Tampa Book Buzz

online book club review:saturday by ian mcewan

Ian McEwan’s Saturday examines one day in the life of Henry Perowne, a successful British neurosurgeon, husband and father. Henry contemplates everything — overthinking some things — and views the day’s events through his personal lenses of medical training, affection for his wife, worry for his two grown children, pride and embarrassment over his affluence and success in life, worry over terrorism and the effects of 9/11, and a growing awareness of getting older and how his life is changing because of it.

Henry’s plan for his Saturday is simple: get up early, see his wife off to work, play racquetball with a colleague, visit his mother at the nursing home, buy groceries, prepare a special celebration dinner and enjoy a visit from his children. A minor car accident on his way to racquetball upsets his carefully-laid plans and changes his life forever.

I was prepared to dislike Saturday because of the slowness of it. The book opens with Henry waking in the middle of the night, and by page 25, it’s only 3:55 a.m. Everything Henry experiences or remembers is recounted in great detail, as he applies the scientific objectivity and serious examination of neurosurgery to every event in his life. After I paused, took a deep breath, and slowed my reading pace a bit, McEwan’s contemplativeness washed over me. I was interested in everything Henry was seeing; I wanted to hear the backstory that Henry remembered. I can relate to his worry about his ailing mother and I understand his fears about getting older.

While sometimes paced maddeningly slow, Saturday is an enjoyable read. McEwan presents a character’s entire lifetime in only one day and reminds us that life is what happens when we’re busy making other plans.

What did you think?

upcoming events at inkwood books

Inkwood Books has a lot of great events coming up:

May 2 at 6 p.m. — June Casagrande will discuss and sign her hilarious collection of anecdotes and essays Grammar Snobs Are Great Big Meanies:A Guide to Language For Fun and Spite.

May 9 at 6 p.m. — Patti Callahan Henry will read and sign her third low country novel When Light Breaks.

May 10 at 7 p.m. (different location than Inkwood) — former Tampa Tribune crime reporter Ace Atkins kicks off his national tour to promote his true crime epic White Shadow with a book release party at King Corona Cigars in Ybor City.

May 19 at noon (different location than Inkwood) — NBC News correspondent Mike Leonard will read and sign The Ride of Our Lives:Roadside Lessons of an American Family at Lazydays RV SuperCenter just east of Tampa. A portion of the proceeds will be donated to the Lazydays Partners Foundation.

May 25 at 7 p.m. — Sarah Abramsky will discuss and sign Conned:How Millions Went to Prison, Lost the Vote, and Helped Send George W. Bush to the White House.

May 26 at 6 p.m. — Mary Kay Andrews will read and sign Savannah Breeze, her sequel to Savannah Blues.
For more information, visit Inkwood’s events calendar.

(cross-posted at Sticks of Fire)

i want to read…

Slack:Getting Past Burnout, Busywork, and the Myth of Total Efficiency by Tom DeMarco. I saw a quote in a magazine from the book that “people may do their best thinking when they are not concentrating on work at all.”

If my boss is reading this: I’ll be at the beach tomorrow, doing some heavy thinking. Don’t call me; I’ll call you when I’m finished thinking.

ted kooser reading on saturday cancelled

The following is from an email from Inkwood Books:

Ted Kooser has had to CANCEL his scheduled reading this Saturday, but St. Leo University will host a film of Kooser reading, and Peter Meinke and Gerald Stern will read their poetry. Inkwood Books will NOT be there, but we do have a supply of Kooser’s books. The event will be at the Pasco Schools Center for the Arts in Wesley Chapel beginning at 7:30 p.m., Saturday, April 29. A perfect way to close National Poetry Month. The event is free but tickets are required. Call 813-782-2831 or 813-994-8374 to reserve tickets.

Visit www.inkwoodbooks.com for more info.

10-year-old local author

The WTSP Tampa Bay’s 10 News website has a story about a ten-year-old local boy who has published a book that is available at Borders bookstores.

I feel like such a slacker…

bookworks needs you

Goodwill’s BookWorks program needs book donations and volunteers for the childhood literacy program. According to their website:

BookWorks is designed to instill a love of books and reading and to encourage self-sufficiency in children from low-income households. Volunteers read stories to the children, and afterwards, each child receives his or her very own book.

Visit the Goodwill Bookworks website or call 1-888-279-1988 to learn more.

local author news:gabi lorino, wendy boucher, rita and j.c. de la torre, frank trebin lastra

*Local author/performer/Ewan MacGregor stalker Gabi Lorino (The Independent Woman’s Guide to Life) is working on a sequel called One Bridesmaid’s Descent into Madness. Her corresponding one-woman show will be part of the Orlando International Fringe Festival in May.

p.s. — I lost my copy of Lorino’s book in my recent move, then found it, finished it this weekend, and will post my review on TBB this week.

*Local author Wendy Boucher will talk to the Tampa Writers Alliance on May 3 about self-promotion for authors and will give the nuts-and-bolts of blogging. Boucher will also take part in a panel discussion at the South Tampa Barnes & Noble on May 16 (more on this soon, because Yours Truly will also be part of the panel).

