Off-Square Books is providing residents of Oxford with the opportunity to take a mid-day break and join author Courtney Miller Santo for a brown bag luncheon today at noon.
Lunch will be provided from Oxford Canteen, a recent addition to the Square located in the alley between the Lyric and South Depot Taco Shop, for $10 to attendees who preregistered with Square Books. Guests who do not wish to eat are welcome at no expense.
“Our mission is to promote books and serve the community,” said Richard Howorth, owner of Square Books. “That’s all we’re trying to do, and we have to opportunity to bring in a lot of writers that people are interested for various reasons.”
Luncheons such as these began when the café on the second floor of Square Books opened in 1986, but there was little success due to problems with location and space. However, high levels of interest in visiting Oxford from authors have demanded that the store give luncheons another try.
“Recently we’ve revived it more out of necessity than anything,” Howorth said.
Howorth said not every author is suitable for the lunchtime crowd, but Courtney Miller Santo seemed like a comfortable fit for the event.
Santo is a native of Oregon but now lives with her family in Memphis, which serves as the inspiration for the book she will be promoting. While this is only her second time as a guest author at Square Books, Santo said Oxford is her favorite road trip.
“Square Books showed me such terrific hospitality when I came down to read from my first book and I’m excited about being able to return to promote ‘Three Story House,’” Santo said.
The book centers around three cousins who come together to renovate a historic Memphis house. Santo was inspired by the connections she shares with her own 29 first cousins and their bond with one another.
“The relationship I have with them is fascinating and complex and fun as hell, but I had read hardly any fiction that focused on the cousin relationship,” Santo said. “I knew I wanted to explore that with this book.”
In addition to the familiarity of Memphis and Oxford, Santo loves to visit new places and experience new things.
“I always say that I’ll never have a huge house, a nice car or a fully vested retirement because I spend every penny I can on travel,” Santo said.
Santo will speak for approximately 20 minutes about her book and then take questions from the audience while guests enjoy their lunch from Oxford Canteen.
Oxford Canteen is excited about the opportunity to partner with Square Books for the luncheon and gain more exposure in Oxford.
“I don’t know how much it helps, but if we got one more customer from it, then that’s definitely a bonus,” Chef Corbin Evans said.
Usually 20 to 25 people attend luncheons hosted by Square Books, but Howorth hopes that number continues to increase as Oxford residents begin to recognize the value of these experiences.
“For a lot of people, this luncheon is a break in the middle of the day when they can come and listen and talk, and it’s more interesting than sitting in your office,” Howorth said. “It’s an easy way for us to carry out our mission.”
