1963. Hattertown, Connecticut. Leo “Half” Napoli mourns his hat factory worker father while daydreaming of being the first man on the moon and partaking of “something of the infinite.” Meanwhile he and his fellow Back Shop Boys (their fathers all worked in the dangerous, mercury-fume-laden back shops of hat factories) seek to learn the identity of the mysterious Man in Blue who wanders the town collecting odd items in his rucksack. Elected to spy on him, instead Half enters an odd friendship during the course of which the man teaches Half to swim. Meanwhile Half discovers not only what “Jack Thomas” has been collecting in his rucksack, but the extraordinary circumstances that led to his fugitive existence-an odyssey extending from pre-WWII Bohemia to a German POW Camp and beyond. A Boy’s Guide to Outer Space is about the places on earth where the mundane and the miraculous meet and one boy’s re-discovery of his lost sense of wonder.
Free and open to the public!
We have a wonderful morning planned for children and young adults! You can find Georgia-themed children’s books and titles from young adult author, Chris Negron. Join us for a fun morning meeting the authors and sampling some delicious boiled peanuts from Satterfield’s Barbeque.
Free and open to the public!
Description from the jacket: “Outside of a childhood nickname she can’t shake, Piglet’s rather pleased with how her life’s turned out. An up-and-coming cookbook editor at a London publishing house, she’s got lovely, loyal friends, and a handsome fiance, Kit . . . But when Kit confesses a horrible betrayal two weeks before they’re set to be married, Piglet finds herself suddenly . . . hungry . . . Torn between the life she’s always wanted and the ravenousness that comes with not getting what she knows she deserves, Piglet is, by the day of her wedding, undone, but also ready to look beyond the lies we sometimes tell ourselves to get by.”
Gordon Johnston is an integral part of Macon’s literary scene and is a beloved professor of English and Creative Writing at Mercer University. He writes fiction, poetry, and nonfiction and is frequently found in Georgia’s wild spaces and waterways. Gordon will have clay pages featuring his writing for sale as well. You don’t want to miss this opportunity to talk with Gordon and take a special piece of his work home.
“These lines . . . Suggest that nature, represented by the flowing Ocmulgee, is always in motion. Therefore, here is not a place that remains static but moves like a river. They sound philosophical, revealing the poet’s insight into nature and human nature. They also echo Heraclitus’ wise words: ‘No man steps into the same river twice, for it is not the same river and he is not the same man.’ In other words, nothing is eternal, or everything is transient because the river tells us that all things are in flux or change between existence and nonexistence.” John Zheng, North of Oxford
Free and open to the public
Books available for purchase
Offering an intimate account of intergenerational grief, Miller Oberman’s new collection of poetry explores his experiences as both a transgender child and father. Impossible Things offers a necessary intervention into the well-worn terrain of fatherhood/boyhood memoir and functions as a living elegy, communicating with the past, the dead, and the unknowable while speaking to the possibilities for healing intergenerational trauma.
Join Macon native and retired US Army Colonel, John Wood, for a reading and book signing. In Scattered Blossoms, an aging B-29 pilot returns to his childhood home in Japan to learn the fate of his adoptive family and the girl he loved. This event is free and open to the public.
We’re delighted to welcome Rosalind and Maggie Bunn, authors of All Aboard, Georgia, and Kelly Young-Silverman, author of Hot Boiled Peanuts: A Georgia Food Tour, to Bear’s Books to read and sign and books! Bring your littles to lean about Georgia Adventures. This event is free and open to the public.
Important Dates to Remember!
Program Start: Saturday, June 1
Halfway Point: Tuesday, July 16
Program End: Saturday, August 31
Tracker Due: Wednesday, September 4
Reading Program Wrap-Up Party: Friday, September 6
Program Perks!
-Shop All summmer long at Bear’s Books for 10% off! (Show your tracker.)
-Coupons & offers from our program partners
-July 16-21 halfway book raffle (Bring your tracker and show 5 books read for your chance to win!)