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Present Tense Holiday Open House

By Philip Anselmo

Local bookstore Present Tense has planned a fun and festive event to kick-off the holiday season this year! Three authors will sign books as part of the store’s two-day Holiday Open House, scheduled for Friday, November 14 from 10:00 am to 6:00 pm and Saturday, November 15 from 10:00 am to 4:00 pm.

The weekend event features authors Christopher Norment, Jennifer Ford Berry, and Peggy Thomas, who will appear at 1:00 pm on Saturday, the 15th.

Christopher Norment is the author of Return to Warden’s Grove: Science, Desire, and the Lives of Sparrows. A perfect book for outdoors enthusiasts, it chronicles three seasons of field research studying Harris’s Sparrows in the Northwest Territories. In a series of essays that explore the wild splendor of a harsh landscape, the often hilarious antics of a man alone in the bush, and the importance of nature in human lives, Norment gives readers a glimpse of the beauty of biological fieldwork as a vital way to pay attention to the world and be connected with something outside the self.

Dr. Norment is a professor of environmental science and biology at SUNY College at Brockport. Return to Warden’s Grove has just been nominated for the John Burroughs Award, which recognizes well-written and illustrated natural history publications.

Jennifer Ford Berry is the owner of Mothertime Marketplace, a semi-annual event for children and moms in Western New York and former owner of Berry Patch Kids, which was an upscale consignment store in Batavia, NY. Her new book, Organize Now!: A Week-by-Week Guide to Simplify Your Space and Your Life provides simple and effective tools to organize every aspect of life. The book is not only easy-to-use but covers a wide variety of topics from paperwork, time management, mental clutter, pets and specific rooms to special events such as moving or vacation planning. The advice is proactive, straightforward and presented in checklists so that readers can see immediate results as they work.

Jennifer, a resident of Attica, NY, founded her professional organizing business in 2002.

Peggy Thomas is a well-known children’s author who lives in Middleport, NY. Her books for children include Snow Dance, Joshua the Giant Frog, Farmer George Plants a Nation, and New York: The Empire State. In addition to writing, Peggy is also an instructor for the Institute of Children’s Literature and a frequent speaker in schools and libraries.

Along with the visiting authors, Santa himself will visit the store from 12:00 pm to 2:00 pm on Saturday.

Present Tense, a locally-owned, independent bookstore, is located at 101 Washington Avenue, Batavia, NY.  For more information call (585) 815-7640, or visit www.presenttensebooks.com.

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