BEGIN:VCALENDAR VERSION:2.0 PRODID:-//Main Street Reads - ECPv6.15.20//NONSGML v1.0//EN CALSCALE:GREGORIAN METHOD:PUBLISH X-ORIGINAL-URL:https://mainstreetreads.com X-WR-CALDESC:Events for Main Street Reads REFRESH-INTERVAL;VALUE=DURATION:PT1H X-Robots-Tag:noindex X-PUBLISHED-TTL:PT1H BEGIN:VTIMEZONE TZID:America/New_York BEGIN:DAYLIGHT TZOFFSETFROM:-0500 TZOFFSETTO:-0400 TZNAME:EDT DTSTART:20200308T070000 END:DAYLIGHT BEGIN:STANDARD TZOFFSETFROM:-0400 TZOFFSETTO:-0500 TZNAME:EST DTSTART:20201101T060000 END:STANDARD BEGIN:DAYLIGHT TZOFFSETFROM:-0500 TZOFFSETTO:-0400 TZNAME:EDT DTSTART:20210314T070000 END:DAYLIGHT BEGIN:STANDARD TZOFFSETFROM:-0400 TZOFFSETTO:-0500 TZNAME:EST DTSTART:20211107T060000 END:STANDARD BEGIN:DAYLIGHT TZOFFSETFROM:-0500 TZOFFSETTO:-0400 TZNAME:EDT DTSTART:20220313T070000 END:DAYLIGHT BEGIN:STANDARD TZOFFSETFROM:-0400 TZOFFSETTO:-0500 TZNAME:EST DTSTART:20221106T060000 END:STANDARD END:VTIMEZONE BEGIN:VEVENT DTSTART;TZID=America/New_York:20210831T153000 DTEND;TZID=America/New_York:20210831T173000 DTSTAMP:20260410T214131 CREATED:20210825T164103Z LAST-MODIFIED:20210825T202043Z UID:5123-1630423800-1630431000@mainstreetreads.com SUMMARY:Memoir & Mimosas: Celebrating National Memoir Day DESCRIPTION:Did you know that Tuesday\, August 31st\, is National Memoir Day? (Okay\, neither did we\, but it is\, and yeah\, that’s a thing!) \nTo celebrate\, we’re doing our very own Happy Hour – free mimosas and treats and the chance to meet local award-winning authors Kathryn Taylor\, who penned “Two Minus One” and Pattie Welek Hall\, author of “A Mother’s Dance.” \nCome on out and join us for some chit-chat and a memoir or two (all memoirs will be 10% off that day!) URL:https://mainstreetreads.com/event/memoir-mimosas-celebrating-national-memoir-day/ CATEGORIES:Book Discussion,Book Signing,Celebration ATTACH;FMTTYPE=image/png:https://mainstreetreads.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/08/memoirs-mimosa.png END:VEVENT BEGIN:VEVENT DTSTART;TZID=America/New_York:20210826T183000 DTEND;TZID=America/New_York:20210826T200000 DTSTAMP:20260410T214131 CREATED:20210715T061459Z LAST-MODIFIED:20210819T230037Z UID:5011-1630002600-1630008000@mainstreetreads.com SUMMARY:Pulpwood Queens Book Club August Pick: What's Not Said DESCRIPTION:Join us for an engaging discussion WITH the author\, Valerie Taylor\, of What’s Not Said\, AND get the first look at the next in her lineup – What’s Not True\, releasing just before the club meets! Treats will be served and all are welcome! The book is available at the book club 10% discount and signed bookplates are here at the store – PLUS every new attendee gets a FREE book club journal! \nPrefer to join in via Zoom? Here are the Zoom details (some will join in via Zoom\, some live at the store – your choice!): \nTopic: Pulpwood Queens: What’s Not Said with Valerie Taylor Time: Aug 26\, 2021 06:30 PM Eastern Time (US and Canada) Join Zoom Meeting\nhttps://us02web.zoom.us/j/87043665355?pwd=MW1WV08wMExsSTF6dWtLbDFmeURvQT09\nMeeting ID: 870 4366 5355 Passcode: 715842 \n“Taylor’s dialogue is snappy and contemporary . . . A witty and often amusing family drama.”–Kirkus Reviews \nKassie O’Callaghan’s meticulous plans to divorce her emotionally abusive husband\, Mike\, and move in with Chris\, a younger man she met five years ago on a solo vacation in Venice\, are disrupted when she finds out Mike has chronic kidney disease–something he’s concealed from her for years. Once again\, she postpones her path to freedom–at least\, until she pokes around his pajama drawer and discovers his illness is the least of his deceits. \nBut Kassie is no angel\, either. As she struggles to justify her own indiscretions\, the secret lives she and Mike have led collide head-on\, revealing a tangled web of sex\, lies\, and DNA. Still\, mindful of her vows\, Kassie commits to helping her husband find an organ donor. In the process\, she uncovers a life-changing secret. Problem is\, if she reveals it\, her own immorality will be exposed\, which means she has an impossible decision to make: Whose life will she save–her husband’s or her own? \nMeet The Author\nValerie Taylor was born and raised in Stamford\, Connecticut. She graduated twice from Sacred Heart University in CT with a B.S. Business Administration and an MBA. She climbed the proverbial ladder in her early years at Xerox and then helped launch Executive Development Associates\, a start-up executive education and coaching firm. There she dabbled in writing business communications and newsletters. \nHer writing career took off when she joined Optima Group\, and then later Clarion Brand Communications\, where she focused on branding and crafting dozens of retirement planning programs for banks\, mutual fund companies\, and insurance companies. Because of her reputation in this niche\, Russell Investments recruited her to join the firm in Washington State. During her ten-year tenure there\, Valerie led the firm’s defined contribution marketing efforts for both pre- and post-retirement investment programs. \nAfter a Rick Steves’ tour to Venice\, Florence\, and Rome\, Valerie retired and returned home to CT in 2016 where her children have grown up and settled. When she’s not writing\, reading\, practicing tai chi or cheering for the Boston Red Sox or the New England Patriots\, she’s sharing her wisdom and values with her granddaughter\, who’s growing up way too fast. \nHer debut novel\, What’s Not Said\, launched in September 2020. The sequel\, What’s Not True\, will be published on August 24\, 2021. \n  URL:https://mainstreetreads.com/event/pulpwood-queens-book-club-august-pick-whats-not-said/ LOCATION:Main Street Reads\, 115 S. Main St.\, Summerville\, SC\, 29483\, United States CATEGORIES:Book Club,Book Discussion ATTACH;FMTTYPE=image/png:https://mainstreetreads.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/07/pq-august.png ORGANIZER;CN="Main Street Reads":MAILTO:shari@writerswin.com END:VEVENT BEGIN:VEVENT DTSTART;TZID=America/New_York:20210822T150000 DTEND;TZID=America/New_York:20210822T163000 DTSTAMP:20260410T214131 CREATED:20210729T050029Z LAST-MODIFIED:20210729T050029Z UID:5067-1629644400-1629649800@mainstreetreads.com SUMMARY:Once Upon a Time I Lived on Mars: Virtual Event DESCRIPTION:Join in for this cool virtual Bookclub + Author Event for Once Upon a Time I Lived on Mars: Space\, Exploration\, and Life on Earth by Kate Greene\, produced by #ReadingWomenLeaders! \n#ReadingWomenLeaders is a bookclub series\, showcasing women leaders in every aspect of life. Prioritizing autobiographies to center the voices of the women themselves\, the club reads and learns about women in the areas of the arts\, politics\, nature\, sciences\, and sports\, among others. \nIndependent bookstores and readers from around the world are welcome to participate in this free series. Learn more HERE. \nRegister to Attend HERE\n\n\n\n\n\nKate Greene was the crew writer and second-in-command on the first simulated Mars mission for the NASA-funded HI-SEAS project. A poet\, essayist\, and former laser physicist\, her work has appeared in multiple publications and radio shows. She’s taught writing at Columbia University\, San Francisco State University\, and the Tennessee Prison for Women. She lives in New York City. \nKate will be joining the Reading Women Leaders Bookclub on August 22\, 2021 and you’re invited to meet the author! \n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\nAbout ONCE UPON A TIME I LIVED ON MARS\n\n\nWhen it comes to Mars\, the focus is often on how to get there: the rockets\, the engines\, the fuel. But upon arrival\, what will it actually be like? \nIn 2013\, Kate Greene moved to Mars. That is\, along with five fellow crew members\, she embarked on NASA’s first HI-SEAS mission\, a simulated Martian environment located on the slopes of Mauna Loa in Hawai’i. For four months she lived\, worked\, and slept in an isolated geodesic dome\, conducting a sleep study on her crew mates and gaining incredible insight into human behavior in tight quarters\, as well as the nature of boredom\, dreams\, and isolation that arise amidst the promise of scientific progress and glory. \nIn Once Upon a Time I Lived on Mars\, Greene draws on her experience to contemplate humanity’s broader impulse to explore. The result is a twined story of space and life\, of the standard\, able-bodied astronaut and Greene’s brother’s disability\, of the lag time of interplanetary correspondences and the challenges of a long-distance marriage\, of freeze-dried egg powder and fresh pineapple\, of departure and return. \nBy asking what kind of wisdom humanity might take to Mars and elsewhere in the Universe\, Greene has written a remarkable\, wide-ranging examination of our time in space right now\, as a pre-Mars species\, poised on the edge\, readying for launch. URL:https://mainstreetreads.com/event/once-upon-a-time-i-lived-on-mars-virtual-event/ CATEGORIES:Book Club,Book Discussion,Virtual Author Event ATTACH;FMTTYPE=image/png:https://mainstreetreads.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/07/once-upon-a-time-i-lived-on-mars.png END:VEVENT BEGIN:VEVENT DTSTART;TZID=America/New_York:20210821T100000 DTEND;TZID=America/New_York:20210821T180000 DTSTAMP:20260410T214131 CREATED:20210725T035525Z LAST-MODIFIED:20210819T235659Z UID:5047-1629540000-1629568800@mainstreetreads.com SUMMARY:Bookstore Romance Day DESCRIPTION:August 21st is the third annual Bookstore Romance Day and we’ll be celebrating here with some spicy treats and hot romance authors! \nHeadlining the event at Main Street Reads will be Dorothy McFalls with two stellar romance novels: The Marriage List and The Nude – don’t miss this special signing from 2-4 pm Saturday! \n  \nOfficial Bookstore Romance Day Ambassador(s):\nKit Rocha: Deal with the Devil URL:https://mainstreetreads.com/event/bookstore-romance-day-2/ LOCATION:Main Street Reads\, 115 S. Main St.\, Summerville\, SC\, 29483\, United States CATEGORIES:Book Discussion,Book Signing,Celebration ATTACH;FMTTYPE=image/png:https://mainstreetreads.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/07/logo.png ORGANIZER;CN="Main Street Reads":MAILTO:shari@writerswin.com END:VEVENT BEGIN:VEVENT DTSTART;TZID=America/New_York:20210817T183000 DTEND;TZID=America/New_York:20210817T200000 DTSTAMP:20260410T214131 CREATED:20210715T063843Z LAST-MODIFIED:20210815T051924Z UID:5016-1629225000-1629230400@mainstreetreads.com SUMMARY:Living Large Book Club August Pick: All the Little Hopes DESCRIPTION:Our big book for August will be All the Little Hopes\, releasing July 27th from SourceBooks\, penned by Leah Weiss\, author of the fabulous If The Creek Don’t Rise! Leah will join us via Zoom for the live book discussion at Main Street Reads and we’ll make BOTH her great books available at the 10% off book club discount at the store. Refreshments will be served. Join us for this wonderful evening – all are welcome!! \nPrefer to join by Zoom? The link is https://us02web.zoom.us/j/89525681604?pwd=MWp4bTBveHZZNFhTRkw5QUprZnRpdz09\nMeeting ID: 895 2568 1604 Passcode: 494161 \nA Southern story of friendship forged by books and bees\, when the timeless troubles of growing up meet the murky shadows of World War II. \nDeep in the tobacco land of North Carolina\, nothing’s been the same since the boys shipped off to war and worry took their place. Thirteen-year-old Lucy Brown is precocious and itching for adventure. Then Allie Bert Tucker wanders into town\, an outcast with a puzzling past\, and Lucy figures the two of them can solve any curious crime they find–just like her hero\, Nancy Drew. \nTheir chance comes when a man goes missing\, a woman stops speaking\, and an eccentric gives the girls a mystery to solve that takes them beyond the ordinary. Their quiet town\, seasoned with honeybees and sweet tea\, becomes home to a Nazi prisoner-of-war camp. More men go missing. And together\, the girls embark on a journey to discover if we ever really know who the enemy is. \nLush with Southern atmosphere\, All The Little Hopes is the story of two girls growing up as war creeps closer\, blurring the difference between what’s right\, what’s wrong\, and what we know to be true. \nLEAH WEISS is a Southern writer born in North Carolina and raised in the foothills of Virginia. Her debut novel If the Creek Don’t Rise was released in August of 2017. Her short stories have been published in The Simple Life magazine\, Every Day Fiction and Deep South Magazine. You can contact her on her website leahweiss.com. URL:https://mainstreetreads.com/event/living-large-book-club-august-pick-all-the-little-hopes/ LOCATION:Main Street Reads\, 115 S. Main St.