken an urgent desire for love and forgiveness. Robert Leleux's grandmother JoAnn was a steel magnolia, an elegant and devastatingly witty woman: quick-tongued, generous in her affections, but sometimes oddly indifferent to the emotions of those who most needed her. When JoAnn began exhibiting signs of Alzheimer's, she'd been estranged from her daughter, Robert's mother Jessica, for decades. As her disease progressed, JoAnn lost most of her memories, but she also forgot her old wounds and anger. She became a happy, gentler person who was finally able to reach out to her daughter in what became a strangely life-affirming experience, an unexpected blessing that gave a divided family a second chance.

***Wednesday 18 7p - MysteryPeople Presents: Bestelling Author TAYLOR STEVENS speaking & signing The Innocent.
(Stevens is a MysteryPeople favorite and a NYT bestselling author with a fascinating personal background, having been raised in a cult.) Born into the Children of God, raised in communes across the globe, and denied an education beyond the sixth grade, Taylor Stevens broke free of the cult in order to follow hope and a vague idea of what possibilities lay beyond. She's now a writer living in Texas, whose first novel, The Informationist, was a New York Times bestseller. Her second thriller, The Innocent, tells the story of five year old Hannah, who was taken into the world of a cult known as The Chosen. For eight years, followers of The Prophet have hidden the child, moving her from country to country, shielding the man who stole her. Now, those who've searched the longest know where to find her. They are childhood survivors of The Chosen, thirty-somethings born and raised inside the cult who've managed to make lives for themselves on the outside. They understand the mindset, the culture within that world, and turn to Vanessa Michael Munroe for help, knowing that the only possibility of stealing Hannah back and getting her safely out of Argentina is to trust someone who doesn't trust them, and get Munroe on the inside.

***Thursday 19 7p - Bestselling & Award-Winning Author LUIS ALBERTO URREA speaks & signs Queen of America.
(Urrea is a BookPeople favorite with an active online presence and tremendous following, and is nationally recognized as an achieved literary author. He was recently featured on NPR.) The remarkable heroine of The Hummingbird's Daughter makes a welcome return in an epic novel of love, loss and miracles in America. Queen of America is based on Luis Urrea's real great-aunt Teresita, who had healing powers and was acclaimed as a saint. Urrea extensively researched historical accounts and family records for decades to get the true story. He recounts a spell-binding tale: After the bloody Tomochic rebellion, Teresita Urrea, beloved healer and "Saint of Cabora," flees with her father to Arizona. But their plans are derailed when she once again is claimed as the spiritual leader of the Mexican Revolution. Besieged by pilgrims and pursued by assassins, Teresita embarks on a journey through turn-of-the-century industrial America-stopping in New York, San Francisco, and St. Louis.

***Friday 20 7p - In cooperation with edibleAustin magazine, Assoc. Prof of Women's & Gender Studies at UT ELIZABETH ENGELHARDT speaks & signs Mess of Greens: Southern Gender and Southern Food.
Combining the study of food culture with gender studies and using perspectives from historical, literary, environmental, and American studies, Elizabeth S. D. Engelhardt examines what southern women's choices about food tell us about race, class, gender, and social power. Panelists at this event will include special guests Carol Ann Sayle from Boggy Creek Farm and Stephanie McClenny of confituras. Enjoy special tastings inspired by the book along with Saint Arnold Brewing Company beverages. This event is curated by the good folks at edibleAustin magazine.

***Saturday 21 12p - Children's Author JAN BOZARTH speaking & signing Fairy Godmother Academy Book #5: Sumi's Book
Put on your wings and sprinkle on some fairy dust, because we have a magical event coming for you with one of BookPeople's bestselling authors, Jan Bozarth! More magic and adventure await in this latest Fairy Godmother Academy story. Sumi Hara loves fashion. She always looks beautiful, and always wears the perfect outfit. When she arrives in Aventurine, Sumi is thrilled to learn that she's a shape-shifter.Unfortunately, she's not very good at shape-shifting yet, so she's given a guide named Kano—who's distractingly gorgeous in his human form. When they find out that an evil fairy queen holds the final mirror shard needed to complete their mission, Sumi will have to discover what true beauty and perfection are.

***Saturday 21 4p - Award-Winning Debut Novelist & Former Austinite KEIJA PARSSINEN speaks & signs The Ruins of Us.
Saudi-born author Keija Parssinen's stunning debut offers the intricate, emotionally resonant story of an American expatriate who discovers that her husband, a Saudi billionaire, has taken a second bride—an emotionally turbulent revelation that blinds them both to their teenaged son's ominous first steps down the road of radicalization. Readers who enjoyed The Septembers of Shiraz will enjoy Parssinen's story of love and betrayal, fundamentalism, family and country in the Middle East. Keija Parssinen was born in Saudi Arabia and lived there for twelve years as a third-generation expatriate. She also grew up in Lakeway/Lake Travis and lived for many years in Austin. The Ruins of Us, her first novel, received a Michener-Copernicus Award.

***Saturday 21 7p - OFF SITE: BookPeople Hosts Bestselling YA Author JOHN GREEN at Westlake Performing Arts Center to speak & sign The Fault In Our Stars.
(John Green has a MASSIVE and loyal online following. Tickets for this event went on sale Fri 12/9 and we've already sold hundreds. He's one of the biggest YA authors writing right now and built significant anticipation among his fans for this new book.) We are absolutely thrilled to be able to bring the one and only John Green to Austin to speak & sign his brand new, highly anticipated book, The Fault In Our Stars! This event will take place at Westlake Performing Arts Center (4100 Westbank Drive, Austin). Tickets are required to attend this event and and cost $25, which includes one signed copy of The Fault In Our Stars and entitles the bearer to one seat at the event. Signed books will be distributed at Westlake Community Performing Arts Center the evening of the event. The event begins at 7p, and doors will open at 6p. Tickets can be purchased three ways: in-store; over the phone (512-472-5050); or online (http:www.bookpeople.com).

***Sunday 22 3p - Award Winning Author JAMES CARLOS BLAKE speaks & signs Country of the Bad Wolfes.
A master of the historical novel, James Carlos Blake has been hailed as "a poet of the damned who writes like an angel." (Kirkus Reviews) In Country of the Bad Wolfes, based in part on his own ancestors, Blake presents the story of the Wolfe family—a saga that spans three generations, centers on two sets of identical twins and the women they love, and ranges from New England to the heart of Mexico before concluding in South Texas. James Carlos Blake was born in Mexico and grew up in Texas and Florida. He is the author of nine other novels and a collection of short works . Among his literary honors are the Los Angeles Times Book Prize, the Southwest Book Award, and the Falcon Award.

***Monday 23 7p - Local Author Night featuring Jerry Butler & M. E. Patterson
We love our local authors here at BookPeople, and tonight we're pleased to have with us two local Austin writers who will present their work. Jerry Brown will present Wine and Spirit: A Christian's Guide to Enjoying Wine. With passion and a light-hearted spirit, WINE & SPIRIT is a quick, basic guide for everyone who wants to know what the Bible really says about wine. M. E. Patterson will present Devil's Hand. A Las Vegas poker ace with supernatural luck is swept into a world-ending conflict between fallen angels and otherworldly shades, in this thrilling new novel.

***Tuesday 24 7p - Award Winning Fiction Writer BEN MARCUS speaks & signs his new novel, The Flame Alphabet.
(Ben Marcus is a major modern literary figure. His stories have been widely published and have earned him three Pushcart Prizes.) A terrible epidemic has struck the country and the sound of children's speech has become lethal. All Sam and Claire need to do is look around the neighborhood: In the park, parents wither beneath the powerful screams of their children.With Claire nearing collapse, it seems their only means of survival is to flee from their daughter, Esther. But Sam and Claire find it isn't so easy to leave the daughter they still love, even as they waste away from her malevolent speech. The Flame Alphabet asks, What is left of civilization when we lose the ability to communicate with those we love? Ben Marcus is the author of Notable American Women and The Age of Wire and String. His stories have appeared in The New Yorker, Harper's, The Paris Review, Tin House, and elsewhere. In addition to three Pushcart Prizes, he is also the recipient of a Whiting Writers Award, a National Endowment for the Arts grant, and an award from the American Academy of Arts and Letters. He is a Professor of Creative Writing at Columbia University.

***Wednesday 25 7p - Hard Word Book Club discussing Death Along the Spirit Road by Margaret Coel.
Tough stories with hard hombres and dangerous dames, where survival trumps virtue, no matter what side of the law you are on; this is what you'll find in the Hard Word Book Club. Scott and Joe will guide you along the last Wednesday of every month at 7PM. This month's book is Death Along the Spirit Road by C.M. Wendelboe. Wendelboe will be calling in, so don't miss this discussion!

***Wednesday 25 7p - KUT Radio Host & Musician KIM SIMPSON speaks & signs Early 70's Radio: The American Format Revolution.
The host of The International Folk Bazaar on Austin's KOOP-FM and co-host for Folkways on KUT 90.5 FM has written a comprehensive book that focuses on the emergence of commercial music radio "formats," which refer to distinct musical genres aimed toward specific audiences. This formatting revolution took place in a period rife with heated politics, identity anxiety, large-scale disappointments and seemingly insoluble social problems. A fresh and accessible exercise in audience interpretation, Early '70s Radio is organized according to the era's five prominent formats and analyzes each of these in relation to their targeted demographics, including Top 40, "soft rock", album-oriented rock, soul and country.

***Thursday 26 5:30p - Happy Hour at the Highball Book Club discussing Under the Banner of Heaven by Jon Krakauer.
What's better than talking about a book with a group of friends? Talking about a book with a group of friends during Happy Hour at The HighBall! Come hang out with Mandy and Joel the last Thursday of every month at 5:30PM where we'll discuss books over cocktails. This month's book is Under the Banner of Heaven by Jon Krakauer.

***Thursday 26 7p - Panel Discussion Presenting Three Messages and A Warning: Contemporary Mexican Short Stories of the Fantastic.
Editors Chris N. Brown and Eduardo Jiménez Mayo, and featured authors Bernardo Fernández and Pepe Rojo will celebrate, the publication of Three Messages and a Warning: Contemporary Mexican Short Stories of the Fantastic at BookPeople with a reading, discussion, and audience Q&A. This huge anthology of more than thirty all-original Mexican science fiction and fantasy features ghost stories, supernatural folktales, alien incursions, and apocalyptic narratives, as well as science-based chronicles of highly unusual mental states in which the borders of fantasy and reality reach unprecedented levels of ambiguity. Stereotypes of Mexican identity are explored and transcended by the thoroughly cosmopolitan consciousnesses underlying these works.

***Friday 27 7p - MysteryPeople Presents: International Bestselling Author R. J. ELLORY speaking & signing A Quiet Vendetta.
(R. J. Ellory is a huge thriller writer in the UK, on par with James Patterson, Lee Child, and similar writers here in the states.) MysteryPeople is thrilled to welcome R.J. Ellory to Austin! The author of eight novels, including the bestselling A Quiet Belief in Angels, which was the Strand Magazine's Thriller of the Year, nominated for the Barry Award, and a finalist for the SIBA Award, Ellory will be here with his novel A Quiet Vendetta. In addition to speaking and signing, Ellory, who is also a musician, will perform at this event. When Catherine Ducane disappears in the heart of New Orleans, the local cops react rapidly - she is the daughter of the Governor of Louisiana after all. But the case gets very strange, very quickly. Quickly dragged down to the deep South, Ray Hartmann puzzles over why he has been summoned and why the mysterious kidnapper, an elderly Cuban named Ernesto Perez, wants to tell him his life story. It's only when he realises that Ernesto has been a brutal hitman for the Mob since the 1950s that things start to come together. But by the time the pieces fall into place, it's already too late...

***Saturday 28 7:30p - Bestselling Author DANIEL HANDLER & Acclaimed Illustrator MAIRA KALMAN speaking & signing Why We Broke Up.
Bestselling author of, among other things, the Lemony Snicket series of books, Daniel Handler has teamed up with renowned artist Maira Kalman to create this wonderful new YA book that delves into that most painful of human experiences - The Break Up. In Why We Broke Up, Min and Ed are breaking up, so Min is writing Ed a letter and giving him a box. Each item in the box represents a different moment in their relationship, and is illustrated by the incredibly talented Maira Kalman. The book inspired Handler and Kalman to create The Why We Broke Up Project, whose tumblr account (http://whywebrokeupproject.tumblr.com/) invites people to share their own break-up stories. In January, BookPeople will create a correlating in-store display wall inviting Austinites to anonymously share their own break-up stories.

***Sunday 29 5p - Voyage Out Book Club discussing The Tiger's Wife.
Join Clint and Brian C. the last Sunday of every month at 5PM as we use wonderful books to travel the world. We're actually taking a break from a specific region at the moment, and instead choosing to read books on our "to read" list. This month we are reading The Tiger's Wife by Tea Obreht. (Due to the Christmas holiday, we have 2 meeting dates in January. The first date is 1/1, the second is 1/29.)

***Monday 30 7p - New and Noteworthy Book Club discussing A Prayer for Owen Meany by John Irving.
Perhaps more aptly named the "sometimes new/always noteworthy" book club, here is a place to discover recent gems and to revisit old favorites. Come join Kester and Jamie the last Monday of every month at 7PM. This month's book is A Prayer for Owen Meany by John Irving.

***Monday 30 7p - Vietnam Historian & US Military Academy Graduate LEWIS SORLEY speaking & signing Westmoreland: The General Who Lost Vietnam
In this definitive new biography, leading military Vietnam historian Lewis Sorley asks the question: Is General William Westmoreland the real reason the Vietnam War was lost? How did he get there, why did he fail, and how did he last so long? An Eagle Scout at fifteen, First Captain of his West Point class, Westmoreland fought in World War II and Korea, rising rapidly to command the 101st Airborne Division and become Superintendent at West Point, then was chosen to lead the war effort in Vietnam. Sorley examines how he failed to understand a complex war, choosing a flawed strategy, sticking to it in the face of all opposition, and misrepresenting the results when truth mattered most. In so doing he squandered four years of support by Congress, much of the media, and the American people. Lewis Sorley served in Vietnam, and in the Pentagon in the offices of Secretary of Defense James R. Schlesinger and Army Chief of Staff General William C. Westmoreland. He also taught at West Point and the Army War College.

--
Julie Wernersbach
Publicist
BookPeople
603 N. Lamar Blvd
Austin, TX 78703
http://www.bookpeople.com
BP Facebook
BP Twitter
BP Blog

Currently Reading Further Interpretations of Real-Life Events by Kevin Moffett

BookPeople January Event Press Releases

2011-12-06T09:34:00.001-08:00

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE CONTACT: MANDY BROOKS
TUESDAY, DECEMBER 6, 2011 mandy@bookpeople.com 512-472-5050

HEATHER DONAHUE, STAR OF THE BLAIR WITCH PROJECT, COMES TO BOOKPEOPLE

HEATHER DONAHUE, star of the movie that was an international cult sensation, The Blair Witch Project, will speak & sign her brand new memoir about living on a marijuana farm post-Hollywood, Growgirl: How My Life After The Blair Witch Project Went to Pot (Gotham Books; $26.00; 1/5/12) at BookPeople on Friday, January 13th, 7pm.

After starring in The Blair Witch Project-the tiny indie film- turned-blockbuster that Roger Ebert named one of the ten Most Influential Movies of the Century-she became a household name. But the afterglow of the movie waned, her acting career stalled, and she feared the day her epitaph would read, "Here Lies the Girl from The Blair Witch Project." Determined to start a new life, she left most remnants of the old one in the desert, meditated on things for a few days, then followed her brand-new boyfriend to her brand-new life- growing pot.

This event is free and open to the public. All books signed at BookPeople events must be purchased from BookPeople. For more information visit www.bookpeople.com

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MYSTERYPEOPLE WELCOMES BESTSELLING CRIME FICTION AUTHOR TAYLOR STEVENS TO BOOKPEOPLE

MysteryPeople, BookPeople's mystery bookstore-within-a-bookstore, will welcome bestselling crime fiction author TAYLOR STEVENS to BookPeople to speak and sign the second book in her Vanessa Michael Munroe series, The Innocent (Crown; $26.00; 12/27/11) at BookPeople on Wednesday, January 18th, 7pm.

Born into the Children of God, raised in communes across the globe, and denied an education beyond the sixth grade, Taylor Stevens broke free of the cult in order to follow her own dreams. She now lives in Texas, and has already made it to the New York Times bestseller list with her first Vanessa Michael Munroe novel, The Informationist, which quickly became a top seller in MysteryPeople after Stevens' first visit to the store last year. The Innocent is the highly anticipated follow-up and MysteryPeople is thrilled to welcome her back to BookPeople to share it with her fans.

This event is free and open to the public. All books signed at BookPeople events must be purchased from BookPeople. For more information visit www.bookpeople.com

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AWARD-WINNING LITERARY NOVELIST BEN MARCUS TO PRESENT NEW WORK AT BOOKPEOPLE

Multi-award winning literary novelist BEN MARCUS will speak and sign his new novel, The Flame Alphabet (Knopf; $25.95; 1/17/12) at BookPeople on Tuesday, January 24th, 7pm.

Ben Marcus is widely regarded as being at the forefront of American fiction, pushing the possibility of storytelling in daring new directions with his books Notable American Women and The Age of Wire and String, and with stories published in such magazines as The New Yorker, Harper's, The Paris Review, and Tin House. He is the recipient of three Pushcart Prizes, a Whiting Writers Award, a National Endowment for the Arts grant, and an award from the American Academy of Arts and Letters. A new novel from Ben Marcus is an event, and BookPeople is proud to bring Marcus to Austin to present this latest work, which Publisher's Weekly called, "...an audacious work of fiction," in a starred review.

