SARAH PEKKANEN TO APPEAR AT BARNES AND NOBLE AT BETHESDA ROW TONIGHT (PHOTO)

Bethesda native and bestselling author Sarah Pekkanen will discuss and sign her latest novel, Catching Air, tonight at the Bethesda Row Barnes and Noble. Catching Air is about 2 couples who team up to open a bed-and-breakfast in Vermont. Of course, it's more complicated and less boring than that sounds... Tonight's event will begin at 7:00 PM.

Barnes and Noble

4801 Bethesda Avenue

MAUREEN JOHNSON TO APPEAR AT BETHESDA LIBRARY THIS THURSDAY, FEBRUARY 28

Best-selling YA author Maureen Johnson will appear at the Bethesda Library (7400 Arlington Road) this Thursday, February 28, at 5:00 PM.

She will be discussing her newest novel, The Madness Underneath, which will be released tomorrow.

Madness is the second in Johnson's 4-book Shades of London series. Heroine Rory Devereaux returns after tangling with a Jack-the-Ripper copycat in Book 1.

Now she is in therapy (understandably), but the ghost-hunting secret police known as the Shades won't let Rory's newfound ghost-killing powers go to waste on her shrink's couch.

Back to London it is, and this time there are a whole bunch of paranormal problems. Expect surprises, witty dialogue and "spectacularly gruesome details" from the creative author behind Book 1, In the Name of the Star, which you have all of tonight to read before Book 2 hits shelves tomorrow.

MARISSA MEYER TO APPEAR AT BETHESDA LIBRARY TUESDAY

Young Adult fiction author Marissa Meyer will appear at the Bethesda Library tomorrow, Tuesday, February 19, at 5:00 PM, to discuss her new novel, Scarlet. 

Scarlet is the second installment in Meyers' Lunar Chronicles series (read Chapter 1 here), a blend of sci-fi and fairy tales primarily geared toward female readers.

Book 1 centered on the eponymous character of Cinder, a young female cyborg, who is now in prison at the start of Book 2.  Bummer!

New title character Scarlet Benoit is now the focus. She's searching for her kidnapped/murdered grandmother because the police won't.  Enter the subtly-named street-fighting man named Wolf.  Can he help find Grandma? Will Cinder bust out of the Big House? Can the handsome prince most of the women in the book are chasing after be found, before the evil queen forces him into a loveless marriage?

You'll have to read the book to find out!

This author series at the Bethesda Library is sponsored by Politics and Prose bookstore, who will handle book sales at Tuesday's event.

Bethesda Library, 7400 Arlington Road, Bethesda.

BETHESDA LIBRARY HOSTING AUTHOR RACHEL COHN WITH NEW NOVEL, BETA

The Bethesda Library on Arlington Road, in conjunction with the Politics and Prose bookstore, has been hosting some very interesting author events for fans of Young Adult dystopian science fiction. In other words, if you finished the Hunger Games trilogy long ago, you may find something new-yet-familiar at these events.

This Thursday, January 31, at 5:00 PM, YA author Rachel Cohn will discuss her new novel, Beta.

Beta is the story of a 16-year-old clone named Elysia, sold as a "companion" to a wealthy family on the island of Demesne. (If you paid attention in Classics 101, you're going to figure out there's something symbolic about these names). Everyone on Demesne is rich, and is intoxicated by a narcotic-like element placed into the air by the government.

Elysia was cloned from a girl who supposedly died in the cloning process. But now Elysia is starting to remember things she shouldn't be able to remember. And isn't an emotionless drone like the other clones.  Sounds like there's going to be trouble there.  And a love triangle. And a surprise ending. Which sets up a - you guessed it - future trilogy.

Hmm.  Clones. An island. Clones with partial memories they shouldn't be having. Clones who start getting wise to the raw deal they've been dealt by The Man.

This sounds like one of my favorite movies, The Island (2005).  Yes, I know I am one of maybe 3 people in the world who enjoyed The Island.  Ewan McGregor, Scarlett Johansson, a gull-wing Cadillac Cien supercar, a pre-Game of Thrones Sean Bean, Pete from Benson, Djimon Hounsou, and directed by Michael Bay - now that's a movie.

If you like this novel a lot, I think you'll like The Island. I'm still waiting for an ultimate super-duper edition to be released on Blu-ray, because there's just a single-disc with no extras on it available right now.

"I'm Tom Lincoln!!"

WRITERS ON THE ROW: BETHESDA ROW'S BLOCKBUSTER BOOK AND AUTHOR EVENT, OCTOBER 11-14, 2012

SAVE THE DATE FOR

4 DAYS OF FOOD, FASHION,

FAME AND... BOOKS!

Another Robert Dyer @ Bethesda Row Exclusive

Bethesda Row is playing host to one of the best book festivals in the area this October 11-14:  Writers on The Row.

Unlike some book fairs, you've likely heard of most or all of the authors appearing at this one.  And with this being Bethesda Row, expect food and fashion events to be a part of the celebration.

Are you a fan of Pardon the Interruption on ESPN, Pregnant in Heels on Bravo, or True Blood on Showtime?  How about Georgetown Cupcake?

Then you definitely don't want to miss this blockbuster event!

Here's a rundown of the events scheduled so far:

Thursday, October 11

Michael Wilbon of the aforementioned PTI will be at Equinox from 7-9 PM, to discuss The Best American Sports Writing 2012.

True Blood fans, however, will be on Bethesda Lane to meet Karen Sommer Shalett, co-author of True Blood:  Eats, Drinks, and Bites from Bon Temps.

Friday, October 12

Rosie Pope, star of Pregnant in Heels, will appear on Bethesda Lane with her upcoming book, pregnancy guide Mommy IQ, from 6-8 PM.

Saturday, October 13

Meet Cheryl and Peter Barnes, authors of Woodrow for President, from 2-4 PM on Bethesda Lane.

Actor/comedian/author Richard Belzer will be on Bethesda Lane (is that a movie plot in itself, or what?) from 4-6 PM.  I think I remember this guy from the short-lived but classic superhero series, The Flash - but most know him from slightly-trendier, mainstream shows.  His book, Dead Wrong:  Straight Facts on the Country's Most Controversial Cover-Ups is definitely a daring choice for Bethesda.  This is a government town, where conspiracy theories are not usually warmly received.  That will definitely be an interesting 2 hours.  Is Bethesda ready for "the truth?"

Sunday, October 14

Bethesda Row favorites Katherine Kallinis Berman and Sophie Kallinis LaMontagne of Georgetown Cupcake will be on the Lane from 1-3 PM.  They'll be talking about the book that's likely to be one of the most popular holiday gifts this year, Sweet Celebrations:  Our Favorite Cupcake Recipes, Memories, and Decorating Secrets that Add Sparkle to Any Occasion.

From 3-5 PM, they'll be followed by Maz Rauber and Amy Reingold, who wrote the novel Capital Girls under the nom de plume (hey, it's Bethesda Row, and I'm speaking French) Ella Monroe.  Now becoming a series of books, Capital Girls takes Gossip Girl and Pretty Little Liars to Washington, D.C.  If that sounds interesting to you, you know where you'll be that afternoon.

Stay tuned for more details as the event gets closer, but it's quite an impressive lineup Federal Realty has assembled for such a new event.