The Children's Book Bank

I first found out about the Children's Book Bank when I was looking for organizations to possibly donate to during last holiday season. While that didn't pan out, they were someone I kept in mind; and, I actually ended up volunteering with them for their Earth Day Book Drive earlier this year.

The Children's Book Bank is a Portland-based organization whose purpose is to provide books to low-income children. They accept donations from the community and have volunteers repair and package books to get them ready for kids. These kids not only get to have their own libraries now but they are getting a head start in reading which will benefit them in the long run during their school- and adult- years beyond.

The Book Drive was such a rewarding experience for so many reasons. Literacy- especially childhood literacy- has become an important issue in my life so anything I can do to help kids get access to books is great. It was also nice to talk to the community and see how many people took time to stop by and donate.

When my work- McKenzie Books- started a sustainability club and was looking for volunteering opportunities, I immediately mentioned the Children's Book Bank to them. Many people were interested which led to nine of my co-workers and a couple of their family and friends spending part of a beautiful Saturday afternoon indoors cleaning up books for kids.

It was hard not to share stories of books we read as kids (or were read to us) when we came across ones we remembered from childhood. All in all, it was another rewarding experience for me- and I hope to everyone else involved.

National Library Week

April 11-17 is National Library Week.

Over half a century old, it’s a celebration of libraries and librarians. This year’s theme is “Communities thrive @ your library.”

What are some ways to celebrate?

If you don’t have one already, get yourself a library card. Get everyone in your family one, in fact. This card gives you access to books, movies, music, and all sorts of other entertainment. In my opinion, it’s one of the best things you can do for yourself.

Make a financial contribution to show your support.

Volunteer. Donate your time. Donate your gently used books.

Shop at any Friends of the Library stores.

Some libraries are also having their Amnesty Week at the same time. They’ll waive a portion- or all- of your fines after you a pay part of it or bring in canned food. Check first before visiting your local branch.

So, come on and celebrate! Happy Reading!

Read to Rebuild- A Haiti Benefit Reading

Books and charity are two things Portland is known for. I thought it was cool that Reading Local found a way to combine both with their first ever event: Read to Rebuild- A Haiti Benefit Reading.

I’m always going to advocate people who are fans of literacy and who make others aware of what’s going on in the Book World. Reading Local does that for Portland with their website. I spread the word as much as I could about the event. I was pleasantly surprised by how much support local bookstores and other businesses were showing as well. Not to sound like a commercial but I was also glad McKenzie Books stepped up and donated some generous gift packages for Reading Local to raffle off.

Read to Rebuild was held at the Writers’ Dojo, an organization which I was vaguely familiar with because they were at last year’s Wordstock Festival. Next door to a martial arts center, I almost missed it. Once inside, with shoes off, of course, I found it to be quite a charming establishment. A spiral staircase led up to the Writers Room but the first floor was where the action was.

The founder of Reading Local was greeting people and taking care of the entrance fee- a suggested donation of $10- and raffle tickets. Tables were set up with snacks, coffee, wine, and all the prizes to be given out. Soon, people were pouring in and I thought the turnout was great- around 50 people. Writers’ Dojo was packed.

Aside from just exploring and enjoying the space I was in, I was amused by the handful of people who were settled in their chairs reading. I’ve been known to sneak away to quieter rooms during parties but while that act just seemed anti-social, it was almost expected here.

Six local writers read from their work throughout the evening. It started off with a group sing-along, in fact. And that pretty much set up the mood for the rest of the evening. There was a lot of fun to be had that night (including some nice sounding music during intermission) but the reason why we were all there didn’t escape us. The Director of Mercy Corps’ Health Programs shared his account of what it was like being in Haiti after the earthquake hit and how the money being raised was going to help a country rebuild itself.

I did have some nitpicks. First of all, I felt cramped with how close all the chairs were. Then the raffling off of prizes was a little weird. I would have thought they’d pick someone and that said person would then pick a prize they want. Then there wasn’t enough time to do it all so the raffle is still ongoing to the best of my understanding.

Aside from that, I’m glad I went to this event. Great job to Reading Local and everyone else who participated one way or another!

Elizabeth Kostova

When I found out Elizabeth Kostova was having a reading at Powell’s, I was excited. That’s an understatement by the way. “The Historian” is my go-to recommendation for anyone wanting to read a good book. I was also extremely happy that I lived in Portland because I get to go to all kinds of literary events such as this.

