***New Date for Nobody's Fool - Wednesday, June 29th***

Due to a conflict, I need to change the BBGG date for Nobody's Fool  to Wednesday, June 29th.  For those of you who have already committed, I hope you can still make it. We'll gladly refund the price of the ticket if you have a conflict (I hope you'll still enjoy the book.) Please reply to this email letting me know your plans either way so that I can confirm you've received this message.  For those of you who were on the fence, this notice provides a bonus week of reading time, so come sign up!  By the way, I'll be sure to bring something good for tasting due to this unexpected inconvenience!



I also wanted to let you know of an upcoming event that's just recently been added to the calendar.  Long-time Sports Illustrated writer and NPR commentator Frank Deford will be in the store on Thursday, June 16th to discuss his new book I'd Know That Voice Anywhere.  You can sign up in the store or on-line by following this link.


Lastly, Wellesley resident and NY Times best-selling author Ben Coes will be in the store on Thursday, June 30th to discuss his new novel, First Strike. I hope you can find some time to come in, meet these great authors and help support the Events Program at Wellesley Books.

Sellout Follow-up & Richard Russo on Deck

Wow! What a great evening and conversation for The Sellout on Wednesday night.  I admit to being a little nervous, given the subject and inflammatory style of the book, but I personally learned a lot during the discussion and really appreciate the differing views on the book and personal anecdotes, as well.


The next Book Group meeting is set for Wednesday June 22nd at 7pm.  We'll be reading Nobody's Fool,  Richard Russo's "slyly funny and moving novel follows the unexpected operation of grace in a deadbeat town in upstate New York and in the life of one of its unluckiest citizens, Sully, who has been doing the wrong thing triumphantly for fifty years."

I'm excited about this selection for a number of reasons.  It's a great story filled with memorable characters. As reported recently, this was the top rated book by the Man Book Club.  Richard Russo will be in our store this coming Wednesday (with Jennifer Haigh) to talk Everybody's Fool, written 20 years later but a follow up to this book.  The event is sold out, but you can order a personalized copy, if you are interested.  Lastly, Russo was recently named that ABA's Indie Champion, awarded annually the author who goes out all out to support independent bookstores. 

Hope you can be there!

Manly Book Clubs

Many of you wrote me about an article on all male book clubs that looks to be published in tomorrow's NY Times.  It's well worth a read and many comparison opportunities with other men's reading groups, including a Top 100 Books for Every Man list from the subtly titled International Ultra Manly Book Club.  The website and blog for the iUMBC are quite impressive, although it does look like they've only recently discovered The Sisters Brothers.

Men Have Book Clubs, Too www.nytimes.com An all-male book club in California has a rule: “No books by women about women.”

Overall, the article left me wondering if I would have right stuff to become a member.  For instance, The Man Book Club lists its lowest scoring book ever (yes Parker, other groups seem to have score keepers as well) as Oscar & Lucinda by Peter Carey - one of my favorite books by one of my favorite authors.  The only reason I haven't previously suggested it is its overwhelming length.  However, their highest scoring book is Nobody's Fool by Richard Russo which intrigues me enough to pick for our next book group meeting in mid-June.  Coincidentally, Richard Russo and Jennifer Haigh are in the store for an event on Wednesday, May 25th.  Russo will be discussing his new book, Everybody's Fool, an obvious follow up to the former title with the same characters and small town upstate New York location.  I understand the event is close to sold out, so come in soon if you are interested and want to get  your book signed.


Also, many of you had previously expressed an interest in attending an event with Nathaniel Philbrick, the National Book Award winning author of In the Heart of the Sea. Wellesley Books is hosting him on Saturday, May 14th at 4pm, at the Wellesley Community Center on Washington Street.  He will discuss his new book, Valient Ambition, an account of George Washington and Benedict Arnold during the middle years of the American Revolution. Again, I suggest you get your ticket early for this great event.

Hope you are all deeply engrossed in The Sellout, looking forward to seeing you all in a couple of weeks.

    

Tsar Follow Up - Sellout Preview

This is a slightly delayed follow up to the excellent Tsar of Love and Techno  discussion of a few weeks ago.  Thank you to all participants.  I loved the substance and structure of the conversation and will continue to look for ways to broaden the level of the conversation going forward.

 

As I hope you know by now, the next BBGG selecton is The Sellout by Paul Beatty and is scheduled for Wednesday, May 18th at 7pm.  The book is a modern day Huckleberry Finn, with biting, inflammatory social/racial satire that is one of the funniest books I've read in a long while.  The Sellout knocked Tsar out of The Morning News Tournament of Books and ended up going on to win the whole thing (always a great endorsement) and should provide the backbone for a great conversation.  I couldn't put the book down and ended up finishing it in a couple of days.  If you find yourself in a similar situation and are looking for some additional (and more serious) background reading, you should pick up Ta-Nehisi Coates' Between the World and Me, a recent winner of the National Book Award and one of our store's top sellers.

 

 

Alexander Hamilton did not make the list

Time magazine just released its annual list of the "100 Most Influential People in the World." Coates was among the handful of authors showcased: Bryan Stevenson wrote: "Many of us have known for years that Ta-Nehisi Coates is one of America's most compelling and thoughtful voices. His timely, provocative and well-researched writings about race and this nation's shameful history of inequality have been essential reading.... Between the World and Me is brilliantly structured, insightful and forcefully argued. He navigates the complexities and burdens of race in America compassed by a father's love for his son. But it's the soulful writing that makes the work a classic... He has much more to say, and we will all be the wiser for reading it."

Hope to see you all on the 18th.