November 5, 2014 Chris Van Allsburg’s newest picture book, The Misadventures of Sweetie Pie, tells the story of one hamster’s journey from pet shop to freedom—with stops at various cages along the way. Van Allsburg will appear at the Nashville Public Library on November 12, 2014, at 6:15 p.m. The event, part of the Salon@615 series, is free and open to the public.
November 4, 2014 Anne Byrn—famously known as the Cake Mix Doctor—talks with Chapter 16 about surviving her own culinary emergencies, the gift she brought Julia Child, and why home-cooking really is better than takeout (and not much harder to pull off). Bryne will discuss her new cookbook, Anne Byrn Saves the Day! at Parnassus Books in Nashville on November 11, 2014, at 6:30 p.m.
November 3, 2014 With nine bestselling novels and two books of nonfiction, Scott Turow, recipient of the 2014 Nashville Public Library Literary Award, has proven himself a master of the legal thriller. His latest novel, Identical, explores questions of betrayal, family, and identity set against the sweeping political backdrop for which his books are famous. In connection with his acceptance of the NPL award, Turow will appear at Montgomery Bell Academy in Nashville on November 8, 2014, at 10 a.m. The event is free and open to the public.
October 31, 2014 Bobby Hale, the protagonist of Robert Bausch’s Far As the Eye Can See, is a stubborn survivor and a bit of a con man but essentially a gentle soul. Caught up in the movement westward after the Civil War, Hale struggles to find some sort of human connection in a violent, unforgiving environment. Robert Bausch will appear at Burke’s Book Store in Memphis on November 7, 2014, at 5:30 p.m.
October 15, 2014 Rumbling out of the South at the beginning of the 1970s, Southern rock was a mix of back-to-basics rock and roll, blues, country, and soul—wrapped in a new vision of the American Southland. Scott B. Bomar chronicles the history of this uniquely American music and its legacy in Southbound: An Illustrated History of Southern Rock. Bomar will appear at Parnassus Books in Nashville on October 20, 2014, at 6:30 p.m.
October 7, 2014 In Under Magnolia, Frances Mayes recalls her childhood in South Georgia, trying to survive in the overwrought atmosphere created by her high-strung, alcoholic parents. It is a moving account of the coming-of-age of a young woman destined to be a poet, teacher, and bestselling memoirist. Mayes will appear at the Southern Festival of Books, held in Nashville October 10-12, 2014.
