Biographies, Memoirs Featured at Nov. 9 Book Fair
Scott Simon, Kitty Kelley, Susan Baker, Capt. Chesley “Sully” Sullenberger and Jules Witcover will be among the nationally known authors in the Biography and Memoir section at the Book Fair & Authors' Night from 5:30 to 8:30 p.m. on Tuesday, Nov. 9. Washington Post cartoonist Nick Galiafinakis and best-selling author Debbie Macomber will be in the Lifestyle section.
For a contribution of $25, you can join fellow patrons in promoting a love of books and reading at this year's Book Fair. As a Friend of the Book Fair, members will receive a complimentary raffle ticket (a $10 value) for a chance to win one of a group of prizes, from round-trip Amtrak Acela tickets to New York City to a golf outing in Virginia. Your generosity will support the Club's Eric Friedheim National Journalism Library, a 501 (c)(3) that provides training, research and resources for news professionals and scholarships for the next generation of journalists. Click here to become a Friend of the Book Fair: http://press.org/library/book-fair/friends
Admission to the 33nd annual fair is free for NPC members, $5 for non-members..
No outside books permitted. A full list of participants is listed on the Club’s web site: http://press.org/library/book-fair
Authors in the Lifestyle and Memoir/Biography categories include:
Lifestyle
Nick Galiafinakis – “If You Loved Me, You'd Think This Was Cute: Uncomfortable True Cartoons About You” $12.99
With observations on life, love, relationships and pet camaraderie, Galifianakis's intricate black-and-white illustrations are paired with his biting wit and pointed message: If we can't laugh at ourselves, he'll do it for us. His cartoons accompany the advice column by Carolyn Hax, host of the most popular feature on washingtonpost.com whose column is syndicated nationally.
Debbie Macomber – “God's Guest List: Welcoming Those Who Influence Our Lives” $24.99
Macomber uses true stories and insight to take readers on a journey to discover the shaping influence others have on us and the power we have to shape and influence those who cross our path.
Memoir/Biography
Susan Baker – “Passing It On: An Autobiography with Spirit” $27.95
“Passing It On” tells the story of a difficult divorce, remarriage and the struggle to blend eight children into a new family by the wife of former Secretary of State James A. Baker III.
Wendy Burden –“Dead End Gene Pool” $26.00
For generations the Burdens were one of the wealthiest families in New York, thanks to the inherited fortune of Cornelius "The Commodore" Vanderbilt. In her memoir, this great-great-great-great granddaughter takes a look at the decline of the family.
Ken Corday –“The Days of Our Lives: The Untold Story of One Family's Dream and the True History of Days of Our Lives” $24.99
The executive producer of “Days of Our Lives” gives the first insider account of the history behind the soap opera.
Gayle Haggard –“Why I Stayed: The Choices I Made in My Darkest Hour” $25.99
Haggard’s life changed forever when her husband, Ted Haggard, founder of the 14,000-member New Life Church in Colorado Springs and president of the National Association of Evangelicals, was exposed in a scandal. In the book, she describes the choices she made in her most difficult times.
Kitty Kelley –“Oprah: A Biography” $30.00
Celebrity biographer Kelley uncovers the secrets of the talk show host and humanitarian. Kelley weaves her revelations from interviews with those who knew Oprah best -- relatives, former lovers and co-workers.
Jillian Lauren – “Some Girls: My Life in a Harem” - $15
At 18, Lauren was an NYU theater school dropout with a tip about an upcoming audition. The "casting director" told her that a rich businessman in Singapore would pay pretty American girls $20,000 if they stayed for two weeks to spice up his parties. Soon, Lauren was on a plane to Borneo, where she would spend the next 18 months in the harem of Prince Jefri Bolkiah, youngest brother of the Sultan of Brunei. More than just a sexy read set in an exotic land, “Some Girls” is also the story of how a rebellious teen found herself and the courage to meet her birth mother and eventually adopt a baby boy.
Debbie Levy – “The Year of Goodbyes: A True Story of Friendship, Family and Farewells” $16.99
Weaving together her mother’s autograph album and her own verse, Levy crafts a poignant portrait of her Jewish mother’s life in 1938 Nazi Germany. Levy creates a three-dimensional snapshot of a year of family upheaval and the sorrow of losing friends. The family emigrates to the U.S., but many of their friends and family do not survive. While abstaining from horrific details, this book clearly presents key historical events and their direct impact on a perceptive young girl.
Diane Rehm – “Life with Maxie” $12.99
Radio talk-show host Diane Rehm gives fans an inside look into her life through the story of Maxie, her long-haired Chihuahua.
Scott Simon – “Baby, We Were Meant for Each Other” $22
NPR’s award-winning Simon tells the story of how he and his wife found true love with two tiny strangers from the other side of the world. It’s a book of unforgettable moments: when Scott and Caroline get their first thumb-size pictures of their daughters, when the small girls are placed in their arms, and all the laughs and struggles along the way. Simon includes the stories of other adoptive families - some are famous and some are not - and each family’s saga captures facets of the miracle of adoption.
Capt. Chesley “Sully” Sullenberger –“Highest Duty: My Search for What Really Matters” $25.99
On Jan. 15, 2009, Sullenberger glided US Airways Flight 1549 onto the surface of the Hudson River, saving the lives of all 155 aboard. His cool actions not only averted tragedy but made him a hero and an inspiration worldwide. His book reveals lessons from childhood, his military service and his work as a commercial airline pilot.
Lisa Tracy – “Objects of Our Obsession: Uncovering My Family’s Past, One Chair, Pistol, and Pickle Fork at a Time” $25
After their mother’s death, Tracy and her sister are left to contend with several households’ worth of furniture and memorabilia, much of it accumulated during their family’s many decades of military service in far-flung outposts. Tracy chronicles the interior life of those possessions and discovers that the roots of our passion for acquisition often lie not in shallow materialism but in our desire to possess the most treasured commodity of all: a connection to the past.
Jay Varner – “Nothing Left to Burn” $23.95
This memoir looks into the life of a family that has spent years harboring secrets, both dark and volatile. It tells the story of a son’s relationship with his father, the fire chief and a local hero, and his grandfather, a serial arsonist.
Jules Witcover – “Joe Biden: A Life of Trial and Redemption” - $27.99
Veteran political commentator Witcover chronicles Vice President Joe Biden's growth as a political operative, his personal tragedies and political triumphs, his mistakes, and his disappointments. The biography stretches from his childhood, unlikely 1972 senatorial election, presidential campaigns, and work on the Senate Judiciary and Foreign Relations committees, through his first year as vice president.
-- Julie Schoo, [email protected]