\, Summerville\, SC\, 29483\, United States CATEGORIES:Book Club,Book Discussion ATTACH;FMTTYPE=image/png:https://mainstreetreads.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/07/Living-Large-August.png ORGANIZER;CN="Main Street Reads":MAILTO:shari@writerswin.com END:VEVENT BEGIN:VEVENT DTSTART;TZID=America/New_York:20210812T183000 DTEND;TZID=America/New_York:20210812T200000 DTSTAMP:20260410T214131 CREATED:20210715T055751Z LAST-MODIFIED:20210715T055751Z UID:5007-1628793000-1628798400@mainstreetreads.com SUMMARY:Thriller Book Club August Pick: Eight Perfect Murders! DESCRIPTION:Reader votes are in and our Thrill in the ‘Ville club is reading Eight Perfect Murders for August\, a thriller by Peter Swanson. \nWe’ll be serving refreshments and will have a unique gift for new club members! \nA Kirkus Best Fiction Book of the year \n“Swanson rips us from one startling plot twist to the next… A true tour de force.” –Lisa Gardner\n \nFiendish good fun. –Anthony Horowitz \nFrom the hugely talented author of Before She Knew Him comes a chilling tale of psychological suspense and an homage to the thriller genre tailor-made for fans: the story of a bookseller who finds himself at the center of an FBI investigation because a very clever killer has started using his list of fiction’s most ingenious murders. \nYears ago\, bookseller and mystery aficionado Malcolm Kershaw compiled a list of the genre’s most unsolvable murders\, those that are almost impossible to crack–which he titled “Eight Perfect Murders”–chosen from among the best of the best including Agatha Christie’s A. B. C. Murders\, Patricia Highsmith’s Strangers on a Train\, Ira Levin’s Deathtrap\, A. A. Milne’s The Red House Mystery\, Anthony Berkeley Cox’s Malice Aforethought\, James M. Cain’s Double Indemnity\, John D. MacDonald’s The Drowner\, and Donna Tartt’s The Secret History. \nBut no one is more surprised than Mal\, now the owner of the Old Devils Bookstore in Boston\, when an FBI agent comes knocking on his door one snowy day in February. She’s looking for information about a series of unsolved murders that look eerily similar to the killings on Mal’s old list. And the FBI agent isn’t the only one interested in this bookseller who spends almost every night at home reading. The killer is out there\, watching his every move–a diabolical threat who knows way too much about Mal’s personal history\, especially the secrets he’s never told anyone\, even his recently deceased wife. \nTo protect himself\, Mal begins looking into possible suspects . . . and sees a killer in everyone around him. But Mal doesn’t count on the investigation leaving a trail of death in its wake. Suddenly\, a series of shocking twists leaves more victims dead–and the noose around Mal’s neck grows so tight he might never escape. \n  URL:https://mainstreetreads.com/event/thriller-book-club-august-pick-eight-perfect-murders/ LOCATION:Main Street Reads\, 115 S. Main St.\, Summerville\, SC\, 29483\, United States CATEGORIES:Book Club,Book Discussion ATTACH;FMTTYPE=image/png:https://mainstreetreads.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/07/thriller-club-aug.png ORGANIZER;CN="Main Street Reads":MAILTO:shari@writerswin.com END:VEVENT BEGIN:VEVENT DTSTART;TZID=America/New_York:20210801T140000 DTEND;TZID=America/New_York:20210801T160000 DTSTAMP:20260410T214131 CREATED:20210701T145424Z LAST-MODIFIED:20210728T155906Z UID:5057-1627826400-1627833600@mainstreetreads.com SUMMARY:Mystery and Mimosas Anyone? DESCRIPTION:How ’bout sparking up the start of August with some cozy mysteries and a mimosa? (Or just the OJ or just the bubbly if you prefer!) Mystery authors Linda Lovely and Dorothy St. James will BOTH be with us on Sunday\, August 1st at 2 pm to debut their newest books and bring on the dog days of Summerville summer: \nMANAGING AN HOA CAN BE MURDER: Murder victims in separate Lowcountry homeowner associations appear to have had only two things in common—they antagonized neighbors and their dead bodies were posed to shock. Are HOA feuds provoking these murders? Kylee Kane\, a retired Coast Guard investigator\, agrees to help her friend’s HOA management company find the answer. After uncovering decades-old links between the murder victims\, Kylee IDs the killer’s next target. Can she foil the third act in the killer’s death-as-theater game or will she be the next corpse on display? \nLinda Lovely has spent most of her career working in PR and advertising—an early introduction to penning fiction. With Neighbors Like These is Lovely’s ninth mystery/suspense novel. Whether she’s writing cozy mysteries\, historical suspense or contemporary thrillers\, her novels share one common element—smart\, independent heroines. Humor and romance also sneak into every manuscript. Her work has earned nominations for a number of prestigious awards\, ranging from RWA’s Golden Heart for Romantic Suspense to Killer Nashville’s Silver Falchion for Best Cozy Mystery. \nLinda lives on a lake in Upstate South Carolina with her husband\, and enjoys swimming\, tennis\, gardening\, long walks\, and\, of course\, reading To learn more\, visit www.lindalovely.com \nAnd of course many of you know Dorothy St. James\, who’s had not one but TWO wonderful signings at Main Street Reads in the past\, including headlining the town’s Friday night Dessert Walk in 2019! Her newest entry (love this cover!) is The Broken Spine: When small-town assistant librarian Tru Beckett sets up a secret book room in her newly modernized library\, she discovers that protecting the printed word is harder than she’d ever imagined. In fact\, it’s murder. \nWe’ll have plenty of copies of her popular Chocolate Shop mysteries on hand as well! \nDorothy St. James is the alter-ego of award-winning multi-published author\, Dorothy McFalls. She enjoys writing in several different genres. Her works have been nominated for many awards including: Romantic Times Reviewers’ Choice Award\, Reviewers International Organization Award\, National Reader’s Choice Award\, CataRomance Reviewers’ Choice Award\, and The Romance Reviews Today Perfect 10! Award. Reviewers have called her work: “amazing”\, “perfect”\, “filled with emotion”\, and “lined with danger.” URL:https://mainstreetreads.com/event/mystery-and-mimosas-anyone/ LOCATION:Main Street Reads\, 115 S. Main St.\, Summerville\, SC\, 29483\, United States CATEGORIES:Book Discussion,Book Signing,Celebration ATTACH;FMTTYPE=image/png:https://mainstreetreads.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/07/mysteries-and-mimosas.png ORGANIZER;CN="Main Street Reads":MAILTO:shari@writerswin.com END:VEVENT BEGIN:VEVENT DTSTART;TZID=America/New_York:20210720T183000 DTEND;TZID=America/New_York:20210720T200000 DTSTAMP:20260410T214131 CREATED:20210627T054126Z LAST-MODIFIED:20210715T225525Z UID:4942-1626805800-1626811200@mainstreetreads.com SUMMARY:Living Large Bookclub: Trouble the Water by Rebecca Dwight Bruff DESCRIPTION:Join us for an engaging discussion surrounding the American Fiction award-winning Trouble the Water. \nNOTE: The author WILL join us via Zoom – participants can join in LIVE at the store or via the Zoom link here: https://us02web.zoom.us/j/87099370876?pwd=M1NCUmlsbUY0a0xqL3RaOUZGTTEwUT09 Meeting ID: 870 9937 0876 Passcode: 856794 \n\nDeeply moving and illuminating\, TROUBLE THE WATER reveals the little-known real-life story of Robert Smalls. Born enslaved before the Civil War\, Smalls witnesses great privilege and immense suffering alongside his owner’s daughter and the dangerous son of a firebrand secessionist. \nAt the age of twelve\, he’s sent to work in Charleston\, where he loads ships and learns to pilot a cotton steamer. When the war erupts and his cotton steamer becomes a confederate warship\, Robert attempts a harrowing escape to freedom for himself and the people he loves. \n\n\n“With this stunning debut novel\, Rebecca Bruff establishes herself as an exciting new voice in historical fiction.” – Cassandra King Conroy \n\nRebecca Bruff heard the story of Robert Smalls on her first visit to South Carolina. She was so captivated that she left her job and moved across the country to research and write this novel. Bruff earned her Bachelors degree in education (Texas A&M) and Master and Doctorate degrees in theology (Southern Methodist University). In 2017\, she was a scholarship recipient for the prestigious Key West Literary Seminar. She volunteers at the Pat Conroy Literary Center in Beaufort\, South Carolina. She’s published non-fiction\, plays a little tennis\, travels when she can\, and loves life in the lowcountry with her husband and an exuberant golden retriever. Learn more at rebeccabruff.com URL:https://mainstreetreads.com/event/living-large-bookclub-trouble-the-water-by-rebecca-dwight-bruff/ LOCATION:Main Street Reads\, 115 S. Main St.\, Summerville\, SC\, 29483\, United States CATEGORIES:Book Club,Book Discussion ATTACH;FMTTYPE=image/png:https://mainstreetreads.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/06/Screen-Shot-2021-06-27-at-1.39.28-AM-1.png ORGANIZER;CN="Main Street Reads":MAILTO:shari@writerswin.com END:VEVENT BEGIN:VEVENT DTSTART;TZID=America/New_York:20210715T173000 DTEND;TZID=America/New_York:20210715T203000 DTSTAMP:20260410T214131 CREATED:20210704T051849Z LAST-MODIFIED:20210708T034759Z UID:4961-1626370200-1626381000@mainstreetreads.com SUMMARY:Third Thursday: Christmas in July! DESCRIPTION:Join us for a special Third Thursday this month with a “Christmas in July” theme – we’ll have a very special local author joining us that evening\, Cindy Barrineau Curtis\, author of the recently released Living the Heart of God. \nAbout the Book: When you feel like your life is lacking something vital\, pick up this book. When you can’t see a clear direction\, let this book be your guide. When the guilt and shame of your mistakes seem to follow you wherever you go\, read this book for a better perspective. When your hope has diminished and you feel as if you are accepting that your life is as good as gets\, give this book a chance to change your mind. How do you talk to God? How do you know that our prayers are heard? How do you live your life abundantly? In Living the Heart of God\, you will explore the beauty of prayer with fresh eyes. You will be provided with what you need for self-reflection. You are offered ways to practice how to increase your quality of life through spending time with God. \nCindy Barrineau Curtis is the author of three Heart of God books includling Touching the Heart of God is a collection of poems\, scripture references\, and prayers for times of joy and sorrow and everything in between. This devotional book includes material that can be used as a small group study. \nAs always\, local guitarist\, singer and songwriter Michael Kaltofen will be playing live at Main Street Reads to set the mood for our festive evening… See you there! URL:https://mainstreetreads.com/event/third-thursday-christmas-in-july/ LOCATION:Main Street Reads\, 115 S. Main St.\, Summerville\, SC\, 29483\, United States CATEGORIES:Book Discussion,Book Signing,Celebration,Third Thursday ATTACH;FMTTYPE=image/png:https://mainstreetreads.