Chapter 16
A Community of Tennessee Writers, Readers & Passersby

Ancient Music

In Alex Bledsoe’s latest novel, a Smoky Mountain clan protects its way of life one song at a time

September 27, 2011 Like a crumb trail through a deep, dark forest, skillfully sprinkled clues keep the reader enthralled as Alex Bledsoe spins an eerie tale in The Hum and the Shiver. Both romantic and harsh, the novel is about the strength of family ties and the power of music, as well as the coarseness and brutality of evil men. Balanced on the thin edge between dreams and reality, The Hum and the Shiver captures the subtle magic of childhood’s landscape, the pull of desire against destiny, and the way life can turn in an instant, suddenly revealing that pivotal moment no one ever sees coming.

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Getting to Know A. Lincoln

Ronald C. White Jr. talks about the moral growth and modern relevance of the sixteenth president

September 26, 2011 Writing a compelling new biography of a subject as monumental as Abraham Lincoln is a remarkable achievement. Ronald C. White Jr. has done just that with A. Lincoln, a universally praised new look at one of the most important figures in world history. The biography is both detailed and accessible, and White recently took the time to answer questions from Chapter 16 via email about what makes Lincoln so fascinating. White will give a lecture about the Civil War on September 26 at 5:30 p.m. at Montgomery Bell Academy in Nashville. The event is free and open to the public.

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Don't Chase It, And It Will Come Back

In Nightwoods, Charles Frazier has written a tender love story, a taut thriller, and a worthy successor to Cold Mountain

September 26, 2011 Charles Frazier catapulted to fame in the late nineties thanks to the unlikely and extraordinary success of Cold Mountain. All of his work since has been characterized by the same patient plot development and gorgeously meticulous period detail. At the center of each of his novels are pairs of lovers separated by time and circumstance, each longing for the other, convinced that the love between them can somehow heal a soul damaged by the random cruelty of an unmerciful world. His new book, Nightwoods, is no exception. Frazier will appear at the 2011 Southern Festival of Books, held October 14-16 in Nashville. All events are free and open to the public.

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It's Not Me, It's You

A Chapter 16 writer makes a public break with Amazon

September 22, 2011 Amazon, my relationship with you feels like an illicit love affair because, I suppose, it sort of is. I want you, but I hate myself for it. I hide our relationship from my friends. You understand my needs—and happily meet them—and you anticipate my desires, teasing me with what else you can offer. But it’s time to confront the inconvenient truth: I’m cheating with a cheater.

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The True Costs of Amazon's Savings

According to a new analysis of a study by UT, it’s even worse than we thought

September 22, 2011 Liz Garrigan’s Dear John letter to Amazon in today’s edition of Chapter 16 is an unvarnished call for book lovers to put their money where their mouths are and support their local bookstores instead of buying books online. Garrigan argues that Amazon’s refusal to collect the state and local sales taxes that other bricks-and-mortar stores collect–taxes that support local schools, police and fire departments, and other civic necessities–amounts to a “powerful incentive for customers to let their fingers do the clicking.”

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A Dark Horse No More

After decades of writing brilliant novels that few readers could even find, National Book Award-winner Jaimy Gordon is now a literary star

September 21, 2011 In 2010, when Jaimy Gordon won the National Book Award for her sixth novel, Lord of Misrule, small-press loyalists and below-the-radar-fiction lovers found good cause for celebration. The novel is now out from Vintage in paperback, along with a re-release of Gordon’s previous title, Bogeywoman—a very different but equally brilliant work in which Gordon’s talent for inventive narrative voice is on dazzling display. Gordon answered questions from Chapter 16 via email prior to her reading at Vanderbilt University in Nashville on September 22. The event is free and open to the public.

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