By CECIL RENICHE-SMITH
When The Bookstore opened its doors the first week of December 2019, its mission was not only to sell books, but to be a place for the community to come together to share a love for reading. In keeping with that mission, The Bookstore looked forward to hosting events bringing authors and readers together. But the best-laid plans of mice and men . . . well, you know the rest. By March 2020, the COVID pandemic had made in-person events inadvisable. Thus, apart from a few Zoom-based poetry readings, The Bookstore had to shelve its author events for the interim.
Three years, and a major remodel, later, The Bookstore has returned to its original goal of bringing authors and readers together.
On December 8, The Bookstore hosted Angus Chaney, who enthralled his audience with spirited readings from his first novel, “Proto-Cycology: Creation Myths for the Apocalypse.”
On December 10, author Martha Leb Molnar led a multi-media discussion of her most recent book, “Playing God in the Meadow.” Attendees at both events enjoyed the opportunity to meet the authors and learn more about their creative process and the impetus behind their works.
“This coming-together of people who love books, it’s a way to reconnect our community after a long hiatus of hibernation,” said Barbara Ebling, bookstore manager. “People meet each other serendipitously at The Bookstore all the time, but events like these – with a common focus – give us all a point of reference, a moment in time to reflect upon: ‘Remember when we saw…??’ So many of us have missed having common events in our lives, and as we’ve gradually emerged from pandemic in the past year, we realize what a crucial role things like author readings play. I heard from a friend, who was at Chaney’s reading, that it meant so much to her simply to be read to. Having that human connection is so simple, yet so vital. When the group of folks who started The Bookstore first conceived of it, we did so because we couldn’t imagine Brandon without a bookstore again, because we knew what a great loss it is to a community to be without that nexus. Our author events are a key component of being that community nexus,” Ebling noted.
For its final event of the year, The Bookstore is bringing Vermont photographer (and former Brandon resident) Caleb Kenna to Brandon’s Town Hall on December 18 at 4 p.m., where he will present a slideshow of his work and discuss his new book, “Art from Above: Vermont.”
Kenna, whose photography has been featured in The New York Times and is a FAA-certified drone pilot, captures images of the landscapes of central Vermont using a camera mounted on a quadcopter drone. The drone’s-lens view, and Kenna’s eye for detail, allow viewers of his photographs to experience familiar Vermont scenes in new and at times surprising ways. Copies of Kenna’s books are available for purchase at The Bookstore and will be available for purchase at the December 18 event, as well.
“We’re thrilled that Caleb is coming to share his incredible photos – and to explain how he takes them – as our capstone event for the year,” Ebling remarked. “In his work, he shows us the landscape of our state – and our town – in a beautifully unique perspective. It’s a wonderful metaphor for how we all can benefit from fresh eyes and new ways of seeing the world.”