This event is free and open to the public. All books signed at BookPeople events must be purchased from BookPeople. For more information visit www.bookpeople.com

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MYSTERYPEOPLE WELCOMES INTERNATIONAL BESTSELLING BRITISH THRILLER AUTHOR R. J. ELLORY TO BOOKPEOPLE

MysteryPeople, BookPeople's mystery bookstore within-a-bookstore, will welcome award-winning and bestselling British thriller writer R. J. ELLORY to speak and sign his novel, which has already won numerous awards, A Quiet Vendetta (Overlook Press; $25.95; 1/5/12) at BookPeople on Friday, January 27th, 7pm.

R. J. Ellory's thrillers have earned him international recognition and a long list of awards around the globe. The bestselling A Quiet Belief in Angels was the Strand Magazine's Thriller of the Year, nominated for the Barry Award, and a finalist for the SIBA Award. A Simple Act of Violence won the Theakston's Crime Novel of the Year Award. Overlook Press has brought his books to the States, and MysteryPeople is pleased to bring him to Austin to introduce A Quiet Vendetta, which Kirkus Reviews calls, "An absorbing crime novel…a brilliantly conceived tale of greed, politics, family loyalties, and vengeance."

This event is free and open to the public. All books signed at BookPeople events must be purchased from BookPeople. For more information visit www.bookpeople.com

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BESTSELLING AUTHOR DANIEL HANDLER & ACCLAIMED ARTIST MAIRA KALMAN BRING THE 'WHY WE BROKE UP' PROJECT TO BOOKPEOPLE

DANIEL HANDLER, better known to many as Lemony Snicket, and artist MAIRA KALMAN have teamed up for the Why We Broke Up project (http://whywebrokeupproject.tumblr.com/), inspired by the new novel written by Handler and illustrated by Kalman, Why We Broke Up (Little, Brown and Company; $19.99; 12/27/11). Handler and Kalman will appear together at BookPeople to speak about the project and sign books on Saturday, January 28, 7:30pm.

Why We Broke Up is a novel in the form of a letter from Min Green to a boy named Ed Slaterton. In the story, the letter comes with a box full of objects that represent Green and Slaterton's relationship, each one rendered as a beautiful illustration by Maira Kalman. The result is a highly original, heartfelt look at how break ups happen, how much they hurt, and how to get over them. While written with teen readers in mind, Why We Broke Up is sure to transcend ages and hit home with anyone who has suffered the agony of love gone amiss. As Handler and Kalman dug deep into their personal break up histories to write and illustrate this new book, they were inspired to give other break up survivors a place to vent their experiences and share their stories of heartbreak: http://whywebrokeupproject.tumblr.com/.

This event is free and open to the public. All books signed at BookPeople events must be purchased from BookPeople. For more information visit www.bookpeople.com

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--
Julie Wernersbach
Publicist
BookPeople
603 N. Lamar Blvd
Austin, TX 78703
http://www.bookpeople.com
BP Facebook
BP Twitter
BP Blog

Currently Reading Further Interpretations of Real-Life Events by Kevin Moffett

BookPeople Weekly Media Update 12/1/11

2011-12-01T11:38:00.001-08:00

BookPeople Events!

For questions about events, contact BookPeople Marketing Director Mandy Brooks at 512.472.4288 x 411 or mandy@bookpeople.com.

Events start at 7PM unless otherwise indicated. List updated Thursday, December 1.

*** - denotes new event

DECEMBER

Thursday 1 7p - Bestselling Cookbook Author ANGIE DUDLEY (aka BAKERELLA) speaks & signs Cake Pops and Cake Pops Kit - COOKING - BAKING
(Dudley's website Bakerella.com began the whole cake pop trend. She now has a huge fan base and is famous for both her blog and her cookbooks. She has been featured by multiple media outlets, including Woman's Day, The Pioneer Woman blog, and Martha Stewart.)
What's cuter than a cupcake? A cake pop, of course! Wildly popular blogger Bakerella (aka Angie Dudley) has turned cake pops into an international sensation! Cute little cakes on a stick from decorated balls to more ambitious shapes such as baby chicks, ice cream cones, and even cupcakes these adorable creations are the perfect alternative to cake at any party or get-together. Dudley's cake pops have started a nationwide cake pop trend, and she'll be here to share her baking and decorating tips and tricks and sign books!

Wednesday 7 7p - Rewritten History Book Club discussing Eye of the Needle by Ken Follett
You are cordially invited to join Merrilee and Sharee the first Wednesday of every month to explore and discuss works of historical fiction. This month's book is Eye of the Needle by Ken Follett.

Friday 2 8p - OFF-SITE - JOHN WATERS at the Paramount - A John Waters Christmas
BookPeople will sell books on-site at the Paramount theater when John Waters appears to celebrate A John Waters Christmas. His one-man show is a "vaudeville" act that celebrates his incredible filmmaking career with a provocative and devious monologue that takes the audience on a misbehaved trip to the extremes. A journey where absolutely nothing is sacred. Tickets and more information available at the Paramount website.

Saturday 3 9am - Registration opens for Star Wars Clone Wars Jedi Training Camp
BookPeople Literary Camps is proud to present one of the coolest weekend camps in the history of camping - Star Wars The Clone Wars Jedi Training Camp. Registration for this weekend-long camp, which will run February 18, 19 & 20 of 2012, opens today at 9am. The line will open at 8am. For more information, please visit the camp website, where you'll also find the requisite registration packet all campers must complete.

Saturday 3 4p - Texas Poetry Calendar Reading featuring two dozen Texas poets - POETRY
BookPeople is pleased to once again host a wonderful round of readings from some of Texas' premiere poets, all of whom have had their work selected to be published in the 2012 Texas Poetry Calendar. Poets featured include: Shuhb Schiesser, Barbara Gregg, Laura Peña, Christa Pandey, Ralph Hausser, Neil Meili, Gary Rosin, Jo Virgil, Carie Juettner, Nathan Brown, Kelsey Erin Shipman, Margie McCreless Roe, Sarah Webb, Lyman Grant, Diane McGurren, Jill Wiggins, Stan Crawford, Robin Allen, Jeannie Gambill, Claire Camargo, Mary Margaret Carlisle, Ken Fontenot, Katherine Oldmixon.

Sunday 4 7p - P. KELLACH WADDLE Performs Original Music Inspired by the Work of Ernest Hemingway
Three-time Pulitzer prize nominee P. Kellach Waddle and the musicians of PKWproductions return to Book People with their first presentation of the year in the PKWproductions "A Synthesis of Music and Literature" series. This concert will feature new music written by Waddle inspired by works of Ernest Hemingway. Before each new musical work, Waddle will also give short lectures and commentary on the three novels which inspired this presentation's music : A Farewell To Arms, The Sun Also Rises, and For Whom The Bell Tolls.

Monday 5 7p - 7% Solution Book Club discussing Veil of Lies by Jeri Westerson
Come join Sharee and Tommy the first Monday of every month at 7PM as they explore the worlds of fiction's greatest mysteries. But you must hurry - the game is already afoot. This month's title is Veil of Lies by Jeri Westerson.

Wednesday 7 7p - Rewritten History Book Club discussing Eye of the Needle by Ken Follett
You are cordially invited to join Merrilee and Sharee the first Wednesday of every month to explore and discuss works of historical fiction. This month's book is Eye of the Needle by Ken Follett.

***Thursday 8 6p - Christmas with Young Guitarists from the Behrens Guitar Studio
Students fomr the Behrens Guitar Studio Suzuki program will be playing Christmas songs starting at 6PM. Get into the holiday spirit with these talented young guitarists.

Sunday 11 2p - Required Reading Revisited Book Club discussing Light in August by William Faulkner
Remember those books you were required to read in school? Required Reading Revisited is a chance to take a second (or first) look at some of the books you were made to read in school. Meeting the second Sunday of every month at 2PM, this month's title is Light in August by William Faulkner.

Sunday 11 5p - FYA Book Club discussing Miss Peregrine's Home for Peculiar Children by Ransom Riggs
Are you tired of feeling ashamed every time you creep into the Young Adult section of BookPeople? Well, the Forever Young Adult Book Club is here to offer you relief! We're a group of adults (technically) who meet at 5 PM on the second Sunday of every month. This month's book is Miss Peregrine's Home for Peculiar Children by Ransom Riggs, so leave your shame at the door, grab a cocktail, and join us! Normally, the FYA Book Club meets at The Highball. For a festive change of pace, we are having a holiday shindig at a book club member's home. So as not to post the address all over the internet, please email foreveryoungadult@gmail.com for address information.

Thursday 15 7p - OFF SITE: UT Professor Dr. Robin Doughty speaking & signing The Albatross and the Fish at REI
Breeding on remote ocean islands and spending much of its life foraging for food across vast stretches of seemingly empty seas, the albatross remains a legend for most people. And yet, humans are threatening the albatross family to such an extent that it is currently the most threatened bird group in the world. In this extensively researched, highly readable book, Robin W. Doughty and Virginia Carmichael tell the story of a potentially catastrophic extinction that has been interrupted by an unlikely alliance of governments, conservation groups, and fishermen. This event will take place next door to BookPeople, at REI 601 N. Lamar Blvd.

Monday 19 7p - Ludicrous Speed Book Club discussing Jurassic Park by Michael Crichton
From speculative fiction, deep space adventures, and alternate histories to epic fantasy realms, all who can admit their dorkdom are welcome. Join Joel and Tommy the third Monday of every month at 7PM. This month we will be discussing Jurassic Park by Michael Crichton.

Tuesday 20 7p - Nightmare Factory Book Club discussing World War Z by Max Brooks
H.P. Lovecraft said, "The oldest and strongest emotion of mankind is fear. And the oldest and strongest kind of fear is fear of the unknown." Come join our crypt-keepers, Joe and Bosco, every third Tuesday of the month as we help you navigate the bloody byways and diabolic depths of your fears with our horrific book club, Nightmare Factory. This month's book is World War Z by Max Brooks.

Wednesday 21 7p - Stranger Than Fiction Book Club discussing The Other Wes Moore by Wes Moore
Reading fiction to escape reality is a great way to unwind, but exploring reality can sometimes be even more rewarding. Meet Cindy and Merrilee the third Wednesday of every month where we'll read books about fascinating people, places, and things. This month's book is The Other Wes Moore by Wes Moore.

Saturday 24 - BookPeople's Christmas Eve Hours: 9am- 9pm

Sunday 25 - BookPeople Christmas Hours: 12p - 6p

Wednesday 28 7p - Hard Word Book Club discussing Nineteen Seventy-Four: The Red Riding Quartet, Book One by David Peace
Tough stories with hard hombres and dangerous dames, where survival trumps virtue, no matter what side of the law you are on; this is what you'll find in the Hard Word Book Club. Scott and Joe will guide you along the last Wednesday of every month at 7PM. This month's book is Nineteen Seventy-Four by David Peace. We'll be watching the film Red Riding: In the Year of Our Lord Nineteen Seventy-Four after the discussion, so come for a fun evening!

Wednesday 29 5:30p - Happy Hour Book Club at the Highball discussing Holidays on Ice by David Sedaris
What's better than talking about a book with a group of friends? Talking about a book with a group of friends during Happy Hour at The Highball! Come hang out with Mandy and Joel the last Thursday of every month at 5:30PM where we'll discuss books over cocktails. This month's book is Holidays on Ice by David Sedaris.

Saturday 31 - BookPeople New Years Eve Hours: 9am - 8pm

--
Julie Wernersbach
Publicist
BookPeople
603 N. Lamar Blvd
Austin, TX 78703
http://www.bookpeople.com
BP Facebook
BP Twitter
BP Blog

Currently Reading Threats by Amelia Gray

BookPeople Press Release: Announcing Star Wars The Clone Wars Weekend Camp

2011-11-30T11:41:00.001-08:00

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE CONTACT: TOPHER BRADFIELD
WEDNESDAY, NOVEMBER 30, 2011 kids_outreach@bookpeople.com 512-472-5050

BOOKPEOPLE LITERARY CAMPS TO HOST STAR WARS THE CLONE WARS WEEKEND CAMP

BookPeople Literary Camps is proud to announce its first ever Star Wars: The Clone Wars Jedi Training Camp. This weekend Camp will be held at McKinney State Falls Park on President's Day Weekend, February 18-20, 2012. This Lucas Film approved production will open registration on Saturday, December 3rd, 9am.

BookPeople Literary Camps is famous nationwide for its week-long summer camps, Camp Half-Blood and Ranger's Apprentice Camp, as well as its weekend camps, all of which work passionately to bring books to life for young readers. Now, BookPeople Literary Camps bring Austin the most far out journey into books yet with Star Wars: The Clone Wars Jedi Training Weekend Camp.

For three days, camper's ages 9-16 will train in the ways of the Force at the new Outer-Rim Training Facility, where they will be versed in use of the Force, light saber training, and Jedi knowledge. Part of this training will include the apprehension of the nefarious bounty hunter, Rom Theen, as part of the weekend-long story line which the campers will adventure through. Campers will also be challenged with battlefield strategies, play table-top games with Star Wars Miniatures to test their ability to work as a team, create Star Wars-inspired arts & crafts, compose the latest Star Wars hymn with the Camp's Song Master, and much more. All weekend long, campers will be invited to the Jedi Lore Master's area to record their experience for future Jedi Initiates, and at the end of camp, campers will install their data files in the Jedi Holocron.

Camp Director Topher Bradfield has worked with Lucas Films and Penguin Publishers to craft a storyline for a real life adventure into Star Wars: The Clone Wars which will include professional actors, costumes, and professional grade light sabers which campers will be able to purchase.

Spots are limited. The cost of the camp is $375. Registration will open at BookPeople on Saturday, December 3rd at 9am. Line-up will open that morning at 8am at BookPeople. Completed registration packets are required in order to register and can be downloaded from http://starwarscamp.wordpress.com/.

###

--
Julie Wernersbach
Publicist
BookPeople
603 N. Lamar Blvd
Austin, TX 78703
http://www.bookpeople.com
BP Facebook
BP Twitter
BP Blog

Currently Reading Threats by Amelia Gray

BookPeople Weekly Media Update - 11/23/11

2011-11-23T11:24:00.001-08:00

BookPeople Events!

For questions about events, contact BookPeople Marketing Director Mandy Brooks at 512.472.4288 x 411 or mandy@bookpeople.com.

Events start at 7PM unless otherwise indicated. List updated Wednesday, November 23.

*** - denotes new event

NOVEMBER

Wednesday 23 7p - Historical Fiction Author LINDA BERDOLL speaks & signs The Darcys: The Ruling Passions
After watching the A&E/BBC miniseries Pride & Prejudice, Linda Berdoll went on an all-out Austen spree. The conclusion she drew after re-reading all of Austen's novels as well as investigating other research materials was that Austen left quite a bit out of her telling of the Regency Era. She wrote about only what a respectable married woman of the era would be privy to - and ended every time with the wedding ceremony! Linda wanted to know what would come after, and so she began her bestselling series of books with Mr. Darcy Takes a Wife and Darcy and Elizabeth. Now she continues the series with The Darcys: The Ruling Passion, chronicling the lives of Darcy and Elizabeth and their family.

Thursday 28 - BookPeople closed for Thanksgiving

Sunday 27 5p - Voyage Out Book Club discussing One Hundred Bottles by Ena Lucia Portela
Join Clint and Brian C. the last Sunday of every month at 5PM as we use wonderful books to travel the world. The current region is the Caribbean, and this month we are reading One Hundred Bottles by Ena Lucia Portela.

Monday 28 7p - New & Noteworthy Book Club discussing Jeff in Venice, Death in Varanasi by Geoff Dyer
Perhaps more aptly named the "sometimes new/always noteworthy" book club, here is a place to discover recent gems and to revisit old favorites. Come join Paul and Kester the last Monday of every month at 7PM. This month's book is Jeff in Venice, Death in Varanasi by Geoff Dyer.

Monday 28 7p - Former Daily Show Executive Producer DAVID JAVERBAUM speaks & signs The Last Testament: A Memoir (by God) - HUMOR
(Javerbaum has earned 12 Emmys for his work on The Daily Show and is the co-author of Jon Stewart's bestselling books America and Earth. This satirical memoir will appeal to any fans of the show.)
As the earth he has godded so magnificently draws to a Mayan-induced close, God breaks his 1,400-year literary silence with this telleth-all. From the creation of the universe to jeggings, the Lord Almighty has been a pivotal player in nearly all the major decisions of the past 20 epochs. Now, for the first time since He wrote whichever holy book you happen to believe in, God once again takes to his quill, offering startling dish about everything and everyone in the universe, including the first couple, Adam and Steve (you read right); hot-button topics like prayer in school, evolution and if Michelle Bachmann is going to Heaven; and he puts to rest long-standing disputes over which athletes and teams He actually supports. David Javerbaum is a comedy writer living in New York. He has won 12 Emmys for his work as Executive Producer of The Daily Show. He recently wrote the opening numbers for the Tony and Emmy Award shows. He is the co-author of two of the bestselling humor books of the decade, the Daily Show's textbook parodies America and Earth.

Wednesday 30 6:30p - BookPeople Presents Italian-American Chef & PBS Host LIDIA BASTIANICH at Whole Foods Market - COOKING - CELEBRITY CHEF
(Lidia has a huge following from her PBS show and is a nationally known Italian cooking personality. Hundreds of people are expected to attend this event, which will be held at Whole Foods with BookPeople handling book sales.)
Lidia Bastianich has been the beloved host of PBS' Lidia's Italy. She is the author of seven previous books, five of which have been accompanied by nationally syndicated public television series. She is the owner of several restaurants. In Lidia's Italy in America, a companion book to her upcoming public television series of the same name, Lidia takes us on a road trip into the heart of Italian American cooking today, as only Lidia can. This event will take place in the wine section at Whole Foods Market, 525 N. Lamar (directly across the street from BookPeople.) In order to have a book signed at this event, you must purchase the book from BookPeople. Tickets are required to join the signing line at Whole Foods and will be distributed with the purchase of a copy of Lidia's Italy in America from BookPeople. Tickets will be available the day the book goes on sale, Tuesday, October 25.

