Galveston Reads

Movie Night: Room Change~

2012-01-26T09:30:00.000-08:00

Away From Her, at TAMUG is going to be shown at:

Classroom and Laboratory Building in room 100. To get there cross the Pelican Island Bridge and turn right into the main entrance. Park in the parking lot to the right. Facing the clock tower the CLB is the building immediately to your right. Room 100 is on the end of the building closest to the parking lot.

Thursday, Jan 26th, 2012
7 pm

Movie Night - Thursday, January 26th 7pm @ TAMUG

2012-01-21T10:06:00.001-08:00

Film buffs, readers and the general public are invited to a free movie night at Texas A&M Galveston on Thursday, January 26th at 7:00pm. No reservation is required to attend this free movie screening which will be held at TAMUG in Room 126 of the Jack K. Williams Library, Building #3010, 200 Seawolf Parkway in Galveston. The film, Away From Her, is being shown in conjunction with 2012 Galveston Reads programming, sponsored by the Rosenberg Library, Kempner Fund, Sealy Center on Aging UTMB, UTMB Department of Family Medicine, Galveston College, Texas A&M Galveston, Inn at the Waterpark and Moody Gardens.

Galveston Reads 2012 “One City, One Book” title is Still Alice by Lisa Genova, a story told from the perspective of a fifty year-old Harvard University professor afflicted by early-onset Alzheimer’s disease. “This movie was selected to expand the community discussion of and insight into Alzheimer’s disease and its impact on individuals, relationships, families,” Poom Taylor, a librarian at the Rosenberg Library and a Galveston Reads committee member, said.

Away From Her chronicles the touching story of a retired couple, married nearly 50-years, coming to terms with their relationship and themselves in the aftermath of the wife’s Alzheimer’s diagnosis. The film features actress, Julie Christie, whose performance in this movie garnered her Golden Globe, Critics Choice, and Screen Actors Guild awards, as well as an Academy Award nomination for Best Actress. Additional Academy Award nominations for this film, originally a short story by Alice Munroe, included Best Adapted Screenplay (Sarah Polley, Screenplay Author / Director). The film was on major film critics top ten lists as a Best Film of 2007 has received international acclaim from the British Academy of Film, was named Best Motion Picture in Canada, receiving an astonishing five Genie Awards – the highest accolades for Canadian films – including Best Actress (Christie), Best Actor (Gordon Pinset), Best Director, Best Adapted Screenplay, and Best Supporting Actress (Kristen Thompson). Olympia Dukakis and Michael Murphy also deliver outstanding performances.

The Jack K. Williams Library is located near the center of the Texas A&M Galveston Campus, southeast of the clock tower and Student Center, and due west of the soccer fields. From Seawolf Parkway, visitors should turn right at the main entrance to the Texas A&M Galveston. The library is adjacent to the Student Center Parking lot. The movie will be shown in Room #126. For more complete directions to the campus and library, visit http://www.tamug.edu/library/libraryhours/directions.html.

In its 9th year, Galveston Reads encourages unity through literature, hosting discussions, events, films and bringing speakers and authors of national acclaim to Galveston. A diverse group of volunteers collaboratively identifies books of interest to the community with the general public voting to select one book annually.

For more information, please visit or call the Rosenberg Library 409-763-8854 ext. 115 or online at www.rosenberg-library.org and www.galvestonreads.org.

Embracing Aging: Press Release

2012-01-06T14:28:00.001-08:00

PRESS RELEASE

Contact: Travis Bible, Museum Assistant

Rosenberg Library

409-763-8854, ext. 125

For Immediate Release

6 January 2012

Embracing Aging Photography Exhibit Opens

at Rosenberg Library

The Rosenberg Library Museum is proud to present a new photography exhibit entitled Embracing Aging currently on display in Harris Gallery through the end of March 2012. The show is a collaborative effort between the Library and the Galveston Reads program. Galveston Reads is a community-wide book club that encourages unity through literature. This year’s book is the best-selling Still Alice by Lisa Genova, which follows the struggles and triumphs of a woman who is diagnosed with Alzheimer’s disease.

