Posted in events on July 29, 2010 | Leave a Comment »
Congrats to Debbie Delk for winning our Awesome 80′s Photo Contest! Her photo recieved the most votes at last night’s event. Debbie was super excited to win the prize basket, which included a few VHS copies of 80′s classics (like Say Anything), leg warmers, a bottle of Aquanet, a Rubik’s cube, some cassingles, and a copy of Rob Sheffield’s new book Talking to Girls About Duran Duran.
Thanks to everyone who came to the event. We had a great time.
Posted in BookPeople Community on July 29, 2010 | 6 Comments »
I’m a member of The Voyage Out Book Club here at BookPeople. Built on the idea that we can tell a lot about a place from its stories, we read regional fiction. We’re finishing up our three-month visit to New York with Paul Auster’s three-pronged book “The New York Trilogy”. I’m, as always, excited. But, while my mythical vacation to New York ends, I’ll be on an actual trip through the South. My wife, my son, and I will pack our car and head east, all the way to Richmond, Va. On the way we’ll stop in Little Rock, Oxford, and Asheville. We’re giddy. The most important part of any road trip, of course, is the music, next is the junk food, but a strong third is the reading list.
Posted in BookPeople Events, What the ? on July 21, 2010 | 3 Comments »
Rolling Stone journalist Rob Sheffield is coming to BookPeople this Wednesday, July 28th at 7PM, to celebrate his new book Talking to Girls About Duran Duran. We’re going all out for this event, preparing a special 80′s themed prize basket (which includes a copy of the new book) to the winner of our 80′s Photo Contest. In order to get everyone in the right spirit, Sheffield sent us a list of his TOP TEN 80′s KARAOKE JAMS. Enjoy.
Posted in BookPeople Community, events on July 21, 2010 | 1 Comment »
Attention local writers! Working on a novel, but not sure what to do with it once it’s finished? The world of professional publishing can be confusing and tricky… a labyrinth of query letters, book agents, cold calls and mountainous slush piles.
The second annual Austin Publishing University, set to start on August 1st at 1pm, is here to help. Held on the third floor of BookPeople, the APU is a five part series that teaches the basics of publishing – how to create quality content, the essentials of book design, and the secrets of succesful marketing strategies.
Posted in events, tagged Event, Harry Potter on July 20, 2010 | 3 Comments »
July 20, 2010 is the three year anniversary of the highlight of my career – BookPeople’s Harry Potter 7 Party! As a true Harry Potter fanatic, this was the moment I had been waiting for since starting my job at BookPeople and working on our fabulous events. And, let me tell you, what came together [...]
Posted in BookPeople Community, BookPeople Events on July 19, 2010 | 3 Comments »
A new night out is starting to catch on in crime fiction circles. Noir At The Bar, an evening of drinks and readings by some of the darkest authors, started in Philadelphia with alums like Dennis Tafoya and Duane Swierczynski and moved to St. Louis with the likes of Ice Harvest author Scott Phillips. Now it’s time to move the party to the live music capitol of the world with three great authors and do it Austin style.
Posted in BookPeople Events on July 12, 2010 | 2 Comments »
This city is changing. New residents and new money are flooding in, causing some to celebrate and others to mourn. Joshua Long, a former Austin resident and scholar, wrote Weird City: A Sense of Place and Creative Resistance in Austin, TX to discuss these municipal changes and document the grass roots movements dedicated to preserving the local customs and flavor. Long will be in-store this Saturday (7/17) at 3PM and was kind enough to answer a few questions for the blog via email from his current residence in Switzerland.
Posted in BookPeople Events, Contests on July 8, 2010 | 2 Comments »
Rolling Stone writer Rob Sheffield, who you may know from his previous book Love is a Mix Tape, has new memoir out called Talking To Girls About Duran Duran. It’s all about growing up in the 80′s: the music, the fashion, and liking the bands that girls like in order to get the girls to like you.
Posted in book clubs on July 7, 2010 | Leave a Comment »
This Book Could Be Your Life is our monthly music book club. They read all sorts of great bios, spanning almost every genre, city and decade you can think of. This month they’re reading EYE MIND by Paul Drummond, an in-depth account of the chemically-altered life and times of Texas’ first psychedelic rock band the 13th Floor Elevators.
Posted in BookPeople Community, staff reviews on July 5, 2010 | Leave a Comment »
Declaratives never work. There is always an exception for, or an argument against whatever hardened rule someone creates. Always. But what happens to Pinocchio’s nose when he says, “I’m lying”? We don’t always have the answers, and when talking about pop culture, those untrustworthy declaratives remain perpetually flawed, but they also become incredibly interesting. To Kill a Mockingbird is about to turn 50 and we’ll be inundated with wonderfully nostalgic rants about the book being the best novel of the 20th century, or the most important American book ever, or the first “this”, and the last “that”. The book deserves high praise, but I’m launching a pre-emptive strike. Other than being the best book Harper Lee ever wrote, it’s not the best anything. And despite being, possibly, the most read American novel of the 20th century, it can’t touch the upper echelon of American literature. You should read To Kill a Mockingbird, everybody should read it, but lets not overstate its place in history. That being said, hyperbole is also fun. So I’ve come up with some hyperbolic declaratives that are absolutely, positively, 100 percent true, and are beyond brilliant. Watch out James Wood.
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