Chapter 16 - Part 475

The Canon—In Full Color

Russ Kick’s graphic anthology of world literature is both an education and a playful romp

By Fernanda Moore | June 11, 2012

June 11, 2012 Russ Kick’s The Graphic Canon: Volume One: From The Epic of Gilgamesh to Shakespeare to Dangerous Liasons is the first book in a three-volume series featuring the work of dozens of graphic artists addressing the landmarks of world literature. The results are, as the saying goes, mixed—but not in a bad way. The Graphic Canon is a glorious mash-up of not only words and images, but also high and low culture, the popular and the paradigmatic. Kick will discuss The Graphic Canon at The Booksellers at Laurelwood in Memphis on June 14 at 6 p.m.

One for the Record Books

With XO, international bestselling author Jeffery Deaver has written another thriller—and a country album to accompany it

By Liz Garrigan | June 8, 2012

June 8, 2012 In his twenty-ninth thriller, bestselling novelist Jeffery Deaver gives readers triple or quadruple their money: XO includes more twists, turns, and doglegs than an East Tennessee back road, and Deaver pairs the book with an album of country songs, as well. Just when you think you’ve finally hit the mystery’s straightaway, there’s another series of hairpins in your path. On June 12 at 6:30 p.m., Deaver will discuss XO at Parnassus Books in Nashville. On June 13 at 7 p.m., he will answer questions and sign copies of the book at Barnes & Noble in Knoxville.

Unreasonable Schemes

With Canada, Richard Ford returns to the bleak, forbidding landscapes of the Northwest and the thwarted lives of those who inhabit them

By Ed Tarkington | June 7, 2012

June 7, 2012 In the years since the publication of Independence Day (1995)—the first novel ever to win both the PEN/Faulkner Award and the Pulitzer Prize—Richard Ford has achieved rare and lofty status as a cherished American institution, regarded mostly as a gifted chronicler of fin-de-siècle suburban angst in the tradition of Cheever, Updike, Richard Yates, and Ford’s fellow Mississippian Walker Percy. Richard Ford will discuss his new book, Canada, at the Nashville Public Library on June 14. The event is part of the Salon@615 series and will begin with a reception at 6:15 p.m. Both the reception and the reading are free and open to the public.

Spy Games

In Joseph Kanon’s crime noir set in Istanbul during the Cold War, an American businessman must escape from a labyrinth of deadly lies

By Sarah Norris | June 6, 2012

June 6, 2012 Istanbul, with its striking beauty and complicated history as the meeting point between two continents, has long served as an excellent backdrop for mysteries. During World War II, because of its location and neutral stance, the city gained notoriety as a nexus of espionage. Joseph Kanon’s newest noir thriller, Istanbul Passage, is a fast-paced, dialogue-driven whodunit that taps into this history with a story that’s rife with action, drama, and a splash of romance. Kanon will discuss Istanbul Passage at Parnassus Books in Nashville on June 11 at 6:30 p.m., and at The Booksellers at Laurelwood on June 12 at 6 p.m.

The Generals and the Wars Between Them

In Jack Hurst’s new look at Civil War leadership, the standouts are Grant and Forrest, who rose to the top in spite of—and also because of—their backgrounds

By Ralph Bowden | June 5, 2012

June 5, 2012 In Born to Battle, historian Jack Hurst looks at the Civil War through the commanders of both Confederate and Union forces. The crucial campaigns in the western theater, at Shiloh, Vicksburg, and Chattanooga, were bloody and muddled, with leadership errors on both sides, often a result of the egos and ambitions of the generals, and the antagonisms, jealousies, and mini-wars between them. Hurst will discuss Born to Battle at Burke’s Book Store in Memphis on June 14 at 5:30 p.m. and at Parnassus Books in Nashville on August 5 at 2 p.m.

Too Many Guns and Too Much Moonshine

Kingsport native and bestselling author Lisa Alther takes on the legendary Hatfields and McCoys

By Tina LoTufo | June 4, 2012

June 4, 2012 In Blood Feud, New York Times-bestselling author Lisa Alther examines an unsavory bit of American history: the nineteenth-century feud between the Hatfield and McCoy families, residents of the Tug Fork Valley on the border of Kentucky and West Virginia. As a metaphor for divisive behavior, the Hatfields and McCoys have been ubiquitous in the American popular imagination for more than a hundred years. Featured in everything from song lyrics to children’s cartoons, they serve as the prototypes for the stereotypically ignorant, uncivilized, and violent “hillbilly” character of page, stage, and screen. In Blood Feud, Alther separates the truth from the tall tales. She will appear at Union Ave. Books in Knoxville on June 12 at 6 p.m.

Camilla and the Caterpillars

By Frances Figart, illustrated by Matt Brass
Smokies Life
68 pages
$14.95

A young girl’s encounter with an extraordinary caterpillar in the Great Smoky Mountains leads her and her family on a quest to plant a national park right in their own backyard.

This environmentally themed chapter book for ages 6 through 11 introduces young readers to important ecological concepts including habitat loss and the interdependence of native species and offers a compelling grassroots solution through native-plant gardening that invites anyone to take part in addressing the growing biodiversity crisis.

~the publisher