Wednesday 30 7p - Hard Word Book Club discussing Berlin Noir by Philip Kerr
Tough stories with hard hombres and dangerous dames, where survival trumps virtue, no matter what side of the law you are on; this is what you'll find in the Hard Word Book Club. Scott and Joe will guide you along the last Wednesday of every month at 7PM. This month's book is Berlin Noir edited by Philip Kerr. Kerr will be calling in, so don't miss this discussion!

DECEMBER

Thursday 1 7p - Bestselling Cookbook Author ANGIE DUDLEY (aka BAKERELLA) speaks & signs Cake Pops and Cake Pops Kit - COOKING - BAKING
(Dudley's website Bakerella.com began the whole cake pop trend. She now has a huge fan base and is famous for both her blog and her cookbooks. She has been featured by multiple media outlets, including Woman's Day, The Pioneer Woman blog, and Martha Stewart.)
What's cuter than a cupcake? A cake pop, of course! Wildly popular blogger Bakerella (aka Angie Dudley) has turned cake pops into an international sensation! Cute little cakes on a stick from decorated balls to more ambitious shapes such as baby chicks, ice cream cones, and even cupcakes these adorable creations are the perfect alternative to cake at any party or get-together. Dudley's cake pops have started a nationwide cake pop trend, and she'll be here to share her baking and decorating tips and tricks and sign books!

Wednesday 7 7p - Rewritten History Book Club discussing Eye of the Needle by Ken Follett
You are cordially invited to join Merrilee and Sharee the first Wednesday of every month to explore and discuss works of historical fiction. This month's book is Eye of the Needle by Ken Follett.

Friday 2 8p - OFF-SITE - JOHN WATERS at the Paramount - A John Waters Christmas
BookPeople will sell books on-site at the Paramount theater when John Waters appears to celebrate A John Waters Christmas. His one-man show is a "vaudeville" act that celebrates his incredible filmmaking career with a provocative and devious monologue that takes the audience on a misbehaved trip to the extremes. A journey where absolutely nothing is sacred. Tickets and more information available at the Paramount website.

***Saturday 3 9am - Registration opens for Star Wars Clone Wars Jedi Training Camp
BookPeople Literary Camps is proud to present one of the coolest weekend camps in the history of camping - Star Wars The Clone Wars Jedi Training Camp. Registration for this weekend-long camp, which will run February 18, 19 & 20 of 2012, opens today at 9am. The line will open at 8am. For more information, please visit the camp website, where you'll also find the requisite registration packet all campers must complete.

Saturday 3 4p - Texas Poetry Calendar Reading featuring two dozen Texas poets - POETRY
BookPeople is pleased to once again host a wonderful round of readings from some of Texas' premiere poets, all of whom have had their work selected to be published in the 2012 Texas Poetry Calendar. Poets featured include: Shuhb Schiesser, Barbara Gregg, Laura Peña, Christa Pandey, Ralph Hausser, Neil Meili, Gary Rosin, Jo Virgil, Carie Juettner, Nathan Brown, Kelsey Erin Shipman, Margie McCreless Roe, Sarah Webb, Lyman Grant, Diane McGurren, Jill Wiggins, Stan Crawford, Robin Allen, Jeannie Gambill, Claire Camargo, Mary Margaret Carlisle, Ken Fontenot, Katherine Oldmixon.

Sunday 4 7p - P. KELLACH WADDLE Performs Original Music Inspired by the Work of Ernest Hemingway
Three-time Pulitzer prize nominee P. Kellach Waddle and the musicians of PKWproductions return to Book People with their first presentation of the year in the PKWproductions "A Synthesis of Music and Literature" series. This concert will feature new music written by Waddle inspired by works of Ernest Hemingway. Before each new musical work, Waddle will also give short lectures and commentary on the three novels which inspired this presentation's music : A Farewell To Arms, The Sun Also Rises, and For Whom The Bell Tolls.

***Monday 5 7p - 7% Solution Book Club discussing Veil of Lies by Jeri Westerson
Come join Sharee and Tommy the first Monday of every month at 7PM as they explore the worlds of fiction's greatest mysteries. But you must hurry - the game is already afoot. This month's title is Veil of Lies by Jeri Westerson.

***Wednesday 7 7p - Rewritten History Book Club discussing Eye of the Needle by Ken Follett
You are cordially invited to join Merrilee and Sharee the first Wednesday of every month to explore and discuss works of historical fiction. This month's book is Eye of the Needle by Ken Follett.

Sunday 11 2p - Required Reading Revisited Book Club discussing Light in August by William Faulkner
Remember those books you were required to read in school? Required Reading Revisited is a chance to take a second (or first) look at some of the books you were made to read in school. Meeting the second Sunday of every month at 2PM, this month's title is Light in August by William Faulkner.

Sunday 11 5p - FYA Book Club discussing Miss Peregrine's Home for Peculiar Children by Ransom Riggs
Are you tired of feeling ashamed every time you creep into the Young Adult section of BookPeople? Well, the Forever Young Adult Book Club is here to offer you relief! We're a group of adults (technically) who meet at 5 PM on the second Sunday of every month. This month's book is Miss Peregrine's Home for Peculiar Children by Ransom Riggs, so leave your shame at the door, grab a cocktail, and join us! Normally, the FYA Book Club meets at The Highball. For a festive change of pace, we are having a holiday shindig at a book club member's home. So as not to post the address all over the internet, please email foreveryoungadult@gmail.com for address information.

***Thursday 15 7p - OFF SITE: UT Professor Dr. Robin Doughty speaking & signing The Albatross and the Fish at REI
Breeding on remote ocean islands and spending much of its life foraging for food across vast stretches of seemingly empty seas, the albatross remains a legend for most people. And yet, humans are threatening the albatross family to such an extent that it is currently the most threatened bird group in the world. In this extensively researched, highly readable book, Robin W. Doughty and Virginia Carmichael tell the story of a potentially catastrophic extinction that has been interrupted by an unlikely alliance of governments, conservation groups, and fishermen. This event will take place next door to BookPeople, at REI 601 N. Lamar Blvd.

Monday 19 7p - Ludicrous Speed Book Club discussing Jurassic Park by Michael Crichton
From speculative fiction, deep space adventures, and alternate histories to epic fantasy realms, all who can admit their dorkdom are welcome. Join Joel and Tommy the third Monday of every month at 7PM. This month we will be discussing Jurassic Park by Michael Crichton.

Tuesday 20 7p - Nightmare Factory Book Club discussing World War Z by Max Brooks
H.P. Lovecraft said, "The oldest and strongest emotion of mankind is fear. And the oldest and strongest kind of fear is fear of the unknown." Come join our crypt-keepers, Joe and Bosco, every third Tuesday of the month as we help you navigate the bloody byways and diabolic depths of your fears with our horrific book club, Nightmare Factory. This month's book is World War Z by Max Brooks.

Wednesday 21 7p - Stranger Than Fiction Book Club discussing The Other Wes Moore by Wes Moore
Reading fiction to escape reality is a great way to unwind, but exploring reality can sometimes be even more rewarding. Meet Cindy and Merrilee the third Wednesday of every month where we'll read books about fascinating people, places, and things. This month's book is The Other Wes Moore by Wes Moore.

Saturday 24 - BookPeople's Christmas Eve Hours: 9am- 9pm

Sunday 25 - BookPeople Christmas Hours: 12p - 6p

Wednesday 28 7p - Hard Word Book Club discussing Nineteen Seventy-Four: The Red Riding Quartet, Book One by David Peace
Tough stories with hard hombres and dangerous dames, where survival trumps virtue, no matter what side of the law you are on; this is what you'll find in the Hard Word Book Club. Scott and Joe will guide you along the last Wednesday of every month at 7PM. This month's book is Nineteen Seventy-Four by David Peace. We'll be watching the film Red Riding: In the Year of Our Lord Nineteen Seventy-Four after the discussion, so come for a fun evening!

Wednesday 29 5:30p - Happy Hour Book Club at the Highball discussing Holidays on Ice by David Sedaris
What's better than talking about a book with a group of friends? Talking about a book with a group of friends during Happy Hour at The Highball! Come hang out with Mandy and Joel the last Thursday of every month at 5:30PM where we'll discuss books over cocktails. This month's book is Holidays on Ice by David Sedaris.

***Saturday 31 - BookPeople New Years Eve Hours: 9am - 8pm

--
Julie Wernersbach
Publicist
BookPeople
603 N. Lamar Blvd
Austin, TX 78703
http://www.bookpeople.com
BP Facebook
BP Twitter
BP Blog

Currently Reading Threats by Amelia Gray

BookPeople Weekly Media Update - 11/17/11

2011-11-16T13:24:00.001-08:00

BookPeople Events!

For questions about events, contact BookPeople Marketing Director Mandy Brooks at 512.472.4288 x 411 or mandy@bookpeople.com.

Events start at 7PM unless otherwise indicated. List updated Wednesday, November 16.

*** - denotes new event

NOVEMBER

Wednesday 16 7p - Author & Former Austinite WILLIAM ADLER speaks & signs The Man Who Never Died - NONFICTION - HISTORY
In 1914, Joe Hill was convicted of murder in Utah and sentenced to death by firing squad, igniting international controversy. Many believed Hill was innocent, condemned for his association with the Industrial Workers of the World-the radical Wobblies. Now, following four years of intensive investigation, William M. Adler gives us the first full-scale biography of Joe Hill, and presents never before published documentary evidence that comes as close as one can to definitively exonerating him.

Wednesday 16 7p - Stranger Than Fiction Book Club discussing Traffic
Reading fiction to escape reality is a great way to unwind, but exploring reality can sometimes be even more rewarding. Meet Cindy the third Wednesday of every month where we'll read books about fascinating people, places, and things. This month's book is Traffic by Tom Vanderbilt.

Thursday 17 5:30p - Happy Hour Book Club at the Highball discussing Kitchen Confidential by Anthony Bourdain
What's better than talking about a book with a group of friends? Talking about a book with a group of friends during Happy Hour at The Highball! Come hang out with Mandy and Joel the last Thursday of every month at 5:30PM where we'll discuss books over cocktails. This month's book is Kitchen Confidential by Anthony Bourdain.

Thursday 17 7p - Bestselling Author of The Mozart Effect DON CAMPBELL speaks & signs Healing at the Speed of Sound - NONFICTION - MUSIC - MEDICINE
Based on over a decade of new research, Don Campbell, bestselling author of The Mozart Effect, and Alex Doman, an expert in the practical application of sound and listening, show how we can use music and silence to become more efficient, productive, relaxed, and healthy. Each chapter focuses on a single aspect of everyday life, providing advice, exercises, wide-ranging playlists, and links so readers can use the music they love to create the perfect soundtrack for any goal or task. Also included are "Sound Profiles" - brief stories showing how real people creatively tap the power of sound to improve their own and others' lives. Inspiring, practical, and truly enjoyable, Healing at the Speed of Sound™ opens the door to fuller, richer, and much more harmonious lives.

Friday 18 7p - Iron Man Triathlete AMY SNYDER speaks & signs Hell on Two Wheels - MEMOIR - CYCLING
RAAM-the Race Across America-is a bicycle race like no other. This epic race is the most brutal organized sporting event you've never heard of and one of the best-kept secrets in the sports world. Outside magazine calls it "the toughest test of endurance in the world." Contestants have died, been maimed, and spiraled down into the nightmarish realm of madness. Half of them don't finish; in fact, only 200 racers have ever made it to the end. Author and three-time Iron Man Triathlete finisher Amy Snyder follows a handful of athletes before, during, and after the 2009 event-the closest and most controversial in history. Hell on Two Wheels is a thrilling and remarkably detailed account of their ups and downs, triumphs and tragedies.

Saturday 19 1p - Not Just Another Teen Book Club discussing Geektastic by Holly Black
Not Just Another Teen Book Club will be reading some of the books from the last few years that have kept us talking the most. We meet the 4th Saturday of every month, and we welcome all readers aged 13-18! This month we'll be reading Geektastic edited by Holly Black.

Saturday 19 2p - Bestselling Young Adult Author CHRISTOPHER PAOLINI speaking & signing Inheritance - YOUNG ADULT
(Paolini events are always huge here, and this book is the last in his incredibly bestselling series. Activities, decorations and lots of fun are planned for this in-store event to celebrate the end of a landmark series.)
Join us when BookPeople transforms its third floor into Alagaesia to welcome bestselling author Christopher Paolini. We'll have face-painting, food, entertainment and activities! This is a party not-to-be-missed! It all started with Eragon, and now with Inheritance, this fourth and final book, Christopher Paolini brings us the incredible conclusion to The Inheritance Cycle! In order to join the signing line at this event, you must purchase a copy of Inheritance from BookPeople. When you purchase your book from BookPeople, you will receive a ticket for the signing line. These tickets are required to join the signing line at the event. We will begin selling books and distributing tickets for the signing line when we open at 9:00am on Tuesday, November 8th, the day Inheritance goes on sale nationwide. We will not be able to accept pre-orders for this book. Please call 512-472-5050 with any questions regarding this event.

Sunday 20 5p - This Book Could Be Your Life Book Club with Special Guest CHUCK EDDY - Rock and Roll Always Forgets - LOCAL - MUSIC
Get ready for some rock and roll! Dig into the history of music, its stars and styles, exploring everything from punk to pop. Bosco and Stephanya will satisfy your rock and roll obsession the third Sunday of every month at 5PM. This month, author Chuck Eddy will the join the group to discuss his book, Rock and Roll Always Forgets. Chuck is one of the most prolific and influentia music critics in the business, and this book is a collection of his best and most provocative reviews, interviews, columns, and essays. Don't miss this special edition of the This Book Could Be Your Life Book Club!

Monday 21 7p - Ludicrous Speed Book Club discussing Ringworld by Larry Niven
From speculative fiction, deep space adventures, and alternate histories to epic fantasy realms, all who can admit their dorkdom are welcome. Join Joel and Tommy the third Monday of every month at 7PM. This month we will be discussing Ringworld by Larry Niven.

***Monday 21 - BookPeople will close early, at 8pm, for our annual Staff Holiday Party.

Tuesday 22 7p - Historian & Musician BOBBY BRIDGER speaks & signs Where the Tall Grass Grows - HISTORY - NATIVE AMERICAN
(This event has been rescheduled from Monday 11/21.)
In this entertaining and thought-provoking book, noted historian and musician Bobby Bridger explores the impact of Native American culture on the American psyche. Where the Tall Grass Grows examines the impact of indigenous American mythology on contemporary identity and the development of modern popular entertainment, particularly the Hollywood film industry. Bobby Bridger is renowned for A Ballad of the West, his epic trilogy about the American West from the era of mountain man Jim Bridger to the closing of the frontier. Bridger has had a career in show business that spans the rockabilly to "Music City, USA" era in Nashville, the cosmic cowboy scene in Austin, the flowering of folk music, and even Broadway theater.

Wednesday 23 7p - Historical Fiction Author LINDA BERDOLL speaks & signs The Darcys: The Ruling Passions
After watching the A&E/BBC miniseries Pride & Prejudice, Linda Berdoll went on an all-out Austen spree. The conclusion she drew after re-reading all of Austen's novels as well as investigating other research materials was that Austen left quite a bit out of her telling of the Regency Era. She wrote about only what a respectable married woman of the era would be privy to - and ended every time with the wedding ceremony! Linda wanted to know what would come after, and so she began her bestselling series of books with Mr. Darcy Takes a Wife and Darcy and Elizabeth. Now she continues the series with The Darcys: The Ruling Passion, chronicling the lives of Darcy and Elizabeth and their family.

***Thursday 28 - BookPeople closed for Thanksgiving

Sunday 27 5p - Voyage Out Book Club discussing One Hundred Bottles by Ena Lucia Portela
Join Clint and Brian C. the last Sunday of every month at 5PM as we use wonderful books to travel the world. The current region is the Caribbean, and this month we are reading One Hundred Bottles by Ena Lucia Portela.

Monday 28 7p - New & Noteworthy Book Club discussing Jeff in Venice, Death in Varanasi by Geoff Dyer
Perhaps more aptly named the "sometimes new/always noteworthy" book club, here is a place to discover recent gems and to revisit old favorites. Come join Paul and Kester the last Monday of every month at 7PM. This month's book is Jeff in Venice, Death in Varanasi by Geoff Dyer.

Monday 28 7p - Former Daily Show Executive Producer DAVID JAVERBAUM speaks & signs The Last Testament: A Memoir (by God) - HUMOR
(Javerbaum has earned 12 Emmys for his work on The Daily Show and is the co-author of Jon Stewart's bestselling books America and Earth. This satirical memoir will appeal to any fans of the show.)
As the earth he has godded so magnificently draws to a Mayan-induced close, God breaks his 1,400-year literary silence with this telleth-all. From the creation of the universe to jeggings, the Lord Almighty has been a pivotal player in nearly all the major decisions of the past 20 epochs. Now, for the first time since He wrote whichever holy book you happen to believe in, God once again takes to his quill, offering startling dish about everything and everyone in the universe, including the first couple, Adam and Steve (you read right); hot-button topics like prayer in school, evolution and if Michelle Bachmann is going to Heaven; and he puts to rest long-standing disputes over which athletes and teams He actually supports. David Javerbaum is a comedy writer living in New York. He has won 12 Emmys for his work as Executive Producer of The Daily Show. He recently wrote the opening numbers for the Tony and Emmy Award shows. He is the co-author of two of the bestselling humor books of the decade, the Daily Show's textbook parodies America and Earth.

