Country Bookshelf in Downtown Bozeman — Montana’s largest independent bookstore since 1957 — has an exciting slate of upcoming events for bookworms and literature enthusiasts alike. A very special Author Event is set for Monday, June 19th at 7pm when David Sedaris drops by to discuss Theft By Finding: Diaries (1977-2002). Tickets will be required for the reading portion of the evening, but everyone — ticket or not — will be able to meet Sedaris and get a book signed. Please note: ticket gains entry to the reading but does not guarantee a seat. Doors at 6pm. By author request, no photography or recording will be permitted for the entire evening. For forty years, Sedaris has kept a diary in which he records everything that captures his attention-overheard comments, salacious gossip, soap opera plot twists, secrets confided by total strangers. These observations are the source code for his finest work, and through them he has honed his cunning, surprising sentences. Now, Sedaris shares his private writings with the world. Theft by Finding, the first of two volumes, is the story of how a drug-abusing dropout with a weakness for the International House of Pancakes and a chronic inability to hold down a real job became one of the funniest people on the planet.
Another Author Event with Montana native Janet Chapple for Yellowstone Treasures (5th ed.) will follow on Thursday, June 22nd at 7pm. Her comprehensive guidebook provides mile-by-mile road logs, geyser walks, out-of-the-way hikes, and a field guide to plants and animals. Plus travel tips, photos, and maps. Check out Buck Buchanan on Saturday, June 24th when he reads from his children’s book Denni-Jo and Pinto at 2pm. A seven-year-old ranch girl (she’s almost eight) wakes up to a beautiful day for an adventure, and gets permission from her mom to ride her pony Pinto solo across the ranch to visit her grandparents. She has exciting experiences along the way, including a rattlesnake scare and a runaway bunny, and she saves a calf stuck in a mud hole using her training in roping on horseback. She successfully leads the calf and its momma cow to her grandparents’ corral. Join for an evening with the fabulous Maile Meloy on Thursday, June 29th at 7pm.
She’ll be reading from her new novel, Do Not Become Alarmed. When Liv and Nora decide to take their husbands and children on a holiday cruise, everyone is thrilled. The adults are lulled by the ship’s comfort and ease. The four children — ages six to eleven —love the nonstop buffet and their newfound independence. But when they all go ashore for an adventure in Central America, a series of minor misfortunes and miscalculations leads the families farther from the safety of the ship. One minute the children are there, and the next they’re gone. The disintegration of the world the families knew — told from the perspectives of both the adults and the children — is both riveting and revealing. The parents, accustomed to security and control, turn on each other and blame themselves, while the seemingly helpless children discover resources they never knew they possessed. Do Not Become Alarmed is a story about the protective force of innocence and the limits of parental power, and an insightful look at privileged illusions of safety. Celebrated for her spare and moving fiction, Meloy has written a gripping novel about how quickly what we count on can fall away, and the way a crisis shifts our perceptions of what matters most. On Friday, June 30th at 7pm, join for a reading and discussion with Gary Ferguson, author of the new book, Land on Fire. Wildfire season is burning longer and hotter, affecting more and more people, especially in the west. Ferguson’s book explores the fascinating science behind this phenomenon and the ongoing research to find a solution. This gripping narrative details how years of fire suppression and chronic drought have combined to make the situation so dire. The award-winning nature writer brings to life the extraordinary efforts of those responsible for fighting wildfires, and deftly explains how nature reacts in the aftermath of flames. Dramatic photographs reveal the terror and beauty of fire, as well as the staggering effect it has on the landscape. Country Bookshelf is located at 28 W. Main St. downtown. Events are free and open to the public, but tickets to the David Sedaris reading are required. For more information about the store or these events, visit www.countrybookshelf.com or call (406) 587-0166. •