Blue Bicycle Books, Charleston, SC


EVENT CANCELLED – Becoming Madeleine with Charlotte Jones Voiklis and Léna Roy, Tues., March 20, 5 pm

Join us Tues., March 20, 5 pm as Charlotte Jones Voiklis and Léna Roy will be here to discuss their new book Becoming Madeleine (Farrar, Strauss, and Giroux, hb., 176 pp., $20). Charlotte and Léna are the granddaughters of the iconic writer Madeleine L’Engle.

Using never-before-seen archival materials that include photographs, poems, letters, and journal entries, Becoming Madeleine weaves together an in-depth and unique view of the famous writer. It is a story of overcoming obstacles―a lonely childhood, financial insecurity, and countless rejections of her writing―and eventual triumph. Becoming Madeleine will speak not only to fans of the icon’s work, but also to anyone interested in writing.

Charlotte Jones Voiklis has a Ph.D. in Comparative Literature and manages Madeleine L’Engle’s literary legacy. She lives in New York City.

Léna Roy works with young writers in Westchester, New York and Connecticut as the Regional Manager for Writopia Lab. She is also the author of the young adult novel, Edges. She lives in New York.



EVENT CANCELLED Author Luncheon with Charlotte Caldwell, The Faces of Local Food, Thurs., March 22, 12 pm

*****Sorry this event has been cancelled*****

Join us Thurs., March 22, 12 pm for lunch at 5 Faber, as Charlotte Caldwell discusses her new book The Faces of Local Food (Sweetgrass Books, hb., 232 pp., $45). Tickets are $31 for the three-course luncheon and talk, or $76 including a signed copy of the book.

Get tickets here.

The Faces of Local Food is a collection of personal vignettes giving readers an intimate perspective into the lives of those people who contribute to a vibrant local food system. Step out of the grocery store to join fishermen, farmers, and ranchers on their boats and in their fields, in the kitchens of innovative chefs, and in the warehouse of a local food hub. Meet with other meaningful contributors and visionaries to hear their stories – their histories, motivations, experiences, challenges, and insights.

Author and photographer of Visions and Voices: Montana’s One-Room SchoolhousesKirby’s Journal: Backyard Butterfly MagicThe Cow’s Boy: The Making of a Real Cowboy, and The Cow’s Girl: The Making of a Real Cowgirl, Charlotte Caldwell uses her photography as a springboard for storytelling. A native of Lookout Mountain, Tennessee, Charlotte is a graduate of Middlebury College and also holds master’s degrees in environmental studies and special education. Charlotte and her husband divide their time between their home in historic Charleston and their ranch in Montana.

 



Clay Rice Silhouettes — Wed., March 14!

Renowned silhouette artist Clay Rice returns to Blue Bicycle Books, Wed., March 14, 3-6 pm to cut children’s silhouettes and sign his latest books, The Stick and Ants ‘n’ Uncles (Familius, hb, $17).


Clay Rice -- silhouette artist -- with Kid

Taught by his grandfather, Carew Rice, Clay is a 21st-century folk artist and a Lowcountry treasure. Cutting a child’s silhouette in under five minutes is a performance in itself. You’ll be amazed when he captures a recognizable profile of your squirming two-year-old in less time than it takes to get her shoes on. His national touring schedule keeps him on the road often, cutting more than 10,000 children’s silhouettes a year, so events back home in Charleston are rare!

clayricesillPersonal silhouettes start at $42 for two copies. We expect slots to fill up quickly; to book an appointment, please call us at 843.722.2666. 



Author Luncheon with Caitlin Macy, Mrs., Mon., March 12, 12 pm

 

Join us Mon., March 12, 12 pm for lunch at 5 Faber, as Caitlin Macy discusses her new novel Mrs. (Little, Brown, hb., 352 pp., $27). Tickets are $31 for the three-course luncheon and talk, or $58 including a signed copy of the book.

Get tickets here.

