Well, you can imagine a bookseller’s delight upon hearing that the author scheduled at the bookstore that month has written the best book of the year, well, even if it is January. January may be a sparse month for new fiction but it seems there is always a diamond or two to cheer us on through the winter. This year we are lucky to have George Saunders’ new collection of short stories Tenth of December due out January 8. I have to add that I did get the novel chance to start reading an advanced copy on December Tenth.

I started reading and then I had to put this collection back down and let the storm of the holidays pass. Saunders’ kind of whipped me a round a little bit, but I think that’s a good thing.

Joel Lovell writes in The New York Times:

Aside from all the formal invention and satirical energy of Saunders’s fiction, the main thing about it, which tends not to get its due, is how much it makes you feel. I’ve loved Saunders’s work for years and spent a lot of hours with him over the past few months trying to understand how he’s able to do what he does, but it has been a real struggle to find an accurate way to express my emotional response to his stories. One thing is that you read them and you feel known, if that makes any sense. Or, possibly even woollier, you feel as if he understands humanity in a way that no one else quite does, and you’re comforted by it. Even if that comfort often comes in very strange packages, like say, a story in which a once-chaste aunt comes back from the dead to encourage her nephew, who works at a male-stripper restaurant (sort of like Hooters, except with guys, and sleazier), to start unzipping and showing his wares to the patrons, so he can make extra tips and help his family avert a tragic future that she has foretold.

Junot Díaz described the Saunders’s effect to me this way: “There’s no one who has a better eye for the absurd and dehumanizing parameters of our current culture of capital. But then the other side is how the cool rigor of his fiction is counterbalanced by this enormous compassion. Just how capacious his moral vision is sometimes gets lost, because few people cut as hard or deep as Saunders does.”

And “Tenth of December” is more moving and emotionally accessible than anything that has come before. “I want to be more expansive,” Saunders said. “If there are 10 readers out there, let’s assume I’m never going to reach two of them. They’ll never be interested. And let’s say I’ve already got three of them, maybe four. If there’s something in my work that’s making numbers five, six and seven turn off to it, I’d like to figure out what that is. I can’t change who I am and what I do, but maybe there’s a way to reach those good and dedicated readers that the first few books might not have appealed to. I’d like to make a basket big enough that it included them.”

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Joel Lovell’s article and interview is not just about George Saunders. It also provides insight into the current state of literature. The full article is well worth the read.

I felt comforted by Saunders’ commentary on literature:

“Fiction is a kind of compassion-generating machine that saves us from sloth. Is life kind or cruel? Yes, Literature answers. Are people good or bad? You bet, says Literature. But unlike other systems of knowing, Literature declines to eradicate one truth in favor of another; rather, it teaches us to abide with the fact that, in their own way, all things are true, and helps us, in the face of this terrifying knowledge, continually push ourselves in the direction of Open the Hell Up.” -George Saunders (from the October 2007 issue of O The Oprah Magazine)

George Saunders signs and reads at Lemuria on Wednesday, January 23 at 5:00 and 5:30. Tenth of December is our January First Editions Club pick.

Last year Lemuria participated in the first-ever U.S. World Book Night. We had a great turnout of individual givers and group givers and gave out a total of about 1,200 books to light or nonreaders in the Jackson metro area.

We’re ready to get to work again as a pick-up location for World Book Night 2013. But first here is one of my favorite World Book Night stories from Chris Cander, a writer and teacher who lives in Houston, Texas. This story was originally posted April 23, 2012 on Chris’s blog.

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Today is World Book Night 2012, and I am one of 25,000 “givers” who will personally distribute half a million free books today. As part of the campaign to change lives through literacy, volunteers will be sharing copies of their favorite books at VA hospitals, nursing homes, ball parks, mass transit, diners and other places where would-be readers are underserved. To give away twenty copies of PEACE LIKE A RIVER by Leif Enger, I chose the Covenant House, a shelter for homeless, throwaway and runaway teens.

It was one of the most beautiful experiences of my life.

I introduced myself to a staff member, and told her why I was there. “Do you think there are any residents here that would like to have a copy of this book?” I asked.

“I think so,” she said as she read the back cover. Then she looked up at me. “And you’re just giving them away?”

“For free, to anyone who wants one.”

In the adjacent lunchroom, two dozen or so teenagers—many of them scarred, tattooed, broken-looking—talked and ate in small groups. Rose announced me and my intentions, and the kids looked at me somewhat suspiciously. As I told them why I loved this incredible story of a young boy’s journey across the frozen Badlands of the Dakotas in search of his fugitive older brother, it occurred to me that I might not be able to give away any books at all.

