Author Events for February at VHOB

My blog titles keep getting more and more creative, don't you think?  Regardless, we've got 4 super events lined up for this month.  Here they are, with a little blurb about each author.

Wednesday, Feb. 5, Seth Rosenfeld, Subversives.  Seth details the FBI's involvement with Cal Berkeley in the early 1960's.  He focuses on Mario Savio, the leader of the free speech movement, Ronald Reagan, in his early political career, and Clark Kerr, the liberal University of California president.  He shows how the FBI's secret involvement with these 3 people helped lead to an entire era of student protest.  For those of us who lived through that time (I went to Cal Berkeley starting in 1967), it sounds like a fascinating look behind the scenes.  For those of you young 'uns, it gives you a chance to learn some important history about the '60's and '70's.  I don't think any of you want to miss this book by a local freelance journalist.

Wednesday, Feb. 12, Marian Szczepanski, Playing St. Barbara.  I have already written a review of this book, on January 23.  I liked it a lot.  It depicts, in great detail, what it was like to live in a small mining town in Pennsylvania in the 1930's.  Marian happens to be visiting the area from Texas, and we feel very fortunate to have her coming to VHOB.

Tuesday, Feb. 18, Amy Franklin-Willis, The Lost Saints of Tennessee.  We're very excited to have Amy coming to VHOB for several reasons.  1st of all, I gave this book a 4.0 when I read it back in September of last year (and a number of people have echoed this sentiment).  Secondly, this book is the subject of our 2nd VHOB Book Club meeting.  So, not only will we meet from 6:30-7:15 to discuss Saints, but Amy will then be coming to the bookstore to meet us.  And, thirdly, even if you're not a VHOB Book Club member, you will still want to come and see Amy.  If you haven't read her book, then you will have the opportunity to meet Amy, buy her book, and have her sign it for you.

Thursday, Feb. 27, Nick Taylor, Father Junipero's Confessor.  Here's a description of the book that I found on Nick's website:

Led by the zealous Fray Junípero Serra, missionaries Francisco Palóu and Juan Crespí vie for their master's fickle favor as a chain of missions creeps north up the fog-enshrouded coast of Alta California.

A master stylist and a meticulous researcher, Nick Taylor vividly captures the atmosphere of early California as he dramatizes the politics of the era: the horrifying and tragic gaps in understanding between priests and natives; the vicious power plays between crown and church; and the fervor, ambition, and desperation that fueled European settlement of the region. This novel’s publication coincides with the celebration of the 300th anniversary of Junípero Serra’s birth.

This is going to be a great month for us.  We hope to see many of you there.