inDECATUR

The perfect magazine for Decatur: Garden & Gun

Decatur runs the range from  Berkeley to Mayberry. So does Garden and Gun (well, at least the "well-heeled" aspects of both).

Based in Charleston, S.C., the bimonthly magazine appeals to well-heeled Southerners with a mix of articles about music, art, literature, food, the land and, of course, hunting and fishing. It’s printed on glossy paper and features sumptuous photography and evocative writing from big-name authors like Reynolds Price, Clyde Egerton, Winston Groom and Roy Blount Jr.

The total effect is sort of Oxford American meets Town & Country.

“It’s a gutsy name,” published Rebecca Darwin said. “But if we had called it something like The South Today, it would have been such a snore.”

JA | AJC | 8/26/2008

Events for those with OSD (obsessive spooky disorder) at Wordsmiths

Not to be overshadowed by their midnight sale/Black and Red Prom (recently recognized in a national Associated Press article) for Stephenie Meyer’s breakout Young Adult novel Breaking Dawn next Friday, August 1, Wordsmiths Books in Decatur, GA has an entire week of in-store author events leading up to the Black and Red Prom for those who might no be as inclined to fawn over the Y.A. Vampire/Werewolf/Human love triangle saga. On Tuesday, July 29 at 7:30 PM, Wordsmiths Books presents a hair-raising event with local author Doug Crandell, in celebration of his new novel Hairdos of the Mildly Depressed. A thematic sequel to Crandell’s 2007 beloved best-seller The Flawless Skin Of Ugly People, Hairdos Of The Mildly Depressed continues Crandell’s “Beauty Knows No Pain” trilogy with a well-crafted, character-driven plot centering around a man obsessed with hair. In conjunction with Salon Red, Decatur’s premiere beauty salon, Wordsmiths will be hosting a night they’re calling Much Ado About Hairdos. In addition to a reading from and discussion with Doug Crandell, Salon Red Decatur’s master stylist and owner Jessica Soler will be discussing the magic and methodology behind getting the “best” haircut. Free Salon Red goodies will be available for each attendee to the event, and everyone in the audience will be registered to win a free haircut from Salon Red.

 Then, on Wednesday, July 30, at 7:30 P.M., the Force will be strong at Wordsmiths as they present Karen Traviss, author of the newest Star Wars novel, Star Wars: Clone Wars. In celebration, they’ll be hosting a Star Wars costume contest, where they are encouraging fans of all ages to come dressed their “favorite or least-favorite” Star Wars character, “major or minor”, for the chance to win “fantastic prizes”.

 All Wordsmiths Books events are free, and take place at 545 N McDonough St, Decatur, GA, 30030. For more information on these or any Wordsmiths goings-on, email russ@wordsmithsbooks.com or call 404-378-7166.

Jeffery Deaver

Jeffery Deaver, one of the masters of the modern suspense novel, visits the Decatur Library at 7:15PM Thursday, 6/12 to talk about his latest Lincoln Rhyme thriller, The Broken Window. Deavers’s books have sold millions of copies and been turned into successful movies including The Bone Collector and A Maiden’s Grave.

Georgia Center for the Book

       

Decatur Storytelling Festival

Come join this family-centered event in Decatur Cemetery, featuring a host of great storytellers, including Tersi Bendiburg, telling Latin stories; Kathy Bennett as Queen Glitter; Chester Galloway, who’ll be Jammin with the Jembe and Juba; and Holly Stevenson, who as Franny Fable will tell a tale. Eric Litwin, "Mr. Eric," will introduce a new Pete the Cat storybook, Pete the Cat, I Love My White Shoes, illustrated by James Dean. There will also be a face painter, balloon sculptor, photos with storybook characters, craft making, and hand stamps by wandering storybook characters.

Parking is available in the Decatur First United Methodist Church parking lot. Tickets are $5 per person, under 3s free. Buy tickets at Little Shop of Stories, Hoopla, and Decatur Recreation Center. Storytelling will take place under a big tent, so the event will be held rain or shine.

Main Stage sponsors are Little Shop of Stories and the Wren’s Nest. Hoopla will provide goody bags for children who arrive early in the day. Proceeds benefit:
• Decatur Youth Fund, which provides financial assistance for after-school care, recreation and enrichment activities to Decatur children whose families demonstrate a need; and
• The Friends of Decatur Cemetery Committee, whose mission is the preservation, restoration, stabilization and interpretation of this treasured community resource.

If you would like to sponsor a storyteller ($300) or be a Friend of the Festival ($50), contact Mary Miller, 404-378-1082; or Greg White, 404-377-0494.

City of Decatur

Author appearances in Decatur in April

The Georgia Center for the Book lists a number of authors who will make appearances in Decatur during April.

See the link or the continuation for details, if interested.

