|
|
|
|
| Ryan Cummings entertains at our first Music Friday event. |
Dear Friends of
A Novel
Experience,
Our first Local Music Night last month with Ryan Cummings (and the excellent coffee contributed by Safehouse Coffee Roasters) was sublime. We're happy to announce Ryan will do it again on April 24th. One of the things we noticed is that this classical guitar experience truly calls for slowing down the frenetic pace in which we find ourselves immersed. We could feel our blood pressure dropping and our racing thoughts decreasing in velocity. We are not making any medical claims here, but we think it's worth experiencing! Thanks to Susan for bringing the mindblowing documentary, "Inside Alive" to us last month. It's a look at the power of music on elderly nursing home residents...there wasn't a dry eye in the room when one gentleman literally "woke up" when he was fitted with earphones and an Ipod filled with music from his youth. If you missed it, stop in any Thursday and chat with Susan on how to access this film.
Lots going on in April at the store! This is our annual "Students' Month" where we feature art work created by our own Pike County High School art students. There are some amazing pieces constructed from books, and work that celebratges poetry (this being National Poetry Month!). Thanks to Laura McKinnon, art teacher extraordinaire for assembling the collection again this year. If you are so inclined, just to give a nod to poetry-in-April, check out "Dog Stories" by Mary Oliver or "Aimless Love" by Billy Collins--you will embrace poetry for all 12 months after sampling these...
We have been busy concocting novel experiences, according to our independent interests...Jewell is cooking up a Young Adult Reading Group that's scheduled to begin in June. Brenda is looking towards June as well for the second annual "ATC" show (get busy, you artists of beautiful-things-small!). Many of us are tucking into Atul Gawande's "Being Mortal" on aging and "end of life" issues--see Susan F.'s note on the book and think about coming to our "one-off" reading group to discuss in May. Novel, indeed...the Thursday night book group is going to read their first-ever-in-eight-years fantasy title. If you are an a fan of this genre, come on by for May and add to the mix!
Come on down to Zebulon for our annual "Self-Pubbed" Authors Showcase on April 18th. See below for more information on who is coming. And, we'll be joining bookstores across the U.S. to celebrate Independent Bookstore Day on Saturday, May 2--come on in for great deals, special IBD items, and to support the whole notion of the value of bricks-and-mortar businesses for our community.
Oh, wonderful Spring! And, the pollen has just arrived! Our Dollar Romance cart out in front has a lovely, silken, simmering dusting of light green! The stories within are still hot--come and browse! We're looking forward to hearing from you about what you're reading these days!
All of us at A Novel Experience
|
|
|
"MAFIA" LURKS AND "D&D" CONSPIRES THROUGH MAY!
THE "Mafia" crowd is growing more and more sophisticated as they suss out the game each second and fourth Monday of every month--for those not yet initiated into the fun, it's a 21st century parlor game that requires only your wit and deductive reasoning skills. You enter into a town that has had a recent murder. It is up to the townspeople, cops, and doctors to catch the mafia before the mafia kill everyone off. If you enjoy intrigue, lying, murder-mystery, talking dead, and accusations, this is the game for you. And, if we're lucky, Johnny will be here to lead the game with his incredible characters!
Dungeons and Dragons happens on the first, third, and fifth Mondays of every month. We're extending the time from 6:30 to 9:00 because these players really, really get into the event and look like they are having fun! |
|
|
Self-Pubbed Authors Day
Saturday, April 11th, 3 - 5 p.m.
Life can't ever really defeat a writer who is in love with writing, for life itself is a writer's lover until death--fascinating, cruel, lavish, warm, cold, treacherous, constant.
Edna Ferber
There are a universe of people who dream about writing a book. Most never do. Come and meet a most interesting group of people who have done so--from the imagining of a compelling story, to the writing of it, through the many decisions on production, and now, to the presenting of their finished book. It's inspiring to meet them, and really, really instructive to hear about how they did it. Plus, there are some good stories contained within the covers of their books!
SATURDAY, APRIL 18TH
3 to 5:00 p.m. at the store
|
|
|
Here's a short review by Susan F. of our featured title by Atul Gawande for our upcoming "one-time" book group--coming in May (TBS, but, we'll tell you soonest). Join Us!
This special book is on my "must read" recommendations list. It's written by a physician, but if you think it's a dry, clinical look at our mortality, you'd be wrong. Being Mortal is a very readable, humane exploration of how we approach aging and mortality in our culture. Dr. Gawande writes about how we have "medicalized" aging dying; he reveals, through stories and research, the very real and unnecessary suffering this approach often produces. He writes about his own learning process as a physician, including his mistakes. He shares his very personal experience of his beloved father's last illness. And, he shows us how we can do better. He learns from a hospice nurse, a geriatrician, and reformers seeking to make nursing homes more like real homes. He shows us how to really listen to what is truly important to people who are nearing the ends of their lives. And, if we can listen, we have hope that we can do better for those we love and for ourselves.
|
PUPPY LOVE 2015 Update:
Announcing your "People's Choice"! Thanks, all for your votes!
|
|
"Woohsi by Elisabeth Jones
|
|
|
|
|
Thanks to Jennifer who sent us her daughter's photo of the Action-Thriller-Horror section at the store!
|
April 2015 Calendar
A REMINDER! WE ARE NOW OPEN EVERY EVENING, MONDAY THROUGH SATURDAY TILL 9 P.M.! April at the GALLERY: Come and see what the students have done to the books! And, their take on poetry! The NOVEL POETS AND PROSE WRITERS GROUP
meets April 10th! Karen will meet everyone on the SECOND Friday this month at 7 (we're skipping the first since it's Easter weekend). Use this extra week to write...something! Bring your stuff!
EVERY
MONDAY MORNING
:
The
Knit-a-Longs are here to purl, slip, and practice their knitting--they are also great helpers for those who are just getting the hang of it! Come at 10 am with your project and your questions!
EVERY TUESDAY EVENING: EVENING KNITTERS
Brenda is here on Tuesday evenings from 6 to 8 to do the knitting thing! Come on out!
SATURDAY MORNINGS (check our Facebook page to see if Sam is going to be here): STORYTELLING WITH SAM
Bring the little ones for a story on Saturday mornings at 11:00 to hear Sam's favorite tales.
THURSDAY, APRIL 2: Our DROP-IN, GUILT FREE BOOK CLUB
--It came, we're late with the newsletter! It was "The Lion Seeker". We agreed: Phenomenal. And, we never would have had this title on our radar if not for the book club...Next month: Our first-ever fantasy novel, The Bone Season by Samantha Shannon. Stretch. Read this. Come and discuss!
MONDAY, APRIL 13TH and APRIL 27: MAFIA WITH ELLY
7 pm. This is fun, challenging, and will help your brain and your social life.
APRIL 15:
BROWN BAG BOOK GROUP:
Our group meets at high noon, always the third Wednesday of the month--come and be a part! This month's book: "Still Life with Bread Crumbs" by Anna Quindlen.
APRIL 18: SELF-PUBBED WRITERS PRESENT
Meet the authors from 3-5 p.m. for inspiration and fun.
APRIL 6 AND 20:
DUNGEONS AND DRAGONS. New start time: 6:30 till 9 p.m. Bring your strategic skills!
APRIL 24th: RYAN CUMMINGS: Guitar. He did music from Turkey, Italy, Europe, and America last month...stay tuned for more! 7:00 p.m.
CLASSICS BOOK GROUP discusses Willa Cathers'
The Song of the Lark (one of Karen's favorites...). Come and see why the classics are so relevant to today--you'll be amazed.
|
|
|
|
|
