Eat, read and be merry is an apt motto for several bookstores that have found appetizing ways to pair books and food.

Partnering with a local cooking school has proven profitable for TurnRow Book Co., Greenwood, Miss. The general interest bookstore regularly hosts events with cookbook scribes, many of whom teach workshops at the Viking Cooking School. "When we're dealing with publishers, not only can we say we'll have a book signing but that we also have this cooking school in town," said TurnRow owner Jamie Kornegay. "It's a good place for authors to do their demonstrations, and it helps us with book sales."

Last year David Pasternack, co-author of The Young Man & the Sea, educated workshop participants on preparing various types of sea bounty before attending a signing at TurnRow. Last weekend Nancie McDermott taught a Viking class based on her new book, Southern Cakes, followed by an afternoon appearance at the store, where Red Velvet Cake was one of the confections served. Customers could attend one or both events.

"There's a cooperative spirit here in Greenwood," said Kornegay, which was evident when Jill Conner Browne came to promote The Sweet Potato Queens' 1st Big-Ass Novel: Stuff We Didn't Actually Do, but Could Have, and May Yet. Viking's retail store offered customers sweet potato ice cream, while a bakery served sweet potato soup as part of its lunch special.

Later this month TurnRow will host Alice Waters, whose new book is The Art of Simple Food: Notes, Lessons, and Recipes from a Delicious Revolution, in conjunction with the Southern Foodways Symposium held annually in nearby Oxford. Also appearing this month is Molly O'Neill, editor of American Food Writing: An Anthology with Classic Recipes. O'Neill will be fêted with a potluck event at TurnRow on October 23. Customers are invited to bring their tastiest covered dish for evaluation by O'Neill, who is searching for recipes for the next volume in the series. In addition to food-focused gatherings, TurnRow offers gourmands "A Chef's Library," a signed first editions club of cookbooks and culinary narratives.

An easy way to enliven author events, noted Kornegay, is to serve cocktails that tie in with a book's theme. At a gathering for The Lee Bros. Southern Cooking, customers nibbled on boiled peanuts and sipped mint juleps. They quaffed mojitos in honor of Ace Atkins' novel White Shadow, set in Tampa and Havana. T.R. Pearson, author of Seaworthy: Adrift with William Willis in the Golden Age of Rafting, was toasted with Salty Dogs.

At Chester County Book and Music Company in West Chester, Pa., food is often incorporated into events--and sometimes is the main focus. One of the store's most successful programs is a "Buy Fresh, Buy Local" campaign to support area farms. "The whole idea is not only to be aware of an independent bookstore but of other independent merchants to keep dollars locally in the community," said Chester County bookseller and current NAIBA president Joe Drabyak.

An in-store display features a map highlighting local farms that sell produce directly to consumers, along with a selection of titles such as raw food cookbooks. As part of the initiative, the store hosts covered dish gatherings. One such get-together included a discussion of The Omnivore's Dilemma, and an upcoming appearance by Christina Pirello, author of Cooking the Whole Foods Way, is timed to coincide with fall harvest.

"Food can be used to enhance a theme or set a specific tone for a gathering," said Drabyak, who personally prepared 16 pounds of nuts for a presentation of Party Nuts! and baked 14 cakes for a tasting demonstration of The Cake Mix Doctor. Victuals can also lend flair to general events, Drabyak added. Readers who turned out for an appearance by historical novelist Philippa Gregory were treated to high tea, which "spoke to both her British heritage and the courtly and formal nature of her writings," said Drabyak. For an event promoting summer beach reads, Chester County enlisted the aid of two cookbook authors to prepare a tasting of grilled and barbecue foods. Added Drabyak, "There is something very communal about food."

Food regularly brings together customers at Joseph-Beth Booksellers in Pittsburgh, Pa., and at Bookin' It in Little Falls, Minn., where ardent amateur chefs convene monthly as part of cooking book clubs.

At Joseph-Beth's Pittsburgh outpost, even those who aren't part of the Cookbook Pot-Luck Club often get to sample fare made by members. "We like to get other customers involved and have them try the food," said bookseller Anna Wolak, who leads the year-old club. Club members try their hand at making dishes from a different cookbook each month and decide after sampling the results if they want to buy the book. That way, explained Wolak, "they do not have to pay $20 or more for a cookbook they might not enjoy. However, after the meeting members normally purchase the book."

The Wagamama Cookbook with recipes from the noodle restaurant chain was a hit with Potluck participants (and other store customers)--particularly the pineapple yakitori and a green tea sponge cake made by Wolak, who cited the popularity of the Food Network as one of the reasons for the launch of the club. The club focuses solely on cooking and pastry books, and choices have included The Breakaway Cook: Recipes that Break Away from the Ordinary. This month's selection is 5 Spices, 50 Dishes: Simple Indian Recipes Using Five Common Spices, which will be followed by Sweet Spot: Asian-Inspired Desserts.

Bookin' It's Good Living Cookbook Club has been meeting for nearly a decade. "We don't discuss, we cook," said store owner Laura Hansen, although members are required to reveal if they made ingredient substitutions or had difficulties preparing a recipe. The club, which Hansen founded at the request of a customer, gathers in the store with an annual holiday soirée held at a restaurant or a member's home.

The club's participants make recipes from the same volume over a three-month span. "It didn't seem realistic that most people, even the most avid cooks, would buy 12 cookbooks a year," commented Hansen. This in-depth approach also gives members the opportunity "to try as many recipes from each book as possible," Hansen said. Award-winning titles are popular club picks, and there is an emphasis on maintaining "a mix of ethnic or specialty books alongside more general books," said Hansen. Selections must contain enough content to last three months, she added, "and have a range of recipes from appetizers through main courses, sides and desserts." The club's October-December pick is The Silver Palette Cookbook 25th Anniversary Edition.

And for anyone who may have worked up an appetite reading this article, Hansen recommends the Tomato Tart from Southern Living: 40 Years of Our Best Recipes.--Shannon McKenna Schmidt