Monday, March 31, 2014

Celebrate Spring by Supporting Authors: March 31 -- April 6

How did three months flash past so quickly? Later today I will be posting a round-up my favorite reads of the 2014 so far. The author of one of the books on that list, Brian Stavely who wrote The Emperor's Blades, will be at Towne Book Center on Saturday and I hope to get there to meet him and ask a few questions about how the series will evolve.

Tuesday marks the beginning of National Poetry Month and various venues around the region are celebrating by hosting readings by local and national poets. Live poetry readings are a great way to encounter this rich art form. I say that, but I'm pretty poetry phobic. I plan on putting my money where my mouth is this month by attending some readings and hopefully break down my resistance!

Onto to the action:


Monday, March 31
Tuesday, April 1
Max Brooks | The Harlem Hellfighters | Illustrated by Caanan White
Location: The Doylestown Bookshop, 16 Main Street, Doylestown PA
Cost: Free
2:00 pm

Location: Free Library, Central Library
Cost: Free
7:30 pm

Reading the listings for these two events has made me eager to read this new graphic novel about the 369th Infantry Regiment—the first African American regiment mustered to fight in World War I. From the enlistment lines in Harlem to the training camp at Spartanburg, South Carolina, to the trenches in France, bestselling author Max Brooks tells the thrilling story of the heroic journey that these soldiers undertook for a chance to fight for America. Based on true events and featuring artwork from acclaimed illustrator Caanan White, this promises to be an action-packed and powerful story of courage, honor, and heart.


Wednesday, April 2

 Josh Fattal | A Sliver of Light: Three Americans Imprisoned in Iran
Location: Melrose B'nai Israel Emanu-El, 8339 Old York Road, Elkins Park
Cost: $3 in advance, $5 at the door
7:00 pm


Thursday, April 3
Location: Free Library, Central Library
Cost: Free
7:30 pm


Friday, April 4
Location: Newtown Bookshop, 2835 South Eagle Road, Newtown, PA
Cost: Free
4:15 pm

Violet Kupersmith |  The Frangipani Hotel -- Book Release Party
Location: The Doylestown Bookshop, 16 Main Street, Doylestown PA
Cost: Free
6:30 pm

One of the most anticipated literary debuts of the year! Based on traditional Vietnamese folk tales told to Kupersmith by her grandmother, these fantastical, chilling, and thoroughly contemporary stories are a boldly original exploration of Vietnamese culture, addressing both the immigrant experience and the lives of those who remained behind. Lurking in the background of them all is a larger ghost—that of the Vietnam War, whose legacy continues to haunt us.
Violet is a Pennsylvania native and a graduate of Mount Holyoke College.


Location: Big Blue Marble Bookstore, 551 Carpenter Lane 
Philadelphia, PA
Cost: Free
7:00 pm

Iain Halley Pollock | Poetry Reading
Location: Musehouse, 7924 Germantown Avenue, Philadelphia, PA
Cost: Free
7:00 pm


Saturday, April 5

 James Cambias | A Darkling Sea, Brian Staveley | The Emperor's Blades, and Ramona Wheeler | Three Princes
Location: Towne Book Center, 220 Plaza Drive, Suite B-3, Collegeville, Pennsylvania
Cost: Free
3:00 pm
RSVP 610-454-0640

Location: The Doylestown Bookshop, 16 Main Street, Doylestown PA
Cost: Free
1:00 pm
Chris Bullard | Poetry Reading
Location: Musehouse, 7924 Germantown Avenue, Philadelphia, PA
Cost: Free
7:00 pm

This event will also feature an open mic reading for local poets and writers. To register, please email musehousecenter@gmail.com

Location: Big Blue Marble Bookstore, 551 Carpenter Lane 
Philadelphia, PA
Cost: Free
Time: 7:00 pm

Sunday, April 6

Location: Big Blue Marble Bookstore, 551 Carpenter Lane 
Philadelphia, PA
Cost: Free
Time: 7:00 pm


P.S. If you know of events or venues with regularly scheduled events that I've missed, please let me know in the comments or via email at abudner (at) comcast (dot) net.
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Sunday, March 30, 2014

Ballet's Power to Thrill -- 'Astonish Me' by Maggie Shipstead

When I was growing up in New York City in the 1970s the cult of ballet was at its height. The New York City ballet led by George Balanchine was front and center along with the American Ballet Theater. I adored and idolized the stars: Gelsey Kirkland, Suzanne Farrell, Natalia Makarova and most especially, Mikhail Baryshnikov. Members of the various companies inhabited the then reasonably priced Upper West Side and I would ogle their gazelle like bodies and turned out feet with the burning envy of someone who had neither the single minded discipline nor the physical characteristics necessary to join their ranks.