I made sure to get there early since I was expecting a full house. In my mind, if you write a great book, they will come. I was disappointed when this was not exactly the case. The important thing was I had my seat. It was nice being with that group of people because I felt surrounded by actual readers and book lovers.

Elizabeth Kostova seemed friendly and intelligent from the get go. I just wanted to be friends with her. She gave a shout-out to independent bookstores before reading a couple of chapters from “The Swan Thieves”. True to the book’s style, she first read a chapter later on in the book and then proceeded with the prologue.

When it was time for the audience Q&A, I was worried no one was going to ask anything and that would be it. Luckily, the questions came- about her writing process, her background and, of course, “The Historian”.

Common to both her novels are the shifts of time and perspective. The way the modern world interacted with the past always fascinated her. She also enjoyed the research process for her projects. It was this passion that made her tell “The Historian” in epistolary form.

With the success of “The Historian”, did she feel pressure on writing a next novel? She had been writing for over 20 years so she wasn’t really worried about it. Reading inspired her to write. She started off imitating the writers she admired until she eventually found her own voice, her own style. She was a fan of the very, very rough draft. The writing process, for her, was “a magic circle” in which everything but the story was forgotten. Her solution to writer’s block? Just move on. Set it aside and move to something else that makes you want to write.

Kostova also shared the fact she was already writing her third novel. What’s more interesting was she dreamed of seeing the book in paperback form with its title along a creased spine. It was similar to how “The Historian” came about in which scenes just seemed to come to her after a hike. Sweet stuff, if you ask me. But, regardless of how her stories come to be, as long as she shares them, all is good in the world

Audrey Niffenegger

I can’t even remember when I first picked this book up. But, at long last, I finally finished it. It’s a nice love story, the concept was interesting, and the writing was good but for some reason, I just couldn’t get into it. Some parts just seemed to drag so instead of reading on, I’d start on a new book. And I must have read at least a dozen books in between the first and last pages.

-from my review of “The Time Traveler’s Wife” by Audrey Niffenegger


My review of “The Time Traveler’s Wife” may not have been exactly full of praise but I do recommend it. Its success - a book club favorite and later turned into a movie starring Eric Bana and Rachel McAdams- was so huge that even if I didn’t like it, I would still have gone to see Audrey Niffenegger speak. She recently made an appearance at the Powell’s at Cedar Hills Crossing to promote her latest novel, “Her Fearful Symmetry.”

I arrived thirty minutes early to find a surprisingly thin crowd. For such a bestselling author, I expected a larger audience- standing room only, in fact. But that would be later. Until then, I took the time to inspect the people around me which consisted mostly of middle aged women who looked like they belonged to book groups. Not that that’s a bad thing. There were also younger folks- both male and female- and I happened to sit in the same row with a bunch of high schoolers who had to write about attending a speaking engagement such as this.

She started out reading a passage from her newest novel and took questions from the audience afterwards. She had some sort of accent- perhaps from Michigan where she was born? For some reason, I thought Audrey Niffenegger would be a stuck up sort of person. Maybe because she had red hair and was an artist? Maybe, as a wanna-be writer, I was just jealous of her tremendous success? But she turned out to be quite likable and entertaining. The first question, not surprisingly, was about “The Time Traveler’s Wife” and how she managed to keep the chronology accurate. Her response to this, as well as to a later question in regards to how she kept her facts straight with “Her Fearful Symmetry”, was to give credit to her copy editors. In fact, she seemed a self-deprecating sort.

The most interesting thing for me was hearing her writing process. Her novels took her years to write. As a visual artist first, writing was really more of a hobby. No regular schedule. Tons of research. (With “Symmetry” she ended up becoming a tour guide for the Highgate Cemetary in which the story takes place.) She lived with the characters in her head and, once their stories were told, they would no longer exist for her but passed on to the readers. That’s why she would never write “The Traveler’s Daughter”, she joked.

Niffenegger talked about how writer's block was just an opportunity to change direction, to reformulate the situation. As an example, she mentioned how the original premise of "Symmetry" involved a male ghost trapped in his Chicago apartment and a woman who would visit him. She gave praise to independent publishers for giving unknown writers the chance to be read. "The Time Traveler's Wife" was rejected multiple times before becoming the bestseller it is now and led to a bidding war for her next novel which fetched her a five million dollar advance.

