Tampa Book Buzz

local author lary crews

St. Pete author/speaker/photographer/blogger Lary Crews wrote to say hello. This author of the Veronica Slate mysteries (Kill Cue, Extreme Close Up) has a new book coming out in January 2007, titled The Baby Boom Writer. Visit www.larycrews.org to learn more about this local author.

book covers website

Thanks to my favorite magazine of all time (a.k.a. Entertainment Weekly), I discovered this online display of book jacket designs: www.covers.fwis.com. What did we do before the Internet?

joan didion on beliefnet.com

I clicked onto www.beliefnet.com this weekend and discovered an audio interview with author Joan Didion about grief and “magical thinking.”

You can read parts of the interview, listen to it or read an excerpt of her book here.

(Didion’s The Year of Magical Thinking is this month’s pick for the Tampa Book Buzz Online Book Club. I’ll post my review at the end of the month.)

florida bibliophile society on summer break

Speaking of the Florida Bibliophile Society, they have adjourned for the summer (more time to sit by the pool and read). Their next meeting will be September 17th. Mark your calendars.

Since joining the FBS in January, I’ve only attended a couple of meetings, due to time constraints and a hectic, busy life. Hopefully in the fall I’ll be able to attend their monthly meetings on a regular basis. The Florida Bibliophile Society is for any and all book lovers. A lot of the members are book collectors and dealers who know about how to determine a book’s condition and value and who have introduced me to book terminology that I didn’t even know existed.

Some of the FBS members are collectors like me, who collect based on interest or sentimental value as opposed to rarity, age, and value. Some members just love to read and are interested in all things bookish.

No matter what kind of bibliophile you are, I encourage you to come to the September 17th meeting to give this group a try.

just books is closing

The owners of Just Books (2002 E. Fletcher Ave. Suite G) are retiring and are having a huge sale to get rid of their existing stock. I talked to one of the owners yesterday and found out that they will close their doors on June 15.

Ready, set, shop! (And then go home and mourn this store’s closing.)

(Thanks go to the Florida Bibliophile Society for including this info in the minutes from their April meeting and to Eric Sturm for telling me when I met him two weeks ago. The delay in passing this info on to you is totally my own fault.)

book buzz:the independent woman’s guide to life by gabi lorino

The Independent Woman’s Guide to Life by Gabi Lorino, ISBN #1413723098 

All the world’s a stage, and the women merely players. We have our exits and our entrances, and one woman in her time plays many parts. Her stages of life are the seven ages of modern life.  (Aside) But if all the world’s a stage, then she’ll be needing better costumes, and more costume changes as well. A large budget for shoes is advisable.

 Gabi Lorino is Tampa’s version of Candace Bushnell. In The Independent Woman’s Guide to Life, Lorino uses the ups and downs of everyday life as fodder for her one-woman stage show and uses her book to recount both the real-life and stage versions of her adventures.

A first date becomes a riff on creating a formal dating resume and application process. A painful breakup sparks the Six Stages of Heartbreak. Years of working and dating are mined for — my favorite — Certain Truths That Apply to Both Working and Dating (such as: The audition process is demeaning and The more desirable it seems to the outside world, the more high-maintenance it is for you).

Lorino briefly — in only 127 pages — recounts her speed-dating, bridesmaid-enduring, job-hating, world-traveling, boy-crazy, celebrity-stalking adventures in a conversational, breezy tone. Her witty, astute observations are presented as parts of a monologue for her one-woman show, dispersed throughout the book and presented together at the end.

This is a one-woman show worth seeing (and reading).

Book Buzz Barometer: B+

Her website is www.gabilorino.com.

tcm book giveaway

There’s still time to enter the online sweepstakes at Turner Classic Movies for a chance to win a copy of the book Leading Ladies:The 50 Most Unforgettable Actresses of the Studio Era. Click here to learn more about the book or to enter the giveaway contest.

local author ann baker

I had a chance to meet local author Ann Baker last week and am eagerly awaiting delivery of her book No Coincidence. (Books and catalogs are the only fun part of opening my mailbox anymore because everything else is bills, junk mail and pizza coupons, it seems).

According to her website, No Coincidence is the first in a series of novels that are mystery/romance stories of a young woman’s journey into the profession of law enforcement. Baker writes from experience, being a law enforcement officer specializing in traffic homicide investigation.

Learn more about No Coincidence (and read an excerpt) here, read Baker’s short stories here and here, or read this article about her from the Tampa Tribune. (Or visit www.authorsden.com/annbaker yourself and jump from link to link in any order you choose.)

joan didion on npr

NPR has links to several interviews with author Joan Didion, as well as an excerpt from The Year of Magical Thinking, on its website.

The Year of Magical Thinking is the TBB Online Book Club pick for May.

local author afsaneh noori

Local author/engineer/artist Afsaneh Noori’s book Change Thrivers — Your Resource Guide for Making Change Work has just been published. Her book is a combination of change theories woven with personal stories and sprinkled with quotes. Every chapter has exercises for the reader to guide her/him towards becoming a Change Thriver.

As an Iranian-American woman working in the traditionally male field of engineering, Noori has experienced many transitions in her life. She’s used her experience as a cornerstone for personal growth. As her website states, “It’s All About Empowerment.”

Visit www.changethrivers.com to learn more about Noori and her new book.