Embracing Aging features works by accomplished local photographers Barbara Pursley and Marilyn Brodwick. Both artists spotlight aging and present images that invoke powerful emotions and draw viewers in for a closer look to see the beauty in ‘ordinary’ people. Pursley and Brodwick will speak at the library on Saturday, January 28, 2012 at 6:00 p.m. during Galveston Art Walk. The event is free and open to the public (please enter the library through the ground floor doors).

Barbara Pursley’s black and white photographs are taken from her book Embracing the Moment: An Alzheimer’s Memoir. In it, Pursley shares the experience of becoming her mother’s caregiver after she was diagnosed with Alzheimer’s. Her photographs depict a bitter-sweet journey through the declining stages of the disease, and offered her a way of coping with the difficulty of being a caregiver. Not only did photography help Pursley preserve a moment in time, it also gave her a way to connect with her mother.

The Embracing Aging exhibit also features color photographs by Marilyn Spievak Brodwick that have never before been seen by the public. Her portraits focus the viewers’ attention to the beauty—and occasionally the pain—of each subject. Brodwick met many of her subjects on the streets and “tried to sense the person behind the mask of age” before taking any pictures. Like Pursley, Brodwick feels that her camera connects her to her subjects. She believes that “When you look at the outside of a person, you don’t see the life. The way into the fullness and beauty of life may be a wrinkled hand or the sadness or fierce gleam of an eye.”

With longer life-expediency rates and an aging population, health problems like Alzheimer’s disease and dementia now touch many more lives than in years past. Please join the Rosenberg Library as it offers a forum to highlight this important issue. Additional information about this and other Galveston Reads events can be found on the Galveston Reads website: http://galvestonreads.org/events/events.htm

Book Discussions start at Moody Methodist on Monday!!

2012-01-06T14:14:00.000-08:00

Book Discussions are beginning on January 9th at Moody Methodist followed by the Rosenberg Library. Yummy snacks will be served for the Rosenberg Library for a noon meeting.

Book Discussions:

January 9 6:30 pm Moody Methodist

January 11 12 Noon Rosenberg Library

January 12 7:00 pm Hitchcock Library

January 14 10:00 am Moody Methodist

January 19 7:00 pm Mod Coffee & Tea

January 25 6:00 pm Mosquito Café

February 2 6:00 pm First Presbyterian

February 7 7:00 pm Texas A&M

February 8 7:00 pm U.U. Fellowship

Embracing Aging Exhibit Up!! Kicks off Galveston Reads for 2012!!

2012-01-06T14:11:00.000-08:00

In conjunction with the 2012 Galveston Reads book Still Alice, Galveston Reads and the Rosenberg Library Museum is presenting an exhibit entitled Embracing Aging in the Harris Gallery of the Rosenberg Library Museum.

This special exhibit is on display from January through March 2012 and is free to the public. One of the photos from the exhibit is below:

Galveston Reads Reading List December 2011

2011-12-28T11:35:00.000-08:00

The final 11 books from the Reading Committee. The committee will be whittling the list down this January, 2012.

Unbroken, WW2 & The Olympic Runner	Hillenbrand
Room: A Novel	Donnohu
Packing for Mars	Roach
The Wicked River When It Last Ran Wild	Sandlin
The Big Year	Obmascik
Empire of the Summer Moon	Gwynne
The Leftovers	Perrotta
Farewell My Subaru	Fine
The Submission	Waldman
Homecoming of Samuel Lake	Wingfield
The Big Thirst	Fishman

Upcoming exhibit at Rosenberg Library

2011-12-01T13:36:00.000-08:00

Upcoming exhibit for Still Alice in 2012: On display in the lobby, by the Circulation Desk of the Rosenberg Library, 2310 Sealy Street, Galveston, Texas.

by Lynn Burke

Group Leader Training Kicks Off Season! Tuesday, Nov 15th

2011-11-19T08:11:00.000-08:00

Galveston Reads started training for group leaders with Dr. John Gorman in the newly renovated Fox Room at the Rosenberg Library. Dr. Gorman lead the training with his usual challenge to the readers, please leave your papers face down, as Dr. Gorman is used to talking to a room full of students. He provided great tips and insight to the book, Still Alice with what to look for, such as, "All the books are depressing, why another depressing book?".

