Durham writer Nancy Henderson-James will read from and sign copies of her new book, At Home Abroad: An American Girl in Africa. In this memoir of growing up in colonial Angola with her missionary parents, Henderson-James learns five languages, goes away to school at nine, and travels 1500 miles for high school in Rhodesia. And then when war breaks out in 1961, she must find her way in an alien America (Tacoma, Washington).

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Valarie Schwartz will discuss and sign copies of her new book, Remembering Chapel Hill: The Twentieth Century As We Lived It.  These collected pieces pay tribute to the wide range of Chapel Hill residents who shaped the town into being “the Southern part of heaven.”  Schwartz wrote the “Neighbors” column for the Chapel Hill News for ten years and now writes for The Carrboro Citizen.

Starting tonight, a new series featuring musician and songwriter Peter Holsapple, who will share books, stories and songs.  “It’s all about a guy, really a big old kid, bringing his guitar and his sense of humor and involvement, some books and his pajamas, and entertaining kids—and their parents too.”  Holsapple, known best for his work with the dB’s and the Continental Drifters, has also worked with R.E.M., Hootie and the Blowfish, and Sugarland.  So wear your pajamas and come join the fun!  Pajama Parties will continue on September 4, October 2, and October 16.

Watch a video of Peter performing in the dB's here: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fZZvFOB7PFg.

Join us for this new series featuring musician and songwriter Peter Holsapple, who will share books, stories and songs.  “It’s all about a guy, really a big old kid, bringing his guitar and his sense of humor and involvement, some books and his pajamas, and entertaining kids—and their parents too.”  Holsapple, known best for his work with the dB’s and the Continental Drifters, has also worked with R.E.M., Hootie and the Blowfish, and Sugarland.  So wear your pajamas and enjoy the fun! Pajama Parties will continue on October 2 and October 16.

Durham author Katy Munger will launch her two new mysteries with a reading and book signing. Bad Moon on the Rise is the new title in the Casey Jones series and Desolate Angel is the first in her new Dead Detective series, written under the penname Chaz McGee. "Chaz McGee has an irresistibly rueful, melancholy voice that invites readers to remember that we all make mistakes—and that we all deserve a shot at redemption. Also: We all need to stop and smell the doughnuts," writes Laura Lippman.

Joanna Smith Rakoff will read from and sign copies of her debut novel, A Fortunate Age.  Compared to Mary McCarthy’s classic novel The Group, A Fortunate Age provides a pitch-perfect portrait of the generation that came of age in the 1990s as four ambitious Oberlin graduates arrive in New York City full of hopes and dreams.  Rakoff captures a certain time and place with heartbreaking clarity.

Founders of Merge Records in Durham, Mac McCaughan and Laura Ballance, will discuss and sign copies of the new book they wrote with John Cook, Our Noise: The Story of Merge Records, the Indie Label that Got Big and Stayed Small.  “One of the most respected imprints in an often disreputable industry, Merge has defied the odds by releasing some of the finest rock and pop music of the last 15 years,” writes the Chicago Tribune.  Mac and Laura are two of the members of the pop-punk band Superchunk.  Mac and Laura will play some of their favorite Merge songs and show some slides—and we’ll offer beer and wine.  (We’ll also play the 20th anniversary Merge Records sampler CD.) Check out the site, www.ournoisebook.com.

Holly Goddard Jones will read from and sign copies of her new short story collection, Girl Trouble. These geographically linked stories create a composite image of life in Roma, Kentucky-haunting in its blankness-and address issues of compassion, caretaking, identity and growth. "Compelling and full of heartache, these stories are so beautifully written you won't want them to end," writes Kim Edwards, author of The Memory Keeper's Daughter.

Contributors to Long Story Short: Flash Fiction by Sixty-five of North Carolinas Finest Writers will be on hand to read from and sign copies of this new collection, edited by Marianne Gingher.  Participants include Lawrence Naumoff, Joe Ashby Porter, Randall Kenan, Bland Simpson, Elizabeth Spencer, and Marianne Gingher. This event is co-sponsored with the Durham County Library.

Offered by local author Zelda Lockhart, this workshop is designed for adults 60 and over who are interested in writing and telling life stories.  Lockhart will take you through the steps of starting that memoir you’ve been wanting to write and provide valuable tools for finishing it.  She’ll also offer a series of exercises designed to eliminate writer’s block and keep you inspired through the writing process.  Participants will also learn invaluable skills on becoming constructive peer readers.  Light snacks and tea will be served and a twenty-minute break will allow participants to grab lunch on Ninth St. and bring it back to the workshop.  For cost and other information, contact Lockhart at 919.819.4910 or zelda@zeldalockhart.com .

We’re starting a new discussion series on the third Monday of each month focused on literary fiction, current and classic.  The series will start off with The Guernsey Literary and Potato Peel Pie Society by Mary Ann Shaffer and Annie Barrows. This epistolary novel is set on the island of Guernsey during its Nazi occupation during WWII.   “I can’t remember the last time I discovered a novel as smart and delightful as this one, a world so vivid that I kept forgetting this was a work of fiction populated with fresh characters so utterly wonderful that I kept forgetting they weren’t my actual friends and neighbors.  Treat yourself to this book please—I can’t recommend it highly enough,” writes Eat, Pray, Love author Elizabeth Gilbert.  The series will be facilitated by Durham native Katherine Johnson, who has an undergraduate degree in European Literatures and many years of reading and working with books.  Her day job is with NoveList, where she develops articles, discussion guides, and other materials about books for an online library service that supports readers’ advisory.

Wit and wordplay specialist Mardy Grothe will discuss and sign copies of his new book, Ifferisms: An Anthology of Aphorisms that Begin with the Word “If.”  This book covers aphorisms from Samuel Taylor Coleridge’s "If men could learn from history, what lessons it might teach us" to Molly Ivins’ quote about a Texas politician, "If his IQ slips any lower, we'll have to water him twice a day."  Grothe is also the author of Never Let a Fool Kiss You or a Kiss Fool You, Oxymoronica, Viva la Repartee, and I Never Metaphor I Didn’t Like.

North Carolina author Jill McCorkle will read from and sign copies of her new short story collection, Going Away Shoes. "These stories provide what brilliant fiction always provides—insight, felt life, voices of others, fascination—but more than anything else, they give pleasure," writes author Richard Bausch. Award-winning McCorkle is the author of eight previous books—three story collections and five novels—five of which have been selected as New York Times Notable Books. She teaches writing at NCSU.

Michael Rosen will discuss and sign copies of his new book, What Else But Home: Seven Boys and an American Journey Between the Projects and the Penthouse. This is an unflinching and compelling first-hand account of a family's improvised journey across the divide of race, class, and economic opportunity in the Lower East Side of New York. "Michael Rosen takes readers on a death-defying journey—gritty, surprising, funny and fiercely honest. What was defied? The death of hope. What we're now graced with? An inspiring book about what one family can accomplish," writes Ron Suskind, author of A Hope in the Unseen.