Blue Bicycle Books

Join us Thurs., Jan. 10, 5 – 7 pm, as Spartanburg-based artist and photographer Helen Correll signs copies of her new illustration and observation book, Middlewood Journal: Drawing Inspiration from Nature.

With a foreword by naturalist Janisse Ray, the journal gathers Correll’s illustrations and writings from her hikes and strolls around her house in the South Carolina Piedmont, fondly named Middlewood, and blog to create a treasury of discoveries, from giant red mushrooms peeking beneath a cover of leaves to hawks on a branch so close you can hear their preening. Season to season, you will discover the miniature beauties of the South, the life that you only find by slowing, allowing the landscape to inspire.

Join us Thurs., Dec. 14, 5 – 7, as Alabama-based historian / genealogist / writer Sharman Burson Ramsey signs her first novel, Swimming with Serpents (Mercer University Press, hb., 360 pp, $26).

The result of research on late 17th and 18th century Native Americans, the novel is a quick-paced historical romance centered around the Indian Creek War and two ill-fated lovers.

Called “an exciting new voice in Southern fiction” by novelist Cassandra King, Ramsey also runs the website Southern-style.com, a compendium of all things Southern, from traditional recipes to travel guides to etiquette.

Thurs., Nov. 29, 5 – 7, Charleston authors and their canines will be on hand to celebrate the release of the anthology Literary Dogs and Their South Carolina Writers (Hub City Press, pb., 140 pp, &19.95) at the Charleston Library Society, 164 King St. Dorothea Benton Frank, Mary Alice Monroe, Christopher Dickey, Josephine Humphreys, Marjory Wentworth, Nicole Seitz, Beth Webb Hart, John Lane, and Betsy Teter will introduce their dogs as well as participate in a panel discussion about writers and their dogs. A book signing and reception will follow. Blue Bicycle Books is excited to join Hub City Press and the Charleston Library Society as sponsors of this event.

In Literary Dogs & Their South Carolina Writers twenty-five of the Palmetto State’s most beloved authors introduce you to their most memorable dogs. There is Padgett Powell’s “Ode to Spode,” Josephine Humphreys’ paean to a poodle, and Roger Pinckney’s Daufuskie Dog-ageddon. Meet Marshall Chapman’s Impy, Mindy Friddle’s Otto, Beth Webb Hart’s Bo Peep, and more. From bird dogs to bad dogs, wild dogs to café dogs, get to know these canines and their literary companions. Other authors featured include: Elise Blackwell, Lou Dishler, Andrew Geyer, Dot Jackson, Dinah Johnson, Drew Lanham, Melinda Long, Janna McMahan, Kate Salley Palmer, Mark Powell, and Glenis Redmond.

A portion of proceeds from book sales will be donated to the Charleston Animal Society. An admission donation of $5 is appreciated. To make sure you can get into this event, please register here.

For additional information you can call us here at the store, 722.2666 or email us at info@bluebicyclebooks.com

Join us this Fri., Nov. 16, 2 – 4 pm, as master Southern chefs Nathalie Dupree and Cynthia Graubart sign their new, largest-to-date full-color cookbook, Mastering the Art of Southern Cooking (Gibbs Smith, hb, $45). With a forward by Pat Conroy and covering everything from carrot slaw to Nana Stuffie’s fried shrimp, this book may be the definitive guide to Southern cooking. Nathalie Dupree is the author of twelve cookbooks, including two James Beard Award winners. She currently lives in Charleston. Cynthia Graubart produced Nathalie’s PBS show New Southern Cooking, has co-authored and written several cookbooks of her own. She currently lives in Atlanta.

They will be signing alongside Cliff Graubart, an longtime Blue Bike friend and former owner of the Old New York Book Shop, who is signing his short story collection The Curious Vision of Sammy Levitt and Other Stories. (Cliff’s bookshop even snags a shout-out in Pat Conroy’s My Reading Life.)

Join us Thurs., Nov. 1, 5:30 – 7:30 pm for Greg Tavares signing his new book Improv for Everyone. Co-founder of Theatre 99 and the local improv troupe The Have Nots!, Greg has been teaching improv for over ten years and to over 500 classes. In an interview, he compares learning improv to learning a new language and says this is the book he wish he had when first starting  improvisation.  Based on his own teaching curriculum, Improv for Everyone offers tips, techniques, and practical exercises for mastering the art of improv.