Dr. Gorman brought up the butterfly motif and the changes Alice is facing, along with her butterfly folder, in case she has to implement her backup plan, if she can not face being in the Alzheirmer's Special Care Unit. Issues such as Alice's identity, linked to her professional career as a Harvard professor, all seem to fall to the wayside, as her Alzheimer's progresseses. Ultimately, Dr. Gorman asks the question, is the book about the love and family support, as Alice's daughters, Lydia and Anna bend their lives to give Alice safety and familial connection.

Most of us left with the skills and ideas needed to lead book discussions.

Committee Meetings July 20, 2011

2011-07-20T07:27:00.000-07:00

The Galveston Reads 2011-2012 Programming Committee will meet on Wednesday, July 20, 2011 from 3pm-4pm in the Randall Room at the Rosenberg Library. This committee develops and plans programs for the community based on the 2012 Galveston Reads selection, Still Alice, by Lisa Genova.

From 4pm-5pm, the Readers Committee will meet in the Randall Room. Avid readers are welcome to join this committee and help to narrow down possible books for the 2013 Galveston Reads book selection.

Ideas and suggestions are welcome. If you are interested in participating on either committee or have questions or comments, please call 409-763-8854.

Readers/Book Selection Meeting in June: Friday 17th: 3 pm

2011-05-25T12:28:00.000-07:00

Readers! We are meeting in June.

Friday, 3 pm

Randall Room, 1st Flor Rosenberg Library

Contact Glennda Rassin for more information: rassin at hotmail.com

May Meeting: Tuesday: May 24th: Galveston Reads: Committees Meetings

2011-05-23T10:43:00.000-07:00

3 pm: Book Selection Committee: avid readers welcome.

4 pm: Galveston Reads Committee: including programming and funding ideas.

Book for 2012 is:

Still Alice by Lisa Genova

Date: 5/24/2011

Description: Committee meeting for Galveston Reads: Still Alice. New committee members most welcome.

Snacks will be served~

Location: Randall Room, Rosenberg Library, 2310 Sealy Ave, Galveston 77550

2012 Book Chosen: Still Alice

2011-05-04T14:29:00.000-07:00

The Galveston Reads Committee is proud to announce the 2012 book choice:

Still Alice, by Lisa Genova

Three good book choices for readers

2011-05-04T14:24:00.000-07:00

By Dale Taylor
Special to The Daily News
Published April 7, 2011

Galveston Reads and members of the Galveston County community are in the process of deciding on one of three excellent books that will serve as the selection for next year’s program.

The final choices are “Zeitoun,” by Dave Eggers; “One Amazing Thing,” by Chitra Banerjee Divakaruni; and “Still Alice,” by Lisa Genova.

Galveston Reads, a “One City, One Book” program, now is collecting votes for the 2012 selection. Voting ends April 27. Pick up these books at Rosenberg Library and vote for your favorite by email at galvestonreadsbooks(at)yahoo.com or kstanley(at)rosenberg-library.org.

You can also phone in your vote to Karen Stanley, 409-763-8854, Ext. 119, or by filling out a bookmark ballot at the library.

Galveston Reads encourages reading by offering programs at various locations throughout Galveston County that revolve around the selection. The current selection is “Into the Beautiful North,” by Luis Alberto Urrea.

The three books being considered for next year’s program will pose a difficult challenge for book lovers. Each has something unique to offer.

“Zeitoun” is based on the real account of Abdulrahman and Kathy Zeitoun, whose experiences before and after Hurricane Katrina will leave you chilled. This one is difficult to put down.