Wednesday 30 6:30p - BookPeople Presents Italian-American Chef & PBS Host LIDIA BASTIANICH at Whole Foods Market - COOKING - CELEBRITY CHEF
(Lidia has a huge following from her PBS show and is a nationally known Italian cooking personality. Hundreds of people are expected to attend this event, which will be held at Whole Foods with BookPeople handling book sales.)
Lidia Bastianich has been the beloved host of PBS' Lidia's Italy. She is the author of seven previous books, five of which have been accompanied by nationally syndicated public television series. She is the owner of several restaurants. In Lidia's Italy in America, a companion book to her upcoming public television series of the same name, Lidia takes us on a road trip into the heart of Italian American cooking today, as only Lidia can. This event will take place in the wine section at Whole Foods Market, 525 N. Lamar (directly across the street from BookPeople.) In order to have a book signed at this event, you must purchase the book from BookPeople. Tickets are required to join the signing line at Whole Foods and will be distributed with the purchase of a copy of Lidia's Italy in America from BookPeople. Tickets will be available the day the book goes on sale, Tuesday, October 25.

Wednesday 30 7p - Hard Word Book Club discussing Berlin Noir by Philip Kerr
Tough stories with hard hombres and dangerous dames, where survival trumps virtue, no matter what side of the law you are on; this is what you'll find in the Hard Word Book Club. Scott and Joe will guide you along the last Wednesday of every month at 7PM. This month's book is Berlin Noir edited by Philip Kerr. Kerr will be calling in, so don't miss this discussion!

DECEMBER

Thursday 1 7p - Bestselling Cookbook Author ANGIE DUDLEY (aka BAKERELLA) speaks & signs Cake Pops and Cake Pops Kit - COOKING - BAKING
(Dudley's website Bakerella.com began the whole cake pop trend. She now has a huge fan base and is famous for both her blog and her cookbooks. She has been featured by multiple media outlets, including Woman's Day, The Pioneer Woman blog, and Martha Stewart.)
What's cuter than a cupcake? A cake pop, of course! Wildly popular blogger Bakerella (aka Angie Dudley) has turned cake pops into an international sensation! Cute little cakes on a stick from decorated balls to more ambitious shapes such as baby chicks, ice cream cones, and even cupcakes these adorable creations are the perfect alternative to cake at any party or get-together. Dudley's cake pops have started a nationwide cake pop trend, and she'll be here to share her baking and decorating tips and tricks and sign books!

***Wednesday 7 7p - Rewritten History Book Club discussing Eye of the Needle by Ken Follett
You are cordially invited to join Merrilee and Sharee the first Wednesday of every month to explore and discuss works of historical fiction. This month's book is Eye of the Needle by Ken Follett.

Friday 2 8p - OFF-SITE - JOHN WATERS at the Paramount - A John Waters Christmas
BookPeople will sell books on-site at the Paramount theater when John Waters appears to celebrate A John Waters Christmas. His one-man show is a "vaudeville" act that celebrates his incredible filmmaking career with a provocative and devious monologue that takes the audience on a misbehaved trip to the extremes. A journey where absolutely nothing is sacred. Tickets and more information available at the Paramount website.

Saturday 3 4p - Texas Poetry Calendar Reading featuring two dozen Texas poets - POETRY
BookPeople is pleased to once again host a wonderful round of readings from some of Texas' premiere poets, all of whom have had their work selected to be published in the 2012 Texas Poetry Calendar. Poets featured include: Shuhb Schiesser, Barbara Gregg, Laura Peña, Christa Pandey, Ralph Hausser, Neil Meili, Gary Rosin, Jo Virgil, Carie Juettner, Nathan Brown, Kelsey Erin Shipman, Margie McCreless Roe, Sarah Webb, Lyman Grant, Diane McGurren, Jill Wiggins, Stan Crawford, Robin Allen, Jeannie Gambill, Claire Camargo, Mary Margaret Carlisle, Ken Fontenot, Katherine Oldmixon.

Sunday 4 7p - P. KELLACH WADDLE Performs Original Music Inspired by the Work of Ernest Hemingway
Three-time Pulitzer prize nominee P. Kellach Waddle and the musicians of PKWproductions return to Book People with their first presentation of the year in the PKWproductions "A Synthesis of Music and Literature" series. This concert will feature new music written by Waddle inspired by works of Ernest Hemingway. Before each new musical work, Waddle will also give short lectures and commentary on the three novels which inspired this presentation's music : A Farewell To Arms, The Sun Also Rises, and For Whom The Bell Tolls.

***Sunday 11 2p - Required Reading Revisited Book Club discussing Light in August by William Faulkner
Remember those books you were required to read in school? Required Reading Revisited is a chance to take a second (or first) look at some of the books you were made to read in school. Meeting the second Sunday of every month at 2PM, this month's title is Light in August by William Faulkner.

***Sunday 11 5p - FYA Book Club discussing Miss Peregrine's Home for Peculiar Children by Ransom Riggs
Are you tired of feeling ashamed every time you creep into the Young Adult section of BookPeople? Well, the Forever Young Adult Book Club is here to offer you relief! We're a group of adults (technically) who meet at 5 PM on the second Sunday of every month. This month's book is Miss Peregrine's Home for Peculiar Children by Ransom Riggs, so leave your shame at the door, grab a cocktail, and join us! Normally, the FYA Book Club meets at The Highball. For a festive change of pace, we are having a holiday shindig at a book club member's home. So as not to post the address all over the internet, please email foreveryoungadult@gmail.com for address information.

***Monday 19 7p - Ludicrous Speed Book Club discussing Jurassic Park by Michael Crichton
From speculative fiction, deep space adventures, and alternate histories to epic fantasy realms, all who can admit their dorkdom are welcome. Join Joel and Tommy the third Monday of every month at 7PM. This month we will be discussing Jurassic Park by Michael Crichton.

***Tuesday 20 7p - Nightmare Factory Book Club discussing World War Z by Max Brooks
H.P. Lovecraft said, "The oldest and strongest emotion of mankind is fear. And the oldest and strongest kind of fear is fear of the unknown." Come join our crypt-keepers, Joe and Bosco, every third Tuesday of the month as we help you navigate the bloody byways and diabolic depths of your fears with our horrific book club, Nightmare Factory. This month's book is World War Z by Max Brooks.

***Wednesday 21 7p - Stranger Than Fiction Book Club discussing The Other Wes Moore by Wes Moore
Reading fiction to escape reality is a great way to unwind, but exploring reality can sometimes be even more rewarding. Meet Cindy and Merrilee the third Wednesday of every month where we'll read books about fascinating people, places, and things. This month's book is The Other Wes Moore by Wes Moore.

***Saturday 24 - BookPeople's Christmas Eve Hours: 9am- 9pm

***Sunday 25 - BookPeople Christmas Hours: 12p - 6p

***Wednesday 28 7p - Hard Word Book Club discussing Nineteen Seventy-Four: The Red Riding Quartet, Book One by David Peace
Tough stories with hard hombres and dangerous dames, where survival trumps virtue, no matter what side of the law you are on; this is what you'll find in the Hard Word Book Club. Scott and Joe will guide you along the last Wednesday of every month at 7PM. This month's book is Nineteen Seventy-Four by David Peace. We'll be watching the film Red Riding: In the Year of Our Lord Nineteen Seventy-Four after the discussion, so come for a fun evening!

***Wednesday 29 5:30p - Happy Hour Book Club at the Highball discussing Holidays on Ice by David Sedaris
What's better than talking about a book with a group of friends? Talking about a book with a group of friends during Happy Hour at The Highball! Come hang out with Mandy and Joel the last Thursday of every month at 5:30PM where we'll discuss books over cocktails. This month's book is Holidays on Ice by David Sedaris.

--
Julie Wernersbach
Publicist
BookPeople
603 N. Lamar Blvd
Austin, TX 78703
http://www.bookpeople.com
BP Facebook
BP Twitter
BP Blog

Currently Reading Threats by Amelia Gray

BookPeople Weekly Media Update 11/9/11

2011-11-09T13:34:00.001-08:00

BookPeople Events!

For questions about events, contact BookPeople Marketing Director Mandy Brooks at 512.472.4288 x 411 or mandy@bookpeople.com.

Events start at 7PM unless otherwise indicated. List updated Wednesday, November 9.

*** - denotes new event

NOVEMBER

Wednesday 9 7p - SNL Alum JENNY SLATE & Animator/Director DEAN FLEISCHER-CAMP speak & sign Marcel the Shell with Shoes On - CELEBRITY - CHILDREN & ADULT
(Over 11 million people have viewed the famous Marcel the Shell animated short on Youtube. This book will appeal to 20 and 30-somethings as well as parents. Slate made a name for herself after appearing on SNL and currently appears on HBO's Bored to Death.)
Are you one of the millions of people who has fallen in love with Marcel the Shell on Youtube? Now the tiny shell with shoes and a big heart is transitioning from online sensation to picture book character, and we're thrilled to have Jenny Slate, the voice of Marcel, and Dean Fleischer-Camp, director and animator of the short film with over 11 million hits, here at BookPeople to present the new book! In Marcel's voice. From wearing a lentil as a hat to hang-gliding on a Dorito, Marcel is able to find magic in the everyday.Jenny Slate, the voice of Marcel, is an alum of Saturday Night Live and plays Stella on HBO's Bored to Death. Dean Fleischer-Camp is a writer, director, and animator whose work has screened at film festivals around the world.

Thursday 10 12:30p - The Cake Boss BUDDY VALASTRO signs Baking with the Cake Boss. - COOKING - TV CELEBRITY
(Buddy is the star of the show 'Cake Boss,' one of the most popular shows on the TLC network. He will also appear at The Paramount at 7:30 on 11/10, where BookPeople will sell books.)
At Carlo's bakery in Hoboken, where the hit TLC show 'Cake Boss' is filmed, Buddy and his staff turn out thousands of wedding cakes, specialty cakes, and pastries weekly. His award- winning designs have been featured numerous times in different bridal and baking magazines. His memoir cookbook, Cake Boss: The Stories and Recipes from Mia Famiglia, is a New York Times bestseller and Carlo's Bakery has been featured in books, newspapers, such as The New York Times, and television, mostly The Food Network, although he and his cakes have also been featured on The Today's Show, Good Morning America, The View, and HBO's hit series, The Sopranos.

Thursday 10 7p - Local Author Night w/ Ronna Quimby Huckaby, Cory Putman Oakes, & Linda Ginac - LOCAL
We love our local authors here at BookPeople, and tonight we're pleased to have with us two local Austin writers who will present their work. Ronna Quimby Huckaby will present Somewhere Out There. Cory Putman Oakes will present The Veil. Linda Ginac will present Fake Perfection.

Friday 11 7p - Local Tea Party Activist LISA FRITSCH speaks & signs Obama, Tea Parties & God - POLITICS - LOCAL
Lisa Fritsch, who has appeared on Fox News Channel's shows with Glenn Beck and Neil Cavuto, delves into the extent of the power of the Tea Party on our current political situation, the experience of electing the nation's first African-American President and his subsequent performance, and the spiritual ties she perceives between the course of politics in this nation and God.

Saturday 12 4p - Bestselling Ranger's Apprentice Author JOHN FLANAGAN speaks & signs The Brotherband Chronicles: Book One: The Outcasts - MIDDLE GRADE - LITERARY CAMPS
(Ranger's Apprentice Camp is one of our big annual Literary Camps, and this year we're hosting the author of the bestselling series the same day next summer's sessions go on sale.)
At 3pm today, we'll open registration for next year's sessions of Ranger's Apprentice camps. Then at 4pm, we'll have the one and only JOHN FLANAGAN, the man who created the world we love to live in every summer, here to speak and sign his latest book, which delves into a whole new cast of characters in the world of Skandians and Araluens. Hal, Stig, and the others - they are the boys the others want no part of. Skandians, as any reader of Ranger's Apprentice could tell you, are known for their size and strength. Not these boys. Yet that doesn't mean they don't have skills. And courage - which they will need every ounce of to do battle at sea against the other bands, the Wolves and the Sharks, in the ultimate race.

Sunday 13 1p - Required Reading Revisited Book Club discussing The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn by Mark Twain
Remember those books you were required to read in school? Required Reading Revisited is a chance to take a second (or first) look at some of the books you were made to read in school. Meeting the second Sunday of every month at 1PM, this month's title is The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn by Tom Sawyer.

Sunday 13 4p - Austin Author JOHN ELLIS speaking & signing Dormant Curse - FICTION - LOCAL AUTHOR
Are you safe? Imagine this—celebrity Twitter and Facebook accounts have been hacked, allowing encrypted messages to be sent to maliciously-altered chips in our smartphones and tablets. A Chinese cult leader, out for revenge and power, is to blame. As vicious cyber attacks force the U.S. to retreat and watch, China grabs oil and gas resources with their co-conspirators, as we scramble. Fodder for spy movies? Hardly. Dormant Curse is based on Ellis' years in national security and semiconductors. The only question is, "Will we be prepared?" John Ellis was a graduate student at the University of Texas. After graduation, John went on to work at Sandia National Labs in New Mexico before eventually coming back to Austin to work for SEMI—a global, semiconductor trade association.

Sunday 13 5p - FYA Book Club at the High Ball discussing Daughter of Smoke and Bone by Laini Taylor
Are you tired of feeling ashamed every time you creep into the Young Adult section of BookPeople? Well, the Forever Young Adult Book Club is here to offer you relief! We're a group of adults (technically) who meet at 5 PM on the second Sunday of every month at The Highball. This month's book is Daughter of Smoke and Bone by Laini Taylor, so leave your shame at the door, grab a cocktail, and join us!

***Sunday 13 6p - History of Mystery Class discussing Rex Stout's Some Buried Caesar
(Rescheduled from Sun 11/6)
Our class continues to look at hose who put there mark on American crime fiction. Few were as enduring and entertaining as Rex Stout with eccentric genius Nero Wolfe and his hard boiled, wisecracking legman Archie Goodwin. We'll be reading Some Buried Caesar, which many consider the best in the series. After our discussion we'll view an episode of the acclaimed A&E series. Copies of the book are 10% off for those who attend.

Monday 14 7p - Critically Acclaimed Author JOHN JEREMIAH SULLIVAN speaks & signs Pulphead. - LITERARY NONFICTION
In Pulphead, John Jeremiah Sullivan takes us on an exhilarating tour of our popular, unpopular, and at times completely forgotten culture. Simultaneously channeling the gonzo energy of Hunter S. Thompson and the wit and insight of Joan Didion, Sullivan shows us—with a laidback, erudite Southern charm that's all his own—how we really (no, really) live now. John Jeremiah Sullivan is a contributing writer for The New York Times Magazine and the southern editor of The Paris Review. He writes for GQ, Harper's Magazine, and Oxford American, and is the author of Blood Horses. Sullivan lives in Wilmington, North Carolina.

Tuesday 15 6p - Louisiana-Based Iron Chef Champion JOHN BESH signs My Family Table - COOKING - SOUTHERN
(Besh makes regular appearances on the Food Network and NBC's Today Show. He is a nationally recognized chef with strong Louisiana roots.)
Renowned chef and James Beard award-winner John Besh invites us into his home and shows us how we can put good, fresh, healthy food on the table for our families every day. In My Family Table, the Iron Chef champion makes a case for the importance of home-cooked meals. "If I can help make a difference by cooking simply and sharing what I love to cook, I can possibly help us all use our passions and skills to make our lives better at almost every meal." John Besh is dedicated to the culinary riches of southern Louisiana. In his eight restaurants, entrepreneurial pursuits, and public activities, he preserves and promotes ingredients, techniques, and heritage one mouthwatering dish at a time. Food & Wine magazine named him one of the "Top 10 Best New Chefs in America," and his flagship restaurant, August, was featured in Gourmet magazine's "Guide to America's Best Restaurants" and "America's Top 50 Restaurants."

***Tuesday 15 7p - Nightmare Factory Book Club with author CHRISTOPHER BUEHLMAN discussing his novel, Those Across the River
H.P. Lovecraft said, "The oldest and strongest emotion of mankind is fear. And the oldest and strongest kind of fear is fear of the unknown." Come join our crypt-keepers, Joe and Bosco, every third Tuesday of the month as we help you navigate the bloody byways and diabolic depths of your fears with our horrific book club, The Nightmare Factory. This month's book is Those Across the River by Christopher Buehlman. Christopher will be attending this book club, so don't miss it!

Wednesday 16 7p - Author & Former Austinite WILLIAM ADLER speaks & signs The Man Who Never Died - NONFICTION - HISTORY
In 1914, Joe Hill was convicted of murder in Utah and sentenced to death by firing squad, igniting international controversy. Many believed Hill was innocent, condemned for his association with the Industrial Workers of the World-the radical Wobblies. Now, following four years of intensive investigation, William M. Adler gives us the first full-scale biography of Joe Hill, and presents never before published documentary evidence that comes as close as one can to definitively exonerating him.

***Wednesday 16 7p - Stranger Than Fiction Book Club discussing Traffic
Reading fiction to escape reality is a great way to unwind, but exploring reality can sometimes be even more rewarding. Meet Cindy and Doug the third Wednesday of every month where we'll read books about fascinating people, places, and things. This month's book is Traffic by Tom Vanderbilt.