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/07/cindy-lhog-1.png ORGANIZER;CN="Main Street Reads":MAILTO:shari@writerswin.com END:VEVENT BEGIN:VEVENT DTSTART;TZID=America/New_York:20210710T103000 DTEND;TZID=America/New_York:20210710T120000 DTSTAMP:20260410T214131 CREATED:20210627T051554Z LAST-MODIFIED:20210627T051653Z UID:4930-1625913000-1625918400@mainstreetreads.com SUMMARY:Booksigning: Janet Lee Berg DESCRIPTION:Join us for an entertaining chat and book signing with Janet Lee Berg\, author of the new release Restitution. Janet’s work has been featured in numerous newspapers and magazines on Long Island\, NY\, and the Post & Courier in Charleston. Her debut novel\, Rembrandt’s Shadow\, received a glowing critique in Historical Novels Review magazine\, and she published a children’s picture book called Kitti\, the Cargo Ship to inspire empathy and kindness. \n“Illuminating . . . ” -Lynn H. Nicholas\, world’s leading researcher on Art pilfered during WWII and author of The Rape Of Europa \nSylvie Rosenberg was once the aristocratic daughter of a prominent Dutch art dealer until the Nazi invasion of Holland changed everything. Forced to part with his astonishing collection of masterpieces\, her father managed to trade a Rembrandt for the lives of twenty-five family members\, including Sylvie. \nMany years later\, in America\, Sylvie is on a path of self-destruction\, still equating love with all the “things” that were taken away from her. Pocketing small items at first\, eventually her hopelessness leads to a monumental betrayal\, dismantling the lives of her son\, Michael\, a writer and Vietnam vet still struggling with the consequences of war\, and his schoolteacher wife\, Angela\, as they struggle to fill their own void after failed attempts to conceive a child. \nDesperate to win back their love\, Sylvie returns to her homeland to face old ghosts and the Dutch judicial system\, seeking the restitution of her family’s masterpieces. But the battle proves far more difficult than she imagined… \n  URL:https://mainstreetreads.com/event/booksigning-janet-lee-berg/ LOCATION:Main Street Reads\, 115 S. Main St.\, Summerville\, SC\, 29483\, United States CATEGORIES:Book Discussion,Book Signing ATTACH;FMTTYPE=image/png:https://mainstreetreads.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/06/Berg-booksiging.png ORGANIZER;CN="Main Street Reads":MAILTO:shari@writerswin.com END:VEVENT BEGIN:VEVENT DTSTART;TZID=America/New_York:20210708T173000 DTEND;TZID=America/New_York:20210708T200000 DTSTAMP:20260410T214131 CREATED:20210627T052958Z LAST-MODIFIED:20210627T053206Z UID:4937-1625765400-1625774400@mainstreetreads.com SUMMARY:Thriller Book Club: Survive the Night DESCRIPTION:Our Thrill in the ‘Ville thriller book club is BACK! Join us for a thrilling discussion of this brilliant new release\, Survive the Night – releasing this Tuesday from NYT bestselling author Riley Sager! The book is available at the 10% off book club price at Main Street Reads! \nOne of New York Times Book Review‘s summer reads guaranteed to make your heart thump and your skin crawl; An Amazon Best of the Month Pick; Named a must-read summer book by The Washington Post\, Vulture\, BuzzFeed\, Forbes\, Entertainment Weekly\, CNN\, New York Post\, Good Housekeeping\, E!\, PopSugar\, CrimeReads\, Thrillist\, and BookRiot. \nIt’s November 1991. Nirvana’s in the tape deck\, George H. W. Bush is in the White House\, and movie-obsessed college student Charlie Jordan is in a car with a man who might be a serial killer. \nJosh Baxter\, the man behind the wheel\, is a virtual stranger to Charlie. They met at the campus ride board\, each looking to share the long drive home to Ohio. Both have good reasons for wanting to get away. For Charlie\, it’s guilt and grief over the shocking murder of her best friend\, who became the third victim of the man known as the Campus Killer. For Josh\, it’s to help care for his sick father–or so he says. \nThe longer she sits in the passenger seat\, the more Charlie notices there’s something suspicious about Josh\, from the holes in his story about his father to how he doesn’t want her to see inside the trunk. As they travel an empty\, twisty highway in the dead of night\, an increasingly anxious Charlie begins to think she’s sharing a car with the Campus Killer. Is Josh truly dangerous? Or is Charlie’s jittery mistrust merely a figment of her movie-fueled imagination? \nOne thing is certain–Charlie has nowhere to run and no way to call for help. Trapped in a terrifying game of cat and mouse played out on pitch-black roads and in neon-lit parking lots\, Charlie knows the only way to win is to survive the night. URL:https://mainstreetreads.com/event/thriller-book-club-survive-the-night/ LOCATION:Main Street Reads\, 115 S. Main St.\, Summerville\, SC\, 29483\, United States CATEGORIES:Book Club,Book Discussion ATTACH;FMTTYPE=image/png:https://mainstreetreads.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/06/thriller-book-club.png ORGANIZER;CN="Main Street Reads":MAILTO:shari@writerswin.com END:VEVENT BEGIN:VEVENT DTSTART;TZID=America/New_York:20210629T190000 DTEND;TZID=America/New_York:20210629T200000 DTSTAMP:20260410T214131 CREATED:20210614T045655Z LAST-MODIFIED:20210629T045130Z UID:4907-1624993200-1624996800@mainstreetreads.com SUMMARY:Reader Meet Writer: Nowhere Girl with Cheryl Diamond (Virtual) DESCRIPTION:Excited to participate in this stellar Reader Meet Writer event about a book we’re all loving: NOWHERE GIRL. CONTACT US for information on how to join in that night – you won’t want to miss it!\n \nAn absolutely breathless read. Nowhere Girl is a courageous\, heart-breaking\, and beautifully written story of a girl doing everything in her power to protect the ones she loves.”\n—Paul Haggis\, Academy Award-winning writer/director of Crash\, Million Dollar Baby\, and Casino Royale \n“By the age of nine\, I will have lived in more than a dozen countries\, on five continents\, under six assumed identities. I’ll know how a document is forged\, how to withstand an interrogation\, and most important\, how to disappear…” \nWild\, heart-wrenching\, and unexpectedly funny\, Nowhere Girl is an inspiring coming-of-age memoir about running for freedom against the odds. \nTo the young Cheryl Diamond\, life felt like one big adventure\, whether she was hurtling down the Himalayas in a rickety car or mingling with underworld fixers. Her family appeared to be an unbreakable gang of five. One day they were in Australia\, the next South Africa\, the pattern repeating as they crossed continents\, changed identities\, and erased their pasts. What Diamond didn’t yet know was that she was born into a family of outlaws fleeing from the highest international law enforcement agencies\, a family with secrets that would eventually catch up to all of them. \nBy the time she was in her teens\, Diamond had lived dozens of lives and lies\, but as she grew\, love and trust turned to fear and violence\, and her family—the only people she had in the world—began to unravel. She started to realize that her life itself might be a big con\, and the people she loved\, the most dangerous of all. With no way out and her identity burned so often that she had no proof she even existed\, all that was left was a girl from nowhere. \nSurviving would require her to escape\, and to do so Diamond would have to unlearn all the rules she grew up with. Like The Glass Castle meets Catch Me If You Can\, Nowhere Girl is an impossible-to-believe true story of self-discovery and triumph. \nCONTACT US for information on how to join the event or head here to register! \nCheryl Diamond is now a citizen of Luxembourg and lives between there and Rome. Her behind-the-scenes account of life as a teenage model\, Model: A Memoir\, was published in 2008. Diamond´s second book\, Naked Rome\, reveals the Eternal City through the eyes of its most fascinating people. URL:https://mainstreetreads.com/event/reader-meet-writer-nowhere-girl-with-cheryl-diamond-virtual/ LOCATION:Main Street Reads\, 115 S. Main St.\, Summerville\, SC\, 29483\, United States CATEGORIES:Book Discussion,Reader Meet Writer,Reading ATTACH;FMTTYPE=image/png:https://mainstreetreads.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/06/NOWHERE-GIRL.png END:VEVENT BEGIN:VEVENT DTSTART;TZID=America/New_York:20210626T093000 DTEND;TZID=America/New_York:20210626T123000 DTSTAMP:20260410T214131 CREATED:20210523T140433Z LAST-MODIFIED:20210611T042434Z UID:4801-1624699800-1624710600@mainstreetreads.com SUMMARY:Mary Alice Monroe and Angela May: Summer Reading Spectacular! DESCRIPTION:Join us Saturday\, June 26th for an amazing event featuring authors Mary Alice Monroe and Angela May\, debuting their middle-grade novel\, The Islanders\, available for pre-order now at Main Street Reads! \nTeachers\, students\, librarians and reading groups can also access a curriculum guide HERE. \nThe morning will feature an intro to these wonderful authors as well as free treats\, AND an open mic for middle graders to share their own writing! If you’re a middle school student who wants on stage that day\, drop us an email at mainstreetreads@gmail.com to get on the list\, or have your teacher put you on the list! Open mic readers will be given up to five minutes to read their essay\, poem or short story\, staying on key themes from The Islander: friendship\, inclusion and conservation. Students selected to read will also receive a gift from the authors! \nCo-written with first-time author and friend Angela May\, The Islanders introduces Monroe’s trademark passion for the environment to a new generation of readers as they follow eleven-year-old Jake and the summer he’s forced to spend on tiny Dewees Island with his grandmother. \nEverything in his life is turned upside down: Jake does not know anyone\, the island is a nature sanctuary with no cars or paved roads\, no stores or restaurants\, and to make matters worse\, Jake’s grandmother doesn’t believe in cable or the internet. When Jake meets new friends Macon and Lovie\, the three embark on island adventures until one mistake changes everything. Ultimately\, Jake discovers a deep love for the island and the healing power of nature. \nMary Alice Monroe has always been captivated by the beauty and fragility of the wild habitat around her. In particular\, the coastal southern landscape became a strong and important focus in many of her novels. She is the New York Times bestselling author of 27 books\, including the Beach House series: The Beach House\, Beach House Memories\, Swimming Lessons\, Beach House for Rent\, and Beach House Reunion\, On Ocean Boulevard\, and her latest book in the series The Summer of Lost and Found which will also be available for purchase/signing that day. Monroe’s debut middle-grade fiction series\, The Islanders\, releases June 15\, 2021. \nHer bestselling novel The Beach House is also a Hallmark Hall of Fame movie\, starring Andie McDowell\, Minka Kelly\, and Chad Michael Murray. \nMonroe is also an active conservationist and supports numerous conservation-focused organizations. Her work includes serving as a board member emeritus for the South Carolina Aquarium and a state-certified member of the Island Turtle Team. She lives on in Isle of Palms\, South Carolina\, which is a source of inspiration for many of her books. \nAngela May is the founder of May Media and PR and a former award-winning television news journalist who helps promote great books and share important community stories as a media specialist. She has been working with Mary Alice Monroe for more than a decade. The Islanders is their first book together! Angela’s husband is a middle school assistant principal. They have two children and live in Mount Pleasant\, South Carolina. \nAlso Appearing: Local Favorite Jewel Sweeney!\nSummerville’s own Jewel Sweeney will be on hand\, launching her two newest middle-grade books\, Blueberry Ballerina and More Than a Jock. Jewel will join the festivities at 11 a.m. after her appearance at the Summerville Farmers Market.