Chapter 16 - Part 261

A Bit of a Renaissance

Mrs. Fletcher is Tom Perrotta’s timely—and timeless—tale of a mother and a son and an empty nest

By Fernanda Moore | August 2, 2017

Whether he’s dissecting student-teacher power games, riffing on overinvolved parenting, or taking inspiration from an actual doomsday cult, Tom Perrotta writes books that are slick, delightful explorations of classic suburban mores garnished with contemporary concerns. Perrotta will discuss his new novel, Mrs. Fletcher, at Parnassus Books in Nashville on August 9 at 6:30 p.m.

Prep School Noir

In Christopher Swann’s Shadow of the Lions, a novelist confronts an old mystery

By Sean Kinch | August 1, 2017

In Christopher Swann’s debut novel, Shadow of the Lions, Matthias Glass returns to teach at his former boarding school—and to investigate the unsolved disappearance of his best friend a decade earlier. Swann will discuss Shadow of the Lions at Parnassus Books in Nashville on August 3 at 6:30 p.m., and at the 2017 Southern Festival of Books, held in Nashville October 13-15.

The Artist’s Will

In Julia Glass’s A House Among the Trees, an author leaves a will that creates havoc

By Lee Conell | July 13, 2017

The death of beloved children’s book author Mortimer Lear forces three adults who knew him to reconsider and reexamine their own lives. Julia Glass will discuss A House Among the Trees at Parnassus Books on July 26 at 6:30 p.m.

A Girl Named Ruby Clyde

In Corabel Shofner’s Almost Paradise, a young girl confronts a crisis

By Kathryn Justice Leache | July 12, 2017

When fierce, independent Ruby Clyde Henderson finds herself abandoned far from home, she must learn to accept the care of others. Corabel Shofner will read from her debut middle-grade novel, Almost Paradise, at Parnassus Books on July 25 at 6:30 p.m., and at the 2017 Southern Festival of Books, which will be held in Nashville October 13-15.

When Literature is a Lifeline

At nineteen, Clay Byars became a writer after a stroke left him unable to talk

By Hamilton Cain | July 11, 2017

In Will & I, Sewanee alum Clay Byars joins the ranks of memorable memoirists facing disability with remarkable courage. He will discuss Will & I at Parnassus Books in Nashville on July 22 at 2 p.m.

Twenty-Nine—and Counting

Humanities Tennessee introduces a stellar lineup for the twenty-ninth annual Southern Festival of Books

July 10, 2017

Humanities Tennessee has announced a roster of award-winning, bestselling authors to headline the twenty-ninth annual Southern Festival of Books, which will take place in Nashville October 13-15. It’s shaping up to be our best year yet!

Red Dead's History: A Video Game, an Obsession, and America's Violent Past

By Tore C. Olsson
St. Martin's Press
288 pages
$30

“I recommend Red Dead’s History unreservedly not only to fans of the iconic video game, but also to anyone who wants to understand the riotousness — from Wild West gunslingers to Jim Crow to lynching — that darkened our past, and which continues to influence our culture. Olsson’s prose is graceful, his analysis profound. This is history at its most accessible and exciting.”

~Peter Cozzens, award-winning author of A Brutal Reckoning