Texas Pages

And the "worst timing for a book release" award goes to:

Aspire Higher by Avery Johnson.

Here's a reminder that "Hecho en Tejas" is coming to town Saturday.

And two tickets are available for the claiming by e-mailing me at mmerschel@dallasnews.com.

Arlington book buyers are losing a Barnes & Noble.

But they are gaining a Barnes & Noble.

A press release sent around this morning says that the existing B&N at 3909 S. Cooper St. will close, as a new store opens May 14 in The Parks at Arlington, 3881 S. Cooper St.

At a Preview Night Party froom 6 to 9 p.m. on May 13 ,a portion of the sales will benefit the Arlington Public Library, the release says.

From The Associated Press:

NEW YORK -- A book about the rise and stunning decline of former New York Gov. Eliot Spitzer, co-authored by the makers of a book and film about the fall of Enron, is being published by Penguin Group (USA), Penguin imprint Portfolio announced Wednesday.
Peter Elkind, who helped write the best-seller about Enron, "The Smartest Guys in the Room," is collaborating on the Spitzer book with filmmaker Alex Gibney, who is making a documentary about the law-and-order Democrat who resigned last month over allegations about his connection to a $5,500-an-hour call girl ring.
The book's title and publication date weren't immediately available.

She had eyes like two turntables mix(h)er in between my dreams and reality blend in ancient themes the bas(e)is of isis cross-faded to ankh the beat drops like a cliff overlooking my heart.

Pulitzer Prize-winning author H.G. "Buzz" Bissinger visited the Mansfield Public Library on April 26 and offered a lively discussion on life, the economy, the Olympics, and most of all, Friday Night Lights, the book he wrote that chronicles a season in the life of the Odessa Permian High School football team. He also brought along a friend, former Permian running back James "Boobie" Miles, whose story forms the emotional core of the book Sports Illustrated ranked as the fourth-greatest book ever written about sports.

For photos from the Mansfield Reads! event, visit neighborsgo.com. For the neighborsgo story, take a look here.

From The Associated Press:

Gary Snyder, a poet known for his verse about nature and spirituality and a former member of the beat movement along with Allen Ginsberg and Jack Kerouac, has won the $100,000 Ruth Lilly Poetry Prize, awarded annually by the Chicago-based Poetry Foundation.
"Gary Snyder is in essence a contemporary devotional poet, though he is not devoted to any one god or way of being so much as to Being itself," Christian Wiman, chair of the selection committee, said in a statement Tuesday.
Mr. Snyder, who turns 78 in May, has published such collections as Regarding Wave, No Nature and Turtle Island, winner of the Pulitzer Prize in 1975.

The weight of this sad time we must obey/Speak what we feel, not what we ought to say.

*This line was suggested by Dallas poet M.A.M. Redmond. Please share your favorite lines of poetry by submitting a comment or e-mailing me.

This week's literary banquet includes:
* Life Beyond Measure: Letters to My Great-Granddaughter, by Sidney Poitier (HarperOne, $25.95). Recounts the actor's influential life and career.
* A Wolf at the Table: A Memoir of My Father, by Augusten Burroughs (St. Martin's, $24.95). From the author of way too many memoirs for someone his age; this one explores his horrendous relationship (if you want to call it that) with his father.
* Boots on the Ground by Dusk: My Tribute to Pat Tillman, by Mary Tillman (Modern Times, $25.95). The account by his mother of the former NFL player's controversial death by friendly fire in Afghanistan.
* Sundays at Tiffany's, by James Patterson and Gabrielle Charbonnet (Little, Brown, $24.99). Follows a lonely woman who is reunited with a childhood love.
* The Lady Elizabeth, by Alison Weir (Ballantine, $25). For those whose interest has been whetted by, perhaps, a duo of Cate Blanchett movies, this chronicles the turbulent early life of Queen Elizabeth I.
* Child 44, by Tom Rob Smith (Grand Central, $24.99). A former war hero tries to find a serial killer in Stalinist Russia.
* Hidden History: Untold Tales of the First Pilgrims, Fighting Women, and Forgotten Founders Who Shaped a Nation, by Kenneth C. Davis (Collins, $26.95). A trot through lesser-known incidents in American history.

James Marcus at Critical Mass shares his experiences at the Los Angeles Times Festival of Books.

Note these numbers: 400 authors, 140,000 visitors.

Is this something Dallas could pull off someday? Maybe Laura Bush can put that wing of the new family library to use?

I'm usually not too impressed when I check out an author's blog after reading the book. But I recently read Rockabye by Rebecca Woolf and I find myself going back to her two blogs frequently.

The book's about her unexpected pregnancy at the age of 23 and how it changed her life--she's honest and funny and you just want to call her up and invite her out for drinks. You know, if she can find a sitter. Her blogs are Straight From the Bottle and Girl's Gone Child, and you get more of the same kind of peeks into her life that make the book so appealing. For example, she's missing her son during her book tour, and, oh, and she's pregnant again.

If you read just one meaningless, ridiculously funny books link this week, you must read the most literate rap song ever written: "Baby Got Books," as posted on the "Shelftalker" blog and referenced by our friend Galleycat.

As I wipe the tears out of my eyes, here is a sample:

I like pages galore
And when I'm in an indie bookstore
I just can't help myself, I'm actin' like an animal
Now here's my scandal
I wanna take 'em all home
And ugh, double-up, ugh, ugh
I ain't talking 'bout Dan Brown
'Cause his books are made for clowns

And all you single readerz may wish to try this line out on the ladies this weekend:

'Cause I'm glossy, and I'm saucy
And I'm down to be your Mr. Darcy.