In the well-heeled milieu of New York’s Upper East Side, coolly elegant Philippa Lye is the woman no one can stop talking about. Despite a shadowy past, Philippa has somehow married the scion of the last family-held investment bank in the city. Then, into her precariously balanced life, come two women: Gwen Hogan, a childhood acquaintance who uncovers an explosive secret about Philippa’s single days, and Minnie Curtis, a newcomer whose vast fortune and frank revelations about a penurious upbringing in Spanish Harlem put everyone on alert.

When Gwen’s husband, a heavy-drinking, obsessive prosecutor in the U.S. Attorney’s Office, stumbles over the connection between Philippa’s past and the criminal investigation he is pursuing at all costs, this insulated society is forced to confront the rot at its core and the price it has paid to survive into the new millennium.

Caitlin Macy is the author of The Fundamentals of Play and Spoiled. A graduate of Yale, she received her MFA from Columbia. Her work has been published in The New YorkerThe New York Times MagazineO, and Slate, among other publications. She lives in New York City with her husband and two children.



Alwyn Hamilton and Ryan Graudin, Sun., March 11, 3 pm

Join us Sun., March 11, 3 pm as Alwyn Hamilton will be here to discuss her new novel Traitor to the Throne (Viking, hb., 528 pp., $19). Alwyn will be in conversation with another bestselling YA author, Charleston’s own Ryan Graudin.

Traitor to the Throne is the sizzling sequel to the New York Times bestselling Rebel of the Sands. Mere months ago, gunslinger Amani al’Hiza fled her dead-end hometown on the back of a mythical horse with the mysterious foreigner Jin, seeking only her own freedom. Now she’s fighting to liberate the entire desert nation of Miraji from a bloodthirsty sultan who slew his own father to capture the throne.

Forget everything you thought you knew about Miraji, about the rebellion, about djinni and Jin and the Blue-Eyed Bandit. In Traitor to the Throne, the only certainty is that everything will change.

Alwyn Hamilton was born in Toronto and spent her childhood bouncing between Europe and Canada until her parents settled in France. She grew up in a small town where she attempted to read and write her way to new places and developed a weakness for fantasy and cross-dressing heroines. She has a bad habit of acquiring more hardcovers than is smart for someone who moves houses so often.

Ryan Graudin is the author of six young adult novels, including the Carnegie nominated Wolf By Wolf duology, Invictus and The Walled City. She resides near Charleston, South Carolina with her husband and wolf-dog. You can find her online at www.ryangraudin.com.



The Southern Harvest Cookbook with Cathy Cleary, Sat., March 3, 3:30 pm

Join us Sat., March 3, 3:30 pm as Cathy Cleary will share the stories behind the recipes in The Southern Harvest Cookbook (History Press, pb., 160 pp., $25).

The southern garden produces delights in all four seasons, from asparagus to tomatoes, apples to collard greens. Make use of the bounty of your garden or farmers’ market with new twists on familiar favorites. Recipes for Apple Radish Salad and Bacon Apple Burgers break up a fall parade of crisps and crumbles. Instead of roasting, make Whiskey Braised Sweet Potatoes or Sweet Potato Peanut Stew and add greens to Shrimp and Grits. Recipes for preserving herbs, pickling peaches and berry jams mean that your harvest will never go to waste. Let experienced gardener and cook Cathy Cleary walk you through four seasons of fresh, flavorful cooking.

Cathy Cleary began cooking and baking at the ripe age of four. In 2000, she opened the West End Bakery Café in West Asheville, which quickly became an iconic eatery, and in 2014 published The West End Bakery and Café Cookbook to satisfy requests to share her recipes. Cathy and her husband own a small farm outside Asheville where they grow as much food as possible.



Upside-Down Magic with Sarah Mlynowski, Mon., Jan 29, 3:30 pm

Join us Mon., Jan. 29, 3:30 pm as Sarah Mlynowski will give a reading from her Upside-Down Magic series, and then stick around to sign books and talk with fans.