Then one tall, thin boy raised his track-marked arm and said, “I’d like a copy.”

“You would?” I said, relieved. “What’s your name?”

“Donny. I never had my own book before.”

Oh.

“Me too. Can I have one?”

“And me.” They came one by one, and I pressed a brand-new copy into each of their hands. To a one, they thanked me with such sincerity I didn’t think I could bear it.

“Yes, please. I hope you enjoy reading it as much as I did,” I said, and this went on until I had only one copy left.

Then a heavy-set boy came up and said, “Can I have that last one?”

“Yes, of course.”

“My name is Voltaire,” he said. “Like the philosopher. Did you write this book?”

“I wish I had.”

“Can I show you my poem? I don’t know anybody I can show it to.” He unfolded a typewritten page from his back pocket. “My mom taught me a lot of vocabulary,” he said, “before she kicked me out.”

He bent down to my ear so that he could whisper it aloud, even though I could read along with him. It was filled with spelling mistakes and grammar errors and despair and pain and beauty and also hope, because he’s still alive. “This was going to be my suicide note. But I decided to make it into a poem instead.” I wish I could post it for you to read, but I promised him I would keep it private.

“Thank you for sharing it with me,” I said. “I hope when you feel that pain again in your life, you’ll keep trying to find the poem inside it. You’re a good writer. You should keep writing. And keep reading.”

“I will,” he said, folding the poem back along its worn creases. “Starting with this.” He pressed the cut edge of the book to his nose and took a deep breath and he said, “This smells so good.”

I looked around the room at these drug users and abuse victims—these beautiful souls with their own stories whose lives were changed by their circumstances. I told them that I would come back in a month, and we could have a discussion of the book. They were all so unexpectedly enthusiastic about the idea of a Covenant House book club, even though some of them will have moved on by then. By discovering the freedom and self-reliance and majesty and bravery within this book, perhaps these kids will be better able to find it within themselves.

World Book Night is about hoping that through an introduction to the love of reading, people can change their lives for the better. And I think that because of today and Voltaire and the other eager, grateful receivers of the books that I was able to share, that my life may be forever changed, too.

Written by Chris Cander, reposted with permission.

Learn more about Chris here.

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World Book Night is an annual celebration dedicated to spreading the love of reading, person to person.

Each year on April 23, tens of thousands of people go out into their communities and give half a million free World Book Night paperbacks to light and non-readers.  In 2012, World Book Night was celebrated in the U.S., the UK, Ireland, and Germany.

World Book Night is about giving books and encouraging reading in those who don’t regularly do so. But it is also about more than that: It’s about people, communities and connections, about reaching out to others and touching lives in the simplest of ways—through the sharing of stories.

World Book Night is a nonprofit organization. We exist because of the support of thousands of book givers, booksellers, librarians, and financial supporters who believe in our mission.  Successfully launched in the U.K. in 2011, World Book Night was first celebrated in the U.S. in 2012. Thank you to our U.K. friends for such a wonderful idea!

Learn more about World Book Night, keep updated on new developments, and apply to be a World Book Night U.S. book giver!

The DEADLINE to apply to be a giver is January 25!

Apply to be a book giver here.

See the 30 book titles selected for 2013.

We call ourselves the Cereus Readers in honor of Jackson writer Eudora Welty and her friends who gathered for the annual blooming of the night-blooming cereus flower and called themselves “The Night-Blooming Cereus Club.” In this same spirit of friendship and fellowship, this new book club is launched.

The goal of the Cereus Readers is to introduce readers to the writing of Eudora Welty–her short stories, essays, and novels–and then to read books and authors she enjoyed herself or were influenced by her.

As an introduction to the writer we will start with my biography of Eudora Welty, A Daring Life, and pair it with Eudora’s essay “A Sweet Devouring,” found in her collection of essays The Eye of the Story. We will then read her Pulitzer prize-winning novella The Optimist’s Daughter followed by her collection of short stories The Golden Apples.

After reading these works by Welty, we will read authors and works she herself enjoyed: Jane Austen, Virginia Woolf, E.M. Forster, Chekhov, and mysteries. Finally, we thought we would read authors who have acknowledged Welty as an influence and inspiration such as Ann Patchett, Anne Tyler, and Clyde Edgerton. It’s a bold undertaking, but we plan to be meeting for a while!

