Focusing on the years 1934 to 1961—from Hemingway’s pinnacle as the reigning monarch of American letters until his suicide—Paul Hendrickson’s Hemingway’s Boat  traces the writer’s exultations and despair around the one constant in his life during this time: his beloved boat, Pilar.

We follow him from Key West to Paris, to New York, Africa, Cuba, and finally Idaho, as he wrestles with his best angels and worst demons. Whenever he could, he returned to his beloved fishing cruiser, to exult in the sea, to fight the biggest fish he
could find, to drink, to entertain celebrities and friends and seduce women, to
be with his children. But as he began to succumb to the diseases of fame, we see
that Pilar was also where he cursed his critics, saw marriages and friendships
dissolve, and tried, in vain, to escape his increasingly diminished capacities.

PLEASE NOTE THE LOCATION!

Charles Frazier will read from and sign copies of his new book Nightwoods, set in the early 1960s in a small town in North Carolina. Luce, a woman who lives in an abandoned lodge in rural Appalachia becomes the guardian of her twin niece and nephew after the murder of her sister. Meanwhile, two men come to town — one, the heir to the abandoned lodge, and the other, her sister’s murderer who is now after the children. Booklist writes: “A taut narrative of love and suspense, told against a gritty background of bootlegging and violence. The characters are rich and unforgettable.” Charles Frazier grew up in the North Carolina mountains. His first novel, Cold Mountain, won the National Book Award and his second novel Thirteen Moons named a best book of the year by the Los Angeles Times. 

Durham author Stephen Hren will read from and sign copies of his new book Tales from the Sustainable Underground which explores informative stories of people engaged in natural building, permaculture, community development, or ecologically based art. Stephen Hren is a restoration carpenter, builder and teacher who specializes in sustainable design and solar heating technologies.
He is the co-author of The Carbon-Free Home and A Solar Buyer's Guide for the Home and Office.