Time and distance has demystified the ballet scene, revealing it as capable of psychological and physical destruction undertaken in the guise of creating beauty. Perfection has a price and often a steep one – addiction, injury, eat disorders and more – not to mention spending decades living and working in an insular world competing against your body’s inevitable decline. Backstage politics and cattiness seem less appealing to me in my fifties than in my teenage years. Then I believed that adult life perpetuated the intensity and terror of high school and professional ballet seemed like a logical extension of everything I knew. Even then some part of me understood that the muck that lay beneath the glamour was deep and merciless, but even so, if I had been blessed with the right kind of body and the talent, I would have fought hard to become a part of the glittering illusion.

'Astonish Me' transported me back three decades to that era of superstar dancers, when the latest Soviet defectors became cult figures, and when ‘Mr. B’ ruled the roost at City Ballet as a god anointing the chosen. Much of the fun of ‘Astonish Me’ comes from the palpable voyeurism that comes from the roman a clef characters based on Balanchine (rechristened Mr. K. in the book) and Baryshnikov (Arslan Rusakov), feel true to life while other characters are sensible composites that mine the real life travails of real world ballerinas Kirkland, Makarova, and Lisa Rinehart.

As perfect as they are, these thinly veiled portraits are not at the center of Shipstead's novel. Instead Shipstead centers her novel on Joan Joyce, a young corps de ballet dancer who plays a central role in aiding Rusakov’s defection and is his lover during his early days in New York. Joan, like all professional ballet dancers, has spent her life pursuing transcendence and the limelight, but very early on realizes that she lacks that ineffable something that translates into stardom. It is simply a matter of time before her life, the only life she has ever wanted, will come to an abrupt end. When her involvement with Arslan ends, Joan takes charge of her own destiny and marries Jacob, the young man who has loved her since they met in High School.

After moving to Southern California she and Jacob raise their son, Harry, who follows in Joan’s footsteps along with Chloe, the daughter of their neighbors. As the next generation matures there is a predictable, though entertaining, collision with the past that unravels and destabilizes the present.

The plot is pure soap opera stuff, and the essential twist will be no secret to anyone who reads between the lines of the jacket copy. Shipstead's writing is precise, but never showy and despite the multiple shifts between timeframes and narrative perspective, always easy to follow. It is this ease that is the books greatest strength and its greatest weakness. In her debut, ‘Seating Arrangements’, Shipstead demonstrated that she has the capacity to become a brilliant satirist and comic novelist. There are a few moments of shining and pointed wit here, as in her description of the clothing choices of Chloe’s father Gary Wheelock early on, but for the most part Shipstead sheathes her verbal knives and delivers the tale in straightforward fashion without the trenchant observation of mores that I so loved in 'Seating Arrangements'. Although I was disappointed that Shipstead kept her brilliance as a social satirist largely under wraps through much of ‘Astonish Me’, the book is, like its predecessor, a well-crafted and satisfying read. Many a beach blanket this summer will be home to ‘Astonish Me’,  but I have my fingers crossed that in her next novel Shipstead ups her game with more inventive plotting and uses intelligent wit to become a writer whose work equals the achievements of the greatest of the dancers in ‘Astonish Me’.

Recommended to anyone who loves ballet, readers looking a family saga with an unusual background and a love story based on mature connection instead of the frisson of falling in love.

Note: I received a copy of the book from the publisher in return for an honest review, which is what this is.
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Friday, March 28, 2014

A Life with Books is Worth Living

I spend my summers on an island with a bookstore. I love books that are about the lives of people who are passionate about books, storytelling and writing.

Is it any wonder that I was anxious to get my hands on Gabrielle Zevin's new novel, The Storied Live of A.J. Fikry?



As this slender book opens, A.J. is in mourning for his wife, the island native who had been the impetus behind the bookstore. Unlike her, A.J. is a prickly sort, a customer service nightmare, a man who won't sell books he doesn't like. Since losing her in an accident 18 months earlier, he's been spiraling downwards, withdrawing further into drinking too much and dreaming of early retirement.

With the state of book selling in the 21st century, it's clearly not his outrageous profits that are going to fund his life of curmudgeonly isolation. No, A.J. has had one piece of outrageous fortune; he stumbled across one of the very few original printings of E.A. Poe's Tamerlane, in a box of miscellany at a garage sale that he bought for next to nothing. In pristine condition, this one item might fetch close to a half a million dollars at auction. One night after a bottle of red wine, A.J. takes the copy of Tamerlane out of its glass case to indulge in his dreams, but perhaps as a comeuppance for his ill treatment of a new and enthusiastic publisher's rep that had called earlier in the day, when he awakes the next morning, the little book is gone.

From this slender thread Zevin starts to weave the story of A.J.'s steps towards building a community, and ultimately, a new family. In ensuing chapters we get to know A.J.'s unhappy sister-in-law with her philandering author husband, the divorced local police chief, the charming publishing representative, and an abandoned baby. All unfolds as most readers will expect, with some small though ultimately not all that shocking twists, but it is not what happens that make this novel such a charmer, it's the style and the ever-present touchstone of books.

