Summer and Bard

No, that's not a typo.

Of course we know that the first novel by local writer and actress Katherine Catmull is the lyrical, otherworldly adventure called Summer and Bird, about two young sisters on a quest to find their missing parents, and that Catmull will be at BookPeople to read from and sign the brand new Dutton hardcover tomorrow (Tuesday) night.

But we also know that Catmull's been in a few Shakespearean productions – All's Well That Ends Well, The Tempest, Love's Labours Lost, and King Lear. ("My favorite role, I think, might be Ariel," says Catmull. "That was lots of fun.")

And we further know that Eleanor Brown, Colorado-based author of The Weird Sisters, will be at BookPeople on Wednesday, to read from and sign the new paperback version of that New York Times-bestselling first novel of hers. And that book's about an esteemed Shakespeare scholar's three grown-up daughters, bound by sisterhood but very different, and what happens when they return home to attend to their cancer-stricken mother.

So, see, we think the title "Summer and Bard" is perfectly fitting for this brief blogpost here at the end of summer. Much like checking out either or both of these readings is a fitting (and recommended) activity for a weekday night among the bibliophiles in Austin, Texas.