Posts by Robin Wood | Books & Books

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Mark Your Calendars — October Newsletter, events & more

September 28, 2018

No red/orange leaves here, but summer is over and we are jumping into an exciting fall/winter season of bookstore events. Kick October off with the opening reception for the second annual art contest on Oct. 4, followed by Pulitzer Prize-winning author Jack E. Davis, discussing his book The Gulf: The Making of an American Sea on Friday, Oct. 5. Friday, Oct. 12, will feature an all-ages event, Newbery award-winning author Kwame Alexander and guitarist Randy Preston.

Also, join us in reading Friday Black, our new virtual book club pick. (Publishing Oct. 23, available for pre-order now.)

Debuting, Oct. 2, look for the new kids’ biography of Judy Blume, Who Is Judy Blume.

Get this month’s news in the newsletter, and bookmark our calendar page for updated information about all of the store’s upcoming events. We’ve already announced Susan Orlean in March and there’s much more to come.

First Thursday: Art Contest reception

September 27, 2018

by Robin Wood

Thursday, Oct. 4, 6pm at The Studios of Key West (next door to the bookstore), come see art inspired by a love of books. Artist of all ages, in any medium, were invited to show off their love of books for the Books & Books @ The Studios second annual summer art contest.

This month’s First Thursday open house event showcases of all the contest submissions. After the gallery show, the grand prize winner will continue to be displayed in the bookstore for the month of November.

Visit https://booksandbookskw.com/art-contest/ for more information.

Kwame Alexander, author of Swing

September 16, 2018

by Robin Wood

Friday, October 12 at 6pm, a reading, performance and book signing with Kwame Alexander, author of SWING. The event will also feature Randy Preston on guitar as Kwame gives one of his trademark performances from his brand new novel-in-verse, Swing.

Swing, written with co-author Mary Rand Hess, is a tale of best friends in their junior year of high school, who discover jazz, love, the unpredictable game of baseball, and a community mystery that has them facing some hard truths about social justice, all while finding their own sense of authentic cool.

This all-ages event is an opportunity to hear and meet the Newbery Medal-winning poet, author and educator Kwame Alexander. Kwame is the author of Solo, Rebound, The Crossover, The Playbook, as well as a number of other works.

Written in Kwame’s signature intricate, intimate style, Swing tells the story of 17-year-old high school junior Noah, who seeks to make the baseball team and win over the heart of Sam, a girl he’s loved since third grade.

“At some point in life, we all seek to discover our voice, who we are, and how to love,” said Kwame Alexander. “Swing follows the journey of two teen boys on the edge of adulthood who are in the midst of this struggle. This book is about love and acceptance—of self and others. And, this book is about embracing all facets of life and being present in those moments. When a reader finishes Swing, I hope they find a bit more self-acceptance and a willingness to open themselves up to others.”

Jack E. Davis, author of The Gulf: The Making of an American Sea

September 12, 2018

by Robin Wood

Friday, October 5th at 6pm, join us for a reading and discussion with Jack E. Davis, author of THE GULF: THE MAKING OF AN AMERICAN SEA.

Winner of the 2018 Pulitzer Prize for History
Winner of the 2017 Kirkus Prize for Nonfiction
A National Book Critics Circle Award for Nonfiction Finalist
A New York Times Notable Book of 2017
One of the Washington Post‘s Best Books of the Year

In this “cri de coeur about the Gulf’s environmental ruin” (New York Times), “Davis has written a beautiful homage to a neglected sea” (front page, New York Times Book Review).

Courtesy: University-of-Florida-Bernard-Brezinski

Hailed as a “nonfiction epic . . . in the tradition of Jared Diamond’s best-seller Collapse, and Simon Winchester’s Atlantic” (Dallas Morning News), Jack E. Davis’s The Gulf is “by turns informative, lyrical, inspiring and chilling for anyone who cares about the future of ‘America’s Sea’ ” (Wall Street Journal). Illuminating America’s political and economic relationship with the environment from the age of the conquistadors to the present, Davis demonstrates how the Gulf’s fruitful ecosystems and exceptional beauty empowered a growing nation. Filled with vivid, untold stories from the sportfish that launched Gulfside vacationing to Hollywood’s role in the country’s first offshore oil wells, this “vast and welltold story shows how we made the Gulf . . . [into] a ‘national sacrifice zone’ ” (Bill McKibben). The first and only study of its kind, The Gulf offers “a unique and illuminating history of the American Southern coast and sea as it should be written” (Edward O. Wilson).

ENDORSEMENTS & REVIEWS

“A sensitive and sturdy work of environmental history. . . . [Davis] has a well-stocked mind, and frequently views the history of the Gulf through the prism of artists and writers including Winslow Homer, Wallace Stevens, Ernest Hemingway and John D. MacDonald. His prose is supple and clear. . . . A cri de coeur about the Gulf’s environmental ruin.” — Dwight Garner, New York Times

“A wide-ranging, well-told story, by turns informative, lyrical, inspiring and chilling for anyone who cares about the future of ‘America’s Sea.’” — Gerard Helferich, Wall Street Journal

“Splendid . . . . Davis is a historian, and this book is packed with research, but The Gulf does not read like a textbook. He is a graceful, clear, often lyrical writer who makes sometimes surprising, always illuminating connections—it’s not a stretch to compare him to John McPhee. And he is telling an important story, especially for those of us who live around what he calls the American Sea. What happens to it happens to us, and the more we know, the better equipped we’ll be to deal with a future on its shores.” — Colette Bancroft, Tampa Bay Times

Our Current Virtual Bookclub Read — Little Failure by Gary Shteyngart

August 20, 2018

by Robin Wood

Hi all,

Hope you’re having a good summer. I’ve had some long flights in the last few months, allowing me to read a great group of new books.