This is a fairy tale that reflects and burnishes real life -- people die, not all endings are happy -- but events are satisfyingly right. Zevin adopts a brisk tone and pace, which while they make you feel as if you are watching the action through a frame, it is a style that suits the material. You feel for each of these characters, most of whom have a moment or two where the story is told from his or her perspective, but they exist as impressionistic images, the idea of whole people formed out of a few crucial brushstrokes that up close dissolve into mere words, but at a distance reform into recognizable types that have particular roles to play.

Throughout books are discussed and also serve to be the lens through which we learn more about the characters as they learn more about themselves. Being set in a bookstore, it is natural that books appear as a part of the action – I will not be surprised if a number of folks forge reading lists based on the titles listed here. In addition, each chapter opens with a note by A.J. about a particular short story that is important to him and that story informs the action within chapter. If you aren’t familiar with the stories he discusses, I promise that you will want to find them after reading his take on them.

I have to say, like the residents of the fictional Alice Island, I think a bookstore makes a community and I hope this book helps more people to realize it.

If you want to visit my favorite island bookstore you can either trek up to mid-coast Maine or check out the website:

Artisan Books and Bindery

Of course, my life enriched the rest of the year by these mainland stores as well:

Main Point Books
Children's Book World

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Monday, March 24, 2014

Bookish Happenings In and Around Philadelphia: March 24 - March 30

Fingers crossed that Tuesday does not bring yet more snow despite the current forecasts.

Even if it does snow don't let the weather stop you from checking out some of the great author events coming up this week.

Among this week's doings are three chances for you to catch Tom Angleberger, author of the bestselling Origami Yoda series -- I only mention this since this is the first time since I started putting together this weekly listing in January that a single author has made this many multiple appearances in the region!


Monday, March 24

Daniel Torday | The Sensualist
Location: La Salle University, Union Music Room
Cost: Free
5:00 pm

Location: Booktenders' Secret Garden, 42 E State St. Rear, Doylestown, PA
Cost: This is a ticketed event and our guest will only be signing books bought at Booktenders' during the event or in the pre-sale
7:00 pm

Teju Cole | Every Day Is for the Thief with Dinaw Mengestu | All our Names
Location: Free Library, Central Library
Cost: Free
7:30 pm


Tuesday, March 25

Location: Free Library, Central Library
Cost: Free
7:30 pm

Tom Angleberger | Princess Labelmaker to the Rescue
Location: Let's Play Books, 379 Main Street, Emmaus, PA
Cost: $5 which can be applied towards the purchase of a book
Please call the store to check the time, 610-929-8600

Location: Children's Book World, 17 Haverford Station Rd., Haverford, PA
Cost: Free
7:00 pm


Thursday, March 27
Location: Free Library, Central Library
Cost: $15 General Admission, $7 Students
7:30 pm

Location: Children's Book World, 17 Haverford Station Rd., Haverford, PA
Cost: Free
7:00 pm


Saturday, March 29

Location: Big Blue Marble Bookstore, 551 Carpenter Lane, Philadelphia, PA
Cost: Free
Time: 2:00

Location: Newtown Bookshop, 2835 South Eagle Road, Newtown, PA
Cost: Free
1:00 pm

Teresa Leo | Bloom in Reverse with Kasey Jueds | Keeper
Location: Musehouse, 7924 Germantown Avenue, Philadelphia, PA
Cost: Free
7:00 pm

This event will also feature an open mic reading for local poets and writers. To register, please email musehousecenter@gmail.com


Sunday, March 30

Location: Towne Book Center, 220 Plaza Drive, Suite B-3, Collegeville, PA
Cost: Free
12:30 pm
RSVP 610-454-0640

Location: Big Blue Marble Bookstore, 551 Carpenter Lane 
Philadelphia, PA
Cost: Free
Time: 2:00 pm


Fingers crossed that Spring stays put and the world turns green soon!

P.S. If you know of events or venues with regularly scheduled events that I've missed, please let me know in the comments or via email at abudner (at) comcast (dot) net.
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Friday, March 21, 2014

It's Brooklyn, What Could be Weird?

Forget about fierce young women, ruthless men and small furry-footed homebodies, in the pages of Jeremy Bushnell's The Weirdness saving the world falls to a hapless aspiring writer from Brooklyn (where hapless young writers abound). Billy Ridgeway, nearing thirty and too distracted by the strange and wonderful world around him to get it together to actually finish that novel, is half in love with an experimental film maker and toiling his days away assembling sandwiches for other Brooklynites. He's such a daydreamer that he can be distracted by a meditation on the miracle that is a banana in a bodega in the winter. How does a guy like this have any possibility of becoming a hero?