Here is the schedule for Cereus Readers:

Thursday, January 24: A Daring Life: A Biography of Eudora Welty & “A Sweet Devouring” from The Eye of the Story (led by Carolyn Brown)

Thursday, February 28: The Optimist’s Daughter (led by Jan Taylor)

Thursday, March 28: The Golden Apples, Part 1 (led by Lee Anne Bryan)

Thursday, April 25: The Golden Apples, Part 2 (led by Lee Anne Bryan)

Thursday, May 23:

Two short stories: “Where Is the Voice Coming from?” & “The Demonstrators”

An essay by Miss Welty: “Must the Novelist Crusade?”

Thursday, June 27:

We will be listening to a 1975 audio recording of Miss Welty reading selected short stories.

Thursday, July 25: The Ponder Heart

Thursday, August 22: The Robber Bridegroom

Thursday, September 26: Short Stories, “Asphodel” & “A Still Moment”

We meet at noon in the dot.com building adjacent to Banner Hall. Feel free to bring your lunch. All books are available at Lemuria, and be sure to ask for the “Cereus Reader” 10% discount when making your purchase for the book club. Please e-mail lisa if you plan on attending or if you have any questions: lisa at lemuriabooks dot com.

This is a reading group open to all level of readers–anyone interested in learning about Jackson’s most important writer. Eudora Welty considered Lemuria her bookstore, and we want to honor her by discussing her books and authors she loved–meeting in the store where she shopped and signed her books.

Carolyn

We’re a little tuckered out after the holidays but our brains are slowly starting to settle down for the new year. The first fun thing that comes to my mind is our event with George Saunders on January 23. I’ve been catching up by reading some of his short stories and essays. On the 23rd, Saunders will be signing and reading from his newest short story collection Tenth of December published by Random House. Check out some early commentary from David L. Ulin at the LA Times. Tenth of December is our January First Editions Club selection and goes on sale next Tuesday the 8th.

George Saunders is the author of the short story collections “Pastoralia,” “CivilWarLand in Bad Decline” (both New York Times Notable Books) and, most recently, “In Persuasion Nation.” “CivilWarLand in Bad Decline” was a Finalist for the PEN/Hemingway Award. “In Persuasion Nation” was one of three finalists for the 2006 STORY Prize for best short story collection of the year. Saunders is also the author of the novella-length illustrated fable, “The Brief and Frightening Reign of Phil” the New York Times bestselling children’s book, “The Very Persistent Gappers of Frip,” illustrated by Lane Smith, (which has won major children’s literature prizes in Italy and the Netherlands), and a book of essays, “The Braindead Megaphone.”

His work appears regularly in The New Yorker, GQ, and Harpers Magazine, and has appeared in the O’Henry, “Best American Short Story,” “Best Non-Required Reading,” and “Best American Travel Writing” anthologies. In support of his books, he has appeared on The Charlie Rose Show, Late Night with David Letterman, and The Colbert Report.

Writing for GQ, he has traveled to Africa with Bill Clinton, reported on Nepal ‘s “Buddha Boy” (who is said to have gone without food or water for months on end), driven the length of the Mexican border, spent a week in the theme hotels of Dubai, and lived incognito in a homeless tent city in Fresno, California .

In 2001, Saunders was selected by Entertainment Weekly as one of the 100 top most creative people in entertainment, and by The New Yorker in 2002 and one of the best writers 40 and under. In 2006, he was awarded both a Guggenheim Fellowship and a MacArthur Fellowship. In 2009 he received an Academy Award from the American Academy of Arts and Letters. He teaches in the Creative Writing Program at Syracuse University.

DIY devotees rejoice! Yvette Van Boven has published another cookbook highlighting wonderfully delicious (and deceptively simple) recipes for home made foods.

Home Made Winter perpetuates the quirky hand-drawn artwork, beautiful photographs and humor of Van Boven’s previous cook book Home Made but focuses on the winter months.

Home Made Winter includes chapters such as Breakfast, Brunch & Lunch and Cakes & Sweet Things for Tea Time, but I love how Van Boven also includes certain holidays and celebrations within these chapters.

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Here she highlights the celebration of Epiphany or Three Kings Day, which is probably more popular in Europe but fans of Mardi Gras King Cake can definitely relate to her recipe for Gallete des Rois, an almond creme-filled pastry in which a bean is hidden and the finder is declared king for the day!

A glance at some of the fun hand-drawn recipes that Van Boven includes throughout Home Made Winter: on the left, Frittata of Kale and Bacon; on the right, Mini Goat Cheese Fondue.

Don’t forget to keep  Home Made Summer on your radar, which will be published in May of 2013!

by Anna