Zeitoun and his wife own a paint contracting business and have three children. Zeitoun, originally from Syria, decides to remain in New Orleans during and after the storm.

His story will make you want to write your congressional representatives to revise laws and procedures associated with evacuations.

This riveting story also opens the door between cultures. You will understand the importance of religious freedom and human rights. Eggers does a good job at staying out of the way of his characters and allowing them to tell their story.

“One Amazing Thing” broadens the cultural canvas with a group of nine people who’ve survived an earthquake in an unnamed U.S. city.

The story is an homage to Chaucer, whose 12th century “Canterbury Tales” allows the telling of stories from several pilgrims on their way to a religious site.

The survivors of the earthquake are as feisty and lively as Chaucer’s characters and feature a Caucasian couple at odds with one another, an African-American man who helps steady the group, a Chinese grandmother with a tale of forbidden love and Indian characters who are both in love and at cross purposes with one another.

The storytelling provides a civilizing influence as the group has no other choice but to get along as they are trapped in the basement of an Indian consulate. The novel shifts point of view throughout; however, we have no trouble following the stories of each character.

“Still Alice” follows the slow demise of Alice Howland, a cognitive psychologist who has spent her career as an academician at Harvard University. The story follows her shock and disappointment, frustration and gradual loss of memory as she struggles to cope with Alzheimer’s disease, her family and the loss of her identity.

“Still Alice” creates a sad portrait of a woman at odds with herself and the trials involved in surviving personal challenges.

I’d vote for “Zeitoun.” What’s your pick?

Dale Taylor holds a doctorate in English literature and is a professor at Galveston College.

Experts in Community Health and Law to Lead Migration Issues Panel Discussion

2011-03-09T14:09:00.000-08:00

Free event hosted by Galveston Reads will be held at 3pm on Saturday, March 12, 2011 at The Original Mexican Restaurant, 1401 Market St., Galveston Texas

Rebecca J. Hester, Ph.D., Anne Bronwyn Chandler, J.D., and AJ Halvorsen, R.N. will lead a Panel Discussion on Migration Issues as the last part of the Galveston Reads 2011 event series in March, 2011. Galveston Reads 2011 programming is based on the book, Into the Beautiful North by Luis Alberto Urrea. The Migration Issues Panel Discussion, free to the public, will be held on Saturday, March 12, 2011 at 3pm in The Original Mexican Restaurant located at 1401 Market St. in Galveston.

Panelists will share diverse and in-depth expertise and experience with the community.

Rebecca J. Hester, Ph.D. is Assistant Professor at the Department of Preventive Medicine and Community Health at UTMB. She holds a Ph.D. from the University of California, Department of Politics, with an emphasis in Latin American and Latino Studies. Dr. Hester’s interests include multiculturalism as it pertains to medical education.

Anne Bronwyn Chandler, J.D. is the Director of the Tahirih Justice Center in Houston. Formerly the Interim Director of the Immigration Clinic at University of Houston Law Center, Chandler has also worked as an immigration attorney for YMCA International Services.

AJ Halvorsen is a R.N. at St. Vincent’s House. Halvorsen has served in that capacity for the past five years, bringing together the medical, nursing, and social service community to meet Galveston’s needs.

For more information about this Galveston Reads event, contact the Rosenberg Library reference desk at 409-763-8854 ext. 115.

Summary of Presentation by Galveston Reads Author Luis Alberto Urrea

2011-02-18T15:55:00.000-08:00

By Casey Canton on Friday, February 18, 2011

Last night I attended Luis Alberto Urrea’s presentation on his book “Into the Beautiful North” at Galveston College. When I walked in, I was relieved to see they had light snacks and refreshments, so I took a cookie and a cup of juice and found a seat. The room filled up fast and they had to bring in dozens of extra chairs to accommodate the crowd. It was nice to see so many people interested in reading! I saw several familiar faces there including my government professor and his wife, friends from the Rosenberg library, and a couple of friends from around the campus.