Well, one morning, hung over and mad at himself for pissing off his girlfriend, wondering why his roommate hasn't returned from an electronic music conference, Billy awakes to the smell of good coffee brewing and is greeted by the Devil, nattily turned out, sitting in his living room. Yes, that Devil, the guy who makes deals for souls. What could he want with Billy?

It's a classic set-up. What is the Devil offering and will Billy take the bait?

Don't worry, like all the best temptation tales, nothing is straightforward. For a start, get this, the Devil wants Billy to save the world. Which if you stop to think about it makes a fair bit of sense. No world, no people. No people, no one to tempt. The end of the world will mean the end of the Devil's stock in trade. Plus, he's got a really good Powerpoint presentation to make his case.

We're off and running, or at least Billy is, and we go along for the smart and funny ride. Billy's quest for the Devil's Neko (one of the white waving Chinese cats of good luck) leads him into the wilds of Manhattan, Brooklyn and supernatural parts unknown. Along the way he is forced to confront the basic questions that he has avoided to maintain his prolonged adolescence: what does it mean to be in love, be a good friend, a good son, etc. While the journey is filled with bizarre happenings I don't think it's a spoiler to reveal that by the end Billy is changed. The most touching evidence of his transformation is in his realization, near the end of the book, that he is no longer discomfited by the use of his full name, William Harrison Ridgeway, in place of the more childlike diminutive Billy.

Comic and satiric bildungsromans are a staple literary form, from Voltaire's Candide to Nick Harkaway's Angelmaker. Nor does it show any sign of going out of style. In the first three months of 2014 I've already read four debut novels built on this classic framework -- this book, Rachel Cantor's A Highly Unlikely Scenario, and Adam Sternbergh's Shovel Ready which has a noir twist, and Wayne Gladstone's Notes from the Internet Apocalypse. Despite the shared underpinnings, each author has found ways to make what could be a tired form fresh and entertaining.

While Bushnell's book shares a NYC setting with Sternbergh's and Gladstone's books it is less stylized and more character driven -- Billy's internal life and growth trajectory is front and center. The tone here, optimistic and caring, even when poking fun at the world, is far closer in spirit to Cantor's novel, which, through a fluke of luck and timing, shares a publisher as well overlapping themes of self-knowledge and the importance of human relationships. Of the four novels, The Weirdness is unique in combining satire of the Brooklyn art scene with a jargon and acronym rich supernatural universe.*

Ultimately, The Weirdness is a funny, fast paced, often unpredictable, paranormal joy ride with a very human heart. If you don't need your fiction to follow the rules of naturalism, but still want characters to connect and empathize with, read this book.

*Bushnell's paranormal universe reminded me in several respects of Glen Duncan's The Last Werewolf/Bloodlines Trilogy while Duncan's I, Lucifer, in which Lucifer inhabits the body of a despondent failed writer body was the book I immediately thought of when I picked up The Weirdness. Duncan's dark, dark, dark humor makes his books very different from Bushnell's novel, but I would be surprised if Bushnell doesn't have copies of Duncan's work on his shelves.

Thanks to Melville House for providing a copy of the book for review. If I didn't like it, I would have said so.










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Tuesday, March 18, 2014

Spring Reading -- A Top Ten On Tuesday




Hey look, a Top Ten on Tuesday that's on a Tuesday! Daylight Savings Time must be working its magic on my mood. Thanks to the Broke and the Bookish for the prompt.

Disclaimer: these are my top ten anticipated reads as of this moment. Ask me this question tomorrow or next week and it's a certainty that there will be significant variation between the different compilations. But, if you are willing to accept that this is a piece of ephemera, here you go. My focus here is on adult books that will be published this Spring or are only recently out -- I could do separate lists of young adult and backlist titles I'd like to get to during the next few months without breaking a sweat.

Please let me know in the comments what you are looking forward to reading this spring. New or old, any genre -- it's all good!

First up is a trio of books that I would classify as Fantasy/Science Fiction, though I think all three may be of interest to readers who don't dabble in those genres:

The Chronicle of Secret Riven by Ronlyn Domingue -- A strange child, arcane texts, ill-fated mothers and mysterious destinies, plus a tremendous cover? I am itching to get to this one. Usually I avoid starting a series in the middle, but I am making an exception here since events in this book are set a millennia after those in The Mapmaker's War (though I have a copy of the first volume on order from Main Point Books).






The Word Exchange by Alena Graedon -- I am ashamed to say I only learned of this book because someone at the publisher decided to invite me to read it on Netgalley. Whoever you are, thank you, thank you!

I have a weakness for novels that are predicated on a love of literature and words, especially as we wade ever deeper into lives dominated by digital media. Will books vanish into history? In Alena Graedon's debut novel they very nearly have. Her heroine, Anana Johnson, is the daughter of one of the last holdouts of the analog age, the aptly named Douglas Samuel Johnson, editor of the final print edition of the North American Dictionary of the English Language. When Doug vanishes, leaving only the code word ALICE as a clue, Anana begins a quest that will lead her to secret societies, resistance movements and conspiracies.

