Editor’s Note: As a response to Metro’s stay-at-home order to help slow the spread of COVID-19, we’ve changed the focus of our Critics’ Picks section. Rather than pointing you in the direction of events happening this week in Nashville, here are some activities you can partake in while you’re at home practicing social distancing.
Two fantastic local bookstores, The Bookshop and Parnassus, have kept Nashville’s book supply flowing thanks to their online shops, stellar recommendations and curated reading lists. But both shops, understandably, had to clear their calendars once COVID-19 hit, and if you’re anything like me, you’re missing the live reading events that bookstores usually host. The good news is that D.C.-based bookshop Politics and Prose is here for you. The shop has managed to shift its live programming online, and its calendar is packed with appearances from notable authors, politicians and celebrities who discuss books and topics that feel especially relevant and vital right now. On May 18, political commentator and former South Carolina state representative Bakari Sellers will discuss his new memoir, My Vanishing Country, with special guest Kamala Harris and moderator Tiffany Cross. On May 19, author Stephanie Danler will discuss Stray, the story about both her and her parents’ struggles with addiction, with author and actor Jamie Lee Curtis. And June brings Nothing Is Wrong and Here Is Why author Alexandra Petri with beloved New Yorker TV critic Emily Nussbaum. Most events are “ticketed” and require purchasing the book from the Politics and Prose website at least 24 hours in advance. Visit politics-prose.com for information. MEGAN SELING