***Thursday 17 5:30p - Happy Hour Book Club at the Highball discussing Kitchen Confidential by Anthony Bourdain
What's better than talking about a book with a group of friends? Talking about a book with a group of friends during Happy Hour at The Highball! Come hang out with Mandy and Joel the last Thursday of every month at 5:30PM where we'll discuss books over cocktails. This month's book is Kitchen Confidential by Anthony Bourdain.

Thursday 17 7p - Bestselling Author of The Mozart Effect DON CAMPBELL speaks & signs Healing at the Speed of Sound - NONFICTION - MUSIC - MEDICINE
Based on over a decade of new research, Don Campbell, bestselling author of The Mozart Effect, and Alex Doman, an expert in the practical application of sound and listening, show how we can use music and silence to become more efficient, productive, relaxed, and healthy. Each chapter focuses on a single aspect of everyday life, providing advice, exercises, wide-ranging playlists, and links so readers can use the music they love to create the perfect soundtrack for any goal or task. Also included are "Sound Profiles" - brief stories showing how real people creatively tap the power of sound to improve their own and others' lives. Inspiring, practical, and truly enjoyable, Healing at the Speed of Sound™ opens the door to fuller, richer, and much more harmonious lives.

Friday 18 7p - Iron Man Triathlete AMY SNYDER speaks & signs Hell on Two Wheels - MEMOIR - CYCLING
RAAM-the Race Across America-is a bicycle race like no other. This epic race is the most brutal organized sporting event you've never heard of and one of the best-kept secrets in the sports world. Outside magazine calls it "the toughest test of endurance in the world." Contestants have died, been maimed, and spiraled down into the nightmarish realm of madness. Half of them don't finish; in fact, only 200 racers have ever made it to the end. Author and three-time Iron Man Triathlete finisher Amy Snyder follows a handful of athletes before, during, and after the 2009 event-the closest and most controversial in history. Hell on Two Wheels is a thrilling and remarkably detailed account of their ups and downs, triumphs and tragedies.

***Saturday 19 1p - Not Just Another Teen Book Club discussing Geektastic by Holly Black
Not Just Another Teen Book Club will be reading some of the books from the last few years that have kept us talking the most. We meet the 4th Saturday of every month, and we welcome all readers aged 13-18! This month we'll be reading Geektastic edited by Holly Black.

Saturday 19 2p - Bestselling Young Adult Author CHRISTOPHER PAOLINI speaking & signing Inheritance - YOUNG ADULT
(Paolini events are always huge here, and this book is the last in his incredibly bestselling series. Activities, decorations and lots of fun are planned for this in-store event to celebrate the end of a landmark series.)
Join us when BookPeople transforms its third floor into Alagaesia to welcome bestselling author Christopher Paolini. We'll have face-painting, food, entertainment and activities! This is a party not-to-be-missed! It all started with Eragon, and now with Inheritance, this fourth and final book, Christopher Paolini brings us the incredible conclusion to The Inheritance Cycle! In order to join the signing line at this event, you must purchase a copy of Inheritance from BookPeople. When you purchase your book from BookPeople, you will receive a ticket for the signing line. These tickets are required to join the signing line at the event. We will begin selling books and distributing tickets for the signing line when we open at 9:00am on Tuesday, November 8th, the day Inheritance goes on sale nationwide. We will not be able to accept pre-orders for this book. Please call 512-472-5050 with any questions regarding this event.

Sunday 20 5p - This Book Could Be Your Life Book Club with Special Guest CHUCK EDDY - Rock and Roll Always Forgets - LOCAL - MUSIC
Get ready for some rock and roll! Dig into the history of music, its stars and styles, exploring everything from punk to pop. Bosco and Stephanya will satisfy your rock and roll obsession the third Sunday of every month at 5PM. This month, author Chuck Eddy will the join the group to discuss his book, Rock and Roll Always Forgets. Chuck is one of the most prolific and influentia music critics in the business, and this book is a collection of his best and most provocative reviews, interviews, columns, and essays. Don't miss this special edition of the This Book Could Be Your Life Book Club!

***Monday 21 7p - Ludicrous Speed Book Club discussing Ringworld by Larry Niven
From speculative fiction, deep space adventures, and alternate histories to epic fantasy realms, all who can admit their dorkdom are welcome. Join Joel and Tommy the third Monday of every month at 7PM. This month we will be discussing Ringworld by Larry Niven.

Tuesday 22 7p - Historian & Musician BOBBY BRIDGER speaks & signs Where the Tall Grass Grows - HISTORY - NATIVE AMERICAN
(This event has been rescheduled from Monday 11/21.)
In this entertaining and thought-provoking book, noted historian and musician Bobby Bridger explores the impact of Native American culture on the American psyche. Where the Tall Grass Grows examines the impact of indigenous American mythology on contemporary identity and the development of modern popular entertainment, particularly the Hollywood film industry. Bobby Bridger is renowned for A Ballad of the West, his epic trilogy about the American West from the era of mountain man Jim Bridger to the closing of the frontier. Bridger has had a career in show business that spans the rockabilly to "Music City, USA" era in Nashville, the cosmic cowboy scene in Austin, the flowering of folk music, and even Broadway theater.

Wednesday 23 7p - Historical Fiction Author LINDA BERDOLL speaks & signs The Darcys: The Ruling Passions
After watching the A&E/BBC miniseries Pride & Prejudice, Linda Berdoll went on an all-out Austen spree. The conclusion she drew after re-reading all of Austen's novels as well as investigating other research materials was that Austen left quite a bit out of her telling of the Regency Era. She wrote about only what a respectable married woman of the era would be privy to - and ended every time with the wedding ceremony! Linda wanted to know what would come after, and so she began her bestselling series of books with Mr. Darcy Takes a Wife and Darcy and Elizabeth. Now she continues the series with The Darcys: The Ruling Passion, chronicling the lives of Darcy and Elizabeth and their family.

***Sunday 27 5p - Voyage Out Book Club discussing One Hundred Bottles by Ena Lucia Portela
Join Clint and Brian C. the last Sunday of every month at 5PM as we use wonderful books to travel the world. The current region is the Caribbean, and this month we are reading One Hundred Bottles by Ena Lucia Portela.

Monday 28 7p - New & Noteworthy Book Club discussing Jeff in Venice, Death in Varanasi by Geoff Dyer
Perhaps more aptly named the "sometimes new/always noteworthy" book club, here is a place to discover recent gems and to revisit old favorites. Come join Paul and Kester the last Monday of every month at 7PM. This month's book is Jeff in Venice, Death in Varanasi by Geoff Dyer.

Monday 28 7p - Former Daily Show Executive Producer DAVID JAVERBAUM speaks & signs The Last Testament: A Memoir (by God) - HUMOR
(Javerbaum has earned 12 Emmys for his work on The Daily Show and is the co-author of Jon Stewart's bestselling books America and Earth. This satirical memoir will appeal to any fans of the show.)
As the earth he has godded so magnificently draws to a Mayan-induced close, God breaks his 1,400-year literary silence with this telleth-all. From the creation of the universe to jeggings, the Lord Almighty has been a pivotal player in nearly all the major decisions of the past 20 epochs. Now, for the first time since He wrote whichever holy book you happen to believe in, God once again takes to his quill, offering startling dish about everything and everyone in the universe, including the first couple, Adam and Steve (you read right); hot-button topics like prayer in school, evolution and if Michelle Bachmann is going to Heaven; and he puts to rest long-standing disputes over which athletes and teams He actually supports. David Javerbaum is a comedy writer living in New York. He has won 12 Emmys for his work as Executive Producer of The Daily Show. He recently wrote the opening numbers for the Tony and Emmy Award shows. He is the co-author of two of the bestselling humor books of the decade, the Daily Show's textbook parodies America and Earth.

Wednesday 30 6:30p - BookPeople Presents Italian-American Chef & PBS Host LIDIA BASTIANICH at Whole Foods Market - COOKING - CELEBRITY CHEF
(Lidia has a huge following from her PBS show and is a nationally known Italian cooking personality. Hundreds of people are expected to attend this event, which will be held at Whole Foods with BookPeople handling book sales.)
Lidia Bastianich has been the beloved host of PBS' Lidia's Italy. She is the author of seven previous books, five of which have been accompanied by nationally syndicated public television series. She is the owner of several restaurants. In Lidia's Italy in America, a companion book to her upcoming public television series of the same name, Lidia takes us on a road trip into the heart of Italian American cooking today, as only Lidia can. This event will take place in the wine section at Whole Foods Market, 525 N. Lamar (directly across the street from BookPeople.) In order to have a book signed at this event, you must purchase the book from BookPeople. Tickets are required to join the signing line at Whole Foods and will be distributed with the purchase of a copy of Lidia's Italy in America from BookPeople. Tickets will be available the day the book goes on sale, Tuesday, October 25.

***Wednesday 30 7p - Hard Word Book Club discussing Berlin Noir by Philip Kerr
Tough stories with hard hombres and dangerous dames, where survival trumps virtue, no matter what side of the law you are on; this is what you'll find in the Hard Word Book Club. Scott and Joe will guide you along the last Wednesday of every month at 7PM. This month's book is Berlin Noir edited by Philip Kerr. Kerr will be calling in, so don't miss this discussion!

DECEMBER

Thursday 1 7p - Bestselling Cookbook Author ANGIE DUDLEY (aka BAKERELLA) speaks & signs Cake Pops and Cake Pops Kit - COOKING - BAKING
(Dudley's website Bakerella.com began the whole cake pop trend. She now has a huge fan base and is famous for both her blog and her cookbooks. She has been featured by multiple media outlets, including Woman's Day, The Pioneer Woman blog, and Martha Stewart.)
What's cuter than a cupcake? A cake pop, of course! Wildly popular blogger Bakerella (aka Angie Dudley) has turned cake pops into an international sensation! Cute little cakes on a stick from decorated balls to more ambitious shapes such as baby chicks, ice cream cones, and even cupcakes these adorable creations are the perfect alternative to cake at any party or get-together. Dudley's cake pops have started a nationwide cake pop trend, and she'll be here to share her baking and decorating tips and tricks and sign books!

***Friday 2 8p - OFF-SITE - JOHN WATERS at the Paramount - A John Waters Christmas
BookPeople will sell books on-site at the Paramount theater when John Waters appears to celebrate A John Waters Christmas. His one-man show is a "vaudeville" act that celebrates his incredible filmmaking career with a provocative and devious monologue that takes the audience on a misbehaved trip to the extremes. A journey where absolutely nothing is sacred. Tickets and more information available at the Paramount website.

Saturday 3 4p - Texas Poetry Calendar Reading featuring two dozen Texas poets - POETRY
BookPeople is pleased to once again host a wonderful round of readings from some of Texas' premiere poets, all of whom have had their work selected to be published in the 2012 Texas Poetry Calendar. Poets featured include: Shuhb Schiesser, Barbara Gregg, Laura Peña, Christa Pandey, Ralph Hausser, Neil Meili, Gary Rosin, Jo Virgil, Carie Juettner, Nathan Brown, Kelsey Erin Shipman, Margie McCreless Roe, Sarah Webb, Lyman Grant, Diane McGurren, Jill Wiggins, Stan Crawford, Robin Allen, Jeannie Gambill, Claire Camargo, Mary Margaret Carlisle, Ken Fontenot, Katherine Oldmixon.

***Sunday 4 7p - P. KELLACH WADDLE Performs Original Music Inspired by the Work of Ernest Hemingway
Three-time Pulitzer prize nominee P. Kellach Waddle and the musicians of PKWproductions return to Book People with their first presentation of the year in the PKWproductions "A Synthesis of Music and Literature" series. This concert will feature new music written by Waddle inspired by works of Ernest Hemingway. Before each new musical work, Waddle will also give short lectures and commentary on the three novels which inspired this presentation's music : A Farewell To Arms, The Sun Also Rises, and For Whom The Bell Tolls.

--
Julie Wernersbach
Publicist
BookPeople
603 N. Lamar Blvd
Austin, TX 78703
http://www.bookpeople.com
BP Facebook
BP Twitter
BP Blog

Currently Reading Pulphead by John Jeremiah Sullivan

BookPeople Weekly Media Update - 11/2/11

2011-11-02T13:22:00.001-07:00

BookPeople Events!

For questions about events, contact BookPeople Marketing Director Mandy Brooks at 512.472.4288 x 411 or mandy@bookpeople.com.

Events start at 7PM unless otherwise indicated. List updated Wednesday, November 2.

*** - denotes new event

NOVEMBER

Wednesday 2 7p - Rewritten History Book Club discussing Eye of the Needle by Ken Follett
You are cordially invited to join Merrilee and Sharee the first Wednesday of every month to explore and discuss works of historical fiction. This month's book is Eye of the Needle by Ken Follett.

Wednesday 2 7p - TRIVIA NIGHT: 60's & 70's Pop Music Triva w/ DWIGHT ROUNDS - The Year the Music Died - MUSIC
Dwight will host 60's & 70's Pop Music Trivia here at BookPeople with big prizes, and we'll have beer from Saint Arnold Brewing Company on hand (because it's not a trivia night without beer - for those 21+, please bring an ID.) Dwight Rounds has compiled his knowledge of his true passion—popular music from the 1960s and early 1970s—into his first book, The Year the Music Died. This collection contains insightful commentary and trivia about the music from 1964 to 1972, including charts and ratings, information on music festivals and commentary on the social movements of the time. The book offers baby boomers a chance to rediscover the music of their childhood and introduce it to today's generation of listeners.

Thursday 3 7p - MysteryPeople Presents CHRISTA FAUST speaking & signing Choke Hold - FICTION/MYSTERY
Angel Dare went into Witness Protection to escape her past -- not as a porn star, but as a killer who took down the sex slavery ring that destroyed her life. But sometimes the past just won't stay buried. When a former co-staris gunned down, it's up to Angel to get his son, a hotheaded MMA fighter, safely through the unforgiving Arizona desert, shady Mexican bordertowns, and the seductive neon mirage of Las Vegas... Christa Faust is a successful horror and crime writer. Her most recent novel Money Shot won the Crimespree Award and was nominated for several others, including the prestigious Edgar Award. She has written tie-ins to Friday the 13th, A Nightmare on Elm Street and theTwilight Zone amongst others.

Thursday 3 7p - Princeton Review Seminar w/ ROB FRANEK - How to Choose the College That's Right for You, And How to Pay for It
Rob Franek Senior Vice President & Publisher of The Princeton Review will host this seminar for high school students and their parents, How to Choose the College That's Best for You--And How to Pay For It. Rob Franek is a former college admissions counselor and an expert on all things college. He'll offer tips and expert advice from his long career in the field, as well as take all of your questions. He'll also present two helpful Princeton Review books, Best 376 Colleges and Paying for College Without Going Broke. This seminar is free and open to the public, no registration necessary.

Friday 4 7p - Food Writer ELLEN SWEETS speaks & signs Stirring It Up with Molly Ivins - FOOD/POLITICS/TEXAS
(In cooperation with Edible Austin magazine; a book with a new angle about the real Molly Ivins' behind the political persona - Ivins as cook)
We know Molly Ivins as an unabashed civil libertarian who used her rapier wit and good ole Texas horse sense to excoriate political figures she deemed unworthy of our trust and respect. But did you also know that Molly was one helluva cook? In Stirring It Up with Molly Ivins, her longtime friend, fellow reporter, and frequent sous-chef Ellen Sweets takes us into the kitchen with Molly and introduces us to the private woman behind the public figure. She serves up her own and others' favorite stories about Ivins as she recalls the fabulous meals they shared, complete with recipes for thirty-five of Molly's signature dishes. This even is curated by Edible Austin magazine.

Sunday 6 4p - MysteryPeople Presents Bestselling Author JOHN CONNOLLY speaking & signing The Infernals - YA/MYSTERY
(Connolly is one of the top-selling mystery writers in America who has seen phenomenal success with his fiction for adults and young adults. He will also sign copies of and answer questions about his Charlie Parker books.)
John Connolly is the Dublin-born author of the Charlie Parker mystery series for adults, among other works. His novel The Book of Lost Things, described as "a fairy tale for adults," won a 2005 Alex Award from the ALA's Young Adult Library Services Association as an adult book with special appeal to teens. In The Infernals, the rollicking sequel to The Gates, Young Samuel Johnson and his faithful dachshund Boswell cross paths with some very bad-tempered dwarfs, an ice cream man, and two indignant policemen, all of whom find themselves in Hell when the portal opens again. The Infernals mixes adventure, horror and humor with true science that's stranger than fiction, conveyed in language that will entertain and engage kids aged 12 and up.

Sunday 6 6p - History of Mystery Class discussing Some Buried Caesar by Rex Stout
We continue our look at authors who had an impact on crime fiction with Rex Stout, with the classic Some Buried Caesar. The class is free, and the book is 10% off for those who attend.

Monday 7 7p - Award-Winning Author DAGOBERTO GILB speaks & signs Before the End, After the Beginning - LITERARY FICTION/LOCAL
Before the End, After the Beginning is an exquisite collection of ten stories by Dagoberto Gilb. The pieces come in the wake of a stroke Gilb suffered at his home here in Austin in 2009, and a majority of the stories were written over his many months of recovery. The result is a powerful and triumphant book that tackles common themes of existence and identity and describes the American experience in a raw, authentic vernacular unique to Gilb. Gilb's debut collection, The Magic of Blood, won the PEN/Hemingway Foundation Award for fiction in 1994. He is also the author of the books The Flowers, Gritos, Woodcuts of Women, and The Last Known Residence of Mickey Acuña. His fiction and nonfiction have appeared in many magazines, most recently Harper's, The New Yorker, and Callaloo. He makes his home in Austin.

