Book Notes

By The Daily Progress Staff

Published: November 23, 2008

Two authors will read at New Dominion on Friday

New Dominion Bookshop will host book-signings by Nin Andrews and Anne Marie Slaughter this week.

Andrews will be reading from “Sleeping with Houdini” and “Dear Professor: Do You Live in a Vacuum?” at 4 p.m. Friday.

Slaughter will discuss “The Idea That Is America: Keeping Faith With Our Values in a Dangerous World.”

Andrews grew up on a farm near Charlottesville. She received her BA in 1980 from Hamilton College and her MFA in 1995 from Vermont College. Andrews is the author of “Spontaneous Breasts,” “Any Kind of Excuse,” and “Midlife Crisis with Dick and Jane.”

Andrews’ poems and stories have appeared in many literary journals and anthologies including Ploughshares, the Paris Review, Best American Poetry (1997, 2001, 2003) and the KGB Bar Book of Poems. She received individual artist grants from the Ohio Arts Council in 1997 and 2003.

Slaughter was raised in Charlottesville by her American father and Belgian mother. She graduated magna cum laude from Princeton in 1980, where she majored in the Woodrow Wilson School and received a certificate in European cultural studies. She won the Daniel M. Sachs Memorial Scholarship, one of Princeton’s top honors, which provides for two years of study at Oxford University.

She received her degrees in international relations from Oxford in 1982 and 1992,  and her law degree from Harvard Law School, cum laude, in 1985. Before joining the Harvard faculty she taught at the University of Chicago Law School. She is the dean of the Woodrow Wilson School of Public and International Affairs.

She writes and teaches on global governance, international criminal law and American foreign policy.

She also is the author of “A New World Order.”

Slaughter is a frequent commentator on foreign affairs in newspapers, radio, and television. She is a member of the National War Powers Commission.

For more information, call 295-2552.

Local librarians capture honors in Scholastic contest

Two local librarians were winners in the “America the Beautiful Scavenger Hunt” contest.

Ninety librarians who submitted 10-question collections of unusual and fun facts about their states were selected. Their “scavenger hunts” will be published in the 53rd title in the “America the Beautiful, Third Series” book series next year called “Fast Facts about the 50 states.”

The new edition of America the Beautiful is being released in batches from fall 2007 through 2009 by Scholastic Library Publishing.

The winners from Virginia were Joyce Nelson of Dillwyn and Genevieve Gallagher of Charlottesville.

Each winning librarian will receive a free 52-book “America the Beautiful collection” — one book for each state, the District of Columbia and Puerto Rico — and a copy of the 53rd title when it’s published.

Jayne Cox schedules a month of local signings

Jayne D’ Alessandro Cox will be signing copies of her book, “A Miracle in Bethlehem, A Children’s Christmas Story,” at several area bookstores. Her schedule includes:

l Today: The Virginia Shop in Barracks Road from 1 to 3 p.m., and Charlottesville Fashion Square mall “Evening of Giving” from 6 to 9 p.m.

l Dec. 3: C’Ville Coffee from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m.

l Dec. 6: Christmas Holiday House at Jackie Collmus’s house at 3555 Montgomery Lane, Ivy, 10 a.m. to 2 p.m.; and Ivy Creek Methodist Church’s Evening with the Arts at 6 p.m.

l Dec. 10: Barnes and Noble, Barracks Road, 4 to 8 p.m.

l Dec. 13: EveryDay Cafe at Pantops Shopping Center from noon to 3 p.m.

l Dec. 20: Family Christian Store in Seminole Shopping Center from 10 a.m. to noon; and Waldensbooks in Fashion Square mall from 1 to 3 p.m.

Crump will sign book and lecture at Poplar Forest

Author Nancy Carter Crump will sign copies of her book, “Hearth Cooking,” from 11 a.m. to 2 p.m. Saturday in Poplar Forest’s Museum Shop.

On Nov. 30, tours of Thomas Jefferson’s retreat home will focus on early 19th-century holiday traditions. Crump will discuss holiday foods and spirits enjoyed in Jefferson’s time and the dining room table will be set for dessert.

Poplar Forest will offer half-price admission to all visitors on Nov. 30. Tours will take place from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m.

The latest edition of “Hearth Cooking” contains recipes for more than 250 historic dishes. There are two sets of instructions for each dish — to be prepared over the open fire or using modern kitchen appliances. With this new edition, Crump includes additional information on African- American foodways, how the Civil War affected traditional Southern food customs, and the late 19th-century transition from hearth to stove cooking.

Crump is a culinary historian and founder of the Culinary Historians of Virginia. A frequent lecturer at historic sites and other venues throughout the South, she lives in Staunton.

For more information, call (434) 525-1806.

Very Special Artists release new poetry collection

VSA Arts of Charlottesville Albemarle announces the release of its eighth poetry book, “Hold On to Your Dreams.”

The book can be purchased for a $10 donation at the Charlottesville Parks and Recreation Department in the City Hall Annex on East Market Street or by calling 970-3264.

From staff reports