I've already dipped my toe into this and was tickled to find that even the table of contents is part of the book's conceit: there is a chapter for each letter of the alphabet, with the chapter titles containing literary and linguistic references. If the writing and the characters are as strong as the opening suggests, I will slurp this up. Is this The Name of the Rose for the digital age? Fingers crossed that it is.

The Martian by Andy Weir -- this one is already on the bestseller list and I have read enough of the first chapter to be understand why. It will be few days before I can get back to it, but it looks to be as well-thought out and as exciting as the buzz is making out to be.


Now onto more 'literary' reads.

 All the Light We Cannot See by Anthony Doerr -- this historical novel is getting rave reviews on Goodreads from people I trust. This long awaited books is the story of a blind young woman and a German soldier whose lives intersect in Saint-Malo during World War II. By all accounts it is immersive, brilliantly researched, moving and thought provoking. I am clearing a few days when there is no one here but the cats to give myself the chance to to be swallowed up, because that seems to be how this book works.






 Frog Music by Emma Donoghue -- Like so many people, I loved Room and have been waiting for next novel since then. She's long been known as a skilled historical fiction writer and I'm excited that she has shifted continents with this new book to write a mystery based on a real life murder in San Francisco in 1876. I admit I still have to read her backlist, so after I finish this, I think I may hold a personal Emma Donoghue reading festival later in April.


 The Rise & Fall of Great Powers by Tom Rachman -- I enjoyed Rachman's The Imperfectionists several years ago. I didn't think it held together as a novel, but I was impressed with his writing and evident talent. This book sounds like one I will find more satisfying -- rich, cohesive and full of satisfyingly idiosyncratic characters.







The Quick by Lauren Owen -- Ah, the power of the blurb! In this case three blurbs by three authors whose taste I trust unreservedly: Kate Atkinson, Hilary Mantel, and Tana French. If I had seen nothing but the blurbs I would be all over this book, but when the jacket copy talks about vanished shy poets just down from Oxford, a sister determined to find out what happened to him, secret societies and the weird characters inhabiting the fringe of Victorian London, there is no choice but to line up to read the damn book.





Life Drawing by Robin Black -- This one may not be fair since I'm going to be reading this spring, but it's not released until this summer. Still, I've been waiting to for it since I heard Robin read the opening chapter or so last Spring.

Love & Treasure by Ayelet Waldman -- I enjoyed the Mommy Track mysteries and Ayelet's essays, but I've been waiting for her to find a topic that would propel her more literary writing to the next level. With this holocaust themed novel I think she's found it. I haven't read the book yet, but the early buzz is good and the topic just feels like one that is made for her.

Tigerman by Nick Harkaway -- This doesn't come out until the end of July (on my birthday as it happens), but I hope I can beg, borrow or steal an early copy (worst case scenario I'll import one from the UK where it is launching on May 22). I loved Angelmaker with a passion unbecoming a staid middle aged lady, though I have yet to read The Gone-Away World. My defense is that once I read it I won't have it any other Nick Harkaway books to look forward to, but now that a new novel is on the horizon, maybe I can let my guard down.

Right, that should keep me busy. Somehow I'll have to fit in all the other books I am looking forward to, plus time to review some I've already read.

Speaking of reviews, tomorrow I'm starting a string of review postings with a look at Jeremy P. Bushnell's smart and entertaining The Weirdness and on Thursday I'm taking a look at a few of the free standing e-novellas that have become a major tool in helping to build and maintain interest in multi-volumed book series. 

What are you looking to read this Spring?
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Monday, March 17, 2014

Back Again: Philly Area Bookish Outings March 17 -- March 23

I should just get it over with and insert the unfortunately appropriate Britney Spears line here, but since you all know it I won't.

I will say, sorry for not posting last week's listing of readings, etc. I am working on a plan that should make such lapses far less likely.

Onward to the good stuff (and there's lots of good stuff this week).

I should just get it over with and insert the unfortunately appropriate Britney Spears line here, but since you all know it I won't.

I will say, sorry for not posting last week's listing of readings, etc. I am working on a plan that should make such lapses far less likely.

Onward to the good stuff (and there's lots of good stuff this week).


Tuesday, March 18

Wendy Ruderman and Barbara Laker | Busted: A Tale of Corruption and Betrayal in the City of Brotherly Love
Location: Free Library, Central Library
Cost: Free
7:30 pm

Tiffany Schmidt | Bright Before Sunrise
Victoria Schwab | The Unbound
A.C. Gaughen | The Lady Thief
Location: Children's Book World, 17 Haverford Station Rd., Haverford, PA
Cost: Free
7:00 pm



Dr. Dan Gottlieb | The Wisdom We're Born With: Restoring Our Faith in Ourselves
Location: Newtown Bookshop, Village East Shopping Center, Newtown, PA
Cost: Free
7:00 pm

Wednesday, March 19

Carol Roth | Five Little Ducklings Go To Bed
Location: Children's Book World, 17 Haverford Station Rd., Haverford, PA
Cost: Free
11:00 am

A special story time!!!



