Posts filed under 'books'
September 15th, 2009
Boone County resident Kimberla Lawson Roby, a New York Times bestselling author, tackles child molestation in her 13th book. “A Deep Dark Secret,” her second novella, will be released Sept. 29.
In the book, Jillian Maxwell, 12, a straight-A student who stays out of trouble is hiding a terrible secret and turns suicidal.
A news release that accompanied delivery of my copy of the book cites awful statistics from this site, Darkness to Light:
* 1 in 4 girls is sexually abused before age 18
* only 10 percent are abused by strangers
* 30 percent of victims never disclose the experience to anyone.
September 10th, 2009
If you gave a well-known children’s author a chance to read from one of her books at the Rockford Public Library, she’d take it.
At least that’s if her name is Laura Numeroff. Numeroff is author of the “If You Give …” series, including “If You Give a Mouse a Cookie” and “If you Give a Moose a Muffin.” She will appear from 3 to 4:30 p.m. Monday, Sept. 21, at the Main Library Auditorium, 215 N. Wyman St., Rockford, to promote her latest book, “What Sisters Do Best/What Brothers Do Best.” A book signing will follow the program, which includes kids doing a craft project.
The library is presenting the free storytime in cooperation with Wonderland Books and Toys of Rockford. Registration is not required. For more information: rockfordpubliclibrary.org, 815-965-7606, option 5.
August 17th, 2009
Over the weekend, I watched part of Christiane Amanpour’s eye-opening documentary “Generation Islam,” which aired on CNN and included 20 minutes of interviews with Greg Mortenson and friends. He is considered a hero by mullahs in Afghanistan. The documentary offered his school-building strategy there as an answer to stabilize Afghanistan that the U.S. military has become part of. Footage showed soldiers handing out pencils and pens.
Mortenson, a U.S. citizen and co-author of the bestseller, “Three Cups of Tea: One Man’s Mission to Promote Peace … One School at a Time,” spoke in Rockford last September to a full house at the Coronado Performing Arts Center as part of the Pennies for Peace fundraising campaign. Rockford raised $100,319.98, enough to build two schools, mostly for girls. His appearance was courtesy of the One Book, One Rockford program cut this year for financial reasons by the Rockford Public Library.
(Here’s a young reader’s version of the book. By the way, the adult version was one of the best books I’ve read on Middle East issues.)
David Oliver Relin, who helped Mortenson write the book, also appeared in town during the campaign here at Rockford College. He told the audience then: “We need to replicate (Mortenson’s Central Asia Institute effort) on a massive scale to offer hope.” The alternative? Kids there will be turned into “Taliban foot soldiers.” It’s a key message in the “Generation Islam” documentary.
A year ago, Mortenson’s organization had built 78 schools. Now there are more than 130 schools, which educate more than 51,000 students. There’s still a big disparity with regard to need, though. Relin estimated that extremist groups have 20,000 schools.
January 26th, 2009
I can’t wait to see the yet-to-be-released “The Stoning of Soraya M.” next month at the Beloit International Film Festival, and I bet hundreds of women in local book clubs share my interest.
Understanding women and their lack of rights in the Middle East is a central theme for popular books area book clubs and their members have been reading, including “A Thousand Splendid Suns,” “Kabul Beauty School,” “Three Cups of Tea.”
And I think it will be intriguing listening to “Braveheart” and “The Passion of the Christ” producer Stephen McEveety talk at the festival about the making of “The Stoning of Soraya M.”
If you’ve read any of the above books or others about women in the Middle East, share your comments here.
At last week’s revealing of the 150 or so films that will be shown, Dr. Steve Fass tossed out a few of his favorites. He helped select the movies for the festival. Among his likes: “The Amatuers,” a comedy about down-on-their-luckers trying to produce an adult film; “Four Minutes,” about a German piano prodigy and murder; “The Violin,” about a peasant man who tutors and supports a guerilla movement; “El Bola,” about a young boy raised in a violent environment; “Waveriders,” about surfers in Ireland.
January 9th, 2009
”Her characters are so realistic and dialogue so on target that you’ve just got to ask yourself what congregation has Roby been spying on?” That’s what the Clarion-Ledger of Jackson, Miss., says about Rockford native Kimberla Lawson Roby’s books.
And her just-released noval, “The Best of Everything,” is sure to keep to similar comments coming. Here’s a tease from tthe cover of the book: “Meet Alicia, all grown up and just like her father, the Reverend Curtis Black.”
You can meet the New York Times bestseller Roby at her book-signing at 6 p.m. Tuesday, Jan. 13, at Barnes & Noble at CherryVale Mall in Cherry Valley.
I’ll even give you a copy of “The Best of Everything” to take to the book-signing, if you so choose.
Just tell me why you dig Roby’s books so much. I’ll choose the comment I like best, and let you know who the winner is here on my blog by noon Monday.