*Local authors Rita and J.C. De La Torre will be at the Dunedin Books-A-Party this Saturday. J.C. is currently working on a screenplay adaptation of his book Ancient Rising, while Rita is preparing for the upcoming publication of her new book Dark Dragons.

*Frank Trebin Lastra, born and raised in Ybor City, is making use of his childhood with his new book Ybor City:The Making of a Landmark Town. The University of Tampa Press is releasing Lastra’s book on April 24.

florida authors at upcoming florida collectibles and vintage memorabilia show

The bi-annual Florida Collectibles and Vintage Memorabilia Show will be on Sunday, April 30, from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. at the Coliseum in downtown St. Pete. Florida’s largest antiques and collectibles show focusing exclusively on vintage Floridiana, this unique event features old Florida souvenirs and memorabilia such as old Florida books; flamingo and alligator souvenirs; tinted Barnhill and Harris photographs; vintage Florida license plates and roadside signs; kitschy roadside attraction souvenirs; fruit crate and cigar box labels; rattan and other tropical furnishing and decor; and much more.

Many of the original Florida Highwaymen artists — self-taught African-American painters, many of whom traveled Florida’s highways selling their paintings of Florida landscapes — will participate in the show. There will be a screening of the documentary The Highwaymen, which explores the Highwaymen’s history through interviews with many of these artists. Other screenings include 1950’s Florida tourism film ads.

Several authors will attend this show for lectures and book signings:

*Charlie Carlson (Weird Florida…Your Travel Guide to Florida’s Local Legends and Best Kept Secrets) will give his special insight into Florida’s weird and kitschy history and myths.

*Dr. Gary Mormino (Land of Sunshine, State of Dreams) will give a talk titled “Florida:From Old South to New South to Sunbelt.”

*Tim Dorsey (The Big Bamboo) will offer his humorous insights on Florida fiction and fact.

*Wayne Ayers (Tampa Bay’s Gulf Beaches:The Fabulous 1950’s and 1960’s) will discuss his book and give a slide presentation showing nostalgic beach images from a bygone era.

*William Moriaty will be on-hand to sign his book William Moriaty’s Florida.

*Larry Roberts (Florida’s Golden Age of Souvenirs:1890-1930) will be available for questions on collecting vintage Floridiana.

Several local historical societies will be exhibiting, including the Gulf Beaches Historical Society and Museum, the Indian Rocks Historical Society, the Clearwater Historical Society and the Largo Area Historical Society. There will be live jazz and blues entertainment in the afternoon, along with a cash bar.

Admission to the Florida Collectibles and Vintage Memorabilia Show is $6.00 and parking is free. All lectures, entertainment and film screenings are included in the price of admission. The Coliseum is located at 535 Fourth Avenue North in St. Pete. For more information, call 727-363-4852 or visit www.hulahula.biz.

bitter is the new black

This morning I woke up feeling like death warmed over, so I stayed home from work. I actually hate calling in sick, given that I seem to have inherited the Puritan work ethic and the fact that I know things are just going to be busier the next day because of all the crap that’s piling up today…even right this moment, someone is leaving me a voice mail or emailing me an assignment.

After some Tylenol and some more sleep, I finished reading Bitter Is the New Black by Jen Lancaster. Technically the whole name is Bitter Is the New Black:Confessions of a Condescending, Egomaniacal, Self-Centered, Smart-Ass, Or Why You Should Never Carry a Prada Bag to the Unemployment Office. That’s pretty much the book review, right there.

I never would have heard about this book if it weren’t for the book groups at the South Tampa Barnes & Noble. I went to the Women’s Fiction Book Group meeting there last month to hear local author Wendy Boucher speak and had such a good time that I picked up a book club flyer on my way out. The next day I added the various book group meetings to my day-planner/calendar and tracked down as many of the books as I could. I read the Mystery Book Group pick also — Case Histories by Kate Atkinson — even though I have other plans that night and can’t attend the meeting. Thank goodness for book clubs, or else I’d only read books by my favorite authors and never expand outside that circle.

Bitter Is the New Black is blogger Jen Lancaster’s story of going from being a highly-paid, well-dressed, snobby, judgmental, shopaholic corporate VP to a normal person who has to do her own nails and color her own hair in order to afford groceries and electricity. It’s sharp, funny and well-written. Also, Lancaster had the decency to add a note in the front of the book stating that “although this memoir is based on real events in my life, I’ve taken a few liberties for the purpose of moving the story forward.” I hope she makes as much money as “memoirist” James Frey.

After a mid-afternoon nap, I’m going to check out Lancaster’s blog www.jennsylvania.com. And maybe do my nails and color my hair.

a bit about ian mcewan

Did you know that…

• many people have done their dissertations on the works of Ian McEwan
• McEwan’s books have been translated into many languages, including Dutch, French and Japanese
• in 2004, McEwan received an apology from U.S. officials
• Random House has a reading guide available for McEwan’s book Saturday
• Saturday by Ian McEwan is the Tampa Book Buzz Online Book Club’s selection for April.