Happy Birthday, Books on Broadway!
Think back, if you will, to an incomprehensibly ancient year: 2002. Nickelback’s “How You Remind Me” is the number one song in America, soaring from boom boxes and, if you’re … Continued
5 Questions With… Kathleen Tessaro!
Bestselling author Kathleen Tessaro’s Rare Objects, which has just been released in paperback, is a featured titled on our Summer Reading list, and is among the titles that teams competing in the Battle of the Books will be reading. Kathleen, a native Pittsburgher, will also be visiting some CLP book groups this summer to discuss Rare Objects. The book groups are open to anyone, and Kathleen will be visiting Beechview at 11:30 on July 8th; Woods Run on July 11th at 11:30; and Squirrel Hill on July 19th at 6:30. We virtually sat down with her and asked her five questions to help us get to know her better.
My Year of Reading Memoir: Based on a True Story: A Memoir by Norm Macdonald
This book is both curious and hilarious. It is a book which, though peppered with occasional truths, is largely composed of of events that fail to hold up to any scrutiny. Still, it has “memoir” in the title and a yellow Biography sticker on the spine, so I think it’s worth exploring this strange volume and the man behind it.
Join Us April 8 for a Local Book & Author Fair
Do you like to read books about Pittsburgh or by Pittsburgh-area authors? Ever wanted to hear an author describe their creative process? Have you wondered what it takes to get a book published? Do you yourself write and want to network with other local writers? If you answered “yes” to any these questions, then you’re in luck!
My Year of Reading Memoir: Tangles by Sarah Leavitt
I chose Tangles: A story about Alzheimer’s, My Mother, and Me by Sarah Leavitt. Tangles is 1) a graphic memoir, 2) was written by a woman, 3) was published in 2012 (just hitting the five year mark), and 4) has only 832 ratings on Goodreads. I feel really fortunate though that it fit my criteria, because Tangles turned out to be a profoundly affecting story of a daughter losing her mother and a mother losing herself.
Science Fiction & Fantasy by Women of Color
I read a lot of Science Fiction and Fantasy. Seriously, A LOT. Growing up, I cut my teeth on Anne McCaffery’s Dragonriders of Pern series and Marion Zimmer Bradley’s The Mists of Avalon. Later, it was The Handmaid’s Tale by Margaret Atwood. Sadly, many people still think Science Fiction and Fantasy novels are written mostly by white anglo-saxon men for white anglo-saxon men (think J. R. R. Tolkein or George R. R. Martin). However, there are a number of fantastic female authors of color rocking both genres today.
What Inspires You?
I succumb to the mid-winter blues every year. By the time I recover from the excitement of the holidays, usually around the end of the first week of January, I can literally feel the energy being drained from my body. It’s usually cold and gloomy, and the days aren’t getting longer fast enough to suit my body’s circadian rhythm and need for sunshine. But I have devised a remedy for my mid-winter blues: surrounding myself with things that inspire me–like books.
My Year of Reading Memoir: Born A Crime by Trevor Noah
I fell in love with memoir a few years ago, and authors are publishing new and exciting stories about their lives all the time. Each month I’ll highlight a different memoir, and I invite you to read along with me! This month I read Trevor Noah’s Born a Crime. Despite my mild fandom, it became abundantly clear upon reading the inside jacket how little I knew about the remarkable circumstances of Noah’s early life.