Upside-Down Magic is an offbeat series about a group of misfits who set out to prove that life on the other side of ordinary has its charms. It’s never easy when your magic goes wonky. For Nory, this means that instead of being able to turn into a dragon or a kitten, she turns into both of them at the same time–a dritten. For Elliott, the simple act of conjuring fire from his fingertips turns into a fully frozen failure. For Andres, wonky magic means he’s always floating in the air, bouncing off the walls, or sitting on the ceiling. For Bax, a bad moment of magic will turn him into a… actually, he’d rather not talk about that.

In their classroom, lessons are unconventional, students are unpredictable, and magic has a tendency to turn wonky at the worst possible moments. It’s always amazing the trouble a little wonky magic can cause.

Sarah is the author of both the Whatever After and Magic in Manhattan series, as well as Don’t Even Think About ItMilkrun, Fishbowl, As Seen on TV, Monkey Business, Gimme a Call, Ten Things We Did (And Probably Shouldn’t Have), and How to be Bad (along with E. Lockhart and Lauren Myracle).

Sarah’s books have been translated into twenty-nine languages and optioned to Hollywood. She now lives in New York City with her husband and two daughters.



Author Luncheon with Peter Zheutlin, Rescued, Fri., Feb. 23, 12 pm

Join us Fri., Feb. 23, 12 pm for lunch at 5 Faber, as Peter Zheutlin discusses his new book Rescued (Penguin Books, pb., 256 pp., $16). Tickets are $31 for the three-course luncheon and talk, or $47 including a signed copy of the book.

Get tickets here.

In the follow-up to his New York Times bestseller Rescue Road, acclaimed journalist Peter Zheutlin offers a heartwarming and often humorous new look into the world of rescue dogs. Sharing lessons from his own experiences, Zheutlin reveals the surprising and inspiring life lessons rescue dogs can teach us, such as:

– How to “walk a mile in a dog’s paws” to get a brand-new perspective
– Living with a dog is not one continuous Hallmark moment—but it’s never dull!
– Why having a dog helps you see your faults and quirks in a new light, even if you can’t “shed” them completely
– How to set the world right, one dog at a time

Peter Zheutlin is a freelance journalist and author whose work has appeared regularly in The Boston Globe and The Christian Science Monitor. Mr. Zheutlin has also written for The New York Times, The Los Angeles Times, AARP Magazine and numerous other publications in the U.S. and abroad. He is the author of the bestseller Rescue Road: One Man, Thirty Thousand Dogs and a Million Miles on the Lost Hope Highway (Sourcebooks, 2015). Peter is a graduate of Amherst College and Boston College Law School and resides in Massachusetts with his wife, author Judy Gelman.



Edward Ball Lecture at The Citadel, Tues., Jan. 23, 3:30 pm

Our good friend Mayor Riley asked us to pass this information along. Edward Ball has been invited to give a guest lecture at The Citadel next Tues., Jan. 23, at 3:30 pm. Afterwards there will be time to meet and talk with Mr. Ball about his books.



Author Luncheon with Christina Baker Kline, A Piece of the World, Fri., Feb. 2, 12 pm

Join us Fri., Feb. 2, 12 pm for lunch at High Cotton (199 East Bay St.), as Christina Baker Kline discusses her newest novel A Piece of the World (William Morrow, hb., 320 pp., $28).

Tickets ($31) are available here.

An instant New York Times bestseller, A Piece of the World delves into the relationship between the artist Andrew Wyeth and the subject of his best-known painting, Christina’s World. As she did in Orphan Train, Christina Baker Kline interweaves fact and fiction in a powerful novel that illuminates a little-known part of America’s history. Bringing into focus the flesh-and-blood woman behind the portrait, Kline vividly imagines the life of a woman with a complicated relationship to her family and her past, and a special bond with one of our greatest modern artists.

Christina Baker Kline has written six other novels–Orphan Train, Orphan Train Girl, The Way Life Should Be, Sweet Water, Bird in Hand, and Desire Lines–and written or edited five works of nonfiction. Orphan Train spent more than two years on the New York Times bestseller list, including five weeks at # 1, and was published in 40 countries.