Now in it's fourth year, the New Hampshire poetry slam team - a.k.a. "Slam Free or Die" - calls The Bridge Cafe in Manchester it's home.  In August of 2009, the team traveled to West Palm Beach, Florida, to take part in the National Poetry Slam, where they finished 35th out of just under 70 teams, the best since it's inception. 

The team consists of: Matt Biondi, Ari Cameron, Ryan McLellan, Cara "Rollergirl" Losier and Mark "The Colonel" Palos (also the team's coach and venue slam-master).  The team produced a CD of poetry from the Bridge Cafe, titled "Defenders of the Cause 2: Rockstars Against the Forces of Evil" and their team chapbook, "The Great American Rodeo Massacre", is available from Sargent Press.

After the featured readers, we will open the mic for any and all to read. Join us to share or just to listen. Always a good time!

This event was re-scheduled from its original date in December due to bad weather.

Liz Whaley's monthly book group will be reading and discussing Stieg Larsson's bestselling hit, The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo for January.

Here's Liz's take on the book: Here is a wonderful mystery translated from the Swedish that will keep you guessing right up until the end. Two marvelous characters work together to solve a murder that happened many years ago. Everyone in the extensive Vangar family is suspect. Blomquist is a journalist good at digging up information; Lisbeth Salander is a brilliant, eccentric computer expert who doesn't always play by the rules. You learn a lot about Swedish locales too. A mystery that truly transcends the genre!

Liz's book group meetings take place from 3-4:15 on the third Sunday of the month at the Loaf and Ladle, just up the street from the bookstore. Just read the book and join us, no sign-up or reservations necessary!

To see Liz's other books for 2010, click "Liz Whaley's Book Group" on the left sidebar menu.

See you there! 

We are so excited to be welcoming back to the bookstore the wonderful Kate Braestrup, author of the beloved and best-selling memoir, Here If You Need Me.

In Here If You Need Me, Braestrup tells the story of her husband, Drew, a state trooper who died on the job before he could fulfill his desire to become an ordained minister. In her grief and healing, Braestrup discovered she wanted to carry on his legacy. She went to seminary and became a Maine Game Warden Chaplain. She tells the story of her journey and work with the Game Wardens beautifully with wisdom, clarity and humor.

In her new book, Marriage and Other Acts of Charity, Braestrup takes her experiences counseling game wardens and their spouses and shares her simple, profound advice. She also shares about finding new love after the death of her husband and the father of her four children. Braestrup has great heart, useful and commonsense advice, and stories that will absolutely break your heart.

Join us for this truly relatable and inspirational woman.