Library Love Fest

Manhood for Amateurs

A couple of weeks ago, I was determined to see Michael Chabon during the New York leg of his book tour for Manhood for Amateurs.  (As you can see here and here, I'm a huge fan of The Mysteries of Pittsburgh.)  So it wasn't a big deal for me to hop on the 2/3 and make the hour-long trek into the deep reaches of Brooklyn.  Chabon gave a wonderful talk on non-fiction writing, reading a few essays from Manhood for Amateurs, which manages to be insightful, wonderfully written, and truly poignant.  He took questions from the audience at the tail-end of the event, and even mentioned an idea he has for a book based on the life of Queen's Freddie Mercury.  (Fingers crossed!)

The talk is part of a Brooklyn Public Library series curated by editor Matt Weiland on the Art of Non-Fiction.  The next event, this Thursday night, features Padgett Powell, author of The Interrogative Mood.  For more info on the series, click here.  And while you're at it, be sure to browse inside Manhood for Amateurs.  You can also read one of the essays here courtesy of the New York Review of Books. 

-Kayleigh  

What's Your Craziest Library Moment?

Over on The Roaring 20s, I'm asking readers for their craziest library story.  I was inspired by this news article, about a 26 year old who was locked in his local library.  The best 5 stories will receive a complete set of Harper Perennial’s Olive Editions: Michael Chabon’s The Mysteries of Pittsburgh, Milan Kundera’s The Unbearable Lightness of Being, and Jonathan Safran Foer’s Everything is Illuminated.  Email your best story to roaring20s@harpercollins.com or leave one in the comments of the post. Happy writing!

-Kayleigh

Book-Ending Michael Chabon: our last giveaway for the week

We started the week with Michael Chabon, and we're ending it that way.  Thanks so much for all your wonderful feedback--we're so excited to reach out to all of you.  Keep checking in, as we'll be hosting more book giveaways in the coming weeks.  We'd like to end this week with a giveaway of Michael Chabon's knock-out classic, The Mysteries of Pittsburgh. 

Set in industrial Pittsburgh in the mid-eighties, Michael Chabon's coming-of-age debut is a mythic look at the last summer of Art Bechstein’s youth.  Art is aimless, going through the motions, until he meets Arthur Lecomte.  Arthur is witty, charismatic, and hedonistic, and he ushers Art into a complex social circle where loyalties are blurred by incestuous friendships.  In the course of one summer, Art discovers himself—his sexuality, ambitions, desires—and learns the heartbreak of leaving childhood behind for good.

Post a comment on The Roaring 20s for your chance to win! Have a wonderful weekend, and happy reading.

-Virginia, Bobby, and Kayleigh