Monday 7 7p - OFF SITE EVENT: Award Winning Poet NAOMI SHAHIB NYE speaking & signing at St. Edward's University.
In her new collection of forty life-altering, life-affirming, and extremely short short stories, There Is No Long Distance, Now, the award-winning poet Naomi Shihab Nye proposes that no matter how great the divide between friends, siblings, life and death, classmates, enemies, happiness and misery, war and peace, breakfast and lunch, parent and child, country and city, there is, in fact, no long distance. Not anymore. Tickets are required to attend this event. Tickets are available for purchase only from BookPeople (either in-store or over the phone.) Tickets cost $20 and include a copy of There Is No Long Distance, Now. This event will take place in the Mabee Ballroom at St. Edward's University. Tickets will be available as of October 17th.

Monday 7 7p - 7% Solution Book Club discussing The Redbreast by Jo Nesbo
Come join Sharee and Tommy the first Monday of every month at 7PM as they explore the worlds of fiction's greatest mysteries. But you must hurry - the game is already afoot. This month's title is The Redbrest by Jo Nesbo

Tuesday 8 7p - The Daily Show "Resident Expert" & Comedian JOHN HODGMAN speaks & signs That Is All - COMEDY/CELEBRITY
(NEAL POLLACK, one of BookPeople's favorite authors, will now join JOHN HODGMAN at this event.)
(Hodgman has an enormous fan base, particularly with 20 and 30-somethings, and a massive online following. News of this event is already spreading quickly. Media requests should be sent asap, as his time and availability in Austin will be limited.)
Tickets are required to reserve a seat at this event. Seat tickets for this event will go on sale Tuesday, November 1st, when BookPeople opens at 9am. The cost of a ticket is $28 (the cost of one copy of That Is All with tax) and will entitle the bearer to one seat at the event, one copy of That Is All, and priority in the signing line. Tickets will be available in-store and over the phone (512-472-5050), but not online. John Hodgman-bestselling author, The Daily Show's "Resident Expert", minor television celebrity, and deranged millionaire-brings us the third and final installment in his trilogy of Complete World Knowledge. Like its predecessors, That Is All compiles incredibly handy made-up facts into brief articles, overlong lists, and beguiling narratives on new and familiar themes. It picks up exactly where More Information left off-specifically, at page 596-and finally completes COMPLETE WORLD KNOWLEDGE, just in time for the return of Quetzalcoatl and the end of human history in 2012. Part of this event will include a Mustache Contest, sponsored by Bird's Barbershop and judged by Hodgman, Birds and BookPeople.

Wednesday 9 7p - SNL Alum JENNY SLATE & Animator/Director DEAN FLEISCHER-CAMP speak & sign Marcel the Shell with Shoes On - CELEBRITY - CHILDREN & ADULT
(Over 11 million people have viewed the famous Marcel the Shell animated short on Youtube. This book will appeal to 20 and 30-somethings as well as parents. Slate made a name for herself after appearing on SNL and currently appears on HBO's Bored to Death.)
Are you one of the millions of people who has fallen in love with Marcel the Shell on Youtube? Now the tiny shell with shoes and a big heart is transitioning from online sensation to picture book character, and we're thrilled to have Jenny Slate, the voice of Marcel, and Dean Fleischer-Camp, director and animator of the short film with over 11 million hits, here at BookPeople to present the new book! In Marcel's voice. From wearing a lentil as a hat to hang-gliding on a Dorito, Marcel is able to find magic in the everyday.Jenny Slate, the voice of Marcel, is an alum of Saturday Night Live and plays Stella on HBO's Bored to Death. Dean Fleischer-Camp is a writer, director, and animator whose work has screened at film festivals around the world.

Thursday 10 12:30p - The Cake Boss BUDDY VALASTRO signs Baking with the Cake Boss. - COOKING - TV CELEBRITY
(Buddy is the star of the show 'Cake Boss,' one of the most popular shows on the TLC network. He will also appear at The Paramount at 7:30 on 11/10, where BookPeople will sell books.)
At Carlo's bakery in Hoboken, where the hit TLC show 'Cake Boss' is filmed, Buddy and his staff turn out thousands of wedding cakes, specialty cakes, and pastries weekly. His award- winning designs have been featured numerous times in different bridal and baking magazines. His memoir cookbook, Cake Boss: The Stories and Recipes from Mia Famiglia, is a New York Times bestseller and Carlo's Bakery has been featured in books, newspapers, such as The New York Times, and television, mostly The Food Network, although he and his cakes have also been featured on The Today's Show, Good Morning America, The View, and HBO's hit series, The Sopranos.

Thursday 10 7p - Local Author Night w/ Ronna Quimby Huckaby, Cory Putman Oakes, & Linda Ginac - LOCAL
We love our local authors here at BookPeople, and tonight we're pleased to have with us two local Austin writers who will present their work. Ronna Quimby Huckaby will present Somewhere Out There. Cory Putman Oakes will present The Veil. Linda Ginac will present Fake Perfection.

Friday 11 7p - Local Tea Party Activist LISA FRITSCH speaks & signs Obama, Tea Parties & God - POLITICS - LOCAL
Lisa Fritsch, who has appeared on Fox News Channel's shows with Glenn Beck and Neil Cavuto, delves into the extent of the power of the Tea Party on our current political situation, the experience of electing the nation's first African-American President and his subsequent performance, and the spiritual ties she perceives between the course of politics in this nation and God.

Saturday 12 4p - Bestselling Ranger's Apprentice Author JOHN FLANAGAN speaks & signs The Brotherband Chronicles: Book One: The Outcasts - MIDDLE GRADE - LITERARY CAMPS
(Ranger's Apprentice Camp is one of our big annual Literary Camps, and this year we're hosting the author of the bestselling series the same day next summer's sessions go on sale.)
At 3pm today, we'll open registration for next year's sessions of Ranger's Apprentice camps. Then at 4pm, we'll have the one and only JOHN FLANAGAN, the man who created the world we love to live in every summer, here to speak and sign his latest book, which delves into a whole new cast of characters in the world of Skandians and Araluens. Hal, Stig, and the others - they are the boys the others want no part of. Skandians, as any reader of Ranger's Apprentice could tell you, are known for their size and strength. Not these boys. Yet that doesn't mean they don't have skills. And courage - which they will need every ounce of to do battle at sea against the other bands, the Wolves and the Sharks, in the ultimate race.

Sunday 13 1p - Required Reading Revisited Book Club discussing The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn by Mark Twain
Remember those books you were required to read in school? Required Reading Revisited is a chance to take a second (or first) look at some of the books you were made to read in school. Meeting the second Sunday of every month at 1PM, this month's title is The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn by Tom Sawyer.

Sunday 13 4p - Austin Author JOHN ELLIS speaking & signing Dormant Curse - FICTION - LOCAL AUTHOR
Are you safe? Imagine this—celebrity Twitter and Facebook accounts have been hacked, allowing encrypted messages to be sent to maliciously-altered chips in our smartphones and tablets. A Chinese cult leader, out for revenge and power, is to blame. As vicious cyber attacks force the U.S. to retreat and watch, China grabs oil and gas resources with their co-conspirators, as we scramble. Fodder for spy movies? Hardly. Dormant Curse is based on Ellis' years in national security and semiconductors. The only question is, "Will we be prepared?" John Ellis was a graduate student at the University of Texas. After graduation, John went on to work at Sandia National Labs in New Mexico before eventually coming back to Austin to work for SEMI—a global, semiconductor trade association.

Sunday 13 5p - FYA Book Club at the High Ball discussing Daughter of Smoke and Bone by Laini Taylor
Are you tired of feeling ashamed every time you creep into the Young Adult section of BookPeople? Well, the Forever Young Adult Book Club is here to offer you relief! We're a group of adults (technically) who meet at 5 PM on the second Sunday of every month at The Highball. This month's book is Daughter of Smoke and Bone by Laini Taylor, so leave your shame at the door, grab a cocktail, and join us!

Monday 14 7p - Critically Acclaimed Author JOHN JEREMIAH SULLIVAN speaks & signs Pulphead. - LITERARY NONFICTION
In Pulphead, John Jeremiah Sullivan takes us on an exhilarating tour of our popular, unpopular, and at times completely forgotten culture. Simultaneously channeling the gonzo energy of Hunter S. Thompson and the wit and insight of Joan Didion, Sullivan shows us—with a laidback, erudite Southern charm that's all his own—how we really (no, really) live now. John Jeremiah Sullivan is a contributing writer for The New York Times Magazine and the southern editor of The Paris Review. He writes for GQ, Harper's Magazine, and Oxford American, and is the author of Blood Horses. Sullivan lives in Wilmington, North Carolina.

Tuesday 15 6p - Louisiana-Based Iron Chef Champion JOHN BESH signs My Family Table - COOKING - SOUTHERN
(Besh makes regular appearances on the Food Network and NBC's Today Show. He is a nationally recognized chef with strong Louisiana roots.)
Renowned chef and James Beard award-winner John Besh invites us into his home and shows us how we can put good, fresh, healthy food on the table for our families every day. In My Family Table, the Iron Chef champion makes a case for the importance of home-cooked meals. "If I can help make a difference by cooking simply and sharing what I love to cook, I can possibly help us all use our passions and skills to make our lives better at almost every meal." John Besh is dedicated to the culinary riches of southern Louisiana. In his eight restaurants, entrepreneurial pursuits, and public activities, he preserves and promotes ingredients, techniques, and heritage one mouthwatering dish at a time. Food & Wine magazine named him one of the "Top 10 Best New Chefs in America," and his flagship restaurant, August, was featured in Gourmet magazine's "Guide to America's Best Restaurants" and "America's Top 50 Restaurants."

Wednesday 16 7p - Author & Former Austinite WILLIAM ADLER speaks & signs The Man Who Never Died - NONFICTION - HISTORY
In 1914, Joe Hill was convicted of murder in Utah and sentenced to death by firing squad, igniting international controversy. Many believed Hill was innocent, condemned for his association with the Industrial Workers of the World-the radical Wobblies. Now, following four years of intensive investigation, William M. Adler gives us the first full-scale biography of Joe Hill, and presents never before published documentary evidence that comes as close as one can to definitively exonerating him.

Thursday 17 7p - Bestselling Author of The Mozart Effect DON CAMPBELL speaks & signs Healing at the Speed of Sound - NONFICTION - MUSIC - MEDICINE
Based on over a decade of new research, Don Campbell, bestselling author of The Mozart Effect, and Alex Doman, an expert in the practical application of sound and listening, show how we can use music and silence to become more efficient, productive, relaxed, and healthy. Each chapter focuses on a single aspect of everyday life, providing advice, exercises, wide-ranging playlists, and links so readers can use the music they love to create the perfect soundtrack for any goal or task. Also included are "Sound Profiles" - brief stories showing how real people creatively tap the power of sound to improve their own and others' lives. Inspiring, practical, and truly enjoyable, Healing at the Speed of Sound™ opens the door to fuller, richer, and much more harmonious lives.

Friday 18 7p - Iron Man Triathlete AMY SNYDER speaks & signs Hell on Two Wheels - MEMOIR - CYCLING
RAAM-the Race Across America-is a bicycle race like no other. This epic race is the most brutal organized sporting event you've never heard of and one of the best-kept secrets in the sports world. Outside magazine calls it "the toughest test of endurance in the world." Contestants have died, been maimed, and spiraled down into the nightmarish realm of madness. Half of them don't finish; in fact, only 200 racers have ever made it to the end. Author and three-time Iron Man Triathlete finisher Amy Snyder follows a handful of athletes before, during, and after the 2009 event-the closest and most controversial in history. Hell on Two Wheels is a thrilling and remarkably detailed account of their ups and downs, triumphs and tragedies.

***Saturday 19 2p - Bestselling Young Adult Author CHRISTOPHER PAOLINI speaking & signing Inheritance - YOUNG ADULT
PAOLINI WILL NOW SPEAK AT THIS EVENT
(Paolini events are always huge here, and this book is the last in his incredibly bestselling series. Activities, decorations and lots of fun are planned for this in-store event to celebrate the end of a landmark series.)
Join us when BookPeople transforms its third floor into Alagaesia to welcome bestselling author Christopher Paolini. We'll have face-painting, food, entertainment and activities! This is a party not-to-be-missed! It all started with Eragon, and now with Inheritance, this fourth and final book, Christopher Paolini brings us the incredible conclusion to The Inheritance Cycle! In order to join the signing line at this event, you must purchase a copy of Inheritance from BookPeople. When you purchase your book from BookPeople, you will receive a ticket for the signing line. These tickets are required to join the signing line at the event. We will begin selling books and distributing tickets for the signing line when we open at 9:00am on Tuesday, November 8th, the day Inheritance goes on sale nationwide. We will not be able to accept pre-orders for this book. Please call 512-472-5050 with any questions regarding this event.

Sunday 20 5p - This Book Could Be Your Life Book Club with Special Guest CHUCK EDDY - Rock and Roll Always Forgets - LOCAL - MUSIC
Get ready for some rock and roll! Dig into the history of music, its stars and styles, exploring everything from punk to pop. Bosco and Stephanya will satisfy your rock and roll obsession the third Sunday of every month at 5PM. This month, author Chuck Eddy will the join the group to discuss his book, Rock and Roll Always Forgets. Chuck is one of the most prolific and influentia music critics in the business, and this book is a collection of his best and most provocative reviews, interviews, columns, and essays. Don't miss this special edition of the This Book Could Be Your Life Book Club!

Tuesday 22 7p - Historian & Musician BOBBY BRIDGER speaks & signs Where the Tall Grass Grows - HISTORY - NATIVE AMERICAN
(This event has been rescheduled from Monday 11/21.)
In this entertaining and thought-provoking book, noted historian and musician Bobby Bridger explores the impact of Native American culture on the American psyche. Where the Tall Grass Grows examines the impact of indigenous American mythology on contemporary identity and the development of modern popular entertainment, particularly the Hollywood film industry. Bobby Bridger is renowned for A Ballad of the West, his epic trilogy about the American West from the era of mountain man Jim Bridger to the closing of the frontier. Bridger has had a career in show business that spans the rockabilly to "Music City, USA" era in Nashville, the cosmic cowboy scene in Austin, the flowering of folk music, and even Broadway theater.

Wednesday 23 7p - Historical Fiction Author LINDA BERDOLL speaks & signs The Darcys: The Ruling Passions
After watching the A&E/BBC miniseries Pride & Prejudice, Linda Berdoll went on an all-out Austen spree. The conclusion she drew after re-reading all of Austen's novels as well as investigating other research materials was that Austen left quite a bit out of her telling of the Regency Era. She wrote about only what a respectable married woman of the era would be privy to - and ended every time with the wedding ceremony! Linda wanted to know what would come after, and so she began her bestselling series of books with Mr. Darcy Takes a Wife and Darcy and Elizabeth. Now she continues the series with The Darcys: The Ruling Passion, chronicling the lives of Darcy and Elizabeth and their family.

Monday 28 7p - New & Noteworthy Book Club discussing Jeff in Venice, Death in Varanasi by Geoff Dyer
Perhaps more aptly named the "sometimes new/always noteworthy" book club, here is a place to discover recent gems and to revisit old favorites. Come join Paul and Kester the last Monday of every month at 7PM. This month's book is Jeff in Venice, Death in Varanasi by Geoff Dyer.

***Monday 28 7p - Daily Show Executive Producer DAVID JAVERBAUM speaks & signs The Last Testament: A Memoir (by God) - HUMOR
(Javerbaum has earned 12 Emmys for his work on The Daily Show and is the co-author of Jon Stewart's bestselling books America and Earth. This satirical memoir will appeal to any fans of the show.)
As the earth he has godded so magnificently draws to a Mayan-induced close, God breaks his 1,400-year literary silence with this telleth-all. From the creation of the universe to jeggings, the Lord Almighty has been a pivotal player in nearly all the major decisions of the past 20 epochs. Now, for the first time since He wrote whichever holy book you happen to believe in, God once again takes to his quill, offering startling dish about everything and everyone in the universe, including the first couple, Adam and Steve (you read right); hot-button topics like prayer in school, evolution and if Michelle Bachmann is going to Heaven; and he puts to rest long-standing disputes over which athletes and teams He actually supports. David Javerbaum is a comedy writer living in New York. He has won 12 Emmys for his work as Executive Producer of The Daily Show. He recently wrote the opening numbers for the Tony and Emmy Award shows. He is the co-author of two of the bestselling humor books of the decade, the Daily Show's textbook parodies America and Earth.

Wednesday 30 6:30p - BookPeople Presents Italian-American Chef & PBS Host LIDIA BASTIANICH at Whole Foods Market - COOKING - CELEBRITY CHEF
(Lidia has a huge following from her PBS show and is a nationally known Italian cooking personality. Hundreds of people are expected to attend this event, which will be held at Whole Foods with BookPeople handling book sales.)
Lidia Bastianich has been the beloved host of PBS' Lidia's Italy. She is the author of seven previous books, five of which have been accompanied by nationally syndicated public television series. She is the owner of several restaurants. In Lidia's Italy in America, a companion book to her upcoming public television series of the same name, Lidia takes us on a road trip into the heart of Italian American cooking today, as only Lidia can. This event will take place in the wine section at Whole Foods Market, 525 N. Lamar (directly across the street from BookPeople.) In order to have a book signed at this event, you must purchase the book from BookPeople. Tickets are required to join the signing line at Whole Foods and will be distributed with the purchase of a copy of Lidia's Italy in America from BookPeople. Tickets will be available the day the book goes on sale, Tuesday, October 25.

