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The Reading Life with Rachel Breunlin and Bruce “Sunpie” Barnes

This week on The Reading Life: Susan talks with University of New Orleans anthropologist Rachel Breunlin and musician Bruce “Sunpie” Barnes, co-authors of “Le Ker Creole (The Creole Heart): Creole Compositions and Stories from Louisiana,” the most recent book from the Neighborhood Story Project.

Here’s what’s on tap in the literary life this week

Here in New Orleans:

  • Mary Beth Lima discusses and signs “Adventures of a Louisiana Birder,” October 2 at 7 p.m. at the East Bank Regional Library in Metairie.
  • Kelli Harding discusses and signs “The Rabbit Effect – Live Longer, Happier and Healthier with the Groundbreaking Science of Kindness,” October 3 at 6 p.m. at Garden District Book Shop.
  • Joy Rancatore discusses and signs “Any Good Thing,” October 3, at 6 p.m. at Blue Cypress Books.
  • Beatles expert Bruce Spizer discusses his new book, “The Beatles Get Back to Abbey Road,” Thursday, Oct. 3, 7 p.m. at the East Bank Regional Library, 4747 W. Napoleon, Metairie.
  • Bryan Spitzfaden discusses and signs his children’s book, “The Incwedible Quiet,” Saturday, October 5 at 11 a.m. at Octavia Books.
  • Andrea Olatunji discusses and signs her new children’s book, “Omar, el Jaguar,” Saturday, October 5 at 11 a.m. at Algiers Regional Library.
  • Historian Carolyn Kolb continues the series “The History of Jefferson Parish,” with part 4, “Suburbanization, the 1950s – Politics, Expansion and Industry,” Wednesday, October 2, at 7 p.m at the West Bank Regional Library, 2781 Manhattan Blvd., Harvey.

Also coming up in October:

  • Poet Morgan Parker, author of the poetry collections Magical NegroThere Are More Beautiful Things Than Beyoncé, and Other People’s Comfort Keeps Me Up At Night, and the young adult novel Who Put This Song On?, is the Florie Gale Arons poet at Newcomb College Institute at Tulane University this month. She will read in the Diboll Gallery at Newcomb Institute on Monday, October 7, at 7 p.m. 
  • Megan Abbott, author of 10 books, including “Give Me Your Hand,” “Dare Me, and “You Will Know Me,” and Sarah St. Vincent, author of Ways to Hide in Winter, are the recipients of the Diana Pinckley Prizes for Crime Fiction. The Prizes will be presented Thursday, October 10 at 6 p.m. at the Louisiana Humanities Center, 938 Lafayette St. Open to the public, but please rsvp to pinckleyprizes@gmail.com.     
  • Today’s guests, Rachel Breunlin and Bruce “Sunpie” Barnes, co-authors of “Le Ker Creole (The Creole Heart): Creole Compositions and Stories from Louisiana” discuss and sign the book at the opening of the accompanying Exhibit at the Cabildo, 701 Chartres, Friday, October 11, at 5:30 p.m.
  • Garden District Book Shop presents an evening with Chef Sean Brock in conversation with Chef Kelly Fields, discussing his book, “South: Essential Recipes and New Explorations,” at New Orleans Culinary & Hospitality Institute (NOCHI), 725 Howard Avenue, October 17 at 7 p.m. Tickets are available at Garden District Book Shop.
  • Octavia Books presents Ta-nehisi Coates reading and discussing his first novel, “Water Dancer,” in conversation with novelist Jesmyn Ward, Wednesday, October 30 at 6 p.m. at Temple Sinai, 6227 St. Charles Ave. Tickets are available at Octavia Books.
The Reading Life in 2010, Susan Larson was the book editor for The New Orleans Times-Picayune from 1988-2009. She has served on the boards of the Tennessee Williams/New Orleans Literary Festival and the New Orleans Public Library. She is the founder of the New Orleans chapter of the Women's National Book Association, which presents the annual Diana Pinckley Prizes for Crime Fiction.. In 2007, she received the Louisiana Endowment for the Humanities lifetime achievement award for her contributions to the literary community. She is also the author of The Booklover's Guide to New Orleans. If you run into her in a local bookstore or library, she'll be happy to suggest something you should read. She thinks New Orleans is the best literary town in the world, and she reads about a book a day.