If you missed Carolyn Brown’s reading and signing last month, don’t despair! We have it recorded for you:

Carolyn J. Brown reading from A Daring Life: A Biography of Eudora Welty at Lemuria Books from University Press of Mississippi on Vimeo.

Charlie Brenner kindly shared this humorous story with us.

Here is my true Welty story: Sometime in the late 80s or early 90s, I was enjoying some oysters alone at the Mayflower when Miss Welty came in with an attractive middle-aged lady friend who I had seen before but did not know. They sat in the booth next to me and began to talk. I continued eating my dinner until I had finished and they were finished ordering theirs. I greeted Miss Welty and her friend. I might have said something like, “I enjoy your literature like I enjoy oysters, Miss Welty” and she seemed very pleased.

I pointed to their pint bottle of bourbon and asked if they would mind pouring a swallow for me before I left. Miss Welty’s face frowned up immediately, but her friend said, “How much would you like?” as she picked up the bottle. I made a mark on the small water glass that would be barely a fourth of the glass and she smiled as she poured up that amount. I knocked it back, thanked them, and promptly left the scene. It was pure drama.

Written by Charlie Brenner

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If you have story about Miss Welty that you would like to share on our blog, please e-mail them to lisa@lemuriabooks.com.

Click here to learn about Carolyn Brown’s A Daring Life: A Biography of Eudora Welty

Click here to see all blogs in our Miss Welty series

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Some books do not need sequels; they are perfect as is. The author did a great job the first time around, and the reader needs no more from the author. Then there are other books that lend themselves perfectly to companion novels. I am not talking about things like the Warriors series, or any of these other incredibly long “stop, the first ten were enough” series.

No, the book series that I am thinking of have become as timeless as they are classic: Anne of Green Gables, Betsy-Tacy, and Pippi Longstocking to name a few. These series are more character driven, and it is these characters that are written so deftly by their authors that make us yearn to know more of their story. Whether the reader is a child discovering a character like Anne for the first time or an adult reminiscing about her childhood, these series resonate with us, remind us about the truth and beauty within ourselves, remind us of who we wanted to grow up.

Shannon Hale has given us another great character in Miri Larendaugher of Mount Eskel. We first meet Miri in The Princess Academy. She is a sparky daughter of a quarry worker who loves making people smile. Her opinions of the world are very black and white. She longs to help her family in the quarry, but her father forbids her from being in the mines. When the king’s decree comes and the Princess Academy is set up for all the girls from her village, Miri eyes are opened to world around her and the multitude of differing views and perspectives of others. She absorbs so much in the year and a half the first book covers and grows in many ways in this coming of age story.

What is amazing about Miri’s new story The Princess Academy: Palace of Stone, is that is is also a coming of age story. The first book focuses on Truth and Fairness, but it is Ethics that play a big role in the second novel. Hale weaves this tale in such a way that the reader begins to redefine her own views and discover new things about herself.

Thank you Shannon Hale for giving us another perfect book collection to add to the list of timeless books. If I had read these as a teenager, they would have changed my world. Then again, reading them as a twenty-something, they have affected me in a completely different, possibly more defining way. And it is this alone that make these feel classic to me. No matter what age the reader is when she reads about Miri, she will be touched and will glean something different. I love it!

Shannon Hale will be here Wednesday, August 29th at 4:00 (tomorrow!). I can’t wait to meet this fantastic storyteller.

Last summer, when my blog on The Keeper of Lost Causes posted, I was relaxing on the beach in Dauphin Island.  Unfortunately, there was no beach trip this summer but luckily a new Jussi Adler-Olsen was published!! The Absent One is the second book of the Department Q series, and I enjoyed it as much as the first!!  I will recommend reading them in order because I don’t think this is a series that you can just jump into the middle of, hence my display of  the paperback of Keeper on display right next to The Absent One.  Oh, did I mention that The Keeper of Lost Causes was my favorite mystery of 2011?

When Carl and Assad return to Department Q, the cold case division, they find that Rose has been assigned to work with them and a file about the murder of two siblings in 1987 is laying on his desk.  Both have totally confounded Carl, especially the case, since technically it has been solved, with the confessed murderer sitting in jail.  Why and how did this file land on his desk in Department Q?  The more Carl reads the file the more he sees things that just don’t add up.  During the original investigation, a group of boarding school students where under suspicion but there was not enough evidence to charge anyone.  Carl finds it very interesting that nine years later, Thogersen, the scholarship student of the group, confesses his guilt to both murders while Pram, Florin, Jensen, Wolf (deceased) and Lasson (missing), all silver spooners, are off the hook and go on to lead successful lives.  Unbeknownst to the higher ups, Carl, Asaad, and Rose start a new investigation and begin to get close to truth.  The remaining group of school mates realize that if they don’t find Kimmie Lasson before the folks in Department Q do then their lives will be forever changed.  What they don’t know is that Kimmie is aware they are looking for her and has plans of her own.

