What books recently rocked my world: Nothing Left To Burn by Jay Varner (suck-up alert), Room by Emma Donoghue, Innocent Monster by Reed Farrel Coleman, and Please Ignore Vera Dietz by A.S. King. . Best damn events we’ve hosted: I would have to say our events with Jane O’Connor and Fancy Nancy are among ourContinue reading
DETROIT DIARY Morning BBQ, Bookstores in Airports, & Red Cowboy Boots: Life on the road at GLIBA’s trade show . Monday, October 7th, 10:48am: On Friday, Algonquin has me all set to board a plane for Dearborn, Michigan, en route to visit GLIBA—the Great Lakes Independent Booksellers Association–which will be my first trade show. Dearborn!Continue reading
Jay Varner is on fire this week! (Sorry, we couldn’t resist … ) . Appearing at trade shows from New Jersey to Florida, being interviewed by the likes of Entertainment Weekly, The Nervous Breakdown, and NPR, and receiving rave reviews from bloggers (like The Book Lady’s Blog, an in-house fave), Varner is making a nameContinue reading
Jay Varner, author of the brilliant memoir Nothing Left to Burn, offers some insights on the origins of his memoir, the tricky business of writing about a small town, good books, and good music, as well as a nod to Saved By The Bell. Enjoy! I’m always intrigued by epigraphs and the one in yourContinue reading
This week we’ll be featuring the beautiful, poignant, searing memoir Nothing Left to Burn by Jay Varner. . One of our favorite authors, John Jeremiah Sullivan, wrote: . “The son reports on fires for the local paper. The dad fights fires for the city. The grandpa is a demented arsonist. That’s before things start getting weird.Continue reading