Niffenegger is currently working on novelizing what started out as a short story called "The Chinchilla Girl in Exile". I did remember reading about this a few months ago in a Writer's Digest article she was interviewed for.

I wasn’t really in a hurry to read “Her Fearful Symmetry” because of the so-called sophomore slump that every artists seem to get cursed with. After attending this event though I’m definitely looking forward to picking it up- as well as her other “novels in pictures”.

My Reading Life- Year in Review 2009

I read 44 books in 2009, a good amount considering my goal was at least only 24. Based on my analysis of my books read this year- because it's what I do- I read 3 times as many novels than I did non-fiction books. Of the novels I read, the genre was overwhelmingly mystery and thriller. And I read almost as many books aimed for middle and teen readers than I did adult books. I read only 12 titles in my ever growing reading list. I picked up books by 23 authors I've never read before and read 7 additional titles by them.

After a cursory glance at my list of books read in 2008, I've come to the conclusion my reading habits have been consistent. I was only surprised I read so many memoirs this year. And it's odd my non-fiction reading tend to happen in the first half of the year.

Below are some fun lists and numbers.

Breakdown of Books Read in 2009

Non-fiction- 11
Memoirs- 4
General- 7

Fiction- 33
Mystery/Thrillers- 13
Kids/YA- 14
General- 6

Total- 44

The Best Books I Read in 2009

Non-fiction

Three Cups of Tea- Greg Mortenson and David Oliver Relin*
Letters to a Young Poet- Rainer Maria Rilke*
The Last Lecture- Randy Pausch w/ Jeffrey Zaslow
The Diving Bell and the Butterfly- Jean-Dominique Bauby*
Mindless Eating- Brian Wansink

Fiction

Pride and Prejudice- Jane Austen*
The Book Thief- Markus Zusak*
The Talented Mr. Ripley- Patricia Highsmith*
Q&A- Vikas Swarup
The Hunger Games- Suzanne Collins
The Mysterious Benedict Society- Trenton Lee Stewart
The Looking Glass Wars- Frank Beddor
Catching Fire- Suzanne Collins

*Some of My Favorite Books Ever- So Far

In case you were wondering, the worst book I read this year was "The Case of the Missing Books" by Ian Sanson.

Happy Reading!

My Christmas Tree o' Books

Happy Holidays!

Greg Mortenson: Stones Into Schools

To say that I was excited to see and hear Greg Mortenson speak would be an understatement. He wrote one of my favorite books ever. "Three Cups of Tea" was just a magnificent and inspiring read that I can't stop recommending to people. He was making his rounds to promote "Stones Into Schools"- a first-person narrative continuing his mission to promote peace through education. The lecture took place at the Arlene Schnitzer Concert Hall- an absolutely beautiful building. I had actually taken a tour of its multiple levels of intricately carved walls before. That night, though, the place just seemed more amazing with a sold out crowd.

In the lobby were booths of the different companies sponsoring the event. Powell's Books were selling "Stones Into Schools". Literary Arts and the Oregon Cultural Trust were handing out information about their organizations. And there were free publications from the Central Asia Institute available as well. CAI is the non-profit co-founded by Greg Mortenson that allows him to do the things he does.

It's always exciting to be around people who share a common interest or passion- in this case, I guess, it would have been the importance of education. I was surrounded mainly by teachers and librarians. To have someone see someone else they knew across the concert hall was a pretty common occurrence. There was an elderly lady who was seated near me. She was decked in red everything- including a feather boa- and she was so in praise of "Stones Into Schools"- she had just bought her fifth copy that day, in fact- that I couldn't wait to get my own copy to read.

The only thing I was worried about was Greg Mortenson's speaking skills. I had heard from others he wasn't that good but I needn't have worried. If that was the case before, it was probably because he was new to it all but he's certainly had much practice since then. I found him to be well-spoken, funny and informative. He did make an error when giving shout-outs to the places he's visited before in Portland. But that certainly could be overlooked considering, just that day, he had given another talk to some high school students before pre-signing copies of his latest book.