Word.

The season turned like the page of a glossy fashion magazine.

Hoagland will be at the Round Top poetry festival this weekend.

Here's the list of winners from this weekend's Nebula Awards in Austin.

(Here's our earlier story, in case you missed it.)

Here's an excerpt from "The Girl With No Shadow," by Joanne Harris.

You can read the review in today's GuideLive; you can also see her Tuesday at Arts & Letters Live. (And there's more about her at her publisher's site as well.)

Catch mega-selling author Mary Higgins Clark Monday morning on "Good Morning Texas," which airs at 9 a.m. on WFAA-TV (Channel 8.)

Later in the week, GMT has scheduled comedian Chelsea Handler, who will be in town to sign the memorably titled "Are You There Vodka? It's Me Chelsea?" 7 p.m. Friday at Borders, Preston Road at Royal Lane.

Here's a look at the reviews you will find in Sunday's GuideLive:

The Girl With No Shadow, by Joanne Harris, she'll be at Arts & Letters Live on Tuesday -- and we'll have an excerpt from her book as well.

Our second novel this week is The Age of Shiva, by Manil Suri.

For history buffs, we offer Taking on the Trust: The Epic Battle of Ida Tarbell and John D. Rockefeller by Steve Weinberg.

If you prefer your history to be more current, we have Going to War: How Misinformation, Disinformation and Arrogance Led America into the Iraqi Quagmire, by Russ Hoyle.

Finally, for your inner pirate, there's Silver by Edward Chupack.

Plus -- Si Dunn offers a look at Texas and Southwest books.

See you Sunday.

In development that is either a fresh sign of the impending collapse of Western culture, or just another example of how the English language evolves, a new study says that the language of texting is showing up in more writing by teens.

The study also found that teens who keep blogs are more likely to engage in personal writing. They also tend to believe that writing will prove crucial to their eventual success in life.

Which I suppose should make us all :)

If there was any doubt that Texas author Rick Riordan was hitting it big with kids with his Percy Jackson series (which started with The Lightning Thief), the author has just signed a multi-book deal with Disney Publishing Worldwide which includes a new, original fantasy series. In the meantime, a 1 million copy first printing has been announced for the fourth in the projected five book series about a boy who discovers his father is Poseidon (yes, the Greek god of the sea). Percy Jackson & The Olympians, Book 4: The Battle of the Labyrinth comes out Tuesday, May 6. I've got an advance copy in hand and Greek god fan that I am, I'm thoroughly getting into it...And while Mr. Riordan won't be in town for the big release, his cousin Minette Riordan, will be at the Barnes & Noble at 7700 West Northwest Highway Tuesday, May 6 from 4 to 5 p.m. to read from the book and host lots of myth-themed activities. Call 214-739-1124 for information.

Before poetry month slips away, here's a brief tribute to a couple of gifted women.

The first is the author of one of my favorite poems, Ann Darr. She wrote "Before Dawn," wherein she talks of the nasty things she will do to a bird that has awakened her. The last lines are:

I shall debird him. Hold.
On what do I sharpen my cry?

Ms. Darr, it turns out, trained in Sweetwater, Texas during WWII, as one of the pioneering WASP pilots. She died late last year.

His father lifted him, tucking his arms under the shoulders and knees of a son lighter than origami, pieta flowering as he carried the boy.

The Black Academy of Arts and Letters plans a discussion of Chinua Achebe's Things Fall Apart at its African Thinkers Roundtable Writers Breakfast 10 a.m. Saturday at the Dallas Convention Center Theatre Complex (at the corner of Canton and Akard Streets), Room T-203. $10 for the breakfast buffet. The box office can be reached at 214-743-2400.

I enjoyed the responses to the post about the secret horrors of working in a bookstore.

Now here's a story from a fellow survivor, spotted by alert staffer Christopher Wynn, about something I never had to deal with: shoplifting crazies, and a list of the most-stolen books.

(R-rated language alert -- it's an alt-weekly story.)

Despite its flaws, I did enjoy Andrei Cherny's history of the Berlin Airlift, "The Candy Bombers," which was reviewed on Sunday.

The airlift itself is in the news again, it turns out, as Berlin debates what to do with Tempelhof Airport, the Nazi-era complex that became a Cold War icon.

If you are planning to see Hecho en Tejas: An Anthology of Texas-Mexican Literature in Dallas 7:30 p.m. May 3 at the Latino Cultural Center, you should probably act quickly in one of two ways.

Organizers tell me they are expecting the event to sell out. So if you want to see Tony Díaz, Joel Garza, Dagoberto Gilb, Tammy Gomez, Christine Granados, Macarena Hernández, Diana López and Rolando Hinojosa-Smith, as well as musicians Santiago Jimenez Jr. and David Garza, you should call Ed Gonzales at 214-671-0045. Tickets are $5-$15.

But if you act really quickly, our friends in the Hecho crew are graciously providing two free tickets to readers of Texas Pages. Just be the first to e-mail me at mmerschel@dallasnews.com.

For those wondering what the fuss is, here's a review of the book.

William C. Hardt and retired United Methodist Bishop John Wesley Hardt have written a very comprehensive reference book charting the growth of various Methodist groups in the Lone Star State. It's published by CrossHouse Publishing of Garland - 1-877-212-0933. Click here to order from Amazon.com.

We real cool. We
Left school. We

Jazz June. We
Die soon.

According to Academy of American Poets, this is the 3rd most popular poem clicked on by Texas readers.