Blue Bicycle Books welcomes former U.S. Army Special Forces Commander Rusty Bradley to sign copies of his book Lions of Kandahar Sat., Feb. 18, 2 – 4 pm. Lions of Kandahar is a first-hand account of one of the fiercest battles fought during the Afghan War. Bradley’s in-depth narrative provides a vivid glimpse of the NATO coalition’s offensive to topple the Taliban and establish order in the Kandahar Province.
Lions of Kandahar
(Random House, hb., 280 pp.,. $26)
###
Blue Bicycle welcomes local artist and book-maker, Bette Mueller-Roemer Sat., Feb. 5, 2-5 pm. Bette’s beautiful hand-made journals combine her affinity for ceramics, painting, and drawing. Bound with waxed linen thread, the journals are filled with blank cotton paper, separated with hand-painted section covers. Journal covers range from fine paper to ceramic plates, making the books as much of art pieces as keepers of thoughts and memories. Prices from $85-$150.
###
Local professor and New York Times bestselling author Bret Lott will sign his new book Dead Low Tide at Blue Bicycle Sat. Jan 28, 1-3pm. This long anticipated sequel to The Hunt Club, set in the South Carolina Lowcountry, returns with more murder, mystery, and family secrets. No longer a teenager and now a young man, protagonist Huger Dillard must come to terms with and confront the truth about his community, his past, and the mysterious place he calls home.
Pat Conroy calls Dead Low Tide “The best book Bret Lott has ever written—by far. He creates a Charleston that has never been written about in history… it is a literary thriller of the highest order—like something John Le Carré would write. I couldn’t put it down.”
Dead Low Tide (Random House, hb. 256 pp. $26)
###
Join Blue Bicycle at Red’s Ice House Tues, Jan. 17, 7:30 pm for the official launch of Brad Taylor’s anticipated new thriller All Necessary Force, second in the Pike Logan series. Last year, the launch of first book, One Rough Man, drew a crowd of over 200 people!
Taylor draws on decades of experience in the U.S. Army Infantry and Delta Force to tell the story of protagonist Pike Logan and his partner Jennifer Cahill. In All Necessary Force, he takes the two on an increasingly dangerous and convoluted anti-terrorist mission through Asia and Egypt. Cussler, Clancy and Ludlum fans are sure to love this local author! Signed copies will be available at our online store after the event.
All Necessary Force (Dutton Adult, hb. 400 pp. $25.95)
###
Blue Bicycle Books welcomes the Charleston Junior League this Sat., Dec. 10, 2-4pm for a taste of Charleston Receipts, our best-selling cookbook! Charleston Receipts was first compiled in 1950 as a way for the League to raise money for the Charleston Speech and Hearing Center. Since that time, proceeds from the cookbook sales have supported numerous other League-sponsored, charitable activities. Now in its 61st year, the cookbook continues to offer Southern staples like Shrimp and Grits and Corn Pudding edited by the ladies who knew them best. Join us in the store on Saturday for some free samples and a holiday gift with a lot of Southern charm.
###
Please note that there have been some minor changes to the YALLFest schedule for this Saturday. In particular, the Industry Insiders Panel at 1 pm has been cancelled, and some personnel changes have been made to the Zombie Attack Panel at 5 pm. Please click the YALLFest! link above to see the updated schedule.
YALLFest 2011, a FREE event featuring 26 of the country’s top YA authors is Sat., Nov. 12, 10 am to 6 pm. This is Blue Bicycle Books’ largest event ever. Adding up all the volunteers/writers/donors/and more, just the number of people working alone ranks in our all-time Top Five shindigs.
A spin-off of last year’s Capital Bookfest, YALLFest narrows the focus to the Young Adult genre. So who do we expect to come?
Click the YALLFest! link above or visit www.yallfest.org for more information.
We are truly grateful for all the authors who are coming to Charleston this weekend just for what we think will soon be the nation’s top Young Adult book festival. It’s an amazing, wide ranging group, former soccer moms and teachers, graduates of Yale, Williams, Harvard, Brown, Columbia who love spinning rich stories, natural talents like Isaac Marion, author of Warm Bodies, whose bio proclaims he’s never won an award and never went to college.