No doubt, Wordsmiths will be hosting a number of others.  Emory and Agnes Scott might be as well. (will update this post with more details on these hosts later).

Decaturites slow to adopt e-books

More than four months after Amazon.com released the Kindle, no one is sure whether the latest e-book reader is really hot — or not. But publishers believe that the Kindle has helped, if not revolutionized, the tiny electronic market.

Amazon.com has received extensive media coverage since unveiling the Kindle on the Monday before Thanksgiving and announcing that the first run had sold out within a few hours. Amazon.com has declined to give sales figures for the Kindle — at least 2,000, judging from the number of customer reviews — but has said repeatedly that supply is not keeping up with demand, with the device often out of stock.

Publishing officials are reluctant to discuss sales figures, but say that they have seen double digit increases in e-book sales since the Kindle's release, including renewed interest in downloads on the Sony Reader. Sales for the most popular books are in the hundreds, comparable to the number for the Sony, which came out in 2006.

Over 110K books, magazines, newspapers, and blogs can now be downloaded to Kindles. The typical cost for a book is $9.99. Newspapers are $9.99/month. Magazines are $1.49/month.

AP

See video clip review in continuation, if interested 

Has anybody seen one of these gadgets anywhere in town? I haven't, yet.

It uses Sprint's EV-DO network (which I use for PC connection) for downloading, with no monthly charge. I can tell you EV-DO works well all over the metro Atlanta area, out about 40 miles from downtown. It will also work in major metro areas all over the country (but not in most rural areas, yet).

Paying $400 for a specialized device, when you can now buy a tablet PC for not much more, is a bit hard to justify. I want a Kindle, but I've not yet convinced myself I can justify the cost. It's not likely to come down until the early adopters have ordered all they want. The devices are currently back-ordered.

Three poets at Wordsmiths Saturday afternoon

Best New Poets, 2007

Saturday, April 5, 2008 at 2:00 PM
Wordsmiths Books

In just three years, Best New Poets has established itself as a crucial venue for rising poets and a valuable resource for poetry lovers. The only publication of its kind, this annual anthology is made up exclusively of work by writers who have not yet published a full-length book. The poems included in this eclectic sampling represent the best from the many that have been nominated by the country's top literary magazines and writing programs, as well as some two thousand additional poems submitted through an open online competition. The work of the fifty writers represented here provides the best perspective available on the continuing vitality of poetry as it's being practiced today. Wordsmiths Books is happy to present three of the poets included in the current 2007 edition, reading their poetry and signing the book: Catherine Pierce (Epithalamium), David Welch (Tribute), and Laura Newburn (In the Jewish Cemetery).

Introducing these amazing up-and-coming masters of language is Georgia’s own Pulitzer Prize-winning poet Natasha Trethewey. Trethewey, after the reading, will be available to sign copies of the Best New Poets collection, which she edited, as well as copies of her masterful collection, Native Guard.

Catherine Pierce will also be signing copies of her collection, Famous Last Words, which won the 2007 Saturnalia Book Prize.

Wordsmiths

This presents a good opportunity for you to check out the new digs. But, the doors are open every day.

This Wordsmiths blog entry shows some images.

ASC Writers Festival March 27-28, 2008

Guest writers Martín Espada, Rubén Martinez and 1999 Agnes Scott College graduate Gillian Lee-Fong-Farris bring a blend of Latin and Caribbean influences to the 2008 Agnes Scott College Writers Festival March 27-28, 2008.

Scheduled 2008 Writers Festival events are free and open to the public including:

Thursday, March 27
4 p.m. – Rubén Martinez reading, Winter Theater, Dana Fine Arts Center
8 p.m. -- Martín Espada reading, Gaines Chapel, Presser Hall

Friday, March 28
10 a.m. -- Gillian Lee-Fong-Farris reading

Atlanta INtown  ASC ASC

Hillary Jordan and two music groups at Wordsmith's Monday

On Mon., MARCH 24, BABYGOTBOOKS VOL. II goes into full effect with Hillary Jordan presenting her new Bellweather-Prize winning novel, Mudbound, about family, prejudice and race relations in 1940s Mississippi. OK, maybe that's not exactly "party" material, so the Wayne Fishell Experiment and Hope for Agoldensummer are on the bill as well to play following Jordan's reading. It's free drinks, free music – maybe you should offer to carry a few boxes.

Free. 7:30 p.m. 141 E. Trinity Place, Decatur. 404-378-7166. www.wordsmithsbooks.com.

DM|CL

Hope for a Golden Summer

Since this blogger learned how to play the accordion (at a very basic level) as a kid, he loves to hear someone play something other than a polka on one.

Book signing calendar

Eddie Suttles will soon provide "a single, comprehensive source of news about author events in Georgia."