Children’s Book Writing

People interested in writing books for children will meet Monday, Nov. 12, from 7 to 9 p.m. at the home of Carol Carrick in West Tisbury. This monthly meeting is for serious writers only. Members will read manuscripts and discuss them. They will also share news and advice from the children’s book world. For details and directions call Carol Carrick at 508- 696-6277, or Marilyn Hollinshead at 508-693-5803.

Both Henry and Kate Feiffer make one thing absolutely clear: in real life Henry was never sad, like his character in the new book Henry the Dog with No Tail.

In the book, Henry starts out wanting a tail more than anything. In real life, Henry never missed it. So what if he had nothing to chase? He had nothing that could be stepped on either. And there were rugs and couches and sweaters to chew.

At least so he says, in a voice which sounds remarkably like that of his owner, Kate.

Buddhism is on the rise in Brazil, and West Tisbury journalist Perry Garfinkel has some ideas on why.

He’s the author of the 2006 national bestseller Buddha or Bust: In Search of Truth, Meaning, Happiness, and the Man Who Found Them All. When the Portuguese edition of the book was released in June, Mr. Garfinkel traveled to Brazil, where the national census shows the percentage of Roman Catholics there has dropped from about 90 to 70 per cent since 1980.

Before Tuesday’s book launch at the Bunch of Grapes, the audience was issued an unusual instruction for such an event. They were asked not to seek to get their copies of the book The Coldest Winter, signed by the man launching it, Ward Just.

The reason was obvious, but sad. Mr. Just did not write the book. His good friend David Halberstam did, but he died in a car accident in April this year.

Elizabeth Germain will teach a super foods cooking class at the FARM Institute at Katama Farm in Edgartown on Sunday, Oct. 7 from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. The class will begin in the FARM’s friendship garden, rain or shine, where participants will pick vegetables and herbs for lunch and some to preserve. The focus will be foods dramatically better for health and longevity and basic cooking techniques. You’ll learn how to clean, store and prepare powerhouse foods like kale, cabbage, parsley, leeks, pumpkin seeds and millet — a gluten-free whole grain.

Court TV debuted> a show last year called Murder By the Book. They invited five crime novelists to choose a true crime case that fascinated them, and present it in the series — full of interviews with witnesses and detectives and prosecutors. Linda Fairstein, pictured above, was selected for the second series.