\n \nFrom the More Than Surface Level series: More Than a Jock features Alex Findman\, the self-proclaimed “King of the Nerds” at Eastside High School. He is ready to take on the eleventh grade and reign as the top student in the entire school\, if he can handle AP Chemistry. Alex finds out that his chemistry class won’t just be difficult because of the material\, but also because the teacher has chosen their lab partners for them. Alex has been paired with a senior and varsity quarterback\, Brad. Alex fears having to do work for both of them and maintaining his soaring GPA. In just a few short weeks\, Alex begins to see that not all athletes are dumb meatheads like he thought. And Brad proves to him that he is more than just some jock. \nIn Blueberry Ballerina\, Lacey Hudson is a bright and beautiful high school dancer in the upstate. Her parents own a small farm with fruit and horses. Lacey loves her farm almost as much as she loves dancing. Lacey’s skills earn her a spot with a summer program in Kansas City to dance with a professional company. She soars above and beyond what anyone would ever expect of a small-town farm girl to overcome the jealousy of others. Lacey’s hard work and positive attitude bring her face to face with the best ballerinas with the worst attitudes. \nWe look forward to seeing you on this special Summer Reading day to get signed books from these amazing authors and enjoy treats\, aspiring young writers and community on Hutchinson Square… \nEnjoy more Mary Alice Monroe selections HERE URL:https://mainstreetreads.com/event/mary-alice-monroe-and-angela-may-summer-reading-spectacular/ LOCATION:Main Street Reads\, 115 S. Main St.\, Summerville\, SC\, 29483\, United States CATEGORIES:Book Discussion,Book Signing,Celebration,Reading ATTACH;FMTTYPE=image/jpeg:https://mainstreetreads.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/05/The-Islanders_author-image-with-book.jpg ORGANIZER;CN="Main Street Reads":MAILTO:shari@writerswin.com END:VEVENT BEGIN:VEVENT DTSTART;TZID=America/New_York:20210624T183000 DTEND;TZID=America/New_York:20210624T200000 DTSTAMP:20260410T214131 CREATED:20210603T144031Z LAST-MODIFIED:20210614T040639Z UID:4864-1624559400-1624564800@mainstreetreads.com SUMMARY:Pulpwood Queens Bookclub: Outbound Train by Renea Winchester DESCRIPTION:Join us for a thoughtful discussion of Outbound Train by Renea Winchester\, who’ll be joining us for the talk! (in-store purchases are eligible for the 10% bookclub discount).AND\, you can join the discussion LIVE at Main Street Reads OR via Zoom – Author Renea Winchester will join us that evening via Zoom so you can ask questions of the author! \nTopic: Pulpwood Queens June\nTime: Jun 24\, 2021 06:30 PM Eastern Time (US and Canada) Join Zoom Meeting:\nhttps://us02web.zoom.us/j/85688828708?pwd=eWNWaGYyWFlaVDFRWmpSenlxdmFZZz09\nMeeting ID: 856 8882 8708 Passcode: 281677 \nIn 1976\, memories from a night near the railroad tracks sixteen years earlier haunt Barbara Parker. She wrestles with past demons every night\, then wakes to the train’s five-thirty whistle. Exhausted and dreading the day\, she keeps her hands busy working in Bryson City’s textile plant\, known as the “blue jean plant\,” all the while worrying about her teenage daughter\, Carole Anne. The whistle of the train\, the hum of those machines\, and the struggle to survive drives Barbara. When an unexpected layoff creates a financial emergency\, the desperate pressure of poverty is overwhelming. \nUnbeknownst to Barbara\, Carole Anne sneaks out at night to walk the tracks so she can work at Hubert’s Bar. She’s hoarding money with plans to drive her mother’s rusty\, unused Oldsmobile out of Bryson City\, and never return. She only needs one opportunity … if she can just find it. \nWhen Carole Anne goes missing\, Barbara finds herself at a crossroad–she must put aside old memories and past hurts to rely on a classmate for help finding her daughter. But this is the same man she blames for the incident years ago. Is she strong enough–or desperate enough–to do anything to keep her daughter safe? \nThe Parker women struggle to make frayed ends meet in a town where they never quite do … at least\, not without expert weaving and a bit of brute force. \n\nAbout the Author\n\nRenea Winchester was born in Bryson City\, North Carolina. She is the author of two nonfiction books set in Atlanta Georgia where she lived for 17 years. Outbound Train is her first novel. URL:https://mainstreetreads.com/event/pulpwood-queens-bookclub-outbound-train-by-renea-winchester/ CATEGORIES:Book Club,Book Discussion ATTACH;FMTTYPE=image/png:https://mainstreetreads.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/05/Pulpwood-June.png END:VEVENT BEGIN:VEVENT DTSTART;TZID=America/New_York:20210615T183000 DTEND;TZID=America/New_York:20210615T200000 DTSTAMP:20260410T214131 CREATED:20210530T055036Z LAST-MODIFIED:20210530T055036Z UID:4844-1623781800-1623787200@mainstreetreads.com SUMMARY:June Living Large Bookclub: Good Company DESCRIPTION:Join us on our new day (moving from 2nd Tuesdays to 3rd Tuesdays) for AN INSTANT NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER and A Read with Jenna Today Show Book Club Pick: Good Company by Cynthia D’Aprix Sweeney\n \nTreats will be served and we’ll decide on July’s read at the end of the meeting! Open to all: \nPlumbs the depths of marriage\, motherhood and friendship with warmth and wit. I devoured it in one gulp!” –Maria Semple \nA warm\, incisive new novel about the enduring bonds of marriage and friendship from Cynthia D’Aprix Sweeney\, author of the instant New York Times bestseller The Nest \nFlora Mancini has been happily married for more than twenty years. But everything she thought she knew about herself\, her marriage\, and her relationship with her best friend\, Margot\, is upended when she stumbles upon an envelope containing her husband’s wedding ring–the one he claimed he lost one summer when their daughter\, Ruby\, was five. \nFlora and Julian struggled for years\, scraping together just enough acting work to raise Ruby in Manhattan and keep Julian’s small theater company–Good Company–afloat. A move to Los Angeles brought their first real career successes\, a chance to breathe easier\, and a reunion with Margot\, now a bona fide television star. But has their new life been built on lies? What happened that summer all those years ago? And what happens now? \nWith Cynthia D’Aprix Sweeney’s signature tenderness\, humor\, and insight\, Good Company tells a big-hearted story of the lifelong relationships that both wound and heal us. \nA Most Anticipated Book From: OprahMag.com * Refinery29 * Houston Chronicle * The Millions * Elle * Buzzfeed \nCynthia D’Aprix Sweeney is the author of the instant New York Times bestseller\, The Nest\, which is currently in development as a limited series by AMC Studios. She lives in Los Angeles with her family. URL:https://mainstreetreads.com/event/june-living-large-bookclub-good-company/ LOCATION:Main Street Reads\, 115 S. Main St.\, Summerville\, SC\, 29483\, United States CATEGORIES:Book Club,Book Discussion ATTACH;FMTTYPE=image/png:https://mainstreetreads.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/05/Living-Large-June.png ORGANIZER;CN="Main Street Reads":MAILTO:shari@writerswin.com END:VEVENT BEGIN:VEVENT DTSTART;TZID=America/New_York:20210529T103000 DTEND;TZID=America/New_York:20210529T123000 DTSTAMP:20260410T214131 CREATED:20210520T050547Z LAST-MODIFIED:20210520T050547Z UID:4786-1622284200-1622291400@mainstreetreads.com SUMMARY:Booksigning: Science Night by Julie Packett DESCRIPTION:Come meet local author Julie Packett and grab a signed copy of her middle grade novel\, first in a series! \nScience Night:\nNew year\, new teacher\, new classroom duty! Ms. Clarke says new experiences can be rewarding\, but her fifth graders need more convincing. \nJulie\, a shy girl\, feels a downpour of emotions when assigned her role as classroom weather reporter. Does she weather the storm or do stormy days persist? \nRobbie\, an outspoken newcomer\, fears his new assignment won’t allow him to shine. Will his game plan to switch classroom duties result in a win or a fumble? \nIn front of family\, teachers\, and classmates\, all is revealed at Science Night! URL:https://mainstreetreads.com/event/booksigning-science-night-by-julie-packett/ LOCATION:Main Street Reads\, 115 S. Main St.\, Summerville\, SC\, 29483\, United States CATEGORIES:Book Discussion,Book Signing ATTACH;FMTTYPE=image/png:https://mainstreetreads.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/05/Julie-Packett-Science-Night.png ORGANIZER;CN="Main Street Reads":MAILTO:shari@writerswin.com END:VEVENT BEGIN:VEVENT DTSTART;TZID=America/New_York:20210527T183000 DTEND;TZID=America/New_York:20210527T200000 DTSTAMP:20260410T214131 CREATED:20210422T053636Z LAST-MODIFIED:20210423T021840Z UID:4654-1622140200-1622145600@mainstreetreads.com SUMMARY:Pulpwood Queens Bookclub: When the Stars Go Dark DESCRIPTION:Join us for a thoughtful discussion of When the Stars Go Dark by Paula McLain (in-store purchases are eligible for the 10% bookclub discount). \nFrom the New York Times bestselling author of The Paris Wife comes an atmospheric novel of intertwined destinies and heart-wrenching suspense: A detective hiding away from the world. A series of disappearances that reach into her past. Can solving them help her heal? \n“[An] absolutely incredible literary thriller.”–Good Morning America online \n“A powerhouse of a novel that is guaranteed to keep the reader up all night.”–Kristin Hannah\, author of The Four Winds \nAnna Hart is a seasoned missing persons detective in San Francisco with far too much knowledge of the darkest side of human nature. When tragedy strikes her personal life\, Anna\, desperate and numb\, flees to the Northern California village of Mendocino to grieve. She lived there as a child with her beloved foster parents\, and now she believes it might be the only place left for her. Yet the day she arrives\, she learns that a local teenage girl has gone missing. \nThe crime feels frighteningly reminiscent of the most crucial time in Anna’s childhood\, when the unsolved murder of a young girl touched Mendocino and changed the community forever. As past and present collide\, Anna realizes that she has been led to this moment. The most difficult lessons of her life have given her insight into how victims come into contact with violent predators. As Anna becomes obsessed with saving the missing girl\, she must accept that true courage means getting out of her own way and learning to let others in. \nWeaving together actual cases of missing persons\, trauma theory\, and a hint of the metaphysical\, this propulsive and deeply affecting novel tells a story of fate\, necessary redemption\, and what it takes\, when the worst happens\, to reclaim our lives–and our faith in one another. URL:https://mainstreetreads.com/event/may-pulpwood-queens-bookclub-when-the-stars-go-dark/ LOCATION:Main Street Reads\, 115 S. Main St.\, Summerville\, SC\, 29483\, United States CATEGORIES:Book Club,Book Discussion ATTACH;FMTTYPE=image/png:https://mainstreetreads.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/04/PQ-WHEN-STARS-1.png ORGANIZER;CN="Main Street Reads":MAILTO:shari@writerswin.com END:VEVENT BEGIN:VEVENT DTSTART;TZID=America/New_York:20210526T190000 DTEND;TZID=America/New_York:20210526T200000 DTSTAMP:20260410T214131 CREATED:20210502T142244Z LAST-MODIFIED:20210519T210743Z UID:4703-1622055600-1622059200@mainstreetreads.com SUMMARY:Scholastic Parents Night: The Power of Summer Reading Sale! DESCRIPTION:School’s out!\nAt Scholastic Parents Night: The Power of Summer Reading\, a virtual panel of Scholastic authors\, education experts\, and booksellers will give tips and book recommendations that will keep kids excited to read all summer long! \nBe sure to tune in for: \n\nA book recommendation speed-round with an indie bookseller – Ask for recommendations based on your child’s likes and needs!\nInterviews with beloved authors Varian Johnson (Twins and The Parker Inheritance) and Kelly Yang (The Front Desk series)\nTips and tricks to keep your kids reading all summer – and loving it!