Francine Prose | Lovers at the Chameleon Club, Paris 1932
The Music Room, Goodhart Hall, Bryn Mawr College
Cost: Free
7:30 pm

Okay, I'm cheating here. Ms. Prose's new book doesn't come out until April 22, which is a bummer for those of us who hate to wait. Fingers crossed that she at least reads from the new novel and talks as smartly as she writes about everything.

Kevin Powers | The Yellow Birds
One Book, One Philadelphia Grand Finale
Location: Free Library, Central Library
Cost: Free
7:30 pm
The 12th annual One Book, One Philadelphia season concludes with an appearance by Kevin Powers, author of the 2014 featured selection The Yellow Birds,  as well as a musical tribute with Intercultural Journeys, led by Udi Bar-David, cellist with the Philadelphia Orchestra and Intercultural Journeys Artistic Director.


Thursday, March 20

Frank Bidart | Metaphysical Dog
Location: Villanova University, Connelly Cinema
Cost: Free
7:00 pm
Frank Bidart has published eight volumes on his own. His most recent work, Metaphysical Dog, was a finalist for the National Book Award. He has received numerous awards, including the Shelley Memorial Award from the Academy of American Poets and the Frost Award from Poetry Society of America. A Chancellor of the American Academy of Poets, Bidart lives in Cambridge, Massachusetts and teaches at Wellesley College.

Shane Bauer, Sarah Shourd, and Josh Fattal | A Sliver of Light: Three Americans Imprisoned in Iran
Location: Free Library, Central Library
Cost: Free
7:30 pm

Dr. Rocco Leonard Martino | The Resurrection
Location: Main Point Books, 1041 Lancaster Avenue, Bryn Mawr
Cost: Free
Time: 7:00 pm

Wendy Ruderman and Barbara Laker | Busted: A Tale of Corruption and Betrayal in the City of Brotherly Love
Location: Chester County Book Company, 967 Paoli Pike, West Chester, PA
Cost: Free
7:00 pm


Friday, March 21

Jen Bryant | Visiting Writer Series
Rose Room, Grey Towers Castle
Arcadia University
Cost: Free
2:30 pm & 7:30 pm
Jen Bryant will be speaking at Arcadia University as part of their Visiting Writers Series!
The first event, at 2:30 p.m., is geared toward aspiring writers; the second event, at 7:00 p.m., is titled “Why I Write.” Both events are free and open to the public, and Jen’s books will be available for purchase and signing after the presentations.
Amy Yates Wuelfing & Steven DiLodovico | No Slam Dancing, No Stage Diving, No Spikes
Location: Siren Records, 25 E. State St., Doylestown, PA
Cost: Free
7:00 pm

Brandon Sanderson | Words of Radiance
Location: Towne Book Center, 220 Plaza Drive, Suite B-3, Collegeville, PA
Cost: Free
7:00 pm
RSVP 610-454-0640


Saturday, March 22

Gladwyne S.W.A.T.
Location: Main Point Books, 1041 Lancaster Avenue, Bryn Mawr
Cost: Free
Time: 2:00 - 4:00 pm
Meet the author of these hilarious vignettes that lampoon life on the Main Line!
Multiple Authors | Death Knell V
Location: Muse House, A Center for the Literary Arts, 7924 Germantown Avenue, Philadelphia, PA
Cost: Free
7:00 pm
Three members of Delaware Valley Sisters in Crime will read from Death Knell V, the collection of imaginative and varied short mystery stories published by the organization. Sisters in Crime is an international organization of crime writers and readers whose mission is to promote the professional development and advancement of women crime writers.

Sally Willowbee | FOUND ARTISTS: On Country Roads, Side Streets and Back Alleys of South Jersey
Location: Big Blue Marble Bookstore, 551 Carpenter Lane 
Philadelphia, PA
Cost: Free
Time: 3:00 pm


Sunday, March 23

Elisa Ludwig | Pretty Sly
Location: Franklin Foodworks In the Franklin Institute Philadelphia, PA
Cost: Free
Time: 4:30 - 6:30 pm

Launch Party!!
Per Goodreads:
Pretty Sly is Elisa Ludwig’s fast-paced sequel to Pretty Crooked, the second book in a trilogy that’s pitch-perfect for fans of Ally Carter. With a daring heroine who has one-of-a-kind spunk, a roller-coaster Bonnie and Clyde romance, a thrilling mystery, and a shocking twist ending, this book will have readers rooting for Willa as she makes the wrong choices to do the right thing. Fans will be eagerly awaiting the series conclusion.

