Chapter 16 - Part 394

A Twin, Untwinned

Jody Casella’s debut novel is a convincing portrayal of a young man’s staggering loss—of both sibling and self

By Susannah Felts | October 21, 2013

October 21, 2013 Just two months have passed since Marsh Windsor’s identical twin, Austin, was killed in a car wreck, with Marsh at the wheel. But what nobody imagines is the real reason behind the teen’s odd behavior. He’s seeking a “thin space,” a passage through which it’s possible to slip into the afterlife. Jody Casella will read from her debut novel, Thin Space, at The Booksellers at Laurelwood in Memphis on October 26, 2013, at 2 p.m.

Book Excerpt: Clay Risen’s American Whiskey, Bourbon & Rye

Picking out the notes in a good sipping whiskey can take a little practice

By Clay Risen | October 17, 2013

October 17, 2013 Chapter 16’s own Clay Risen, author of A Nation on Fire: America in the Wake of the King Assassination, will launch his new book, American Whiskey, Bourbon & Rye, at a whiskey-tasting event at Barista Parlor in East Nashville October 25, 2013, at 7 p.m. Tickets are $35 and include a copy of the book. All proceeds benefit Humanities Tennessee. Today Chapter 16 is publishing an excerpt from the book, as well as Q&A with Risen, but to get a real taste for American Whiskey, Bourbon & Rye, you’ll need to reserve your spot at Barista Parlor by clicking here.

A Neat Shot

With American Whiskey, Bourbon & Rye, Clay Risen chronicles the rebirth of a lost national craft

By Michael Ray Taylor | October 17, 2013

October 17, 2013 The new book by Chapter 16’s own Clay Risen, American Whiskey, Bourbon & Rye, covers the history of American whiskey and investigates current practices in the industry. It also offers profiles, ratings, and tasting notes for over 200 whiskeys. Risen will launch the book at a whiskey-tasting event at Barista Parlor in East Nashville October 25, 2013, at 7 p.m. Tickets are $35 and include a copy of the book. All proceeds will benefit Humanities Tennessee.

David and Goliath in Reverse

In The Snail Darter and the Dam, Zygmunt J.B. Plater recalls his landmark case against TVA

By Clay Risen | October 16, 2013

October 16, 2013 There was a time, not too long ago, when you could tell a lot about a Tennessean by his thoughts on the snail darter. The three-inch-long fish, a member of the perch family, lives in certain reaches of Chickamauga Creek and the Sequatchie River, both in East Tennessee. It used to live in the Little Tennessee River, too, until the Tennessee Valley Authority built the Tellico Dam, which destroyed the steady stream of fresh water that the fish needed to survive. In The Snail Darter and the Dam, Zygmunt J.B. Plater, the UT law professor who led the challenge to TVA, tells the full story.

The Secret That Raised Me Above the Surface of Life

After a decade’s silence, Donna Tartt releases a profound and beautiful novel, The Goldfinch

By Ed Tarkington | October 15, 2013

October 15, 2013 More than twenty years have passed since the publication of The Secret History, the extraordinary international-bestselling novel that established Donna Tartt as a literary legend at age twenty-eight, and more than a decade since her most recent, the equally acclaimed The Little Friend. Tartt’s new novel, The Goldfinch—a coming-of-age tale that gradually evolves into a pulse-quickening thriller—is well worth the wait. Tartt will appear at the Nashville Public Library on October 22, 2013, at 6:15 p.m. as part of the Salon@6:15 series. The event is free and open to the public.

Going Way Back Together

Remembering twenty-five years of inspiration at the Southern Festival of Books

By Cindy McCain | October 11, 2013

October 11, 2013 It’s time again for the Southern Festival of Books, and I can’t wait. My students tease that I’ll tailgate the night before. I might actually do it. Celebrating its twenty-fifth year, the three-day festival will be a real homecoming for readers and writers alike. The Southern Festival of Books will be held at Legislative Plaza in Nashville today through Sunday. Click here for a schedule of 2013 festival sessions and here for a complete list of participating authors. All events at the Southern Festival of Books are free and open to the public. No reservations are required.

Distant Sons

Tim Johnston
Algonquin Books
400 pages
$29

“Tim Johnston has once again raised the bar for the literary thriller. Distant Sons is elegant and edgy, refined and complex. It excavates the truth from the darkest recesses of the past and shines a light towards the possibility of a redemptive future.”

~ Ivy Pochoda, author of These Women and Sing Her Down