Tampa Book Buzz

brandon area book clubs?

A local book-lover wrote me asking if I knew of any good book clubs in the Brandon/Riverview area. Any recommendations out there?

more local author news

Wow, our local authors sure stay busy:

*Keisha Bell will participate in the “Read to Succeed Family Read-A-Thon” this Saturday, February 25, at the Sanderlin Center in St. Pete.

*Wendy Boucher had a great time at the recent Suncoast Writers Conference. Her book Parvenue Throws a Party has been chosen as this month’s pick by the South Tampa Barnes & Noble Women’s Fiction Book Group (discussion night is March 28). Boucher will also take part in the Dunedin Books-A-Party in April.

*Jerry Cowling will attend the Florida Voices Book Fair in Gainesville on March 4, the Crystal River Civil War Show March 10-12, the Confederate Ball in Miramar on April 4, and the Dunedin Books-A-Party on April 22.

learn about nobel prize-winning author harold pinter thursday night

University of Tampa’s Dr. Frank Gillen will speak Thursday night about Nobel Prize-winning author Harold Pinter:

“Harold Pinter, 2005 Nobel Prize for Literature” — Dr. Frank Gillen, University of Tampa — Thursday, February 23, 7:30 pm Lewis House

Refreshments will be served at this ASPEC-sponsored event.

Playwright Harold Pinter, recipient of the 2005 Nobel Prize for Literature, is the subject of a presentation by Dr. Frank Gillen, co-founder and co-editor of the Pinter Review, the only scholarly journal devoted entirely to Pinter’s work. Dr. Gillen is Dana Professor of English at the University of Tampa.

Pinter has long been recognized as one of the finest and most powerful playwrights of the latter half of the 20th century. His plays include The Caretaker, The Homecoming, Betrayal, The Room and The Birthday Party, as well as screenplays The Last Tycoon, The French Lieutenant’s Woman, Betrayal, The Handmaid’s Tale, The Trial and The Tragedy of King Lear.

Click here for more info.

standasone productions looking for writers and artists

Joe Sanchez at Standasone Productions is putting together a ‘zine and is looking for short stories, reviews of independent films, opinions, pictures you have taken or images you have drawn. Visit www.mmjstandasone.com to learn more or click here for his contact info.

killing naked roses

I read recently in Newsweek about the website www.lulu.com/titlescorer, which lets you test a book title for potential box office success. This model is based on a study of 700 books (half best sellers and half less-successful works by the same authors) and findings show that names with abstract language sell well. The model isn’t perfect (The Da Vinci Code only shows a 36% chance of success), but it’s fun.

According to the article, Killing Naked Roses scored 100%.

(Tampa Book Buzz scored 72.5%. Hmmmm….)

florida bibliophile society meeting today

Don’t forget about the Florida Bibliophile Society meeting this afternoon at 1:30 p.m. in the University of Tampa library, 2nd floor. Today’s speaker will be FBS president Jerry Morris, who will talk about “Mary Hyde and the Unending Pursuit.” According to Morris, Mary Hyde was one of the last great book collectors. He has more than a handful of books from her library, which he’s acquired since her death in August 2003.

Visit www.floridabibliophilesociety.org for more information.

recent observations

Here are a few random thoughts that have been rolling around in my head recently:

*Reading is a necessity, like breathing, eating and sleeping. During the recent hectic craziness of my life I’ve concentrated on those other three and all but abandoned reading. I feel weird. Unsettled. Off balance. I bought Cell by Stephen King a few days ago and have managed to read a few pages. I can feel that off-balance uneasiness slipping away…

*Thank goodness for my Tampa Book Buzz Online Book Club, which forces me to read at least one book a month. I say “forces” only because honoring my obligation to the book club is the only reason I’ve made time to read a few books over the last couple of months.

*Bookstores are magical, wonderful places. No matter how stressed out, depressed, upset, or otherwise mood-impaired I am, a brief stroll through a bookstore cheers me right up.

*People can be judgmental about literary tastes. I’ve never claimed that I’ve had taste — literary or fashion or otherwise — and I freely admit that I love to read anything and everything. Two weeks ago I had jury duty and spent a mind-numbing eight hours reading. Reading for hours on end at home stretched out on the sofa in your jammies is one thing; doing it in an uncomfortable chair surrounded by strangers waiting for the bailiff to call your name is quite another.

I brought a tote bag full of magazines with me, to catch up on my reading. No one noticed me (that I could tell, anyway) when I was reading Time, Newsweek, Entertainment Weekly or Jane. But when I was reading Sirens of Cinema:The Women of Television & Movies, Rue Morgue or my Buffy and Angel magazines, well, that was a different story. Total strangers stared at me and commented on my reading choices. One woman, after commenting that she used to watch Buffy the Vampire Slayer on TV, made a lame joke about my being an obsessed fan if I’m reading a magazine about it. To which I proudly replied “yes” and then moved to a different seat.

upcoming events for book lovers

Mark your calendars:

The Tampa Museum of Art has a special exhibition of the work of award-winning author and illustrator Maurice Sendak, known for such children’s classics as Where the Wild Things Are and In the Night Kitchen. The exhibition includes 144 drawings, artwork for posters, theatrical sets and costumes, and runs through April 23.

USF is hosting Poet Laureate Billy Collins Wednesday, February 8, in a free public symposium.

USF is bringing Augusten Burroughs, author of Running With Scissors, to Tampa this Thursday, February 9, as part of its University Lecture Series. Click here for details and to read more about Burroughs.

(thanks to fellow bloggers Kate and Joel for sending this info my way)

(cross-posted at Sticks of Fire)

february’s tbb online book club pick is…

…Cell:A Novel by Stephen King. King’s latest book will make you think differently about your beloved cell phone. Cell rhymes with hell, you know.

As powerful as the Masons and as secretive as the Illuminati, the Tampa Book Buzz Online Book Club — subject of an upcoming Dan Brown novel — picks one book a month to read and then to discuss on the last day of the month.

Ok, most of that last sentence is fiction. Click here for the truth.

news from local authors

Ersula Knox Odom was recently spotlighted on the website Interlink City. She’s been busy recently with appearances promoting her book At Sula’s Feet.

Jerry Cowling, author of Lincoln in the Basement, also has a busy speaking engagement schedule lined up. He attended the Brooksville Raid re-enactment in January and the Mount Dora Civil War Show in early February. On February 18, he attend the Brooksville Heritage Festival and on February 23 and 24 he’ll go to the Fort DeSoto Civil War Show. Cowling will speak on the differences between fictional and non-fictional accounts of history.

R. Beck will sign copies of his book Elements of Recovery at Inkwood Books on February 16 at 7 p.m.