A few can’t miss events:
10 am The middle grade panel featuring Pseudonymous Bosch (ask any fifth grader). Will he finally reveal his true identity? Use a voice modulator? Proxy?
1 pm David Levithan, co-author of Nick and Nora’s Infinite Playlist.
2 pm Ellen Hopkins – much revered author of gritty novels-in-verse.
3 pm Lisa Brown and Adele Griffin in full Victorian regalia, will create an on-the-spot ghost story, with your help. Adele is a two-time National Book Award finalist, and Lisa is the author of How to Be and Vampire Boy’s Goodnight, which I’d rank with just about anything Maurice Sendak ever wrote. She’s also the author of these terrific 3-panel Book Reviews in the San Francisco Chronicle.
4pm HollYAwood Panel – Kaleb Nation, author and YouTube sensation, will moderate this panel about the transition from page to screen, while a crew films the first episode of his new reality show, Kaleb’s Nation.
5 pm Zombie Attack Panel, Dave Stohl, Head of Worldwide Studios, Activision Video Games will be on hand just days after the release of the latest Call of Duty release, with free giveaways.
Come early and stay for the YA Smackdown at 6pm. Full schedule and festival map right here.
###
A few new treasures decking our halls in time for the holidays:
The Dharma Bums by Jack Kerouac. First edition, first printing. Viking, 1958, hb., 244 pp., in very good dust jacket with original price of $3.95 intact, some rubbing on front and back panels, and photo of ‘Ti Jean’ on the back panel. Black cloth covered boards with green and white lettering, excellent shape.
A previous owner’s book plate, a woodblock of witches and goblins that reads “Bring your witch to the Halloween Masquerade, at the The Dil Pickles in Tooker Alley under the Green Light 31st,” is on front paste-down. $995.
To Kill a Mockingbird by Harper Lee, early Book Club Edition, Lippincott, 1960, hb., 255 pp. Dust jacket in good condition with mylar cover, minimal edge wear and small smudge on front, rear panel has author photo by Truman Capote. $250
The Big Rock Candy Mountain by Wallace Stegner. SIGNED Franklin Library limited edition, 1978, hb., 733 pp., leatherbound. $250
Lullaby by Chuck Palahniuk, SIGNED first edition, Doubleday, 2002, hb., 260 pp. dust jacket in fine condition. $125.
Barrel Fever by David Sedaris, signed bookplate. First Edition, Little,Brown, 1994, hb., 196 pp. dust jacket in fine condition with mylar cover. $175
Small Beer by Ludwig Bemelmans, The Viking Press, 1939, hb., 186 pp. dust jacket in good condition with two repaired tears on the front cover and some corner wear. Charming illustrations. $75.
Parsley by Ludwig Bemelmans, SIGNED, 2nd printing. Harper, 1955, hb., 47 pp. Dust jacket slightly worn, fraying at edges with a tear on back. Beautiful color illustrations. $195.
Secrets of the Ninja by Ashida Kim, Paladin Press, 1981, hb., 153 pp. with fine dust jacket. “To become a Ninja, one must accomplish four things: one must be strong; one must know; one must dare; and one must be silent.” $23.
The Little Leather Library Collection, 1920-1924, 3. x 4-inch “Poor Man’s Library” of classic literature, bound in imitation red leather. Stuff stockings with some of these 23 titles, including: A Midsummer Night’s Dream, Poems by Robert Browning, A Child’s Garden of Verses, Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde, Short Stories by de Maupassant.. $10-$40.
###
Poet and author Kwame Alexander will be signing copies of his new children’s book, Acoustic Rooster, on Thurs., Nov. 10 from 6-7:30 pm. Kwame is also the founder of Capital Bookfest, the predecessor of this year’s YALLFest on Nov. 12.
Kwame’s new musically-themed book follows a jazz-loving rooster on his quest to win glory in the barnyard talent show, and also includes a glossary of musical terms.