Let's hope we've now seen the last of the snow for the season!
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Wednesday, March 5, 2014

Tuesday on Wednesday: Top Ten Popular Authors I've Never Read

Alliterative memes and lists on every topic under the sun are found all over the Internet and, as of now, they are here too. Well next week, when I get on the bandwagon of Top Ten on Tuesday, the brain child of the young women at Broke and the Bookish. This week it's just a top ten list with no alliteration. But the set topic is a perfect entry point for me as it will begin to make clear how overstuffed the shelves of this blog's title really are. For here is my list of "Top Ten Popular Authors I've Never Read."

There are a lot of bestselling authors I've never read, and many of them I'm unlikely to ever read. I'm not listing them. Instead I'm going to list those authors that I want to read, plan to read and am so secure that I will love once I do read them that I've amassed stacks of there books in advance of ever cracking a single title they've published.

You can start laughing now, 'cause here's a picture of all of the books by the authors I list below that are floating around my house:



Obviously, I had to waste a fair bit of reading time just to round all of these up (and I didn't even go upstairs to my daughter's room to raid the Tamora Pierce books she has stashed up there). Now for the lame excuses.


1) Martin Amis

He's first on the list because not only do I have five of his novels on hand, I'm going to go see him read this evening at Haverford College. In my defense, I've heard so much about his books, both positive and negative, that I know I need to get to these to form my own opinion. Why do I think I will probably like them? His writing style is reputed to be caustic, intelligent, verbally playful, and satiric. Sounds like my cup of tea, or shot of whiskey.

2) Claire Messud

I tried the opening pages of The Emperor's Children when it came out a few years back, but despite the praise the book received, I wasn't in the mood and never went back to it. The Woman Upstairs hit my radar when it came out last year and in this case, I loved the first chapter, bought the book and then proceeded to let it age on the shelf. Then I ran across a remaindered copy of an earlier work, The Hunters and bought that as well. Another literary superstar's collection that I haven't yet read.

3) Tamora Pierce

My daughter, my mother, my half-cousin and any number of YA aficionados of my acquaintance have been extolling her magnificence for years and years. At least in this case I am not the collector of many of her books that occupy shelf and floor space around the house. They are here and I do want to read at least some of them, but I'm pretty sure once I start I won't want to stop.

4) N.K. Jemisin

Last year was the moment when I rediscovered fantasy and ran around like a madwoman reading lists of books I should read. I was especially chuffed at discovering that there are non-white writers working outside the Tolkienesque rehash of northern european mythic literature (not that I don't love that tradition, I'm just ready for something beyond that set of source materials). I've got her  The Inheritance Trilogy and the two volumes of The Dreamblood waiting for me. My hesitation has been that I am wary of losing myself in her work and getting even further behind on my other reading goals. I'd better get on it since she has a new book coming later this year.

5) Margaret Atwood

I forgot, I have lots of her books around here that I haven't read, but I did read Alias Grace many moons ago and loved it. In this instance I've been collecting as a fully informed consumer (hoarder). In her place let me add

5) Andrea Levy

I will read Small Island and The Long Song someday soon, I swear!

6) Patrick Ness
7) Melina Marchetta

I've put these two together (and probably could have listed them with N.K. Jemisin) since in both cases I heard about them from friends whose reading taste I trust, and am certain that once I get started I will have to read everything they have written and both of them have at least one major trilogy completed.

8) Dawn Powell

A good friend recommended her work last year and I promptly collected a bunch of it from second hand sources, before I just as promptly got distracted by some other shiny and new-to-me author.

9) Colm Toibin

Really, I have no excuse here. The Master may appear dense since it's a novel about Henry James who was himself a writer of intense and dense prose, but Brooklyn seems to be straightforward and digestible. And, for god's sake, The Testament of Mary is only 113 pages long. I'd better hop to it.

And, as a true recognition of my failings, we have:

10) Alice Munro

No, I have no excuse, not even a feeble one. I could read one short story and get over the hump. Would that be so hard?

Ten is a pretty arbitrary stopping point, but I need to get ready to head out. Trust me, the list could be much, much longer. Don't even ask about the closets full of yarn. Okay?

Who's on your list?
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Monday, March 3, 2014

Digging Out and Getting Out, the Literary Edition: March 3 - March 9

Today, the first Monday in March, brought with it yet more snow. I can only be thankful that it was less than predicted. It must mean that there is hope for a life after winter in the mid-Atlantic. Let's hope that this month proves the old adage, you know the one about the lion and the lamb?

First up is a reminder that I will be leading a discussion of Rachel Kushner's The Flamethrowers at Main Point Books on Thursday, March 6 @ 1:00 pm. All opinions are welcome. FYI, the March selection for the Maint Point book group is A Long Way From Verona by Jane Gardam which will be discussed March 27 @ 7pm and April 2 @ 1pm.