\nSwag! Attendees who visit the store after the event will receive a goodie bag (on a first come\, first serve basis)\, and all attendees will receive digital activities\, brochures and more!\n\nWe will joined by:\n\nModerator John Schu: Host of Book Joy Live\, author of the popular blog Watch. Read. Connect. and Ambassador of School Libraries for Scholastic Book Fairs.\nVarian Johnson: Award-winning author of several books for children and young adults\, including The Parker Inheritance and Twins\, illustrated by Shannon Wright.\nLauren Savage: Co-founder and owner of the Reading Bug Bookstore and Reading Bug Box in San Carlos\, California and narrator of the Reading Bug Adventures story and music podcast.\nLizette Serrano: VP of Educational Marketing at Scholastic\, Co-founder of the Power of Story initiative and a 2021 Summer Reading Ambassador.\nKelly Yang: Author of the award-winning Front Desk series and founder of The Kelly Yang project.\nYou can find shorter or longer panelist bios\, here\, if you’d prefer to use those instead\n\nCLICK HERE for a list of books you can purchase before or after the event. Print it\, check what you like and drop it by the store any time before May 27th and get 10% off your entire purchase! (Books not yet in stock will arrive by the following week). \nIf you prefer – you can shop from home from the list we’ve created at our BOOKSHOP page HERE! \nWe hope you’ll join us at https://www.facebook.com/events/1887833914708713 \n \n  URL:https://mainstreetreads.com/event/scholastic-parents-night-the-power-of-summer-reading/ LOCATION:Main Street Reads\, 115 S. Main St.\, Summerville\, SC\, 29483\, United States CATEGORIES:Book Discussion,Celebration,Story Time,Virtual Author Event ATTACH;FMTTYPE=image/png:https://mainstreetreads.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/05/Parents-Night3_Twitter-and-facebook.png END:VEVENT BEGIN:VEVENT DTSTART;TZID=America/New_York:20210515T103000 DTEND;TZID=America/New_York:20210515T120000 DTSTAMP:20260410T214131 CREATED:20210226T034723Z LAST-MODIFIED:20210403T143821Z UID:4255-1621074600-1621080000@mainstreetreads.com SUMMARY:Meet the Author: Eileen Harrison Sanchez with Freedom Lessons DESCRIPTION:We’re thrilled to host award-winning author Eileen Harrison Sanchez at Main Street Reads May 15th\, to discuss her novel\, Freedom Lessons. \nTold alternately\, by Colleen\, an idealistic young white teacher; Frank\, a black high school football player; and Evelyn\, an experienced black teacher\, Freedom Lessons is the story of how the lives of these three very different people intersect in a rural Louisiana town in 1969. \nColleen enters into the culture of the rural Louisiana town with little knowledge of the customs and practices. She is compelled to take sides after the school is integrated–an overnight event for which the town’s residents are unprepared\, and which leads to confusion and anxiety in the community–and her values are tested as she seeks to understand her black colleagues\, particularly Evelyn. Why doesn’t she want to integrate the public schools? \nFrank\, meanwhile\, is determined to protect his mother and siblings after his father’s suspicious death–which means keeping a secret from everyone around him. \nBased on the author’s experience teaching in Louisiana in the late sixties\, this heartfelt\, unflinching novel about the unexpected effects of school integration during that time takes on the issues our nation currently faces regarding race\, unity\, and identity. \nFreedom Lessons – A Novel will appeal to readers who enjoy historical fiction and those interested in a broader view of our current civil rights and public school challenges. \nHistory could guide us if we would only listen.  \n\n\n\n\nAbout Eileen\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\nFreedom Lessons – A Novel is a fictionalized version of the year Eileen spent teaching in a rural Louisiana town in the late 1960s. Her life’s work has been as an advocate for free\, appropriate and respectful educational opportunity for all students. She retired after a forty-year career in public education. URL:https://mainstreetreads.com/event/meet-the-author-eileen-harrison-sanchez-with-freedom-lessons/ LOCATION:Main Street Reads\, 115 S. Main St.\, Summerville\, SC\, 29483\, United States CATEGORIES:Book Discussion,Book Signing ATTACH;FMTTYPE=image/png:https://mainstreetreads.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/02/Freedom-Lessons-with-Eileen.png ORGANIZER;CN="Main Street Reads":MAILTO:shari@writerswin.com END:VEVENT BEGIN:VEVENT DTSTART;TZID=America/New_York:20210511T183000 DTEND;TZID=America/New_York:20210511T200000 DTSTAMP:20260410T214131 CREATED:20210421T183816Z LAST-MODIFIED:20210421T183816Z UID:4646-1620757800-1620763200@mainstreetreads.com SUMMARY:Living Large Bookclub: The Invisible Life of Addie LaRue DESCRIPTION:A special treat for readers on May 11th\, the second Tuesday of May\, when we’ll be discussing one of our favorite picks of the year\, The Invisible Life of Addie LaRue by V.E. Schwab. We’ll meet LIVE in the store (or on the square if the weather’s nice) but anyone who wants to join via Zoom can do so via this link: https://us02web.zoom.us/j/82018589873?pwd=MDlidUNaSmYxOXNHVFhFYlFsYUFZZz09 If prompted\, Meeting ID: 820 1858 9873 Passcode: 350216 \n\nNEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER\nUSA TODAY BESTSELLER \nNATIONAL INDIE BESTSELLER\nTHE WASHINGTON POST BESTSELLER\nRecommended by Entertainment Weekly\, Real Simple\, NPR\, Slate\, and Oprah Magazine\n#1 Library Reads Pick—October 2020\n#1 Indie Next Pick—October 2020\nBOOK OF THE YEAR (2020) FINALIST—Book of The Month Club\n\n\nIn the vein of The Time Traveler’s Wife and Life After Life\, The Invisible Life of Addie LaRue is New York Times bestselling author V. E. Schwab’s genre-defying tour de force. \nA Life No One Will Remember. A Story You Will Never Forget. \nFrance\, 1714: in a moment of desperation\, a young woman makes a Faustian bargain to live forever–and is cursed to be forgotten by everyone she meets. \nThus begins the extraordinary life of Addie LaRue\, and a dazzling adventure that will play out across centuries and continents\, across history and art\, as a young woman learns how far she will go to leave her mark on the world. \nBut everything changes when\, after nearly 300 years\, Addie stumbles across a young man in a hidden bookstore and he remembers her name. URL:https://mainstreetreads.com/event/living-large-bookclub-the-invisible-life-of-addie-larue/ LOCATION:Main Street Reads\, 115 S. Main St.\, Summerville\, SC\, 29483\, United States CATEGORIES:Book Club,Book Discussion ATTACH;FMTTYPE=image/png:https://mainstreetreads.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/04/Invisible-Life-of-Addie-LaRue.png ORGANIZER;CN="Main Street Reads":MAILTO:shari@writerswin.com END:VEVENT BEGIN:VEVENT DTSTART;TZID=America/New_York:20210506T190000 DTEND;TZID=America/New_York:20210506T200000 DTSTAMP:20260410T214131 CREATED:20210425T033004Z LAST-MODIFIED:20210425T033022Z UID:4677-1620327600-1620331200@mainstreetreads.com SUMMARY:Reader Meet Writer: A Memoir of Food and Love in Thirteen Courses (Virtual Event) DESCRIPTION:“Sobremesa reads like a cross between magical realism and the food section of the New York Times. Delicioso!” —Beth Ostrosky-Stern\, New York Times Bestselling Author \nIf food is the universal language of love\, sobremesa is the romance. Gather around the table with C-level career woman turned foodpreneur\, Josephine Caminos Oría\, as she cooks up a magical tale\, told morsel by morsel\, of some of her most memorable tableside chats—sobremesaa—that provided the first-generation Argentine-American the courage to leave the safe life she knew and start over from scratch. \nIn her coming-of-age adventure\, Josephine travels to her family’s homeland of Argentina in search of belonging—to family\, to country\, to a love\, and ultimately\, to oneself. Steeped in the lure of Latin culture\, she pieces together her mom and abuela’s pasts\, along with the nourishing dishes—delectably and spiritually—that formed their kitchen arsenal. But Josephine’s travels from las pampas to the prairie aren’t easy or conventional. She grapples with mystical encounters with the spirit world that lead her to discover a part of herself that\, like sobremesa\, had been lost in translation. Just as she’s ready to give up on love all together\, Josephine’s own heart surprises her by surrendering to a forbidden\, transcontinental tryst with the Argentine man of her dreams. To stay together\, she must make a difficult choice: return to the safe life she knows in the States\, or follow her heart and craft a completely different kind of future for herself—one she never saw coming. \nThis otherworldly\, multigenerational story of a daughter’s love and familial culinary legacy serves up\, in 13 courses\, the timeless traditions that help Josephine navigate transformational love and loss. It’s a reminder that that home really is anywhere the heart is. Sobremesa invites you to linger at the table\, reveal your own hidden truths and savor the healing embrace of time-honored food and the wisdom it espouses. \nCONTACT US AT mainstreetreads@gmail.com for your LINK TO ATTEND!\n\nJosephine Caminos Oría is an Argentine-American cookbook author\, entrepreneur and mom. It was in her early 40s\, with five young children in tow\, that Josephine took a chance on herself\, leaving a C-level career to make dulce de leche. Today\, Josephine\, along with her Argentine husband\, Gastón\, is the founder of La Dorita Cooks\, an all-natural line of dulce de leche products and Pittsburgh’s first resource-based kitchen incubator for start-up and early stage food makers (see www.ladorita.net for more information). In addition\, Josephine is the author of Dulce de Leche: Recipes\, Stories\, and Sweet Traditions (Burgess Lea Press\, February 2017). URL:https://mainstreetreads.com/event/reader-meet-writer-a-memoir-of-food-and-love-in-thirteen-courses-virtual-event/ LOCATION:Main Street Reads\, 115 S. Main St.\, Summerville\, SC\, 29483\, United States CATEGORIES:Book Discussion,Virtual Author Event ATTACH;FMTTYPE=image/png:https://mainstreetreads.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/04/READER-MEET-WRITER-MAY.png END:VEVENT BEGIN:VEVENT DTSTART;TZID=America/New_York:20210501T110000 DTEND;TZID=America/New_York:20210501T140000 DTSTAMP:20260410T214131 CREATED:20210421T180851Z LAST-MODIFIED:20210429T042447Z UID:4641-1619866800-1619877600@mainstreetreads.com SUMMARY:Alice: Alice Ravenel Huger Smith Charleston Renaissance Artist - SPECIAL EVENT at Public Works Art Center! DESCRIPTION:Just in time for the perfect Mother’s Day gift! ALICE: Alice Ravenel Huger Smith\, Charleston Renaissance Artist\, has come to Main Street Reads and folks\, it is GORGEOUS! A collaboration between authors Dwight McInvall\, Caroline Palmer and Anne Tinker\, along with Middleton Place Foundation and Evening Post Books\, we’re proud to carry this valuable piece of women’s and Lowcountry history in our store AND at Public Works Art Center\, right around the corner! \n\n\n\nProuder still\, we’re collaborating on an event at the Public Works Art Center on May Day (May 1st) that will have the authors there for a chat and LIVE BOOKSIGNING! The perfect space for the perfect book! Proceeds from sales benefit both the Public Works Arts Center AND Middleton Place Foundation. And the book makes the perfect Easter or Mother’s Day gift! Grab your copy at the store early so you’ll have it to bring to the signing as we expect this to be a sell-out event. And\, if you plan on joining us (11 a.m. to 2 p.m.) on the 1st\, then email us now and reserve your spot. \n\n\n\nWant to learn more about the book\, Alice\, and the work that has endured? Check out this video from Edmunton Alston House featuring legendary Charleston artist Jonathan Green: \n  URL:https://mainstreetreads.com/event/alice-alice-ravenel-huger-smith-charleston-renaissance-artist-special-event-at-public-works-art-center/ LOCATION:Public Works Arts Center\, 135 West Richardson Avenue\, Summerville\, SC\, 29483\, United States CATEGORIES:Art Show,Book Discussion,Book Signing,Celebration,Reading ATTACH;FMTTYPE=image/png:https://mainstreetreads.