Chapter 16
A Community of Tennessee Writers, Readers & Passersby

Faye Jones

The Immigrant's Tale

In her debut novel, Pamela Schoenewaldt tells a vivid story of hardship and hard work

February 9, 2011 In her first novel, When We Were Strangers, Knoxvillian Pamela Schoenewaldt tells the story of Irma Vitale, a young Italian woman who comes to America, as all immigrants do, in the hope of making a better life for herself. The book is a vivid account of not only Irma’s own story but also that of America itself. Pamela Schoenewaldt will discuss When We Were Strangers at 7 p.m. on February 10 at Borders Books in Nashville.

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Christmas with the Nitwitts

Robert Dalby brings yuletide cheer to his latest Piggly Wiggly installment

December 14, 2010 After a day of fighting mall crowds in search of this year’s must-have gizmo, there may be no better holiday treat than settling down with a cup of coffee and a Santa cookie and spending a few hours in Second Creek, Mississippi, with Robert Dalby’s A Piggly Wiggly Christmas. Dalby will read from and sign copies of the book this week at public libraries in Crossville, Murfreesboro, Collierville, and Clarksville. Check Chapter 16’s events section for details.

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Even Beauty Queens Get the Blues

Birmingham sets the stage for Fannie Flagg’s latest comic novel

November 15, 2010 if you’re a former Miss Alabama, and you’re determined to do away with yourself with as little attention and mess as possible, you have quite a bit of planning to do. And though a suicide attempt might not seem like the best foundation for a comic novel, in Fannie Flagg’s newest, the ever-present humor is neither mocking nor unsympathetic. Flagg will discuss and sign I Still Dream about You at Davis-Kidd Booksellers in Nashville on November 16 at 7 p.m.

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Victorian Madness and Murder

In Dangerous to Know, Tasha Alexander channels her inner Gothic

October 22, 2010 Lady Emily has not had the most auspicious beginnings to married life. Her first husband, essentially a stranger, died as a newlywed. On her second honeymoon, she was shot while helping her husband Colin, a British intelligence agent, on one of his investigations and suffered a subsequent miscarriage. In Dangerous to Know, Tasha Alexander’s fifth Lady Emily novel, the protagonists have returned to Colin’s mother’s house in France to recuperate. Naturally, this recovery is hampered.

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Forgotten Treasures

Nashville: Yesterday and Today is as valuable as a beloved family album

August 2, 2010 For newcomers and original descendants alike, there is much to find fascinating in Nashville: Yesterday & Today. Nicki Pendleton Wood presents an overview of the city’s history, including its economy, architecture, education, and race relations. Breaking down Nashville into its geographic components, she provides a sense of how the various parts of the city developed and inspires readers to make a visit to both well and lesser-known sites. Wood will sign copies of the book at the Metro Archives in Nashville at 5:30 on Aug. 3. Proceeds will benefit St. Luke’s Community House.

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The Power of the Press?

Sharyn McCrumb returns to her ballad series in this tale of murder—and journalists run amok

July 12, 2010 With The Devil Amongst the Lawyers, the story of a beautiful young woman accused of killing her father, Sharyn McCrumb returns to the mountains of her Ballad series. Set in rural Virginia in 1935, this is as much an allegory of the contemporary media as the tale of a murder, however. The national press has descended on tiny Wise, Virginia, and the journalists are much more concerned with making the facts fit their own stories than with getting the details straight. McCrumb will discuss the book in four appearances across the state this week; find details in Events.

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