Chapter 16 - Part 483

A Titanic Love Story that Actually Happened

June Hall McCash tells the true story of Ida and Isidor Straus, soul mates who died together on history’s most famous ship

By Faye Jones | April 16, 2012

April 16, 2012 For most readers, a title like A Titanic Love Story will immediately bring to mind the image of Leonardo DiCaprio and Kate Winslet embracing to a sound track by Celine Dion. These fictional characters may embody doomed shipboard love today, but at the time of the Titanic’s actual sinking, the public was gripped by a real-life love story that is now mostly forgotten: Ida Straus refused to leave Isidor, her husband of more than forty years, to take her place in a lifeboat, while he refused to leave the ship until all the women and children on board were safe. In A Titanic Love Story, Murfreesboro’s June Hall McCash writes their joint biography.

Firing Back

Ashley Judd has finally heard enough from her misogynistic “fans”

By Margaret Renkl | April 13, 2012

April 13, 2012 Chapter 16 readers know Ashley Judd as the author of a memoir, All That is Bitter & Sweet, and as an advocate for children with AIDS and victims of sexual violence. Nashville readers know her as Naomi’s daughter and Wynnona’s little sister. But to the rest of the world, Ashley Judd is a celebrity, an award-winning actor who’s had leading roles in films like Smoke, Kiss The Girls, and De-Lovely. And because she’s a celebrity, star rags and bloggers have always felt entitled to comment on (read scathingly criticize) her appearance. But Judd’s not taking it any more.

“Spring”

By R.B. Morris | April 12, 2012

April 12, 2012 R.B. Morris is a Knoxville poet and songwriter, solo performer and band leader, and a sometimes-playwright and actor. His books include Early Ires and Keeping the Bees Employed. His albums include Spies Lies and Burning Eyes and his most recent solo project, Rich Mountain Bound. He wrote and acted in The Man Who Lives Here is Loony, a one-man play taken from the life and work of James Agee. Morris served as the Jack E. Reese Writer-in-Residence at the University of Tennessee from 2004 to 2008 and was inducted into the East Tennessee Writers Hall of Fame in 2009. He will give a reading and a musical performance at Union Ave. Books in Knoxville on April 12 at 6 p.m.

Without Spin

R.A. Dickey, Nashville native and New York Mets knuckleballer, has written a redemption narrative that spares no detail about why he needed to be redeemed

By Pablo Tanguay | April 11, 2012

April 11, 2012 In his new memoir, Wherever I Wind Up: My Quest for Truth, Authenticity and the Perfect Knuckleball (written with New York Daily News sportswriter Wayne Coffey), R.A. Dickey recounts his struggles to make it in the major leagues, achieving real success only after he transformed himself from a conventional pitcher into a knuckleballer. Dickey parallels that story with his real subject: how finally confronting the trauma of being sexually molested as a child freed him from self-centeredness and shame. For Dickey, mastering the knuckleball went hand-in-hand with mastering his own demons. Dickey will discuss the book on April 12 at Franklin’s LifeWay Christian Store at 4 p.m. and at Nashville’s Books-A-Million at 7:30 p.m.

Best of the Achaeans

Madeline Miller’s acclaimed debut novel introduces The Iliad’s great hero as a fighter and a lover

By Fernanda Moore | April 10, 2012

April 10, 2012 Madeline Miller’s debut novel, The Song of Achilles, aims to uncover the passionate love story hidden inside the greatest war epic in Western literature. The romantic leads are Achilles, the Greek war-hero par excellence, and Patroclus, his tent mate and best friend. Whether the men were actually lovers or simply “boon companions” has been up for debate since Homer first composed his epic saga of the Trojan War, but the love story Miller tells is glorious, and the context in which it plays out is faithful to the original. Miller will discuss The Song of Achilles at Parnassus Books in Nashville on April 17 at 6:30 p.m.

Feeding Hearts and Minds

With National Library Week beginning on Sunday, a volunteer reflects on the stories she finds in the stacks

By Judy Loest | April 6, 2012

April 6, 2012 For a book lover, working in the downtown library’s used-book shop, surrounded by books and other book lovers, is the ultimate volunteer gig. Working there is always fun, and not just because of the books but also because of the people who drop in, because of the snippets of stories they tease us with. As a writer, I find it as rich as a candy store.

Tias and Primas: On Knowing and Loving the Women Who Raise Us

By Prisca Dorcas Mojica Rodríguez, illustrated by Josie Del Castillo
Seal Press
304 pages
$30

“Within these pages, I found my abuela, my tías and my primas — laughing, crying, and nodding alongside me. This book is a gift of understanding, and loving one’s family, even when our families are complicated and painful. It’s a beautiful reminder of the power of storytelling and the profound connection of kinship.”

~ Paola Mendoza, author, organizer and filmmaker