Our Cajun Correspondent, my mom, sent word/pictures of a recent book signing on the bayou. Ken Wells was signing his new book Crawfish Mountain at the recently opened (and independent) Cherry Books in Thibodeaux, Louisiana. The book store owners reportedly had to leave in a rush to get more copies of the book. They had sold out of all that they had on hand before the event even started. Luckily, they were able to get enough books (from somewhere) for all in attendance.

Mom getting my book signed by Ken Wells

Cherry Books takes its name from the previous owner of the building. Mr. Cherry was well known to the residents of Thibodeaux, because he was the town cobbler. Yes. Cobbler. The bookshelves are decorated with shoes that Mr. Cherry made. The bookstore owners found the shoes while renovating the space and decided to pay tribute to the well-liked Mr. Cherry.

Locally made shoes adorn the shelves

ANYWAY - I reviewed Crawfish Mountain a week or so ago. The book was also favorably reviewed recently in The Washington Post. One of the only negatives in the WP review was that the author thought that “it does strain even improbability” that so many of the key characters would happen to know one another. Believe me, everybody knows everybody on the bayou. You can also listen to the author talk about the book on NPR’s All Things Considered.