Blue Bicycle Books

Join us on Zoom, Tues., Feb 16, 6:30 pm as Baylor University professor Robert Elder discusses his newest book, Calhoun: American Heretic (Basic Books, hb., 640 pp., $35). Elder, a Clemson Grad, will be joined in conversation by Paul Anderson, professor of history at Clemson University.

This event is free and open to the public.

To buy a signed copy of the book click here.

To register, click here.

About the book: John C. Calhoun was first elected to Congress in 1810, and went on to serve as secretary of war and vice president. But he is perhaps most known for arguing in favor of slavery as a “positive good” and for his famous doctrine of “state interposition,” which laid the groundwork for the South to secede from the Union—and arguably set the nation on course for civil war.

Calhoun has catapulted back into the public eye in recent years,  as protests over racial injustice have focused on his legacy. In this revelatory biographical study, historian Robert Elder shows that Calhoun is even more broadly significant than these events suggest, and that his story is crucial for understanding the political climate in which we find ourselves today. By excising Calhoun from the mainstream of American history, he argues, we have been left with a distorted understanding of our past and no way to explain our present.

About the Author: Robert Elder is an assistant professor of history at Baylor University, where his research focuses on the American South. His first book was The Sacred Mirror: Evangelicalism, Honor, and Identity in the American South, 1790‒1860. He has a B.A. and M.A. from Clemson University, a PhD. from Emory University and lives in Woodway, Texas.

About the Moderator: Paul Anderson is Associate Professor of History and University Historian at Clemson University, where he has taught the history of the American South and the history of South Carolina for twenty years. His most recent book, A Short History of the American Civil War, was published in 2019 by Bloomsbury.

YALLWrite (a.k.a YALLFest 2020) is this weekend! 

Over 80 bestselling authors will share their trade secrets in a virtual, craft-themed festival Fri. Nov. 13 and Sat. Nov 14.

Writers like Marie Lu, Victoria Aveyard, Nic Stone, Neal Shusterman, Marissa Meyer, V.E. Schwab, Varian Johnson and more will teach dialogue, structure, world-building, writing as a political act, graphic novels, collaboration, romance, fantasy … all told there are SEVENTY (70) master classes, panels, scavenger hunts and giveaways!

Register here (it’s all free)

Even though we’ve gone virtual, you can still get signed books. We’ve sent out YALLWrite bookplates all over the world. 