Onto this week's event round-up:


Monday, March 3

Story Crush Tour | Robyn Schneider, Katie Cotugno, Melissa C. Kantor, Courtney C. Stevens, and Lauren Oliver
Barnes & Noble
The Court @ Oxford Valley
210 Commerce Blvd., Fairless Hills, PA 19030
215-269-0442
Cost: Free
7:00pm

This is a pretty impressive group of YA authors to catch at one time. I love that publishers have started to put together these collective tours for complementary authors in the YA universe. It's a great way to leverage the online fandom that is so active in this corner of the publishing world.



Multiple Authors | Death Knell V
Location: Chester County Book Company, 967 Paoli Pike, West Chester, PA
Cost: Free
7:00 pm

Per Goodreads:
A collection of mystery stories --psychological suspense, historical mystery, paranormal, humorous, horror. Longtime favorite novelists, like Charles Todd and Robin Hathaway, as well as those just beginning to make their mark--J.D. Shaw, Augustus Cileone, and Kathleen Heady, among others--but also, many fresh new voices, in print for the first time. The settings take you to three continents.
When I first posted a link to this past Saturday's iteration of this event, I didn't realize I know one of the authors -- Gus Cileone. He's smart, thoughtful and extraordinarily nice. I haven't yet had the chance to read any of his work, but if his contributions to discussions at the Bryn Mawr Film Institute are any indication, it's going worth checking out!

Monday Poets | Lamont Dixon and Thomas Devaney
Location: Free Library, Central Library
Cost: Free
6:30 pm


Tuesday, March 4

Dr. Lawrence Cohen | The Opposite of Worry
Location: Main Point Books
Cost: Free
1:00 pm

Rebecca Goldstein | Plato at the Googleplex: Why Philosophy Won't Go Away
Location: Free Library, Central Library
Cost: Free
7:30 pm

Sharon Kay Penman | A King's Ransom
Location: Chester County Book Company, 967 Paoli Pike, West Chester, PA
Cost: Free
7:00 pm


Wednesday, March 5

Martin Amis | Reading and Signing
Haverford College, Founder's Great Hall
7:30 pm

Haverford isn't as active in bringing literary guests to campus as is its consortium partner Bryn Mawr. Still, when H'ford gets literary, they do it in a big way. Love Amis or hate him, this should be an interesting show.

I'm looking forward to climbing the steps in the center of campus for the first time since the early 1980s. I'm hoping the resurgence of dark and deeply buried memories won't distract me too much front the event at hand.


Thursday, March 6

Helen Oyeyemi | Boy, Snow, Bird with Okey Ndibe | Foreign Gods, Inc.
Location: Free Library, Central Library
Cost: Free
7:30 pm

A chance to hear Helen Oyeyemi talk about her entrancing and mythic new book? I'm getting there early. Okey Ndibe's Foreign Gods, Inc. is no slouch of a book either. This should be wonderful and it's free. No excuses for missing this one (for me that is, you may have a perfectly valid excuse, but I hope lots of people turn out).


Diane Jacobs | Dear Abigail: The Intimate Lives and Revolutionary Ideas of Abigail Adams and Her Two Remarkable Sisters
Location: Athenaeum of Philadelphia, 219 South 6th St
Cost: Free
5:30 pm


Saturday, March 8

Robin Ellis | Healthy Eating for Life
Location: Big Blue Marble Bookstore, 551 Carpenter Lane, Philadelphia, PA
Cost: Free
2:00 pm

For any of you who lived through the 1970s and spent Sunday evenings watching Masterpiece Theatre, you already know Robin Ellis. You may not remember his name, but you remember Captain Ross Poldark.

I loved Poldark with a passion in my teens and re-watched the first series several years ago on my computer while in Maine and was relieved to find it is still fabulous. I even re-read the first book in the Poldark sequence and have books two and three somewhere around her in the teetering TBR piles. Meantime, it looks like the BBC is planning a 2015 series reboot with Irish actor Aidan Turner in the lead. I hope it is a great as the first version -- I may have to reconnect our cable TV for this.

Who knew Ellis was a cookbook author and blogger?

Lisa Loeb | Ambassador Dogs
Location: Wellington Square Bookshop, 549 Wellington Square
Eagleview Town Centre, Exton, PA
Cost: Free
Time: 1:00 - 2:30 pm

Sunday, March 9

Matty Dalrymple | The Sense of Death
Location: Wellington Square Bookshop, 549 Wellington Square
Eagleview Town Centre, Exton, PA
Cost: Free
Time: 1:30 pm

Lisa Loeb | Ambassador Dogs
Location: Main Point Books, 1041 Lancaster Avenue, Bryn Mawr
Cost: Free
Time: 2:00 pm
Dogs Welcome!!


Have fun and enjoy your snow day if you have one!
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