Chapter 16 - Part 447

A New Birth of Freedom

Lincoln scholar Harold Holzer reexamines the Emancipation Proclamation

By Chris Scott | August 16, 2012

August 16, 2012 The Emancipation Proclamation is regarded by some as America’s second Declaration of Independence and is denigrated by others as hollow and cynical, a political ploy from a master manipulator. So which is it? Lincoln scholar Harold Holzer asks that question in his latest work, Emancipating Lincoln: The Proclamation in Text, Context, and Memory. Harold Holzer will speak about emancipation at the twenty-fourth annual Southern Festival of Books, held October 12-14 at Legislative Plaza in Nashville. All events are free and open to the public.

All of Our Days

Courtney Miller Santo’s debut novel explores the complexities of mother/daughter relationships

By Tina LoTufo | August 15, 2012

August 15, 2012In The Roots of the Olive Tree, Memphis novelist Courtney Miller Santo chronicles the complicated relationships between five generations of mothers and daughters in a California family with a special propensity for long lifespans. Divided into five sections, this debut novel focuses on each of the women in turn—beginning with the feisty Keller family matriarch, 112-year-old Anna—and explores the stories of their lives, the ways in which they both need and resent one another, the memories they carry, and the secrets they hide—even from themselves. Santo will discuss The Roots of the Olive Tree at The Booksellers at Laurelwood in Memphis on August 21 at 6 p.m. , at Parnassus Books in Nashville on August 22 at 6:30 p.m., and at the twenty-fourth annual Southern Festival of Books, held October 12-14 at Legislative Plaza in Nashville. All events are free and open to the public.

Living in Dangerous Times

In Julianna Baggott’s post-apocalyptic novel, Pure, children struggle to save a world destroyed by adults

By Sarah Norris | August 14, 2012

August 14, 2012 Julianna Baggott’s Pure is a futuristic blend of fairy tale and science fiction reminiscent of George Orwell’s classic 1984. The first in a planned trilogy, this beautiful, startlingly inventive, dystopian novel has been optioned by Fox 2000 and the lead producer of the Twilight movies, and within a few chapters it’s easy to see why. The cinematic setting vividly described in the book’s opening is a post-apocalyptic world charred by detonations. Survivors are divided into two camps: the so-called “Pures,” who have been cherry-picked to live safely within the Dome, a bubble immune to future attacks and disasters, and those left to fend for themselves on the outside. Baggott will discuss Pure at the twenty-fourth annual Southern Festival of Books, held October 12-14 at Legislative Plaza in Nashville. All events are free and open to the public.

Telling Stories in Cowan

Rare book collectors gather for the third annual Tennessee Antiquarian Book Fair

By Tina LoTufo | August 13, 2012

August 13, 2012 On a sunny July day in the tiny town of Cowan, Tennessee (population: 1,700), forty-nine booksellers from twelve states and Canada recently gathered to buy, sell, and trade at the third annual Tennessee Antiquarian Book Fair, sponsored by the Tennessee Antiquarian Booksellers’ Association. Association president Tom McGee, a Cowan resident and local bookstore owner, proudly described the event as “the only major antiquarian book fair in America that takes place in a small town.”

What the World Could Be

Sarah VanHooser Suiter writes about the two years she spent learning from the women of Magdalene

By Beth Waltemath | August 10, 2012

August 10, 2012 In her first book, Magdalene House: A Place about Mercy Sarah VanHooser Suiter, writes about the “winding journey of healing and recovery” as she researched a residential community in Nashville for women with histories of addiction and prostitution. The women of Magdalene House envision “the world that could be,” Suiter writes: “a place where people love without judgment, care for their neighbors, support one another regardless of circumstance, and defend human dignity.” Sarah VanHooser Suiter will discuss Magdalene House at the twenty-fourth annual Southern Festival of Books, held October 12-14 at Legislative Plaza in Nashville. All events are free and open to the public.

Many Shades of Success

Ruta Sepetys is still riding a wave of popularity with her young-adult novel, Between Shades of Gray

By Tom Markham | August 10, 2012

August 10, 2012 Nashville novelist Ruta Sepetys has been in the literary news since the pre-publication reviews started pouring in last year for her young-adult novel, Between Shades of Gray. With the book’s paperback release, this momentum shows no signs of slowing.

Isabel and the Invisible World

By Alan Lightman, illustrated by Ramona Kaulitzki
MIT Kids Press
40 pages
$18.99

“In simple, engaging language, complemented by luminous artwork from best-selling illustrator Ramona Kaulitzki, author and physicist Alan Lightman unveils the hidden world of light waves—the ones you can see and the ones you can’t.”

~ the publisher