Sunday April 12 is National Drop Everything And Read (DEAR) Day, an annual reminder to make reading a priority in our busy lives, and Alexander’s is joining in the fun! During our monthly pop-up market, we’ll have several local authors on hand signing and selling their books focused on local food and culture.

In Hungry for Louisiana: An Omnivore’s Journey, local blogger and award-winning journalist Maggie Heyn Richardson takes readers to local farms, meat markets, restaurants, festivals, culinary competitions, and roadside vendors to reveal the love, pride, and cultural importance of Louisiana’s traditional and evolving cuisine.

Linda Taylor, author of LSU Alphabet Book and New Orleans Saints Alphabet Book, will sign and sell her children’s books in hard back (no longer in print – collector’s items!) and paperback. And members of the Junior League of Baton Rouge will be on hand with their award-winning River Road Recipes cookbooks.

Inside the store, Alexander’s features several other local and national titles, including All the King’s Men by Robert Penn Warren and Live Original by Sadie Robertson, to name a few, and will have a sales table of marked down books. We have titles on cooking and gardening that will make great Mother’s Day gifts, and we also sell bookends and readers.

Drop Everything And Read day is celebrated every April 12 in honor of children’s author Beverly Cleary, who created the concept in her award-winning series about two sisters, Beezus and Ramona.