DECEMBER

***Thursday 1 7p - Bestselling Cookbook Author ANGIE DUDLEY (aka BAKERELLA) speaks & signs Cake Pops and Cake Pops Kit - COOKING - BAKING
(Dudley's website Bakerella.com began the whole cake pop trend. She now has a huge fan base and is famous for both her blog and her cookbooks. She has been featured by multiple media outlets, including Woman's Day, The Pioneer Woman blog, and Martha Stewart.)
What's cuter than a cupcake? A cake pop, of course! Wildly popular blogger Bakerella (aka Angie Dudley) has turned cake pops into an international sensation! Cute little cakes on a stick from decorated balls to more ambitious shapes such as baby chicks, ice cream cones, and even cupcakes these adorable creations are the perfect alternative to cake at any party or get-together. Dudley's cake pops have started a nationwide cake pop trend, and she'll be here to share her baking and decorating tips and tricks and sign books!

***Saturday 3 4p - Texas Poetry Calendar Reading featuring two dozen Texas poets - POETRY
BookPeople is pleased to once again host a wonderful round of readings from some of Texas' premiere poets, all of whom have had their work selected to be published in the 2012 Texas Poetry Calendar. Poets featured include: Shuhb Schiesser, Barbara Gregg, Laura Peña, Christa Pandey, Ralph Hausser, Neil Meili, Gary Rosin, Jo Virgil, Carie Juettner, Nathan Brown, Kelsey Erin Shipman, Margie McCreless Roe, Sarah Webb, Lyman Grant, Diane McGurren, Jill Wiggins, Stan Crawford, Robin Allen, Jeannie Gambill, Claire Camargo, Mary Margaret Carlisle, Ken Fontenot, Katherine Oldmixon.

--
Julie Wernersbach
Publicist
BookPeople
603 N. Lamar Blvd
Austin, TX 78703
http://www.bookpeople.com
BP Facebook
BP Twitter
BP Blog

Currently Reading Pulphead by John Jeremiah Sullivan

BookPeople Press Releases: "Bakerella" Angie Dudley; Daily Show Exec Prod. David Javerbaum

2011-11-01T13:59:00.000-07:00

We'd like to say a big thank you to everyone who helped us spread the word about our first annual Halloween Storytime & Book Give-Away. Over 75 families joined us last night for a wonderful evening of stories, a costume parade and to trick-or-treat for books. BookPeople CEO Steve Bercu perhaps had the most fun of all, putting books directly in the hands of our community's young readers. We look forward to making this an annual celebration and hope to inspire bookstores nationwide to join us in encouraging literacy by handing out books rather than candy to children on Halloween. (Adorable) photos are up online. We attached one of our favorite photos from last night to share the fun. Thank you again, the night was a big success!

Attached and summarized below please find two press releases regarding two upcoming events.

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE CONTACT: MANDY BROOKS

TUESDAY, NOVEMBER 1, 2011 mandy@bookpeople.com 512-472-5050

GOD'S CO-AUTHOR (AND EXECUTIVE PRODUCER OF THE DAILY SHOW) DAVID JAVERBAUM COMES TO BOOKPEOPLE

God's mortal amanuensis, DAVID JAVERBAUM, who coincidentally is also the winner of twelve Emmy Awards as Executive Producer of The Daily Show with John Stewart, will speak & sign the new book he co-authored with God, The Last Testament: A Memoir (Simon & Schuster; $23.99; 11/1/11) at BookPeople on Monday, November 28th, 7pm.

It's the celebrity memoir to end all celebrity memoirs - as the earth he has godded so magnificently draws to a Mayan-induced close, God breaks his 1,400-year literary silence with his final masterpiece, The Last Testament. As dictated to twelve-time Emmy Award–winning comedy writer David Javerbaum, God looks back with unprecedented candor on his time in the public sector. But The Last Testament doesn't just look back. It also offers God's perspectives on the perennial quagmires of love, marriage, and smiting.

Javerbaum will speak, take questions and sign books at this event. This event is free and open to the public. All books signed at BookPeople events must be purchased at BookPeople. For a full listing of upcoming events, visit www.bookpeople.com.

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ANGIE DUDLEY (AKA BAKERELLA) COMES TO BOOKPEOPLE

Creator of the phenomenally successful Bakerella.com ANGIE DUDLEY will speak & sign her bestselling cookbook, Cake Pops: Tips, Tricks and Recipes for More Than 40 Irresistible Mini-Treats (Chronicle Books; $19.95; 10/10) and her brand new Cake Pops Kit (Chronicle Books; $19.95; 11/2/11) at BookPeople on Thursday, December 1st, 7pm.

Folks who love cake pops have Angie Dudley to thank – her blog, Bakerella.com, which Dudley originally created to help herself keep track of her baking and decorating adventures – introduced this sweet treat to the world. The bestselling cookbook Cake Pops followed the internet sensation, and now BookPeople is thrilled to welcome Angie Dudley to Austin with Cake Pops as well as her latest offering, Cake Pops Kit, an adorable kit for presenting these cute little treats. This kit is a perfect gift for bakers and crafters alike!

Dudley will speak, take questions from the audience, and sign both the cookbook and the new kit at this event. This event is free and open to the public. All books signed at BookPeople events must be purchased at BookPeople. For a full listing of upcoming events, visit www.bookpeople.com.

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--
Julie Wernersbach
Publicist
BookPeople
603 N. Lamar Blvd
Austin, TX 78703
http://www.bookpeople.com
BP Facebook
BP Twitter
BP Blog

Currently Reading Pulphead by John Jeremiah Sullivan

BookPeople Weekly Media Update - 10/26/11

2011-10-26T13:19:00.000-07:00

BookPeople Events!

For questions about events, contact BookPeople Marketing Director Mandy Brooks at 512.472.4288 x 411 or mandy@bookpeople.com.

Events start at 7PM unless otherwise indicated. List updated Wednesday, October 19.

*** - denotes new event

OCTOBER

Wednesday 26 7p - DONNA JOHNSON speaking & signing Holy Ghost Girl - NONFICTION - MEMOIR/CULT
(Johnson attened UT. This is her story of growing up as a "Terrellite" in David Terrell's cultlike community.) DONNA JOHNSON will speak & sign her new memoir, Holy Ghost Girl. She was just three years old when her mother signed on as the organist of tent revivalist David Terrell, and before long, Donna Johnson was part of the hugely popular evangelical preacher's inner circle.Thousands of followers, dubbed "Terrellites" by the press, left their homes to await the end of the world in cultlike communities. Jesus didn't show, but the IRS did, and the prophet/healer went to prison. At seventeen, Donna left the ministry for good, with a trove of stranger-than-fiction memories. A homecoming like no other, Holy Ghost Girl brings to life miracles, exorcisms, and faceoffs with the Ku Klux Klan. And that's just what went on under the tent.

Thursday 27 7p - Bestselling author of Middlesex & The Virgin Suicides JEFFREY EUGENIDES speaking & signing The Marriage Plot - LITERARY FICTION
(Fans have been highly anticipating this new novel, the first from Eugenides in a decade. The Marriage Plot stands to be the literary event of the season, and BookPeople is proud to welcome Eugenides to Austin to discuss it.) Bestselling author of Middlesex and The Virgin Suicides JEFFREY EUGENIDES will speak and sign his latest novel, The Marriage Plot. Set in the early 1980s and following the lives of three recent college graduates, The Marriage Plot asks: Are the great love stories of the nineteenth century dead? Or can there be a new story, written for today and alive to the realities of feminism, sexual freedom, prenups, and divorce? Madeleine Hanna, dutiful English major, is writing her senior thesis on Jane Austen and George Eliot, purveyors of the marriage plot that lies at the heart of the greatest English novels. Real life, in the form of two very different guys, intervenes. Over the next year, as the members of the triangle enter the real world, events force them to reevaluate everything they learned in school.

Thursday 27 7p - Happy Hour Book Club at The Highball discussing A Long Way Gone
What's better than talking about a book with a group of friends? Talking about a book with a group of friends during Happy Hour at The HighBall! Come hang out with Mandy and Joel the last Thursday of every month at 5:30PM where we'll discuss books over cocktails. This month's book is A Long Way Gone by Ishmael Beah.

Saturday 29 11:30p Frank was a Monster Storytime with Austin Children's author KEITH GRAVES - YOUNG CHILDREN
Put on your dancing shoes and top hat and get ready to boogey with the toe-tapingest monster around! Author and illustrator Keith Graves will be here for this very special storytime, featuring his wonderful Halloween picture book Frank Was a Monster Who Wanted to Dance. We'll be giggling the morning away starting at 11:30AM.

Saturday 29 12:30p - RELEASE PARTY!!! Austin author KEITH GRAVES speaks & signs The Orphan of Awkward Falls - YOUNG ADULT/LOCAL AUTHOR
(Bestselling Austin children's and YA author/illustrator with large local following.) Keith Graves is one of our favorite authors, and we're thrilled to host this release party for his latest book for middle grade readers, The Orphan of Awkward Falls! When thirteen-year-old Josephine moves to Awkward Falls, she can't help but snoop around the dilapidated mansion next door. Inevitably, she is captured by the house's strange inhabitants: an ancient automaton who serves as a butler, a cat patched together with a few odd parts, and most surprising of all, a boy named Thaddeus Hibble. With a penchant for spooky details, surprising twists, and haunting illustrations, picture book author/illustrator Keith Graves delivers a suspenseful and engaging first middle grade novel.

Saturday 29 3p - CATHERINE McGUINNESS speaking & signing Emperor's Clothes - FICTION
Austin author CATHERINE McGUINNESS will speak and sign her novel, Emperor's Clothes. Part cautionary tale, part farce, Emperors' Clothes tells the story of two executives and one mob boss who put a Sopranos' style spin on corporate strategy. Catherine McGuinness is a recovering human resources manager. Emperors' Clothes, the novel, is her attempt to reconcile with those downtrodden by heavy-handed HR initiatives, shed light on the injustices of evolving compensation practices, and, at long last, reveal the secret formulas employed to keep natural talent restrained while incompetents are promoted.

***Sunday 30 7p - MYSTERYPEOPLE presents author of medeival noir JERI WESTERSON speaking & signing Troubled Bones - FICTION - MYSTERY/MEDEIVAL NOIR
(New information: MysteryPeople will now also celebrate its One Year Anniversary at this event!)
MysteryPeople Presents medieval noir author JERI WESTERSON speaking & signing Troubled Bones. Jeri Westerson is the author of three previous books featuring medieval knight Crispin Guest and we're thrilled to be able to introduce her to mystery fans here in Austin. Because Jeri will be in town so close to Halloween, we're throwing a costume party! Put on your medieval garb (we're making Scott wear a jester's hat, which he'll only pretend to hate) and join us for refreshments as we welcome Jeri to Austin! She'll be bringing her cache of medeival weaponry to demonstrate for us.

Monday 21 6p - Halloween Storytime & Book Give Away! - YOUNG CHILDREN
Little ghouls and goblins! Gather at BookPeople this Halloween for a storytime filled with our favorite type of treats – new books! Storytime will be in our amphitheater starting at 6PM, featuring stories full of monsters, ghosts, and witches (but none of them will be too scary). Then, at 6:30PM, join the costume parade around the store, which will start on our second floor and end at the front of the store where you'll get your treat – a free book to bring home! This Halloween Party is perfect for witches and wizards ages 7 and under. Come have a Spook-tacular Halloween at BookPeople!

NOVEMBER

Tuesday 1 6p - Bestselling Children's Author LAURA NUMEROFF speaknig & signing If You Give A Dog A Donut - CHILDREN FICTION
(Numeroff is the author of the classic If You Give a Mouse a Cookie. Her books are instantly recognizable by millions of children. This will be a major children's event.)
We are big, BIG fans of Laura Numeroff's books. If You Give A Mouse a Cookie is a classic! And who doesn't love If You Give a Pig a Pancake? Which is why we are super excited to welcome Laura to BookPeople with her new book, If You Give a Dog a Donut. Dog is on an all-American, backyard adventure. He plays baseball, pretends to be a pirate and goes on a treasure hunt, flies a kite and ends his day with his favorite treat…a donut! Laura Numeroff is the bestselling author of a number of books for children, including the If You Give… book™ series illustrated by Felicia Bond; The Chicken Sisters, illustrated by Sharleen Collicott and Laura Numeroff's 10-Step Guide to Living with Your Monster illustrated by Nate Evans.

Tuesday 1 7p - Austin Unitarian Universalist Minister MEG BARNHOUSE speaks & signs Broken Buddha - LOCAL/SPIRITUAL
Meg Barnhouse is a Unitarian Universalist minister and singer-songwriter who writes about life with edgy humor and infectious hopefulness. Open up Broken Buddha, her sixth book, anywhere and odds are good you'll find a thought you've had, and felt you might be the only one having it. She is to-the-bone honest and at the same time affectionate towards our human quirks and confusions. In this collection, she writes about the family tradition of lining up in the back bedroom for flu shots, about a broken statue of the Buddha, the ants at church who called the police by accident, and the river that taught her not to go with the flow. Barnhosue has recently arrived in Austin. She's the new minister at the First Unitarian Universalist Church on Grover Ave.

Wednesday 2 7p - Rewritten History Book Club discussing Eye of the Needle by Ken Follett
You are cordially invited to join Merrilee and Sharee the first Wednesday of every month to explore and discuss works of historical fiction. This month's book is Eye of the Needle by Ken Follett.

Wednesday 2 7p - TRIVIA NIGHT: 60's & 70's Pop Music Triva w/ DWIGHT ROUNDS - The Year the Music Died - MUSIC
Dwight will host 60's & 70's Pop Music Trivia here at BookPeople with big prizes, and we'll have beer from Saint Arnold Brewing Company on hand (because it's not a trivia night without beer - for those 21+, please bring an ID.) Dwight Rounds has compiled his knowledge of his true passion—popular music from the 1960s and early 1970s—into his first book, The Year the Music Died. This collection contains insightful commentary and trivia about the music from 1964 to 1972, including charts and ratings, information on music festivals and commentary on the social movements of the time. The book offers baby boomers a chance to rediscover the music of their childhood and introduce it to today's generation of listeners.

Thursday 3 7p - MysteryPeople Presents CHRISTA FAUST speaking & signing Choke Hold - FICTION/MYSTERY
Angel Dare went into Witness Protection to escape her past -- not as a porn star, but as a killer who took down the sex slavery ring that destroyed her life. But sometimes the past just won't stay buried. When a former co-staris gunned down, it's up to Angel to get his son, a hotheaded MMA fighter, safely through the unforgiving Arizona desert, shady Mexican bordertowns, and the seductive neon mirage of Las Vegas... Christa Faust is a successful horror and crime writer. Her most recent novel Money Shot won the Crimespree Award and was nominated for several others, including the prestigious Edgar Award. She has written tie-ins to Friday the 13th, A Nightmare on Elm Street and theTwilight Zone amongst others.

Thursday 3 7p - Princeton Review Seminar w/ ROB FRANEK - How to Choose the College That's Right for You, And How to Pay for It
Rob Franek Senior Vice President & Publisher of The Princeton Review will host this seminar for high school students and their parents, How to Choose the College That's Best for You--And How to Pay For It. Rob Franek is a former college admissions counselor and an expert on all things college. He'll offer tips and expert advice from his long career in the field, as well as take all of your questions. He'll also present two helpful Princeton Review books, Best 376 Colleges and Paying for College Without Going Broke. This seminar is free and open to the public, no registration necessary.

Friday 4 7p - Food Writer ELLEN SWEETS speaks & signs Stirring It Up with Molly Ivins - FOOD/POLITICS/TEXAS
(In cooperation with Edible Austin magazine; a book with a new angle about the real Molly Ivins' behind the political persona - Ivins as cook)
We know Molly Ivins as an unabashed civil libertarian who used her rapier wit and good ole Texas horse sense to excoriate political figures she deemed unworthy of our trust and respect. But did you also know that Molly was one helluva cook? In Stirring It Up with Molly Ivins, her longtime friend, fellow reporter, and frequent sous-chef Ellen Sweets takes us into the kitchen with Molly and introduces us to the private woman behind the public figure. She serves up her own and others' favorite stories about Ivins as she recalls the fabulous meals they shared, complete with recipes for thirty-five of Molly's signature dishes. This even is curated by Edible Austin magazine.

Sunday 6 4p - MysteryPeople Presents Bestselling Author JOHN CONNOLLY speaking & signing The Infernals - YA/MYSTERY
(Connolly is one of the top-selling mystery writers in America who has seen phenomenal success with his fiction for adults and young adults. He will also sign copies of and answer questions about his Charlie Parker books.)
John Connolly is the Dublin-born author of the Charlie Parker mystery series for adults, among other works. His novel The Book of Lost Things, described as "a fairy tale for adults," won a 2005 Alex Award from the ALA's Young Adult Library Services Association as an adult book with special appeal to teens. In The Infernals, the rollicking sequel to The Gates, Young Samuel Johnson and his faithful dachshund Boswell cross paths with some very bad-tempered dwarfs, an ice cream man, and two indignant policemen, all of whom find themselves in Hell when the portal opens again. The Infernals mixes adventure, horror and humor with true science that's stranger than fiction, conveyed in language that will entertain and engage kids aged 12 and up.

Sunday 6 6p - History of Mystery Class discussing Some Buried Caesar by Rex Stout
We continue our look at authors who had an impact on crime fiction with Rex Stout, with the classic Some Buried Caesar. The class is free, and the book is 10% off for those who attend.

Monday 7 7p - Award-Winning Author DAGOBERTO GILB speaks & signs Before the End, After the Beginning - LITERARY FICTION/LOCAL
Before the End, After the Beginning is an exquisite collection of ten stories by Dagoberto Gilb. The pieces come in the wake of a stroke Gilb suffered at his home here in Austin in 2009, and a majority of the stories were written over his many months of recovery. The result is a powerful and triumphant book that tackles common themes of existence and identity and describes the American experience in a raw, authentic vernacular unique to Gilb. Gilb's debut collection, The Magic of Blood, won the PEN/Hemingway Foundation Award for fiction in 1994. He is also the author of the books The Flowers, Gritos, Woodcuts of Women, and The Last Known Residence of Mickey Acuña. His fiction and nonfiction have appeared in many magazines, most recently Harper's, The New Yorker, and Callaloo. He makes his home in Austin.

