Books

The recent announcement that Atomic Books will expand and make beer available at special events is an intriguing -- and promising -- development for all indie bookstores. We've all seen how hard it is for the small stores to compete these days. They've been hammered on all sides -- by giant Barnes & Noble, by discounters such as Walmart, and more recently by the growth of ebooks. It takes a lot of imaginative marketing -- and a fair share of good fortune -- to survive. That's why the Atomic Books expansion in Hampden is so interesting.

Eighteen months ago, Baltimore post-punk heroes Double Dagger played its final show at the Ottobar. But the trio of Nolen Strals, Denny Bowen and Bruce Willen aren't finished celebrating the band's career. On April 20 - internationally known as Record Store Day, which falls on the third Saturday in April each year - Double Dagger will host a free record release party at Hampden's Atomic Books . The trio is releasing its final album, a hard-hitting EP called "333," along with a documentary called "If We Shout Loud Enough" that follows the band on its final tour.

Breathe Books in Hampden says it will add a health-food cafe to its store next month. Owner Susan Weis-Bohlen says all the offerings will have at least one of five features: gluten free, vegan, vegetarian, raw or Ayurvedic -- Ayurveda is a holistic type of medicine that originated in India. This goes along with the store's stated mission to provide "books, music, and spiritual and inspirational items to help people continue their practice and journey. " "We will not be using white flour or white sugar; every ingredient will have some sort of nutritional quality," said Weis-Bohlen, who also lectures about Ayurvedic medicine at the University of Maryland's medical school.

Baltimore's Scary Mommy kicked off the tour for her new book Tuesday with an appearance on "Today. " The blogger/author Jill Smokler chatted with Hoda Kotb -- who said the book had her cracking up even though she doesn't have kids. "Motherhood Comes Naturally (and other vicious lies)" is Smokler's second book. For most of her air time, Smokler, who has three children, gamely fielded viewer parenting questions. One mother wanted to know how to get her two kids to spend time with the family instead of their electronic devices.

The Library of Congress released today the list of speakers for the fall National Book Festival, and, as usual, the event is studded with prominent writers and poets. Among the headliners: Margaret Atwood, Baltimore's own Taylor Branch, Don DeLillo, Khaled Hosseini, Barbara Kingsolver, Joyce Carol Oates, and U.S. Poet Laureate Natasha Trethewey. All together, there will be more than 100 speakers and there isn't much drop-off through the lineup. Take a quick glance at the list, and you'll see names including T.C. Boyle, Geraldine Brooks, Patricia Cornwell, Junot Díaz, Charlaine Harris, Jeff Kinney (Go Terps!

Kevin Kallaugher (aka KAL) is the man behind the insightful and often acerbic political cartoons that have appeared in more than 100 publications worldwide, among which is our own Baltimore Sun. His work epitomizes the age-old adage that the "pen is mightier than the sword. " In one fell swoop, KAL can tie the tongue of President Obama, plaster a peace sign on the balding head of then Russian President Gorbachev, part the Red Sea with a dragon wearing a Star of David, reconfigure the politically precious Iowa campaign grounds into a snowball battle, along with poking fun at himself with a caricature of all the bizarre images that roam around in his head before they make their way onto paper.

Thirty-four local authors attended Harford County Public Library's first Local Authors Day on March 24. In just two hours, approximately 70 customers visited with the diverse range of authors to chat about their work, get advice and purchase their books. "I don't even read that much but this was great," exclaimed one customer. Bethany Hacker, Community Relation's Specialist who coordinated the event commented, "I just thought it would be a good venue for authors to be able to network and meet with the public…a kind of celebrity sports signing event but for readers!"

Author George Saunders is having the kind of year that could lead the former roofer and slaughterhouse worker to imagine that someone is spritzing the air around him with a giant bottle of perfume. "The way things have been going recently, it's as if I had a personal sprayer walking behind me and making sure that the world always smells sweet," says the New York-based writer, who will visit Baltimore on April 13 to headline the 10th annual CityLit Festival. With the publication in January of his new book, "Tenth of December," Saunders, 54, a professor at Syracuse University, has been receiving the kind of attention seldom given to short-story writers - even those who, like him, received a 2006 MacArthur "genius" grant.

Jimmy Korderas is a friend of mine, so I wanted to unequivocally love “The Three Count.” But unfortunately, in the end I'm left more with mixed emotions. My problem with the book, if you can call it that, is one of perspective. There are two parts to the book in my opinion: the first I enjoyed and found quite fascinating, and the other part just wasn't for me. The part of the book that I loved was the “getting there” portion of his story.  Jimmy's journey from fan to WWE referee is a remarkable tale, one I doubt will ever be duplicated.

Anne Moore Burnett knew the other moms at the playground were rolling their eyes at her. Her son wouldn't go down the slide unless it was clean, so she was looking around for a stray napkin or anything she could find to wipe it down. As she felt their eyes on her, Burnett found herself almost wishing her son had a visible condition, such as Down Syndrome, so that at least on top of the issues she was dealing with she wouldn't also feel judged by other parents who didn't realize she took these "extra" measures because her son has sensory-sensitive autism.