The Read: June 29-July, 5 2010

 

7pm, 163 Court Street

Two authors from Harper Collins visit BookCourt tonight to read from their latest novels. Marcy Dermansky will share an excerpt from her second book, Bad Marie, described by Booklist as a "wickedly nihilistic and suspenseful tale of erotic mayhem." The self-absorbed Marie is released from jail, only to find that she misses the ease of decisionless prison life. Her best friend hires her as a live-in nanny, and soon Marie is running away to Paris with her friend's child and husband. Emily Gray Tedrowe will read from her debut novel, Commuters. In this nuanced depiction of love and family drama, Winnie McClelland and the wealthy Jerry Trevis, both well into their 70s, fall in love, alarming their extended families.

 

7:30pm, 123 Columbia Street

As part of Freebird's Books Through Bars series, Megan Sweeney will read and discuss her new book, Reading Is My Window: Books and the Art of Reading in Women's Prisons. Based on individual interviews and group discussions with 94 incarcerated women, the book examines how female prisoners use the limited reading materials available to them to come to terms with their past and think about their future. The book is the first ever analysis of imprisoned women's reading practices.

 

 

7pm, 163 Court Street

For four years, author Nick Reding lived in the tiny town of Oelwein, Iowa, population 6,100. Like many small towns across America, Oelwein was left in the dust by the consolidation of agricultural industry, and the incredibly cheap, long-lasting, and highly addictive drug methamphetamine has gripped the town. Reding brings us  the perspectives of the characters involved in this contemporary tragedy: the town doctor who fights meth even as he struggles with his own alcoholism, the town prosecutor whose caseload is filled with meth-related crime, and a meth addict trying to kick the habit after two decades.

 

7pm, 10 Grand Army Plaza

Home brewing may be the latest craze for foodie Brooklynites, but bigger operations once dominated the borough's beer scene. At one point, Brooklyn was home to 48 breweries and produced 10 percent of the nation's beer. Tonight David Naczycz and Cindy VandenBosch of Urban Oyster visit the central library for an entertaining and informative look at how beer has played a pivotal role in our thirsty borough. The event starts at 7pm, but get there early for a reception of beer and cheese.

 

 

7:30pm, 686 Fulton Street

Set in the aftermath of an explosion of a fireworks factory (quite fitting for the Fourth of July, no?) in a small seaside town, The House on Salt Hay Road is filled with a deep sense of time and place. Carin Clevidence will read from her debut novel tonight at Greenlight, transporting you to rural Long Island in 1937.