Y’all, it is going to be a long wait for next summer’s publication of the third book but I know whether I am on the beach or not I will be one happy reader!

“A river is like a narrative. You flow through country and there is a beginning and an end. When you come around a tight corner, anything could be there.” –Peter Heller

When Peter began Dog Stars, he began just with the first line: “I keep the Beast running, I keep the 100 low lead on tap, I foresee attacks.” He didn’t know what was going to happen next. He had no idea he was writing a post-apocalyptic novel.

We had a great time with Peter Heller last night.  If you weren’t able to come by, we have signed copies of Dog Stars at the store. We would love to talk to you about the book, so just come in and ask us some questions!

As you might have already read, we at Lemuria Books are overjoyed to announce that we will be hosting an extraordinary event on Thursday, August 23rd, at 4:00 pm: Peter Brown is coming! We are so excited to have the amazing illustrator of Creepy Carrots come to read and sign his newest, creepiest, carrotiest creation yet!

We plan on kicking off the festivities around 3:30 with some fun activities, including making a creepy carrot bookmark! We’ll then continue the fun with the reading around 4:00, with a signing to follow. We hope to see everyone there, tomorrow at 4!

This Thursday Lemuria will be going to Livingston Farmers Market with Carolyn Brown, author of A Daring Life: A Biography of Eudora Welty.

We will also be lucky to have Susan Haltom, author of the beautiful One Writer’s Garden. We’re so excited to be honoring Miss Welty at the Livingston Farmers Market.

They’ll both be signing their books. Come on out and join us for music, food, fresh produce and arts and crafts items!

Keep up with Livingston Farmers Market on Facebook.

July 1, 2012, will probably be known as the “clink” heard ’round Mississippi!  All across the state people where raising their pint glasses in appreciation to Raise Your Pints.  RYP is a grassroots organization whose mission is “to promote and enhance craft beer culture in Mississippi by working to lift the ban on high gravity beer; clarify the status of homebrewing as a legal, fun, and wholesome hobby; promote Mississippi’s beer, brewpub, and brewing industries and small businesses; and work to broaden the appreciation of craft beer for all Mississippians.”

Raise your Pints was successful with their lobbying the MS State Legislature in having Bill #2878 pass to increase the amount of alcohol in beer from 5% by weight to 8% by weight and now we are all anxiously awaiting the ‘new beer’ that is rolling into to town as I type this!  I find this to be very exciting!

One of my favorites is Abita Beer.  I basically love all their beers but especially the Amber.  One of my favorite cookbooks is the Abita Beer Cooking Louisiana True.  Louisiana chefs have been using Abita in their recipes for years and now you can also create at home wonderful dishes from Emeril’s, Commander’s Palace and Chefs Paul Prudhomme, Susan Spicer, John Folse and Abita beer lovers around the country.  Another great addition to this book is that you learn how beer is made, the history of brewing and how to pair food with Abita beer.

ABITA POT ROAST

CHAD OLIVARD-WYOMISSING, PENNSYLVANIA

6 SERVINGS           suggested pairings: TURBODOG, CHRISTMAS ALE OR AMBER  made with AMBER

INGREDIENTS

• 1 4lb boneless beef chuck roast
• Kosher salt, freshly ground black pepper and garlic powder, to taste
• 3 tablespoons vegetable oil
• 1 tablespoon all-purpose flour
• 1 onion, chopped
• 12 ounces fresh button mushrooms, sliced
• 4 to 5 garlic cloves, minced
• 1 (10.5 ounce) can condensed beef broth
• 1 (12 ounce) bottle Abita Amber

DIRECTIONS

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees.

Season the roast evenly with the salt, pepper and garlic powder. Heat the oil in a large, heavy pot (preferably cast iron) over medium heat.  Coat the roast evenly with the flour.  Brown the roast evenly on all sides.

Transfer the roast to a platter and set aside.  Pour off the excess oil from the pot, leaving about 1 tablespoon.  Add the onion, mushrooms and garlic; cook, stirring,  until the onions are soft, 3 to 4 minutes.  Return roast to pot.  Pour the beef broth and beer over roast.  Season with salt and pepper.  Bring the mixture to a boil.  cover pot and place in 350-degree oven.  Bake, basting occasionally, until the roast is tender, about 3 hours.

Remove the pot  from the oven.  Let meat rest for a few minutes before slicing it to serve with the pan gravy.