READINGS

Books and dresses at the same time! Mary will be at Mabel & Zora on Saturday, July 16, from 1-5, with Nine Simple Patterns for Complicated Women. Come shop!

Other ongoing news about the book can be found in the "News and Notes" section below.

 

 

NEWS AND NOTES

March 2: Mary will be reading with poet Martha Silano at Portland State University tonight. The event is at 7:00 p.m. in Smith Center, room 238.

Dec. 25: Nine Simple Patterns for Complicated Women is the Powells.com Review of the Day. "The more I think about these stories, the more I appreciate their quiet brilliance," Sheila Ashdown writes in the review.

Dec. 20: In addition to signing at tonight's Oregon Humanities Holiday Fete, Mary will also be reading from the book. Time and location are listed in the Dec. 3 entry below.

Dec. 10: Kenyon Review has included Nine Simple Patterns for Complicated Women on its list of Holiday Reading Recommendations. "Nine Simple Patterns is cockeyed smart, sharply written, and very funny. A much-needed new voice for women and men has arrived in this debut collection," KR's Nancy Zafris writes.

Dec. 3: Mary will be one of sixteen Oregon writers and illustrators who will sign copies of their books at the Oregon Humanities Holiday Fete. The event will be Monday, December 20, 2010, from 4:00 to 7:00 p.m. at the
Cleaners, 403 SW 10th Ave., Portland.

Oct. 30: In a review in The Oregonian, Christine Selk writes, "Rechner's skill at debunking the illusion of hearth and home is impressive, echoing early Munro."

Oct. 13: "Mary's writing is spare and exact. Her words are chosen with great care. This is the kind of writing that takes time to create and thus is wonderful to read. Truly lovely." --memoirist Jennifer Lauck, writing about the book on her blog, Prolifically Raw.

Oct. 10: From Jamie Passaro's review in Eugene's newspaper, The Register-Guard: "Rechner’s collection [is] lovely to behold, well-designed and smart. The book has French flaps and thick pages with soft ragged edges known in publishing as a deckle edge. [...] And the stories are just as strong. Most of Rechner’s protagonists are smart women engaging in moments of mischief or brutal honesty or both."

Oct. 8: In a review on Reading Local, Karen Munro says of Mary's work: "Her stories, told in lucid, seamless prose, feel instantly familiar, like continuing a conversation with an old friend."

Oct 6: On the Northwest Book Lovers blog, Jamie Passaro has posted an interview with Mary. "In real life I am not looking to escalate conflict and tension," Mary says. "When I write fiction I most certainly am."

Oct 1: Malena Watrous has written a glowing review of the book in The Believer. "The nine stories have a distinct ring of truth and a narrow range of experience that feels personal, closely observed. A child’s bare foot isn’t just small, instead 'her heels were so close to her toes.' With no frills, no gimmicks, just a gimlet eye and quicksilver prose, Rechner defamiliarizes the mundane and makes it marvelous."

Sept 29: Powells.com has the Powell's Books Nine Simple Patterns page up and ready to take orders.

Sept 28: BuyOlympia.com has Nine Simple Patterns on its website and is taking orders.

Sept 27: Amazon customers: It has come to our attention that the Amazon page for Mary's book lists the title as "out of stock." This is because both of our first two shipments to Amazon sold out immediately, due to robust pre-orders. We've already shipped more books. If the page continues to show the book as "out of stock," don't worry--we are continuously re-stocking the book at Amazon.

Sept 10: The Wordstock blog has posted a short Q & A with Mary today about reading, writing, and influences.

Sept 9: Read Mary's post on the Wordstock blog on the topic of "How Much Truth Is in My Fiction?"

Sept 1: Willamette Week's Kelly Clarke has singled out Nine Simple Patterns for Complicated Women as a top pick for fall books, calling it "a tight, incisive and darkly funny series of vignettes about mothers, wives and the people who unwittingly become them."

Aug 25: The cast for the New Short Fiction Series performance of Nine Simple Patterns for Complicated Women has been announced. In addition to series founder Sally Shore, the cast will include Lacy Baxter ("My Name Is Earl"), Jesse Holcomb ("Dead Shot and Eddie"), and Buckley Sampson ("According to Jim").

Aug 23: Rose City Reader, on looking over her review copy of Nine Simple Patterns: "It has moved from my mailbox to the top of my nightstand TBR-immediately stack because it is irresistible. Not only is the cover so vintage sassy, it is also a beautifully-made book, with thick, rough-cut pages and French flaps. French flaps. That is a trend in book binding that I support wholeheartedly."