Two literary events on tap for this weekend.
On Saturday, I will be at the Kentucky Book Fair in Frankfort. Last year I had a blast mingling with the authors and the readers in attendance. For the first time, Kentucky-native Sue Grafton will be there autographing her latest Kinsey Millhone mystery, W is for Wasted. Coincidentally, the book, which has been on my library request list for months, has just now become available for me.
Also in attendance will be Duffy Brown, whom I met last year and whose Savannah-based mysteries Iced Chiffon and Killer in Crinolines I have very much enjoyed.
The fair's website lists over 200 authors who will be present including poet, essayist, and novelist Wendell Berry, political reporter Eleanor Clift, and Bobbie Ann Mason.
My plan, which worked so well last year, is to study the program that is online and choose beforehand the authors I want to meet. The aisles get crowded and it is best to have a strategy so I don't miss anyone. A great day!
Here are links to my posts on last year's Book Fair: here and here.
On Sunday, the award-winning, independent documentary film "Out of Print", produced and directed by Vivienne Roumani, will be shown, for free, at a theater right in my neighborhood. It asks and debates the question Is the Book Really Dead? I am very much looking forward to seeing this. Here is how the film is described on its website:
Out of Print, narrated by Meryl Streep, draws us into the topsy-turvy world of words, illuminating the turbulent and exciting journey from the book through the digital revolution. Jeff Bezos (founder and CEO of Amazon.com), Ray Bradbury, Scott Turow, Jeffery Toobin, parents, students, educators, scientists - all highlight how this revolution is changing everything about the printed world - and changing us.
I am in the middle of trying to solve two mysteries - one concerning a murder that takes place in Savannah and involves wedding cake and another that takes place in Rome and involves many cups of espresso. Much fun...except, of course, for the dead bodies.
In Killer in Crinolines, Reagan Summerside is still trying to make a go of her consignment shop, the Prissy Fox, located in her Victorian house - the only asset she received in the messy divorce from her philandering husband. Along with her Beemer-driving Aunt KiKi, she is investigating the murder of Simon, the groom, whose body was found face-down in the wedding cake.
Turns out Simon was working his way up the money chain as far as women were concerned. He had finally reached the pinnacle with the very wealthy Waynetta Waverly when a knife in his back put an end to any hope of wedded bliss. There are enough suspects to fill a Savannah tourist trolley with the most likely one being Chantilly, Reagan's friend, and broken-hearted ex-fiance of the money-grubbing Simon.
This is not a book to read when you are hungry as the characters spend a lot of time eating donuts with sprinkles, pork chop sandwiches, peach pies, and other Southern fare...and, of course, the wedding cake with its butter cream icing.
Author Duffy Brown has a great time, in this her second in the series, writing Reagan in and out of scrapes and she has a flair for capturing the eccentricities of Southern life.
Across the Atlantic Ocean in Rome, visiting librarian Jacqueline Kirby has found herself involved with a group of art and archaeology students. When an unpopular hanger-on of the group ends up dead in the ruin beneath the ruin beneath a church, all sorts of nasty things start happening to Jean, the student who found the body.
Ms. Kirby is the creation of Elizabeth Peters and The Seventh Sinner is the first adventure featuring the middle-aged librarian with her caustic wit and no-nonsense attitude. The best part about this mystery introducing Ms. Kirby is just getting to know her and her odd little quirks. There are bits of Roman history and archaeological tidbits thrown in for good measure.
Oddly enough, both Reagan and Jacqueline carry huge purses. Reagan refers to hers as Old Yeller and it is a monstrous pleather thing she picked up at Target. Jacqueline hasn't named hers (to her credit) but in the first few chapters we find that she carries, among other things, smelling salts, a policeman's whistle, a man's large handkerchief, Band Aids and Mercurochrome, along with pens, postcards and a lipstick. She is ready for anything!
I have great hopes that both women will discover the identity of the respective killers on both sides of the Atlantic. Along with my help, of course.
I definitely need to get to the library today. I have two books on hold (why do they all seem to become available at the same time?) and the DVD of the HBO miniseries John Adams that is overdue and costing me the huge sum of twenty-five cents a day in fines!
The first book waiting for me is The Seventh Sinner by Elizabeth Peters, author of the Amelia Peabody series about the 19th century archaeologist and detective. In this new-to-me series, the amateur sleuth is Jacqueline Kirby, former librarian turned best-selling author. The action in this one takes place in twentieth century Rome.
The second book on hold is The Real Jane Austen: A Life in Small Things by Paula Byrne that I am looking forward to reading...this being the year of Our Jane and all.
I also have a copy of Killer in Crinolines by Duffy Brown that I picked up last week. I met Ms. Brown at the Kentucky Book Fair last November when I bought her pleasant mystery Iced Chiffon. This book continues the sleuthing adventures of Reagan Summerside in Savannah.
I'm off!