But now it’s my pleasure to introduce you to our latest Books & Books at The Studios Virtual Bookclub pick for August/September — a book I could read over and over without ever tiring of it. Little Failure by Gary Shteyngart is a dazzling memoir of a boy who emigrates from the Soviet Union in 1979. It’s funny, tender, deeply affecting and has been a favorite book of mine since I first read it in 2014. When it came out in paperback I read it again. And now, I’ll get to read it with you. If you’ve read Gary’s novels you already know he’s an incredible writer. You’ve probably laughed aloud at his humor. And for those who don’t yet know him, this will be a real treat.

Becoming an American speaks to all of us today as we wait and wonder what will happen to the children separated from their families at our borders. Gary is lucky. He comes to America with his parents where they make a new home. But, oh, the hilarious details! No spoilers here but best of all, when you finish this book, you will feel you know him. And that’s a good thing because….

Gary has a new novel coming out in September, one I’ve already read and couldn’t put down. It’s called Lake Success. He’ll have you in stitches while you shake your head in disbelief, asking yourself, what is success anyway? Another funny, irreverent page turner, filled with characters you will love and hate, often at the same time. But more about that next time.

I know a lot of you are getting the kids ready to go back to school. It can be a stressful time, so we hope you’ll find a book like Little Failure a real pick-me-up at the end of the day. Maybe it will ease your worries about the kids, maybe even the world? Right now we all need that.

Thanks, as always,

************

How the B&BKW Virtual Book Club works

The Books & Books @ The Studios virtual book club is an opportunity for us to share reading experiences, even if we’re not all together in the same place.

Now through the end of September, purchase a paperback copy of Little Failure and get 20% off Lake Success. Online, put both books in your cart and use the code BC20. If you order now, we’ll send both books to you when Lake Success comes out September 4, or you can pick up in store. And, if that wasn’t quite enough, the first 10 purchasers of Lake Success will get a signed copy.

Read along with us and share your reactions on social media. Make a comment, share a picture, ask a question. Don’t forget to include the hashtag: #bbkwbookclub on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram. Follow us on social media and look for the #bbkwbookclub hashtag. Every week, we’ll post new book club content.

Buy Little Failure, Get 20% off Lake Success

August 20, 2018

by Robin Wood

If you’ve read any of Gary Shteyngart’s books, you know you can count on funny, but his new novel Lake Success is also being touted as a sharp reflection of our current times. A starred review in Kirkus calls it: “smart, relevant, fundamentally warm-hearted, hilarious of course.”

This month’s virtual book club pick is Shteyngart’s memoir Little Failure, but we’re also recommending Lake Success. Now through the end of September, purchase a paperback copy of Little Failure and get 20% off Lake Success. Online, put both books in your cart and use the code BC20. If you order now, we’ll send both books to you when Lake Success comes out September 4, or you can pick up in store. And, the first 10 purchasers of Lake Success will get a signed copy.

Read what Judy has to say about Little Failure in the newest edition of our newsletter.

A Q & A with Cork Dork Author, Bianca Bosker

August 20, 2018

by Robin Wood

Courtesy of: NapaFilms.net

We had a great time reading Cork Dork by Bianca Bosker. In addition to taking the time to answer some questions below and interacting with us on social media, Bianca was kind enough to work with us on custom book plates, available only at Books & Books at The Studios. You can still get one when you buy Cork Dork from us, online or in-store, while supplies last.

Did you always know you were going to write a book about your quest to pass the sommeliers’ test?

I have the disease that afflicts a lot of journalists, which is that I’m virtually incapable of doing anything without thinking that it could become a story. Vacation in a new place? Story. Dinner out? Story. And so when I first got fixated by the world of cork dorks, I thought there could maybe be a story there–but I had no inkling of all the places that journey would eventually take me.

What do you feel is the key thing you took away from your year-long journey of learning about wine tasting and the world of sommeliers?

Most of us pretty much ignore two of the five senses—taste and smell—that we’ve been given to take in the world. Sommeliers live for them. Through these somms, I’ve learned to embrace a new mindset: what I call “sensefulness,” the idea that it is by tuning into our senses that we can better make sense of the world. Even beyond the table, sharpening my senses means I can pick up on information and nuance that I never knew existed. Tuning in to them bestows us with new intelligence with which to make sense of our lives. While those revelations can begin with a glass of wine, they certainly don’t end there.

Which part of the research did you enjoy the most?

How could I possibly choose between dissecting cadaver brains with sensory scientists, guzzling Burgundy at the world’s most extravagant wine orgy, and getting hazed by aspiring Master Sommeliers? I had the time of my life, even if I was hungover for lots of it.

What advice would you give someone who is thinking about making a radical life change of the kind that this book chronicles?

Knowing very little can actually be an asset, as long as you’re open, curious, and fearless about asking questions. I found that coming into the world of wine without any preconceptions made me open to all kinds of information, even from unorthodox sources, that helped me progress faster than I otherwise might have.

Are you working on a new writing project? What’s next for you?

I am! I am just starting work on a new non-fiction book, while also contributing stories about wine and culture to outlets such as The Atlantic. I have a story on mass extinction coming out soon…

What’s on your nightstand? What are you reading and recommending currently?

Next to my nightstand is a tower of books as tall as my nightstand. I recently devoured Lauren Hilgers’ fabulous book Patriot Number One — a riveting and revealing story that doubles as one of the most fascinating portraits of New York City.

What are your favorite wine recommendations these days?

I’ve been going wild for the white wines of Sicily and Slovenia. They’re interesting, odd, soulful, and a bargain, and I just cant get enough of them.

~ Robin Wood, Associate Manager