Welcome to Nashville and the Southern Festival of Books! We hope you’ll have a wonderful time exploring all the festival has to offer, as well as the fabulous dining, sightseeing, art, and music that make Nashville such a fun place to live and to visit. We’ve learned over the past couple of years that there’s always a little flurry of visitors to Parnassus just before the Festival kicks off at noon; so this year, we’ve prepared a special welcome!

On Friday, October 9, from 10 a.m. – 12 noon, feel free to stop by on your way downtown to the Festival. While you’re here, meet our co-owner, novelist Ann Patchett, who has just written the foreword to the adorable Dogs As I See Them, by Lucy Dawson. Originally published in the 1930s, this beautiful sketchbook of canine portraits has been reprinted with Ann’s new introduction (which includes mention of her own pup, our beloved shop dog Sparky). Officially, it doesn’t hit shelves until October 20 — but just for you, we’ve got some early copies.

Ann writes:

“Lucy Dawson’s genius — and I can’t imagine how such a thing is done — is her ability to draw the personality of every dog she met. With no fanfare or wallpaper or sofa cushions or forest backdrops to set the mood, she captured the central part of each dog’s being . . .

Art is the gift of immortality. I look through these pages at so many alert ears and shining eyes and think that all of these dogs are gone now, along with their puppies, and their puppies’ puppies, far down the line. And then I think they’re right here, all of them, thanks to Lucy Dawson’s extraordinary talent and insight.” 

If you know Parnassus, you know we love dogs. So please, come say hello, pick up this darling new book, and if you like, give one of our shop dogs a pat. (They’re also happy to pose for photos.) And have a wonderful Festival weekend!

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Dogs as I See Them