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/04/Alice-event-at-Public-Works-Arts-Center.png ORGANIZER;CN="Main Street Reads":MAILTO:shari@writerswin.com END:VEVENT BEGIN:VEVENT DTSTART;TZID=America/New_York:20210501T103000 DTEND;TZID=America/New_York:20210501T123000 DTSTAMP:20260410T214131 CREATED:20210413T055619Z LAST-MODIFIED:20210413T060253Z UID:4588-1619865000-1619872200@mainstreetreads.com SUMMARY:C. Hope Clark Returns with Reunion on Edisto! DESCRIPTION:Get ready for the amazing C. Hope Clark to return to her hometown of Summerville (she graduated from SHS) when she visits Main Street Reads to celebrate the launch of her newest book\, Reunion on Edisto (Book 7 of the Edisto Island Mysteries\, April 2021 release). We’ll also have plenty of Hope’s other popular books on hand\, or order them from our Bookshop page HERE.\n\nHope is known for writing award-winning mysteries steeped in South Carolina humidity and personalities. The Carolina Slade Mysteries cover Slade’s investigations under the umbrella of Agriculture\, covering the rural reaches of SC. Crime is a completely different animal in the country! And the Edisto Island Mysteries follow the trials of a female police chief on well-known Edisto Beach.\n\nHaving grown up in Summerville\, and graduated from Summerville High School\, Hope now lives on Lake Murray in central SC and vacations on Edisto. In addition to being a mystery author\, Hope educates writers via speaking and counseling. Her website FundsforWriters.com was chosen by Writer’s Digest for its 101 Best Websites for Writers for the past 18 years. Her newsletter for writers reaches 35\,000 readers each week. www.fundsforwriters.com / www.chopeclark.com \nJoin us for this very special event and celebrate one of Summerville’s own! \nEdisto Beach Police Chief Callie Morgan has no desire to relive her senior year and the nightmare of a murder and a suicide that shook her high school to its core. But when the reunion committee convenes on Edisto Beach for a planning retreat\, she has no choice. Every person on the committee could be a suspect in the unsolved murder\, and one classmate\, now a bestselling author\, threatens to weave them into a tell-all true crime novel. Until she disappears the first night of the committee retreat. \nCallie must sort fact from fiction in a race against the clock to find a cold case murderer who may have just killed again. URL:https://mainstreetreads.com/event/reunion-on-edisto/ LOCATION:Main Street Reads\, 115 S. Main St.\, Summerville\, SC\, 29483\, United States CATEGORIES:Book Discussion,Book Signing,Celebration ATTACH;FMTTYPE=image/png:https://mainstreetreads.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/04/Reunion-on-Edisto-signing.png ORGANIZER;CN="Main Street Reads":MAILTO:shari@writerswin.com END:VEVENT BEGIN:VEVENT DTSTART;TZID=America/New_York:20210424T093000 DTEND;TZID=America/New_York:20210424T150000 DTSTAMP:20260410T214131 CREATED:20210215T040454Z LAST-MODIFIED:20210423T023008Z UID:4194-1619256600-1619276400@mainstreetreads.com SUMMARY:Independent Bookstore Day: Book Festival on Hutchinson Square! DESCRIPTION:One day. Hundreds of bookstores.\nFifty states. Join the celebration!\nIndependent Bookstore Day is a one-day national party that takes place at indie bookstores across the country on the last Saturday in April.  Every store is unique and independent\, and every party is different. But in addition to authors\, contests\, and other fun stuff\, there are exclusive books and literary items that you can only get on that day. Not before. Not after. Nowhere else. \nAt Main Street Reads we’ll be celebrating on the square with author chats and readings\, live music\, treats and lots of giveaways and prizes! \n \nHere’s a look at participating authors! \n\nPeter Cotton: Fred the Snake series (including When Fred the Snake and Friends Explore Charleston)\nCyndie Degnan: His Strength Made Perfect\, Michael’s Story\nMark Epstein: THEY CALL ME PATHFINDER\, Education-Basketball-Equality\nPriscilla Garatti: An Ocean Away\, Missing God\, On a Clear Blue Day\nJohn Gibson: Soul Sprints\nLorna Hollifield: An Ocean at Night\, Tobacco Sun\nAlex Lettau: Yellow Death\nMatthew Loveland: The Artist: Faith\, Science and the Rest of Us\nChristina Sinisi: Christmas Confusion and Christmas on Okracoke\nBob Spearman: Then She Was Dead\, Shrimpin’ Gold\, Turf and Surf\nJulie Packett: Science Night: The Chronicles of Ms. Clarke’s Class\nKatie Sullivan Masalin: Rocks\, Paper\, Flowers\nJewel Sweeney: The Adventures of Bugaboo and Ladybug Series (including Up\, Up and Away)\nKathleen Varn: Ameera Unveiled and Gardenia Duty\nMarybeth Wishart: Parker the Purple Penguin\nKasen Wysong: Colors of the Mayhem\n\n  URL:https://mainstreetreads.com/event/independent-bookstore-day/ LOCATION:Main Street Reads\, 115 S. Main St.\, Summerville\, SC\, 29483\, United States CATEGORIES:Book Discussion,Book Signing,Celebration,Reading ATTACH;FMTTYPE=image/jpeg:https://mainstreetreads.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/02/IBD-FB-coverphoto.jpg ORGANIZER;CN="Main Street Reads":MAILTO:shari@writerswin.com END:VEVENT BEGIN:VEVENT DTSTART;TZID=America/New_York:20210422T183000 DTEND;TZID=America/New_York:20210422T200000 DTSTAMP:20260410T214131 CREATED:20210228T070542Z LAST-MODIFIED:20210421T184702Z UID:4264-1619116200-1619121600@mainstreetreads.com SUMMARY:Pulpwood Queens Bookclub: Nick by Michael Farris Smith DESCRIPTION:Before The Great Gatsby’s famed Nick Carraway moved to West Egg and into Gatsby’s periphery\, he was at the center of a very different story-one taking place along the trenches and deep within the tunnels of World War I… \nCharged with enough alcohol\, heartbreak\, and profound yearning to paralyze even the heartiest of golden age scribes\, Nick reveals the man behind the narrator who has captivated readers for decades.\n \nJoin us for an entertaining book club discussion LIVE or online! This month\, Nick by Michael Farris Smith. We’ll meet live at Main Street Reads Thursday\, April 22nd at 6:30 p.m.\, or to join virtually:\nhttps://us02web.zoom.us/j/86712511771?pwd=SkxNQTVWMlpxM1FaR0tSK3FlWjNXQT09\nMeeting ID: 867 1251 1771\nPasscode: 672922 \nCritically acclaimed novelist Michael Farris Smith pulls Nick Carraway out of the shadows and into the spotlight in this “masterful” look into his life before Gatsby – Richard Russo\, Pulitzer Prize-winning author of EMPIRE FALLS and CHANCES ARE… \nBefore Nick Carraway moved to West Egg and into Gatsby’s periphery\, he was at the center of a very different story-one taking place along the trenches and deep within the tunnels of World War I. \nFloundering in the wake of the destruction he witnessed firsthand\, Nick delays his return home\, hoping to escape the questions he cannot answer about the horrors of war. Instead\, he embarks on a transcontinental redemptive journey that takes him from a whirlwind Paris romance-doomed from the very beginning to the dizzying frenzy of New Orleans\, rife with its own flavor of debauchery and violence. \nAn epic portrait of a truly singular era and a sweeping\, romantic story of self-discovery\, this rich and imaginative novel breathes new life into a character that many know but few have pondered deeply. Charged with enough alcohol\, heartbreak\, and profound yearning to paralyze even the heartiest of golden age scribes\, Nick reveals the man behind the narrator who has captivated readers for decades. URL:https://mainstreetreads.com/event/pulpwood-queens-bookclub-nick/ LOCATION:Main Street Reads\, 115 S. Main St.\, Summerville\, SC\, 29483\, United States CATEGORIES:Book Club,Book Discussion ATTACH;FMTTYPE=image/png:https://mainstreetreads.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/02/nick-by-michael.png ORGANIZER;CN="Main Street Reads":MAILTO:shari@writerswin.com END:VEVENT BEGIN:VEVENT DTSTART;TZID=America/New_York:20210418T200000 DTEND;TZID=America/New_York:20210418T210000 DTSTAMP:20260410T214131 CREATED:20210413T043250Z LAST-MODIFIED:20210413T131959Z UID:4582-1618776000-1618779600@mainstreetreads.com SUMMARY:Virtual Launch Party: Gregory Phillips with A Season in Lights DESCRIPTION:Seattle novelist Gregory Erich Phillips has selected Main Street Reads for the virtual launch of his newest novel\, A Season in Lights. “Written by a true creative\, A Season in Lights paints a moving picture of artists\, dancers and musicians. Gregory Erich Phillips weaves together the heartaches and lucky breaks of two main characters\, Tom and Cammie\, and their friends and families. The vignettes culminate with the impact of coronavirus on NYC\, and ends with a surprisingly tender and uplifting finale.” Carol Van Den Hende\, award-winning author of Goodbye\, Orchid \nThis event is FREE to all Main Street Reads readers and Pulpwood Queen Bookclub members! Join us Sunday evening\, official launch day\, at 8 pm EST via Zoom at: \nhttps://us02web.zoom.us/j/87141339735?pwd=RnkxK2RVYjNXYjkzNUw5eEp6MnBsUT09 \nMeeting ID: 871 4133 9735\nPasscode: 395745 \nPASSION\, AMBITION AND ESCAPE IN THE COLORFUL ARTISTIC UNDERWORLD OFF-BROADWAY.\nCammie\, a dancer in her mid-thirties\, has just landed her first part in a show since coming to New York City. Yet the tug of familial obligation and the guilt of what she sacrificed to be there weigh down her dancing feet. Her lover\, Tom\, an older piano player\, came to the city himself as a young man in the 1980s with a story eerily in tune with Cammie’s own. \nThrough their triumphs and failures\, both learn the fleetness of glory\, the sweetness of new love\, and how a dream come true isn’t cherished until it passes. The bright lights of the stage intoxicate\, while degradation and despair lurk close behind the curtain. Their sagas are marred by two pandemics\, AIDS in the 1980s and COVID-19 today\, which ravaged the performing arts community\, leaving a permanent scar on those who lived through them. \nThe poignant intersection of their stories reveals a love affair unbound by time\, which reaches across decades through the notes of a piano’s remembered song. \nEarly Praise for A Season in Lights…\n“A Season in Lights is an intimate\, heartfelt ballad to creativity and the passion of the artist. Phillips’ writing is lyrical as a love song and as uplifting as a dream. It is not only one of my new favorite books\, but possibly one of the most important odes to New York City’s artists and the fragility of life since Rent.” \n— Nicole Evelina USA Today bestselling author of The Guinevere’s Tale Trilogy and many other stories of strong women from history and today \n“By drawing us into the glitz and glam of New York City’s creative scene\, and by examining the gritty reality beneath the shine\, Phillips taps all the senses while reminding us that\, no matter what happens in life\, the show must go on—especially for those who dare to dream. Want a sensual but poignant romp behind the curtain? This book delivers.” \nJulie Cantrell\, USA Today and New York Times bestselling author of Perennials \n“A Season in Lights taps into the core of the soul of the New York City theatre community family – from the stage managers to the musicians and dancers\, to the actors whose every heartbeat is dedicated to the performance of their art. Having myself been involved in local theatre and experiencing this thrill\, not only upon the stage\, but in the hectic confines of the green room behind it\, and\, sadly\, witnessing the devastating impact of the Covid epidemic on theatre\, I bow to Phillips’ perfectly captured portrayal of it. Break a leg\, Gregory Phillips!” \nJoe Palmer\, author of A Mariner’s Tale \n“Music and dance thrum in this poignant story about aspiring artists struggling to survive as part of New York’s subway class. Two would-be lovers at opposite ends of their dreams of making it on the big stage share a memorable but fleeting season filled with passion\, love\, friends\, and family. Bursting with charm\, this beautiful tale is chock-full of powerful subjects: depression\, racism\, HIV in the ‘80s\, and the current Covid pandemic. It will touch your heart\, make you want to dance\, sing\, and cry all at the same time.” \nR. Scott Boyer\, award-winning author of Bobby Ether and the Jade Academy and Temple of Eternity \n“Gregory Erich Phillips’ A Season in Lights is a heartfelt and moving love letter to New York City and its artistic community.” \n—Geoffrey Owens\, actor and director \n“A unique\, well-crafted tale adds to the lore and lure of life as an artist braving the challenges of the Big Apple. The pursuit of the performing arts and romance are set against the looming specter of today’s COVID-19 pandemic and the 1980s AIDS crisis. The author offers profound insights into the unpleasant realities of chasing a dream and wraps with an exquisite\, soul-stirring conclusion.” \n—Lafayette Summers\, pianist\, composer and singer URL:https://mainstreetreads.com/event/virtual-launch-party-gregory-phillips-with/ CATEGORIES:Book Discussion,Virtual Author Event ATTACH;FMTTYPE=image/png:https://mainstreetreads.