Mystery to Me
Mystery to Me bookstore is located at 1863 Monroe St.
Journalists, bloggers and talk-show hosts constantly recycle one of Andy Warhol's most famous remarks: "In the future, everyone will be world-famous for 15 minutes." While international fame, however fleeting, seems to be a goal for over-the-top reality-TV participants, local fame seems to visit modest folks fairly often, too.
Over three days, Feb. 20-22, more than two dozen authors from the Madison area will get 15 minutes in the spotlight at the Monroe Street bookstore Mystery to Me. Here's a snapshot of a few presentations slated for the shop's "Local Author Slam," this Thursday, Friday and Saturday.
Thursday, Feb. 20
6:45 p.m.
Many Madisonians are buying extra boxes of Girl Scout cookies this year to show their support for the organization after a rumor-fueled campaign to boycott the treats emerged a few weeks ago. Find out more about Juliette Gordon Low, the integrity-filled founder of Girl Scouts of the USA, at Kleiber's presentation about her book On My Honor: Real Life Lessons From America’s First Girl Scout. From a young age, she made clothing for a cash-strapped family in her hometown and took in stray pets at night. She was so generous and helpful that she eventually earned the nickname "Crazy Daisy."
8:15 p.m.
In her first novel, Postcards in the Attic, Bradley tells a tale of young love while examining the fears and restrictive social mores of the 1950s. The book has a companion CD of songs its protagonist, a teen named Lizzie, adored almost as much as her high school crush. In other words, golden oldies like "Unchained Melody" and "Love Is a Many-Splendored Thing" might make their way into Bradley's presentation.
Friday, Feb. 21
7:30 p.m.
The chief of the UW-Madison Police Department offers her unique perspective on the 2011 Capitol protests in A View from the Interior: Policing the Protests at the Wisconsin State Capitol. She's likely to explore the tension between public safety and political protest in a brief reading and discussion.
8:15 p.m.
The prolific mystery author also known as Beth Amos previews her latest novel, Board Stiff, which comes out on March 4 and follows in the footsteps of Frozen Stiff and Lucky Stiff. Reviewers have already praised the humor in this whodunit about Wisconsin’s deputy coroner, who must examine a corpse covered in a powder that turns liquids into solids.
Saturday, Feb. 22
6:30 p.m.
Recently nominated for a Pushcart Prize, this Australian-born poet is the photographer behind the award-winning UW Press coffee-table book Schubert's Winterreise: A Winter Journey in Poetry, Image, and Song. As if that's not enough artistic talent, she's also a viola player who has worked with the Pro Arte Quartet and the Bach Dancing & Dynamite Society. Her love of classical music informs her chapbook St. Cecilia's Daze and a presentation billed as "backstage poems from an orchestral musician."
7:30 p.m.
This local author and hat aficionado recently unveiled The Drowning Spool, the 17th novel in her series of bestselling mysteries about the owner of a small-town needlecraft shop called Crewel World. But this isn't your average crafter turned businesswoman: She just happens to be a sleuth on the side, which comes in handy when she's called upon to investigate the drowning of a young woman with three guilty-looking boyfriends. With luck, Ferris' presentation will be as intriguing as her headwear.
