Pittsburgh Lit: What We’re Reading in May
Kristofer Collins' selections include a warm and witty ode to all things bookish and a collection of essays.
PHOTO: SHUTTERSTOCK
The Greater Pittsburgh Festival of Books returns this month for its third year. More than 60 authors and poets will be in attendance giving readings, participating in panel discussions and signing books. Storytimes should please youngsters while young adult readers can participate in workshops and create their own digital comics. The free festival will be held from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. Saturday, May 11 at the Pittsburgh Theological Seminary in East Liberty.
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“Why We Read: On Bookworms, Libraries, and Just One More Page Before Lights Out”
Shannon Reed
Hanover Square Press, $27.99
While at the festival, stop and chat with local author Shannon Reed. The University of Pittsburgh professor’s “Why We Read: On Bookworms, Libraries, and Just One More Page Before Lights Out” is a warm and witty ode to all things bookish. The book is at turns snarky and generous in its ruminations about the reading life. “Sometimes we read for comfort. Sometimes to feel superior. Sometimes to learn. Sometimes because we are told to. Sometimes out of love, sometimes out of jealousy, sometimes to feel better,” she writes. Reed shows herself to be a wonderful companion as she explores the literary world.
“Millions of Suns: On Writing and Life”
Sharon Fagan McDermott and M.C. Benner Dixon
University of Michigan Press, $24.95
Still feeling bitten by the book bug? Check out “Millions of Suns: On Writing and Life” by Sharon Fagan McDermott and M. C. Benner Dixon. With each chapter consisting of two paired essays on a specific theme, one from each author, “Millions of Suns” offers a very personal look into the writing life. The authors’ experiences as teachers, writers, editors and readers inform their approach to subjects like imagery, metaphor, inspiration and writer’s block. While the book does offer tips and strategies for writers new and old, the authors never allow things to get bogged down in the purely academic. Instead, the reader is invited to participate in a very smart and at times quite moving conversation about the art of putting words on paper.