Order here or click on a name below

Renee Ahdieh SIGNED

Melissa Albert SIGNED

Jennifer L. Armentrout SIGNED

John August SIGNED

Victoria Aveyard SIGNED

Lindsay K. Bandy SIGNED

Kalynn Bayron SIGNED

Holly Black SIGNED

Gwenda Bond SIGNED

Pseudonymous Bosch SIGNED

Alexandra Bracken SIGNED

Z Brewer SIGNED

Mahogany L. Brown. SIGNED

Roseanne A. Brown SIGNED

Lilia Buckingham SIGNED

Julie Buxbaum SIGNED

Patrice Caldwell SIGNED

Kacen Callender

Kristin Cashore

Soman Chainani SIGNED

Sona Charaipotra SIGNED

Traci Chee SIGNED

Dhonielle Clayton SIGNED

Brandy Colbert SIGNED

Ally Condie SIGNED

Zoraida Cordova SIGNED

Sayantani DasGupta SIGNED

Somaiya Daud SIGNED

Melissa de la Cruz SIGNED

Susan Dennard SIGNED

Tracy Deonn SIGNED

Corinne Duyvis

Kristina Forest SIGNED

Namina Forna SIGNED

Stephanie Garber SIGNED

Kami Garcia SIGNED

Ryan Graudin SIGNED

Jordan Ifueko SIGNED

Holly Jackson

Tiffany D. Jackson SIGNED

Leah Johnson SIGNED

Varian Johnson

Kimberly Jones

Amie Kaufman SIGNED

Erin Entrada Kelly SIGNED

Jay Kristoff 

Nina LaCour

David Levithan SIGNED

Alex London SIGNED

Marie Lu SIGNED

Kwame Mbalia

Anna-Marie McLemore SIGNED

Karen McManus SIGNED

Gretchen McNeil SIGNED

Tehlor Kay Mejia SIGNED

Marissa Meyer SIGNED

Kass Morgan SIGNED

Brandon Mull SIGNED

Marieke Nijkamp SIGNED

Jennifer Niven SIGNED

Garth Nix

Daniel Jose Older SIGNED

Tochi Onyebuchi SIGNED

Claribel A. Ortega SIGNED

Mark Oshiro SIGNED

Danielle Paige SIGNED

Brendan Reichs SIGNED

Caleb Roehrig

Margaret Rogerson SIGNED

Veronica Roth SIGNED

Yusef Salaam

Adam Sass SIGNED

Victoria / V.E. Schwab SIGNED

Gilly Segal

Samantha Shannon

Sara Shepard SIGNED

Neal Shusterman 

Adam Silvera SIGNED

Meagan Spooner SIGNED

Margaret Stohl SIGNED

Nic Stone SIGNED

Sabaa Tahir

Aiden Thomas SIGNED

Kiersten White SIGNED

C. Yee SIGNED

Nicola Yoon

Sara Zarr SIGNED

Ibi Zoboi SIGNED

Note that we can’t take orders for personal inscriptions. Signed bookplates may ship separately from books. Thank you so, so much for your support. 

Vivian Howard, star of “A Chef’s Life” on PBS will be in Charleston, Sun. Oct. 25, 3 – 6 pm for a special in-real-life drive-thru book signing at Tradesman Brewing (1647 King St. Extension), presented by Blue Bicycle Books.

All tickets include a signed copy of Vivian’s new book This Will Make It Taste Good: A New Path to Simple Cooking, plus a snack-pack of special treats from Vivian’s team!

SIGNED Copies still available here

Note:

*Tickets are divided into 15-minute timeslots from 3 to 6 pm.*You will remain in your car but still be able to get a personalized book and photo with Vivian, following proper Covid-safety procedures. Details to follow.

*Masks required.

*Additional books and merchandise will be available for sale.

*After getting your book signed, please feel free to park and have a beer at Tradesman!

****

About This Will Make It Taste Good (Voracious Books, hb., 352 pp., $35):

An Eater Best Cookbook of Fall 2020!

From caramelized onions to fruit preserves, make home cooking quick and easy with ten simple “kitchen heroes” in these 125 recipes from the New York Times bestselling and award-winning author of Deep Run Roots.

“I wrote this book to inspire you, and I promise it will change the way you cook, the way you think about what’s in your fridge, the way you see yourself in an apron.”

Vivian Howard’s first cookbook chronicling the food of Eastern North Carolina, Deep Run Roots, was named one of the best of the year by 18 national publications, including the New York Times, USA Today, Bon Appetit, and Eater, and won an unprecedented four IACP awards, including Cookbook of the Year. Now, Vivian returns with an essential work of home-cooking genius that makes simple food exciting and accessible, no matter your skill level in the kitchen.

Join us Wed., Sept 16, 7 pm for Friends & Fiction on Facebook Live!

Five Bestselling Authors. Endless Stories. The Friends & Fiction team is Mary Kay Andrews, Mary Alice Monroe, Patti Callahan Henry, Kristy Woodson Harvey, and Kristin Harmel. The quintet started Friends and Fiction back in April with the mission of helping support independent booksellers affected by the pandemic. Each week they feature a different independent bookseller and invite a special guest author to join them.

This week’s is Charleston’s own Signe Pike, who’ll be discussing The Forgotten Kingdom (Atria Books, Sept. 15) the second book in her Lost Queen fantasy series.

To join them online and post your questions go right here.

To purchase their books go to our online store and use promo code FRIENDS to receive 10% off your order!

Join us and Spartanburg-based bookshop and publisher Hub City on Thurs., July 9, 5 pm, for a virtual event with author Rachel Beanland to celebrate her debut novel, Florence Adler Swims Forever (Simon & Schuster, hb., 320 pp, $26).

Over the course of one summer that begins with a shocking tragedy, three generations of the Adler family grapple with heartbreak, romance, and the weight of family secrets in this stunning debut novel that’s perfect for fans of Manhattan Beach and The Dollhouse.

Rachel Beanland writes fiction and essays. Her essays have appeared in Creative Nonfiction and Broad Street, among other places.

She has an MFA in creative writing from Virginia Commonwealth University and holds bachelor’s degrees in art history and journalism from the University of South Carolina. Before turning to writing full-time, Rachel worked in public relations and nonprofit management.

To register for the event with or without a signed copy of the book, go here.