In a blog post on the website of the Booksellers at Laurelwood, where he works, Matt Nixon called it “a book talk, a discussion, a presentation, a convocation.” He also named it Grawl!x, which Nixon headed this past May as “a sneak-peek and the low-down on a hand-picked selection of upcoming and recent off-beat literary fiction” for Memphis book lovers.
It’s that time again — time for Grawl!x to meet and the public’s invited. The location is Muddy’s Grind House (585 S. Cooper) on Saturday, August 1st, at 4 p.m. Come with new titles (offbeat’s okay) that you’d like to share with other readers. Nixon will be there with his own recommendations.
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“I’m sort of an agnostic when it comes to Grawl!x,” Nixon (pictured right) says. “For example, on Saturday I’m including a horror novel and an 1800s women’s drama about British female boxers. I’ll also offer some giveaways — autographed copies of a book I’m presenting and advanced reader’s copies for a couple of books that aren’t out yet. With Grawl!x I’m trying to build a community of people interested in the same types of things I am.”
“Cool books,” in other words, and Grawl!x is a way for Nixon to give fellow readers “a heads-up about books coming out or books that have come out and haven’t gotten the press coverage.”
Saturday’s Grawl!x, which Nixon hopes to run on a quarterly basis, will be the second time the group’s met, but he’s already pleased with the response. As Nixon also wrote for his Booksellers blog:
“The feedback I got from those who came to the first Grawl!x has been terrific. The group was not a large one, but they were engaged, open for discussion, and interested in extending the group to start a monthly book club. We decided on the premise of the In Case You Missed It [ICYMI] book club, where we’ll read and meet to discuss books we’ve long been told we should read, but haven’t yet.
“I read like a shark: constant movement forward. Even those of you who are less rapacious readers than I am certainly have your own never-shrinking ‘to-read’ pile. With all the good books constantly coming out each month, it’s impossible to keep up with every book you want to read, much less go back and get to the ones you really wanted to read last month or last year or ten years ago. … We’re looking to read those classics (cult or otherwise) people have been telling you that you just must read but can never seem to find the time.”
Now’s your chance to make the time. For more on Grawl!x and the ICYMI book club, go to the website of The Booksellers at Laurelwood. That’s where you can also keep up with Matt Nixon. You’ll find him under the tab that reads “More Cool Stuff.” •
