Talking Books: Authors Jo Piazza and Dr. Doug Tallamy Set for August Appearances in Avalon
The Avalon Library’s Summer Spotlight Series continues to shine brightly this summer with two more renowned authors coming to Avalon on the heels of blockbuster appearances by Taylor Jenkins Reid and David Grann in July. August brings Jo Piazza, best-selling author, podcaster, and award-winning journalist to Surfside Park on Aug. 6, and Dr. Doug Tallamy, conservationist, professor, researcher, and best-selling author, to Community Hall on Aug.25.
“I’m really excited about the lineup we’ve brought in this year,” says Kara Buono, the library’s assistant director of programs and engagement. “All four of the authors we’ve hosted write in different styles and genres that represents a great cross section of our community and their interests. Beyond that, all of these authors are so engaging. If you haven’t yet, I recommend you try them, come and see them and listen to their stories and the things that they have to say.”
Certainly, Piazza and Tallamy will have plenty to say at their upcoming appearance and book-signing events. (Note: Beach Bound Books will be selling their books at both events.)
Here is a sneak peek at what to expect as the Summer Spotlight turns to two incredibly talented writers in Avalon in August.
JO PIAZZA
Journalist, podcast host, and prolific author Jo Piazza will light up Surfside Park on Aug. 6 at 7pm to talk about her hot new book, “Everyone Is Lying to You,” which was released July 15. “We’re thrilled to bring her in,” says Buono.
This won’t technically be the first time the Avalon Library has hosted Piazza. “She has a big following here in Avalon and Stone Harbor,” Buono shares. “And when our Italian Culture Club read her book ‘The Sicilian Inheritance’ last year, she Zoomed in to their meeting. It was such a great time. She was so wonderful, we just knew we had to bring her to Avalon.”
Piazza is a dynamic communicator known for exploring social issues and celebrity culture across multiple platforms. As a journalist, she’s written for the Wall Street Journal, New York Times, New York magazine, Glamour, Elle, Time, Marie Claire, the Daily Beast, and Slate. As an author, she’s written both nonfiction and fiction books including the “We Are Not Like Them,” a novel co-written with Christina Pride that was selected as a “Good Morning America” Book Club pick and named a Best Book Pick by Harper’s Bazaar and Real Simple.
Her latest book, “Everyone Is Lying to You,” is a murder mystery that explores the cracks in the glossy veneer of “tradwife” culture, the movement and social media sensation that embraces domesticity and traditional gender roles.
“I always joke that I didn’t find the tradwives, the tradwives found me,” Piazza recently shared. “I’ve spent the past few years waist-deep in the murky waters of momfluencer culture and I watched the rise of the tradwives start about two years ago. The deeper I dug, the more I realized that the tradwife aesthetic isn’t just about vintage aprons and sourdough starters … I thought what if we took that perfectly curated world and cracked it open to expose what’s underneath. Then let’s add a gruesome murder and let the fun begin.”
For the book, Piazza reveled in turning a world upside down and sideways with grit and humor: “I love that sweet spot of laughing until you are actually horrified. The thing is … these women are both caricatures and real. They’re selling a fantasy that’s dangerous because it’s so seductive. So, I wanted the humor to lure you in, lull you into submission, make you comfortable, and then snap cut to blood on the prairie dress. It’s like if ‘Gone Girl’ were written by the ghost of Nora Ephron after binging Nara Smith and Ballerina Farm content.”
“Everyone Is Lying to You” has already received rave reviews, with Publishers Weekly calling it “darkly entertaining” and the Library Journal reporting that “readers will be drawn into the story by what feels like a backstage peek into the world of influencers and kept there by the fast pace and twisty plot.”
Interest in social-media influencers is also what drives Piazza’s popular podcast, “Under the Influence,” which examines a billion-dollar business with an impact that goes well beyond dollars and common sense. Through the entertaining podcast, Piazza examines how we’ve arrived at a junction where every aspect of life can be perfectly exploited, what it all means, and how it’s affecting everyone, particularly women.
Living in Philadelphia with her husband and three young children, Piazza is running her life, career, and book tour at full throttle. So, don’t miss her stop in Avalon, just a few weeks after the debut of “Everyone Is Lying to You,” to hear the stories behind the story, meet the person behind the pen, and even get your copy of this hot-off-the-presses book signed by the author herself.
DOUG TALLAMY
From the topsy-turvy world of murder and social media, the Summer Spotlight will turn to our topsy-turvy environment when best-selling author, wildlife ecology expert, and environmental advocate Dr. Doug Tallamy takes the stage at Community Hall for the final author event of the summer on Monday, Aug. 25.
“This is the third summer we’ve cohosted Dr. Tallamy with the Environmental Commission. They have a great relationship with him and we’re so excited to bring him back,” says Buono. “He’ll be discussing his brand-new book, ‘How Can I Help?,’ which just came out. He’s a very eloquent, easy-to-understand speaker who welcomes and answers lot of audience questions.”
The T.A. Baker Professor of Agriculture and Natural Resources at the University of Delaware, where he has taught for more than 30 years, Tallamy is an ardent environmental advocate, authoring more than 80 research articles, writing six books, and cofounding the Homegrown National Park movement.
Coined by Tallamy, the name Homegrown National Park is used to describe a culture where everyone makes a difference in their own habitats, a key to the movement’s call to action. Tallamy fervently urges people to restore the habitats by adding native plants and removing invasive ones where we live, work, learn, and play. “Nature is essential,” he has said. “It’s not optional, that’s the missing link here.”
Tallamy has said he was “born interested in other living things,” and shared this illuminating story from his childhood.
“I moved into a new house in third grade, and there was a little pond next door I used to go visit every day and see what was happening. There were toads there breeding and all the little polliwogs swimming. I was there the day the polliwogs started to mature and hop onto the land. But that was the day the bulldozer came and buried the whole pond. I don’t even think they saw me sitting there. But right then, that made an impression on me.”
That impression grew into a passion and a career, allowing him to still be making an impact decades after that pond’s demise. In his new book, Tallamy answers the questions commonly asked at his popular speaking events and offers actionable steps that gardeners and homeowners can take to “own” their part of healing and preserving the ecosystem.
“Part of Dr. Tallamy’s magic is that he ‘gets’ that people want to make a difference but often feel powerless. So, his practical, doable advice is really inspiring,” explains Buono. “At this appearance, he’ll talk about native plants, how to support birds, insects, bees, and more by using native landscaping.”
“The first time we hosted him, Dr. Tallamy talked about his book, ‘Nature’s Best Hope,’ which introduced the Homegrown National Park concept,” Buono continues. “Last year’s event was a humorous, insightful presentation answering fascinating questions he’s received over the years. His new book takes those concepts further – new planting ideas, new initiatives, and a focus on how individuals can take action in their own yards.”
Tallamy’s appearance at Community Hall will mark the close of an incredible summer of author visits to Avalon.
“We have been so excited about all of the authors this summer, not only from librarian standpoints, but also because they are popular in the community and really bring people together with what they write,” Buono shares. “Whether that’s the Homegrown National Parks with Doug Tallamy, David Grann’s historical nonfiction, Taylor Jenkins Reid and reading her extensive back catalog, or Jo Piazza and thrillers that she comes up with. These authors get people talking, get people engaged. And if you’re not already involved in these conversations, you will be after this summer.”