Monday 7 7p - OFF SITE EVENT: Award Winning Poet NAOMI SHAHIB NYE speaking & signing at St. Edward's University.
In her new collection of forty life-altering, life-affirming, and extremely short short stories, There Is No Long Distance, Now, the award-winning poet Naomi Shihab Nye proposes that no matter how great the divide between friends, siblings, life and death, classmates, enemies, happiness and misery, war and peace, breakfast and lunch, parent and child, country and city, there is, in fact, no long distance. Not anymore. Tickets are required to attend this event. Tickets are available for purchase only from BookPeople (either in-store or over the phone.) Tickets cost $20 and include a copy of There Is No Long Distance, Now. This event will take place in the Mabee Ballroom at St. Edward's University. Tickets will be available as of October 17th.

Monday 7 7p - 7% Solution Book Club discussing The Redbreast by Jo Nesbo
Come join Sharee and Tommy the first Monday of every month at 7PM as they explore the worlds of fiction's greatest mysteries. But you must hurry - the game is already afoot. This month's title is The Redbrest by Jo Nesbo

***Tuesday 8 7p - The Daily Show "Resident Expert" & Comedian JOHN HODGMAN speaks & signs That Is All - COMEDY/CELEBRITY
(NEAL POLLACK, one of BookPeople's favorite authors, will now join JOHN HODGMAN at this event.)
(Hodgman has an enormous fan base, particularly with 20 and 30-somethings, and a massive online following. News of this event is already spreading quickly. Media requests should be sent asap, as his time and availability in Austin will be limited.)
Tickets are required to reserve a seat at this event. Seat tickets for this event will go on sale Tuesday, November 1st, when BookPeople opens at 9am. The cost of a ticket is $28 (the cost of one copy of That Is All with tax) and will entitle the bearer to one seat at the event, one copy of That Is All, and priority in the signing line. Tickets will be available in-store and over the phone (512-472-5050), but not online. John Hodgman-bestselling author, The Daily Show's "Resident Expert", minor television celebrity, and deranged millionaire-brings us the third and final installment in his trilogy of Complete World Knowledge. Like its predecessors, That Is All compiles incredibly handy made-up facts into brief articles, overlong lists, and beguiling narratives on new and familiar themes. It picks up exactly where More Information left off-specifically, at page 596-and finally completes COMPLETE WORLD KNOWLEDGE, just in time for the return of Quetzalcoatl and the end of human history in 2012. Part of this event will include a Mustache Contest, sponsored by Bird's Barbershop and judged by Hodgman, Birds and BookPeople.

Wednesday 9 7p - SNL Alum JENNY SLATE & Animator/Director DEAN FLEISCHER-CAMP speak & sign Marcel the Shell with Shoes On - CELEBRITY - CHILDREN & ADULT
(Over 11 million people have viewed the famous Marcel the Shell animated short on Youtube. This book will appeal to 20 and 30-somethings as well as parents. Slate made a name for herself after appearing on SNL and currently appears on HBO's Bored to Death.)
Are you one of the millions of people who has fallen in love with Marcel the Shell on Youtube? Now the tiny shell with shoes and a big heart is transitioning from online sensation to picture book character, and we're thrilled to have Jenny Slate, the voice of Marcel, and Dean Fleischer-Camp, director and animator of the short film with over 11 million hits, here at BookPeople to present the new book! In Marcel's voice. From wearing a lentil as a hat to hang-gliding on a Dorito, Marcel is able to find magic in the everyday.Jenny Slate, the voice of Marcel, is an alum of Saturday Night Live and plays Stella on HBO's Bored to Death. Dean Fleischer-Camp is a writer, director, and animator whose work has screened at film festivals around the world.

Thursday 10 12:30p - The Cake Boss BUDDY VALASTRO signs Baking with the Cake Boss. - COOKING - TV CELEBRITY
(Buddy is the star of the show 'Cake Boss,' one of the most popular shows on the TLC network. He will also appear at The Paramount at 7:30 on 11/10, where BookPeople will sell books.)
At Carlo's bakery in Hoboken, where the hit TLC show 'Cake Boss' is filmed, Buddy and his staff turn out thousands of wedding cakes, specialty cakes, and pastries weekly. His award- winning designs have been featured numerous times in different bridal and baking magazines. His memoir cookbook, Cake Boss: The Stories and Recipes from Mia Famiglia, is a New York Times bestseller and Carlo's Bakery has been featured in books, newspapers, such as The New York Times, and television, mostly The Food Network, although he and his cakes have also been featured on The Today's Show, Good Morning America, The View, and HBO's hit series, The Sopranos.

Thursday 10 7p - Local Author Night w/ Ronna Quimby Huckaby, Cory Putman Oakes, & Linda Ginac - LOCAL
We love our local authors here at BookPeople, and tonight we're pleased to have with us two local Austin writers who will present their work. Ronna Quimby Huckaby will present Somewhere Out There. Cory Putman Oakes will present The Veil. Linda Ginac will present Fake Perfection.

Friday 11 7p - Local Tea Party Activist LISA FRITSCH speaks & signs Obama, Tea Parties & God - POLITICS - LOCAL
Lisa Fritsch, who has appeared on Fox News Channel's shows with Glenn Beck and Neil Cavuto, delves into the extent of the power of the Tea Party on our current political situation, the experience of electing the nation's first African-American President and his subsequent performance, and the spiritual ties she perceives between the course of politics in this nation and God.

Saturday 12 4p - Bestselling Ranger's Apprentice Author JOHN FLANAGAN speaks & signs The Brotherband Chronicles: Book One: The Outcasts - MIDDLE GRADE - LITERARY CAMPS
(Ranger's Apprentice Camp is one of our big annual Literary Camps, and this year we're hosting the author of the bestselling series the same day next summer's sessions go on sale.)
At 3pm today, we'll open registration for next year's sessions of Ranger's Apprentice camps. Then at 4pm, we'll have the one and only JOHN FLANAGAN, the man who created the world we love to live in every summer, here to speak and sign his latest book, which delves into a whole new cast of characters in the world of Skandians and Araluens. Hal, Stig, and the others - they are the boys the others want no part of. Skandians, as any reader of Ranger's Apprentice could tell you, are known for their size and strength. Not these boys. Yet that doesn't mean they don't have skills. And courage - which they will need every ounce of to do battle at sea against the other bands, the Wolves and the Sharks, in the ultimate race.

Sunday 13 1p - Required Reading Revisited Book Club discussing The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn by Mark Twain
Remember those books you were required to read in school? Required Reading Revisited is a chance to take a second (or first) look at some of the books you were made to read in school. Meeting the second Sunday of every month at 1PM, this month's title is The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn by Tom Sawyer.

Sunday 13 4p - Austin Author JOHN ELLIS speaking & signing Dormant Curse - FICTION - LOCAL AUTHOR
Are you safe? Imagine this—celebrity Twitter and Facebook accounts have been hacked, allowing encrypted messages to be sent to maliciously-altered chips in our smartphones and tablets. A Chinese cult leader, out for revenge and power, is to blame. As vicious cyber attacks force the U.S. to retreat and watch, China grabs oil and gas resources with their co-conspirators, as we scramble. Fodder for spy movies? Hardly. Dormant Curse is based on Ellis' years in national security and semiconductors. The only question is, "Will we be prepared?" John Ellis was a graduate student at the University of Texas. After graduation, John went on to work at Sandia National Labs in New Mexico before eventually coming back to Austin to work for SEMI—a global, semiconductor trade association.

Sunday 13 5p - FYA Book Club at the High Ball discussing Daughter of Smoke and Bone by Laini Taylor
Are you tired of feeling ashamed every time you creep into the Young Adult section of BookPeople? Well, the Forever Young Adult Book Club is here to offer you relief! We're a group of adults (technically) who meet at 5 PM on the second Sunday of every month at The Highball. This month's book is Daughter of Smoke and Bone by Laini Taylor, so leave your shame at the door, grab a cocktail, and join us!

Monday 14 7p - Critically Acclaimed Author JOHN JEREMIAH SULLIVAN speaks & signs Pulphead. - LITERARY NONFICTION
In Pulphead, John Jeremiah Sullivan takes us on an exhilarating tour of our popular, unpopular, and at times completely forgotten culture. Simultaneously channeling the gonzo energy of Hunter S. Thompson and the wit and insight of Joan Didion, Sullivan shows us—with a laidback, erudite Southern charm that's all his own—how we really (no, really) live now. John Jeremiah Sullivan is a contributing writer for The New York Times Magazine and the southern editor of The Paris Review. He writes for GQ, Harper's Magazine, and Oxford American, and is the author of Blood Horses. Sullivan lives in Wilmington, North Carolina.

Tuesday 15 6p - Louisiana-Based Iron Chef Champion JOHN BESH signs My Family Table - COOKING - SOUTHERN
(Besh makes regular appearances on the Food Network and NBC's Today Show. He is a nationally recognized chef with strong Louisiana roots.)
Renowned chef and James Beard award-winner John Besh invites us into his home and shows us how we can put good, fresh, healthy food on the table for our families every day. In My Family Table, the Iron Chef champion makes a case for the importance of home-cooked meals. "If I can help make a difference by cooking simply and sharing what I love to cook, I can possibly help us all use our passions and skills to make our lives better at almost every meal." John Besh is dedicated to the culinary riches of southern Louisiana. In his eight restaurants, entrepreneurial pursuits, and public activities, he preserves and promotes ingredients, techniques, and heritage one mouthwatering dish at a time. Food & Wine magazine named him one of the "Top 10 Best New Chefs in America," and his flagship restaurant, August, was featured in Gourmet magazine's "Guide to America's Best Restaurants" and "America's Top 50 Restaurants."

Wednesday 16 7p - Author & Former Austinite WILLIAM ADLER speaks & signs The Man Who Never Died - NONFICTION - HISTORY
In 1914, Joe Hill was convicted of murder in Utah and sentenced to death by firing squad, igniting international controversy. Many believed Hill was innocent, condemned for his association with the Industrial Workers of the World-the radical Wobblies. Now, following four years of intensive investigation, William M. Adler gives us the first full-scale biography of Joe Hill, and presents never before published documentary evidence that comes as close as one can to definitively exonerating him.

Thursday 17 7p - Bestselling Author of The Mozart Effect DON CAMPBELL speaks & signs Healing at the Speed of Sound - NONFICTION - MUSIC - MEDICINE
Based on over a decade of new research, Don Campbell, bestselling author of The Mozart Effect, and Alex Doman, an expert in the practical application of sound and listening, show how we can use music and silence to become more efficient, productive, relaxed, and healthy. Each chapter focuses on a single aspect of everyday life, providing advice, exercises, wide-ranging playlists, and links so readers can use the music they love to create the perfect soundtrack for any goal or task. Also included are "Sound Profiles" - brief stories showing how real people creatively tap the power of sound to improve their own and others' lives. Inspiring, practical, and truly enjoyable, Healing at the Speed of Sound™ opens the door to fuller, richer, and much more harmonious lives.

Friday 18 7p - Iron Man Triathlete AMY SNYDER speaks & signs Hell on Two Wheels - MEMOIR - CYCLING
RAAM-the Race Across America-is a bicycle race like no other. This epic race is the most brutal organized sporting event you've never heard of and one of the best-kept secrets in the sports world. Outside magazine calls it "the toughest test of endurance in the world." Contestants have died, been maimed, and spiraled down into the nightmarish realm of madness. Half of them don't finish; in fact, only 200 racers have ever made it to the end. Author and three-time Iron Man Triathlete finisher Amy Snyder follows a handful of athletes before, during, and after the 2009 event-the closest and most controversial in history. Hell on Two Wheels is a thrilling and remarkably detailed account of their ups and downs, triumphs and tragedies.

Saturday 19 2p - Bestselling Young Adult Author CHRISTOPHER PAOLINI signs Inheritance - YOUNG ADULT
(Paolini events are always huge here, and this book is the last in his incredibly bestselling series. Activities, decorations and lots of fun are planned for this in-store event to celebrate the end of a landmark series.)
Join us when BookPeople transforms its third floor into Alagaesia to welcome bestselling author Christopher Paolini. We'll have face-painting, food, entertainment and activities! This is a party not-to-be-missed! It all started with Eragon, and now with Inheritance, this fourth and final book, Christopher Paolini brings us the incredible conclusion to The Inheritance Cycle! In order to join the signing line at this event, you must purchase a copy of Inheritance from BookPeople. When you purchase your book from BookPeople, you will receive a ticket for the signing line. These tickets are required to join the signing line at the event. We will begin selling books and distributing tickets for the signing line when we open at 9:00am on Tuesday, November 8th, the day Inheritance goes on sale nationwide. We will not be able to accept pre-orders for this book. Please call 512-472-5050 with any questions regarding this event.

Sunday 20 5p - This Book Could Be Your Life Book Club with Special Guest CHUCK EDDY - Rock and Roll Always Forgets - LOCAL - MUSIC
Get ready for some rock and roll! Dig into the history of music, its stars and styles, exploring everything from punk to pop. Bosco and Stephanya will satisfy your rock and roll obsession the third Sunday of every month at 5PM. This month, author Chuck Eddy will the join the group to discuss his book, Rock and Roll Always Forgets. Chuck is one of the most prolific and influentia music critics in the business, and this book is a collection of his best and most provocative reviews, interviews, columns, and essays. Don't miss this special edition of the This Book Could Be Your Life Book Club!

Tuesday 22 7p - Historian & Musician BOBBY BRIDGER speaks & signs Where the Tall Grass Grows - HISTORY - NATIVE AMERICAN
(This event has been rescheduled from Monday 11/21.)
In this entertaining and thought-provoking book, noted historian and musician Bobby Bridger explores the impact of Native American culture on the American psyche. Where the Tall Grass Grows examines the impact of indigenous American mythology on contemporary identity and the development of modern popular entertainment, particularly the Hollywood film industry. Bobby Bridger is renowned for A Ballad of the West, his epic trilogy about the American West from the era of mountain man Jim Bridger to the closing of the frontier. Bridger has had a career in show business that spans the rockabilly to "Music City, USA" era in Nashville, the cosmic cowboy scene in Austin, the flowering of folk music, and even Broadway theater.

***Wednesday 23 7p - Historical Fiction Author LINDA BERDOLL speaks & signs The Darcys: The Ruling Passions
After watching the A&E/BBC miniseries Pride & Prejudice, Linda Berdoll went on an all-out Austen spree. The conclusion she drew after re-reading all of Austen's novels as well as investigating other research materials was that Austen left quite a bit out of her telling of the Regency Era. She wrote about only what a respectable married woman of the era would be privy to - and ended every time with the wedding ceremony! Linda wanted to know what would come after, and so she began her bestselling series of books with Mr. Darcy Takes a Wife and Darcy and Elizabeth. Now she continues the series with The Darcys: The Ruling Passion, chronicling the lives of Darcy and Elizabeth and their family.

Monday 28 7p - New & Noteworthy Book Club discussing Jeff in Venice, Death in Varanasi by Geoff Dyer
Perhaps more aptly named the "sometimes new/always noteworthy" book club, here is a place to discover recent gems and to revisit old favorites. Come join Paul and Kester the last Monday of every month at 7PM. This month's book is Jeff in Venice, Death in Varanasi by Geoff Dyer.

Wednesday 30 6:30p - BookPeople Presents Italian-American Chef & PBS Host LIDIA BASTIANICH at Whole Foods Market - COOKING - CELEBRITY CHEF
(Lidia has a huge following from her PBS show and is a nationally known Italian cooking personality. Hundreds of people are expected to attend this event, which will be held at Whole Foods with BookPeople handling book sales.)
Lidia Bastianich has been the beloved host of PBS' Lidia's Italy. She is the author of seven previous books, five of which have been accompanied by nationally syndicated public television series. She is the owner of several restaurants. In Lidia's Italy in America, a companion book to her upcoming public television series of the same name, Lidia takes us on a road trip into the heart of Italian American cooking today, as only Lidia can. This event will take place on the outdoor patio upstairs at Whole Foods Market, 525 N. Lamar (directly across the street from BookPeople.) In order to have a book signed at this event, you must purchase the book from BookPeople. Tickets are required to join the signing line at Whole Foods and will be distributed with the purchase of a copy of Lidia's Italy in America from BookPeople. Tickets will be available the day the book goes on sale, Tuesday, October 25.

--
Julie Wernersbach
Publicist
BookPeople
603 N. Lamar Blvd
Austin, TX 78703
http://www.bookpeople.com
BP Facebook
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Currently Reading The Flame Alphabet by Ben Marcus

BookPeople Halloween Book Giveaway

2011-10-17T10:11:00.000-07:00

Please help us spread the word! This year for Halloween, BookPeople is hosting its first ever Halloween Book Giveaway. We'll be giving away books to children ages 7 and under. We're excited to be able to give back to the community this way, and to provide kids with something other than candy this Halloween. If you're able, please help us spread the word in the community so no one misses out, especially those young readers whose families may not have a budget for book buying.

There is no cost to attend the party, it's free and open to the public. A press release with further details is attached.

Thanks,
Julie

--
Julie Wernersbach
Publicist
BookPeople
603 N. Lamar Blvd
Austin, TX 78704
http://www.bookpeople.com
BP Facebook
BP Twitter
BP Blog

Currently Reading The Flame Alphabet by Ben Marcus