Rob Banks, Deputy Director of TSCPL, recently sat down with me to booktalk two great reads for summer reading. Coal Black Horse by Robert Olmstead will please historical fiction lovers, especially those who love Civil War stories while Boomsday: a Novel by Christopher Buckley will tickle the funny bones of Boomers and young folk alike. Check them out!
Maureen Johnson is mad and she’s not going to take book banning sitting down! Recently her second novel, The Bermudez Triangle, made waves in the small community of Bartlesville, Oklahoma when a mother petitioned for the high school library to remove their copies from the shelf. When ninja librarian Susan Hunt tipped off Maureen, she was not only incredulous and appalled at the news, but decided to take great strides to rectify this situation.
Read about the book banning on Maureen’s blog, starting here and check back for more updates as this process goes on!
Maureen was gracious enough to chat with me on the phone about what’s going on with her book banning, as well as talking about her other books including Devilish and Girl at Sea, being a secret-sister on John and Hank Green’s vlog Brotherhood 2.0 and Free Monkey’s upcoming world tour. Take a listen!
Ever wonder what it would be like to drop everything to pursue your childhood dream? Recently I sat down with author Matthew Polly to discuss how an 80 pound weakling from Topeka, KS ended up in China studying kung fu with the Shaolin monks. Listen to the interview and an excerpt from his book American Shaolin: Flying Kicks, Buddhist Monks, and the Legend of the Iron Crotch.
Matt will be here on May 6th, 2007, 3pm, in the Marvin Auditorium talking about his experience living and writing his book, reading from it and signing copies afterwards. Check out his website, read his blog and of course, read his book!
What the Director is Reading, Take Two: a TSCPL Podcast
Gina Millsap, director of TSCPL, is back with more book recommendations! She sat down with me to discuss fiction and non-fiction picks, audiobooks she’s listened to and holiday book buys. She also discusses current changes happening in and around TSCPL and what changes we can expect to see at TSCPL during 2007. Check it out!
This past Monday, John Green, author of the 2006 Michael L. Printz Award winning Looking for Alaska and most recently An Abundance of Katherines, took time out of his busy schedule to chat with me over the phone. Find out what he has to say about living in New York, creating Katherine, winning the Printz award and why librarians are vital to young adult literature.
Can't get enough of John Green? Check out his blog (I love the video of him talking about the very serious business of being a writer followed by his version of "turning the beat around"). Still confused by the mathmatical formula that Colin discovered to chart when all of his relationships were doomed to fail? John's site gives a lengthy description and has a plug-in for you to chart your own relationship history.
James Mosher, Red Carpet employee, has developed a program called Harping for Hospice. Once a week James takes his folk harp out to Brewster Place and plays for the residents. While part of his job is to play soothing and happy music for his listeners, he also plays at bedsides for residents who are nearing the end of their battle with a terminal illness. Recently I interviewed him about this program and he also demonstrated his harping prowess. Check it out!
I recently sat down with Gina Millsap, our director of TSCPL. She shared some of her favorite reads of the past summer, books she’s looking forward to reading this fall, childhood favorites, vampire novels and her take on Banned Books Week. Check it out! (Editor's note: during the book talk of Twilight by Stephenie Meyer, I say the main female character is from Texas, but she is in fact from Arizona. My apologies to Ms. Meyer!)
Listen to Rob chat about these two titles.