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/04/GREGORY-ERICH-PHILLIPS-A-SEASON-IN-LIGHTS.png END:VEVENT BEGIN:VEVENT DTSTART;TZID=America/New_York:20210413T183000 DTEND;TZID=America/New_York:20210413T200000 DTSTAMP:20260410T214131 CREATED:20210302T044706Z LAST-MODIFIED:20210411T051648Z UID:4276-1618338600-1618344000@mainstreetreads.com SUMMARY:Living Large Bookclub: The Lost Apothecary by Sarah Penner DESCRIPTION:Our “Living Large” book club meets monthly to talk about those “big books” — the ones we know everyone is talking about (or should be\, or will be very soon!) Past discussions have included Where the Crawdads Sing\, American Dirt\, The Book Woman of Troublesome Creek… \nSuper excited for the April book club discussion of The Lost Apothecary by Sarah Penner. We were honored to see an early copy and can tell you\, this book DELIVERS and will make for great conversation! \nIf you can’t make it live\, we’ll also have the Zoom room open for those joining us virtually: \nJoin Zoom Meeting\nhttps://us02web.zoom.us/j/89384788862?pwd=T0VXR0pmRk5RTWpLZzBTZUVvSTZyUT09 \nMeeting ID: 893 8478 8862\nPasscode: 093775 \nPLUS – FREE GOODIES!\nFree tote bags for all who attend\, free treats\, and CLICK HERE for a full Book Club Kit pdf that includes behind-the-scenes\, book club questions\, and even fun drink recipes! \n \nNamed Most Anticipated of 2021 by Newsweek\, Good Housekeeping\, Hello! magazine\, Oprah.com\, Bustle\, Popsugar\, Betches\, Sweet July\, and GoodReads! \nMarch 2021 Indie Next Pick and #1 LibraryReads Pick \n“A bold\, edgy\, accomplished debut!” –Kate Quinn\, New York Times bestselling author of The Alice Network \nA forgotten history. A secret network of women. A legacy of poison and revenge. Welcome to The Lost Apothecary… \nHidden in the depths of eighteenth-century London\, a secret apothecary shop caters to an unusual kind of clientele. Women across the city whisper of a mysterious figure named Nella who sells well-disguised poisons to use against the oppressive men in their lives. But the apothecary’s fate is jeopardized when her newest patron\, a precocious twelve-year-old\, makes a fatal mistake\, sparking a string of consequences that echo through the centuries. \nMeanwhile in present-day London\, aspiring historian Caroline Parcewell spends her tenth wedding anniversary alone\, running from her own demons. When she stumbles upon a clue to the unsolved apothecary murders that haunted London two hundred years ago\, her life collides with the apothecary’s in a stunning twist of fate–and not everyone will survive. \nWith crackling suspense\, unforgettable characters and searing insight\, The Lost Apothecary is a subversive and intoxicating debut novel of secrets\, vengeance and the remarkable ways women can save each other despite the barrier of time. URL:https://mainstreetreads.com/event/living-large-bookclub-the-lost-apothecary-by-sarah-penner/ LOCATION:Main Street Reads\, 115 S. Main St.\, Summerville\, SC\, 29483\, United States CATEGORIES:Book Club,Book Discussion ATTACH;FMTTYPE=image/png:https://mainstreetreads.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/03/Screen-Shot-2021-03-19-at-1.45.08-AM.png ORGANIZER;CN="Main Street Reads":MAILTO:shari@writerswin.com END:VEVENT BEGIN:VEVENT DTSTART;TZID=America/New_York:20210403T103000 DTEND;TZID=America/New_York:20210403T120000 DTSTAMP:20260410T214131 CREATED:20210221T055703Z LAST-MODIFIED:20210403T143852Z UID:4234-1617445800-1617451200@mainstreetreads.com SUMMARY:Book Signing w/Beverly Bowers Jennings' Shrimp Tales: Small Bites of History DESCRIPTION:Join us Saturday\, April 3rd for a special book signing\, perfect for a wonderful personalized Easter gift: Shrimp Tales: Small Bites of History with author Beverly Bowers Jennings! \nThis book portrays the history of the people\, places\, and boats of the commercial shrimping industry in the southern United States. 320 pages with more than 800 photos and illustrations – a gorgeous keepsake! \nBefore the invention of refrigerated boxcars in 1875\, the US shrimping industry virtually didn’t exist. People ate what they caught. The book begins with the region’s earliest shrimpers: Italian and Portuguese fishermen who came to Fernandina and St. Augustine \, FL at the end of the 19th century. They combined an enterprising ingenuity with old-world fishing techniques to turn shrimping into a profitable industry. \nSubsequent chapters show life in major shrimping ports up and down the coast. These include St. Augustine\, Fernandina\, Thunderbolt and Savannah\, Port Royal\, Beaufort\, Hilton Head Island\, Bennetts Point\, Edisto\, Rockville\, Shem Creek\, McClellanville and Georgetown. Additionally\, a chapter offers a colorful glimpse of the Blessing of the Fleet ceremonies. Finally\, there is a chapter that examines the integral role that shrimpers played in keeping the German chemical company\, BASF\, from building a plant that could have devastated local fishing. This event may have saved the future of many seaside resorts\, like Hilton Head\, that depended on clean waters. \nBased on years of research and relentless pursuit of the photos that tell the story\, this book is more than just a photo history. It is a story of a community and culture. Photos\, drawings and sidebars provide explanations of shrimping operations and equipment. Recipes in each chapter are often provided by a member of one of the local shrimping families. Quotes by local shrimpers\, and even some poems\, dot the book\, reminding us that shrimping in the Southeast is as much about the people and the place as it is about the shrimp. \nAll proceeds of sales will go to the South Carolina Seafood Alliance\, which advocates for healthy and safe seafood sources. EAT LOCAL SHRIMP! \nAnd you’ll get to meet Beverly: My love of the saltwater and fishing began when I was 6 years old in Connecticut. At that time\, my father built me a white wooden rowboat with red trim named Little Fish. Fiber-glassing was in its infancy\, and on the suggestion of a friend\, he decided to cover the boat with it. I loved rowing that boat and used to take friends out to their anchored boats for sailing and fishing.\n \nBeginning in 1997\, my husband and I began spending time each year on Hilton Head Island\, and in 2000 we bought a home here. Living on the Island\, directly overlooking the marsh\, enhanced my fascination with the Lowcountry and the waters surrounding it. This led me in 2010 to enroll in a Master Naturalist Program through the Clemson Extension Service\, held at the Lowcountry Institute on Spring Island. \n  URL:https://mainstreetreads.com/event/book-signing-w-beverly-bowers-jennings-shrimp-tales-small-bites-of-history/ LOCATION:Main Street Reads\, 115 S. Main St.\, Summerville\, SC\, 29483\, United States CATEGORIES:Book Discussion,Book Signing ATTACH;FMTTYPE=image/png:https://mainstreetreads.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/02/Beverly-Jennings-Shrimp-Tales.png ORGANIZER;CN="Main Street Reads":MAILTO:shari@writerswin.com END:VEVENT BEGIN:VEVENT DTSTART;TZID=America/New_York:20210320T100000 DTEND;TZID=America/New_York:20210320T120000 DTSTAMP:20260410T214131 CREATED:20210213T061921Z LAST-MODIFIED:20210403T143933Z UID:4172-1616234400-1616241600@mainstreetreads.com SUMMARY:Author and Speaker Chris Singleton Returns with His New Release: Your Life Matters DESCRIPTION:We’re so excited to announce that speaker Chris Singleton\, author of the already wildly popular Different\, will be at Main Street Reads on March 20th to celebrate and discuss his newest book releasing in March\, Your Life Matters. \n\nEmpowering and validating\, Your Life Matters teaches children of all races about Black History and reassures black children everywhere that no matter what they hear no matter what they experience\, no matter what they’re told\, their lives matter. Written by national speaker Chris Singleton\, who lost his own mother in the 2015 Charleston church shooting\, Your Life Matters teaches kids to stand tall in the face of racial adversity and fight for the life they dream of. \nEach page depicts a famous hero from Black history mentoring a child of today and encouraging them to use their mind\, heart\, voice\, and hands in that fight. Hero-mentors in the book include Maya Angelou\, Jackie Robinson\, Martin Luther King\, Jr.\, Aretha Franklin\, Katherine Johnson\, Harriet Tubman\, Frederick Douglas\, Mary McLeod Bethune\, George Washington Carver\, and others. \n\nDon’t miss the chance to meet this local icon\, hear his words of wisdom and inspiration\, and get signed keepsake copies of his books! \nChris Singleton is an inspirational speaker and former professional baseball player who travels the country as a student achievement specialist. Chris has spoken to over 60\,000 students and teachers across the nation and has helped thousands of students and teachers overcome hardships and excel in the classroom. Chris’s speech on overcoming hate with love has been seen or shared millions of times and has gotten him featured on Lifetime\, ESPN E:60\, USA Today\, CNN\, and Fox News. Chris is a proud father of his son\, CJ\, and a proud husband to his high school sweetheart\, Mariana. \n6 URL:https://mainstreetreads.com/event/author-and-speaker-chris-singleton-returns-with-his-new-release-your-life-matters/ LOCATION:Main Street Reads\, 115 S. Main St.\, Summerville\, SC\, 29483\, United States CATEGORIES:Book Discussion,Book Signing,Celebration,Reading,Story Time ATTACH;FMTTYPE=image/png:https://mainstreetreads.