Early on in the lecture, Mortenson played a short video of his daughter, Amira, interviewing Tom Brokaw, one of his earlier supporters to his cause. Then, through a PowerPoint presentation his son helped him with, he basically talked about the events that led him to where he was now in his life- a sort of recapping of "Three Cups of Tea" and the opportunities that the book provided after its publication. It was interesting to hear that the hardcover edition had a different subtitle from the paperback. He never liked the original publisher's choice of "One Man's Mission to Fight Terrorism One School at a Time" and it was eventually changed to "One Man's Mission to Promote Peace One School at a Time."

Some recurring themes during his speak were the need of community and relationship building (especially of listening and respecting elders for what they've been through and can offer in terms of advice), the ability of children to change the world when given the chance (because it was schoolkids, and not celebrities or powerful politicians, that funded his earlier missions through the Pennies for Peace program), and the importance of education as an important factor in battling ignorance, hate and many other problems that stem from them. With messages like those, it wasn't that surprising then for me to learn that "Three Cups of Tea" has become required reading for people in Special Services.

He praised some military people he'd spoken to that seem to get that it's not bombs that was going to solve our problems but the empowerment of the people through education. Needless to say, he was critical in President Obama's decision to send more troops to Afghanistan because the decision was made behind closed doors and didn't ask the input of the people there.

Overall, Greg Mortenson gave an inspiring and well-received talk. And, once again, my desire to do good in the world, my call to service, was awakened.

Abraham Lincoln: A Man of His Time, A Man for All Time

I’ll be the first to admit I don’t know much about history. The subject never fascinated me in school. And, as I grew older, it just seemed like a chore to have to learn about it.

When the Central Library decided to hold an exhibit on Abraham Lincoln in the Collins Gallery, I figured it was a good place as any to start educating myself- even if only a little- about some aspect of American history. I was also intrigued because the brochure claimed "more books have been written about Abraham Lincoln than any other American."

My knowledge of Lincoln was limited to the very basic of facts and the legend, the myth, surrounding the man, which may or may not all be accurate. He was the sixteenth president. He was a tall man who wore a stove-pipe hat and earned the nickname "Honest Abe". He delivered the famous Gettysburg Address. He helped free the slaves and got assassinated while watching a play. He was famous enough to get his image carved into stone and put on our currency, among other accomplishments.

The "Abraham Lincoln: A Man of His Time, A Man for All Time" traveling exhibition coincided with the bicentennial anniversary of his birth. On display were old photos, portraits, and reproduction pages of campaign posters. There was one of four marble busts created by Avard T. Fairbanks depicting Lincoln during various stages of his life. Of course, the exhibit also provided background information and examples of how his legacy still lives on today. I didn’t realize that in 2000, Congress created the Abraham Lincoln Bicentennial Act and in each state a committee was formed to oversee the celebrations and events. One of the many things they did that I liked was create a local connection with “Abraham Lincoln’s Friends in Oregon” and a list of geographical names in honor of and associated with him. They even had an official magazine which they were giving out for free.

I was there for the opening reception. As I walked around to look at everything, “Illinois” Doug Tracy” was warming up on his banjo, in which he would later play a few songs from the 1860's. A trivia contest was held and I was glad there were actually people there, not only for the free food, but genuinely interested and knowledgeable about everything Lincoln. Up for grabs were some 1909 pennies and an original 1864 New York Times copy. It was amusing when Lincoln made an appearance and gave a brief presentation. I liked the fact that despite all the work of re-creating that period of time, he stepped out of an elevator before giving his speech.

Throughout the whole thing, I was taking notes and I happened to run across a lady who asked me why I was doing such a thing. I told her it was for my blog. It turned out she was the wife of the actor portraying Lincoln. Afterwards, she introduced me to him and I got to interview him a little. Steve Holgate didn’t know much about Lincoln but the more he studied about him, the more he became fascinated. After retiring and wanting to perform, he ended up bringing his act all over the world. I complimented him on how he stayed in character throughout his performance, especially during the audience Q&A.

This proved to be an educational yet entertaining event. I ate a lot. I learned a lot. I even got to talk to Lincoln himself. All in all, I had a great time.

Words Worth Paying For: Publishing in the Age of Electronic Readers

Panel discussion

Panelists:
Katherine Dunn ("Geek Love")
Vailey Oehlke (Director of Libraries, Multnomah County Library)
Dennis Stovall (Director of publishing, Portland State University; Publisher, Ooligan Press)

More information: http://jcomm.uoregon.edu/articles/turnbull-center-panel-to-explore-publishing-in-the-age-of-electronic-readers