Meg Haston, How to Rock Break Ups and Make Ups (Poppy Books), Saturday, October 6 at 7 pm

 

Meg Haston grew up and lives in Jacksonville.  She is the author of How to Rock Braces and the imagination behind the Nickelodeon series How to Rock.  In her latest book, Kacey Simon is back to wearing contacts, and she's finally adjusted to her braces (no more lisp).  But while she looks like her old self, she's trying her best not to slip into her former mean-girl ways.  That is, until Stevie (Zander's ex-girlfriend) moves to town.  With no more thought to the lessons she learned during her stay in Loserville, Kacey joins forces with her old friends to knock Stevie out of the spotlight, but it soon becomes apparent that there's an even bigger problem--Stevie's dad is dating Kacey's mom!  
 

Star Wars Reads Day, Saturday, October 6 from noon - 2 pm

 

Bookstores across the country will celebrate the love of reading and Star Wars on this day.  For fans, we will have activities, prizes, games and more, including treats.  So mark your calendars and "May the force be with you!"

 

Jane Seymour, Open Hearts Family: Connecting with One Another" (Running Press), Sunday, October 7 at 1 pm (NOTE the new time at 1 pm!)

 

  Jane Seymour is perhaps best known for her acting career--in a James Bond film, as Marie Antoinette, or as Dr. Quinn, Medicine Woman--but she also paints and designs jewelry.  Inspired by her "Healing Hearts" paintings and her trademarked Open Hearts Family jewelry collection, this book celebrates both the families we were born to and the families that we make for ourselves among friends and all who touch our lives.  The Open Hearts design reflects life's joys, heartaches, and inspirations.  Moving quotes, poems, real-life stories submitted by fans, and Seymour's equally inspirational artwork come together in this book that reminds us that if we keep our hearts open, love will always find its way in.  This is perfect for you and someone special in your life.  Remember, the holidays are not that far away...

 

Jan Brett, Mossy (Putnam Publishing Group), Thursday, October 11 from 5-7 pm 

  

It's been ten years since Jan Brett's last visit to The BookMark.  This time, she's not only talking about her new book, she's also giving an art demonstration to show how she creates her amazing illustrations.  Mossy is the story of an unusual turtle with a magnificent garden growing on her back.  In this engaging book, Brett shows that animals belong in their natural habitats.  Brett has over 38 million books for children in print.  She is inspired by her love of the natural world.  Some of her earlier books include Annie and the Wild Animals, Daisy Comes Home, Gingerbread Baby, Hedgie's Surprise, and The Mitten, among others. When you get your copy of Mossy you might want to find one or more of your old favorites as well.  We have those available for you as well.

 

Beaches Town Center Halloween Parade, Saturday, October 20, 10 am - 1 pm

 

This is a free family event for children of all ages. Make-your-own-crafts, games and refreshments provided.  Registration for the costume contest starts in the courtyard on First Street, between Lemon and Orange Streets.  The costume paraders will walk on the sidewalk though Beaches Town Center with costume contest winners announced following the parade. Prizes will be awarded. Trick-or-Treat in all of the participating shops and restaurants in Beaches Town Center during and after the parade.  This is a fun annual event that gives you a chance to try out your Halloween costume before the big day.

 

Robert Macomber, Honorable Lies  (Pineapple Press), Sunday, October 28 at 3 pm

 

It's September 1888, and Commander Peter Wake, Office of Naval Intelligence, has five days to rescue his two captured operatives from a dungeon in Spanish colonial Havana.  His plan quickly falls apart on the first day when long-time nemesis Colonel Isidro Marron, head of Spanish counter-intelligence, springs a deadly trap that Wake can't avoid.  Huguenots, Freemasons, the beautiful actress Sarah Bernhardt, the re-election of President Grover Cleveland, and Cuban patriot Jose Marti are all part of the desperate action as Peter Wake uses innovation and experience to defy the odds.  This is the tenth book in the series that covers the life and career of Commander Peter Wake from 1863 - 1908.

  

Janis Owens, American Ghost (Scribner Book Co), Tuesday, October 30 at 7 pm

 

 Pat Conroy says "Owens' voice is pure as a stream and real as a plowed furrow.  The South has rarely produced a writer this authentic and original.  She is the real thing, at last." And this is the book she was born to write.  Jolie Hoyt is a small-town girl living in Hendrix, Florida, raised under the watchful eye of her Pentecostal preacher father.  Her entire life she's wanted only to get out of Hendrix and escape the fate of becoming just another woman stuck at home with children and loads of laundry.  But Jolie's resolve is tested when she meets and falls in love with Sam Lense, a Miami-born Jewish anthropology student.  Despite their electric connection, their love affair is threatened by Sam's interest in the town's dark racial past and the Hoyt family secrets that emerge.  This is not just a thorny love story, but is also a fictional representation of modern day efforts to uncover the truth behind the 1934 lynching of Claude Neal in Marianna, Florida. 

 

 

Jennifer Nelson, Airbrushed Nation: The Lure and Loathing of   Women's Magazines (Seal Press), Thursday, November 1 at 7 pm

     

Jennifer Nelson-a longtime industry insider-exposes the naked truth behind the glossy pages of women's magazines, both good and bad. She delves deep into the world of glossies, explaining the ways in which these magazines have been positive for women, highlighting the ways in which their agendas have been misguided, and asking the questions that have long gone unasked: What do women think and believe about the retouched photos, the ubiquitous sex advice, the constant offensive on aging, and the fantasy fashion spreads featuring unaffordable clothing and accessories? Do the unrealistic ads, images, and ideals that permeate glossies damage women's self-esteem-and is it intentional? Critical, clever, and full of tantalizing insider information, this is a book for every woman who reads these magazines-those who hate them, those who love them, and those who live by them.   

 

Eric Deggans, "Race Baiter: How the Media Wields Dangerous Words to Divide a Nation (Palgrave Macmillan), Thursday, November 8 at 7 pm

 

Deggans, the TV and media critic for the Tampa Bay Times, dissects how popular pundits and anchors concoct a web of hate and untruth to recruit viewers, saying " trust us, not them."  In this thoughtful, controversial book, Deggans explores the racial strategies he sees used by conservative media for political advantage, and also cites the blow-by-blow battles between FOX and MSNBC. 

 

 B. A. Shapiro, "The Art Forger" Algonquin Books), Monday, November 19 at 7 pm (NOTE the new date & time)

      

The 1990 Isabella Stewart Gardner Museum heist is the centerpiece of this debut   novel.  Fact and fiction are woven together in a story that exposes the underbelly of the art world, including the skill and larceny involved in creating a copy of a painting.  Mix this with passion, family feuds, ego, and talent, and you get a rich palette of story and characters that combine to create a thrilling canvas.  Is it too corny to call The Art Forger a masterpiece?!  The BookMark is partnering with MOCA/Jacksonville for this event.  In addition to meeting and listening to the author, you will get a chance to hear from MOCA staff about the museum and how they secure their collection.  MOCA is also generously offering a special reduced rate for membership that day.  This is a great way to support the bookstore and the museum.