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/02/Chris-Singleton-at-MSR.png ORGANIZER;CN="Main Street Reads":MAILTO:shari@writerswin.com END:VEVENT BEGIN:VEVENT DTSTART;TZID=America/New_York:20210316T183000 DTEND;TZID=America/New_York:20210316T200000 DTSTAMP:20260410T214131 CREATED:20210131T182717Z LAST-MODIFIED:20210403T143940Z UID:4083-1615919400-1615924800@mainstreetreads.com SUMMARY:Living Large Bookclub: MARCH Pick - The Four Winds by Kristin Hannah DESCRIPTION:Book Club Questions Below (they do contain spoilers!) \nThe Third Tuesday of this month will see us having a live and or virtual discussion of the amazing The Four Winds by Kristin Hannah. \nYou can join in the fun LIVE at Main Street Reads March 16th at 6:30 pm OR join in via ZOOM:\nhttps://us02web.zoom.us/j/83921524726?pwd=Z3NOanY4MVBPdXR0YTRhQ1JPclMvdz09 Meeting ID: 839 2152 4726  Passcode: 621178 \nThrough one woman’s survival during the harsh and haunting Dust Bowl\, master storyteller\, Kristin Hannah\, reminds us that the human heart and our Earth are as tough\, yet as fragile\, as a change in the wind. —Delia Owens\, author of Where the Crawdads Sing \nFrom the number-one bestselling author of The Nightingale and The Great Alone comes a powerful American epic about love and heroism and hope\, set during the Great Depression\, a time when the country was in crisis and at war with itself\, when millions were out of work and even the land seemed to have turned against them. \n“My land tells its story if you listen. The story of our family.” \nTexas\, 1921. A time of abundance. The Great War is over\, the bounty of the land is plentiful\, and America is on the brink of a new and optimistic era. But for Elsa Wolcott\, deemed too old to marry in a time when marriage is a woman’s only option\, the future seems bleak. Until the night she meets Rafe Martinelli and decides to change the direction of her life. With her reputation in ruin\, there is only one respectable choice: marriage to a man she barely knows. \nBy 1934\, the world has changed; millions are out of work and drought has devastated the Great Plains. Farmers are fighting to keep their land and their livelihoods as crops fail and water dries up and the earth cracks open. Dust storms roll relentlessly across the plains. Everything on the Martinelli farm is dying\, including Elsa’s tenuous marriage; each day is a desperate battle against nature and a fight to keep her children alive. \nIn this uncertain and perilous time\, Elsa–like so many of her neighbors–must make an agonizing choice: fight for the land she loves or leave it behind and go west\, to California\, in search of a better life for her family. \nThe Four Winds a rich\, sweeping novel that stunningly brings to life the Great Depression and the people who lived through it–the harsh realities that divided us as a nation and the enduring battle between the haves and the have-nots. A testament to hope\, resilience\, and the strength of the human spirit to survive adversity\, The Four Winds is an indelible portrait of America and the American dream\, as seen through the eyes of one indomitable woman whose courage and sacrifice will come to define a generation. \n\n\nDiscussion Questions\n\n\n\n\nSpoiler Alert: Please note that the discussion guide below contain spoilers to the book. \n\n“Hope is a coin I carry. . . . There were times in my journey when it felt as if that penny and the hope it represented were the only things that kept me going.” (1) What is the significance of the fact that it is an American penny? In what ways does hope anchor us in the moment\, and in what ways does it push us forward? Do you or your family have any keepsakes that represent your family’s hope for the future?\n\n\n“But we women of the Great Plains worked from sunup to sundown\, too\, toiled on wheat farms until we were as dry and baked as the land we loved.” (1) The stories of women have largely gone undocumented throughout history\, and this era is no different. It is changing\, slowly\, and women’s courage and determination and victories are being brought to light. How are women’s stories different? Why do you think they’ve gone unreported for so long? Do you think sharing these stories will make a difference to future generations?\n\n\nLife was very different for unmarried young women in earlier generations. Expectations for their future were sharply defined. How is Elsa shaped by these expectations and her failure to meet them? Do you think it would have been the same for her in New York City? Did you feel compressed by expectation when you were growing up? Do you think these societal mores were designed to keep women “in their place”? How difficult is it to defy both family and society in a small town?\n\n\n“She wished she’d never read The Age of Innocence. What good came from all this unexpressed longing? She would never fall in love\, never have a child of her own.” (8) Literature is\, quite honestly\, the opening of a door. Through that door\, Elsa saw whole other lives\, other futures. What books influenced you when you were growing up? Did any novel and/or character change your perception of either yourself or the world? Did you identify with Elsa and her journey throughout this book? In what way?\n\n\n“She had to believe there was grit in her\, even if it had never been tested or revealed.” (9) This sentence highlights Elsa’s essentially hopeful nature\, even though she doesn’t believe in herself. Her family and her world have pared her down to inconsequence. Does this idea resonate with you? Have you seen it at work in other people? In yourself?\n\n\nIn 1920s America\, there was significant prejudice against Italians; we see that prejudice in Elsa’s own family. What does Rafe represent to Elsa on the night they meet? Is it simply sex and loneliness? Or do you think there’s something deeper involved? Another small defiance against her parents’ small-mindedness? What does it say about Elsa that she went with Rafe so willingly?\n\n\n“My land tells its story if you listen. The story of our family. We plant\, we tend\, we harvest. I make wine from grape cuttings that I brought here from Sicily\, and the wine I make reminds me of my father. It binds us\, one to another\, as it has for generations. Now it will bind you to us.” (51) How are people connected to the land that they occupy? What about the land they farm? Describe that unique and complicated connection.\n\n\nMotherhood changes Elsa in almost every way. What does she learn by becoming a mother? What does she learn about motherhood from Rose? How does motherhood strengthen a woman? How does it weaken her? How does Elsa remain “herself” after giving birth? How does she change?\n\n\nFew things can break a woman’s heart like motherhood. “Elsa grieved daily for the loss of that closeness with her firstborn. At first she’d tried to scale the walls of her daughter’s adolescent\, irrational anger; she’d volleyed back with words of love\, but Loreda’s continuing\, thriving impatience with Elsa had done worse than grind her down. It had resurrected all the insecurities of childhood.” (66) If you’re a parent\, did this passage resonate with you? Why?\n\n\nThe adolescent years can be especially difficult on mothers and daughters. Did you dislike Loreda during these years? Did you understand her?\n\n\n“Tony and Rose were the kind of people who expected life to be hard and had become tougher to survive. . . . They might have come off the boat as Anthony and Rosalba\, but hard work and the land had turned them into Tony and Rose. Americans. They would die of thirst and hunger before they’d give that up.” (76) Do you think this attitude is a common thread in those who across generations have come to chase the “American Dream”? Why is land so important to that dream? How does one “become American”?\n\n\nThere is a strong thread running through this novel about man’s connection to the land. During the Dust Bowl\, while many families went west in search of work and a better life\, most of them stayed behind on their parched farms. Why do you think that is?\n\n\nWhat bonds Loreda and her father? What dreams do they share? Do they intend to exclude Elsa\, whom they perceive as just a workhorse? Or is she partially to blame for being ostracized? How does her lack of self-esteem color her relationships with her husband and eldest child?\n\n\nWhat do you think about Rafe? Was he as trapped by his family’s expectations as Elsa had been by her own? Did you expect him to leave?\n\n\nHow would you describe the Texas landscape the author paints? With its dust storms and earth dry and zigzag cracked\, is it like any you’ve known?\n\n\n“Even if they didn’t speak of their love\, or share their feelings in long\, heartfelt conversations\, the bond was there. Sturdy. They’d sewn their lives together in the silent way of women unused to conversation. Day after day\, they worked together\, prayed together\, held their growing family together through the hardships of farm life.” (90–91) Do you share a similar bond with the women in your life—either as a mother\, a daughter\, or a daughter-in-law? With your friends? Why do you think female bonding is so important to women?\n\n\nWhy does Rafe leave and what is he chasing out west? Do you have sympathy for how broken he felt by the poverty and hardship? Should Elsa have agreed to go with him? How does Elsa aim to fill his void\, and why does she believe she loves him even after the abandonment?\n\n\nWhy does the Martinelli family stay under such brutal conditions—the heat\, the dust storms\, the lack of food\, and the dying livestock? Does it reveal anything about the grit that literally fills their bodies? What choices do they have\, and what might you have done during the drought? Were you surprised that Elsa set off without her in-laws? Would you have had the courage to do the same?\n\n\nHow have the Dust Bowl and “going west” been treated by the American imagination (perhaps in song or cinema)? What has been glamorized\, and what grittiness has been left out or effectively captured? Elsa compares them to the early pioneers in their covered wagons. Is that an accurate comparison?\n\n\nLife in California is not at all what the migrants expected\, what advertisements had led them to believe. The locals treat them badly\, are afraid of them. Why is that? How does the treatment of migrants in California during the Great Depression mirror the treatment of immigrants today? How is it the same? How is it different?\n\n\nHow do Elsa and her family remain unbroken even while enduring crippling poverty\, food and shelter insecurity\, and living in a town that is hostile to them? Would they have fared better in Texas?\n\n\nWhat do Jack and the Communist union organizers offer the migrant workers\, and Loreda in particular? Why is it a risk to associate with them and what is Elsa’s hesitation?\n\n\nIn the 1930s\, communism and socialism were on the rise\, partially in response to the grinding poverty\, joblessness\, and despair. The Communists claimed that “communism is the new Americanism.” Can you understand why people believed in that? What do we know now that people didn’t know then? How do you think these perceptions have changed over time?\n\n\nDiscuss the shift in thinking that happens between generations—the freedoms longed for and the sacrifices required. The Greatest Generation was shaped by the Great Depression and World War II. They willingly sacrificed for each other and did what they could to help. How is the modern world different? How do we face our own dark times?\n\n\nHow does the Great Depression setting of The Four Winds compare to America during the pandemic? What lessons of resilience and healing might be embedded in this story? How might others’ struggles inspire us? Do you have any family stories from the Depression?\n\n\nThey say that those who do not learn from history are doomed to repeat it. During the COVID- 19 pandemic\, Americans were faced with many of the same challenges of the Great Depression. Did we learn from previous generations? What differences can you see in the two difficult times? What similarities? How do you think future generations will judge the America of today?\n\n\n“Courage is fear you ignore.” Discuss this. How do Elsa’s and Loreda’s actions embody this idea? Fighting for any kind of social equality or radical change often requires great personal sacrifice.\nFighting for any kind of social equality or radical change often requires great personal sacrifice. How does Elsa represent the courage it takes to stand up and make trouble and be counted?\n\n\nWhy was it so important for Loreda to get her mother back to Texas\, even if at such a high cost? How did she finally come to understand her mother and her choices through a new lens?\n\n\nDid you find the end of Elsa’s and her family’s journey satisfying? Where do you think Ant and Loreda ended up? How do you see Loreda’s life being like her mother’s? How will it be different? URL:https://mainstreetreads.com/event/4083/ LOCATION:Main Street Reads\, 115 S. Main St.\, Summerville\, SC\, 29483\, United States CATEGORIES:Book Club,Book Discussion ATTACH;FMTTYPE=image/png:https://mainstreetreads.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/01/living-large-bookclub-march.png ORGANIZER;CN="Main Street Reads":MAILTO:shari@writerswin.com END:VEVENT END:VCALENDAR