I was pleasantly surprised at the entertainment value of the presentation. Urrea is a pretty funny guy and has a sly way of making his audience chuckle while concurrently taking in the gravity of his message. He talked for about an hour about where he grew up, how he came to America, and told stories of his family. He explained how he incorporated family and friends from his journey into the book with heartfelt meaning and dedication. His stories captivated me and I found myself enthralled as the words danced off his tongue with lingual finesse. It mimicked the feeling of the climax of a really good movie.

Urrea closed his presentation with a Q & A session in which he answered questions from the audience for about thirty minutes, during which he mentions that the book has a movie in the works, as does one of his other books, “The Hummingbird’s Daughter.” After meticulously answering several questions from the crowd, he proceeded to the back of the room where he signed books and chatted with people as they moved through the line.

This was my first experience of attending a book signing and presentation of this nature. Having only read a few chapters of “Into the Beautiful North,” I am now even more enthusiastic about diving in and finishing this book. I thoroughly enjoyed the presentation and I am grateful that the possibility for extra credit in class lured me in. In the future I will probably jump at the chance for an opportunity like this.

From: http://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=1396347874#!/notes/casey-canton/summary-of-presentation-by-galveston-reads-author-luis-alberto-urrea/1654541398209?notif_t=note_tag

Facebook!!

Movie Screening of “The Magnificent Seven” for Galveston Reads

2011-02-05T13:18:00.001-08:00

Galveston Reads will be hosting a movie screening of “The Magnificent Seven” with discussion immediately following the movie. This event will be held at Galveston College at 6:30 pm on Tuesday, February 8, 2011. The facilitator for the group discussion will be Alan Griffin, who has lead several past discussions for Galveston Reads. . “The Magnificent Seven” was selected for the showing and group discussion because this movie inspired the heroine of Into the Beautiful North, this year’s Galveston Reads book, to set off from Mexicoon a journey to the United States to recruit seven men, her own “Siete Magnificos” to defend her hometown. The book’s heroine must embark, on this journey from her native village in Mexico because all the able bodied men have migrated north to work in the United States.

Into the Beautiful North was written by Luis Alberto Urrea, a Pulitzer Prize finalist who draws on his Mexican-American heritage for many of his insights. In the words of Dr. Curley, one of the Galveston Reads panelists, “Urrea’s background qualifies him as a voice of the border. He was raised Mexican in Tijuana and then American in San Diego by a Mexican father and an American mother.” Urrea has said “the border runs down the middle of me. I have a barbed-wire fence neatly bisecting my heart.” As part of this year’s Galveston Reads activities, Mr. Urrea, has been invited to make a presentation for the Galveston Reads series on February 17th at the Galveston College auditorium

This version of Akira Kurasawa’s “Seven Samurai” is an American remake with Yul Brynner leading the seven gunslingers to repel the banditos, similar to the drug lords making their way into Tres Camarones from the book Into the Beautiful North.

Galveston Reads, is a “One City, One Book” program, which has selected the book, Into the Beautiful North, by Luis Alberto Urrea for this year. Galveston Reads encourages reading by offering programs held at various locations throughout Galveston County that revolve around the selection.

Continue the journey with Nayeli and her friends by attending the screening of the movie “The Magnificent Seven”. This is the second event of the current Galveston Reads year. The season began with a book discussion at Mod Coffee House, followed by a well attended Professors’ Panel in the Wortham Auditorium at the Rosenberg Library. Galveston Reads book discussions and events start in January and continue through March.

The journey will continue with several more book discussions, events such as the author’s visit on February 17 at Galveston College, and the closing event at the Original Mexican restaurant. Please join the Galveston community in watching and discussing this movie at Galveston College.

Time: 6:30 pm

Galveston College

4015 Ave. Q, Room FA 207

Tuesday, February 8, 2011

For more information or schedule of events about the one city/one book project, Galveston Reads visit www.galvestonreads.org

All events are free and open to the public.

GALVESTON READS TRIVIA CONTEST: WEEK 6

2011-01-30T09:00:00.000-08:00

Week 6

What is the name of the taqueria/internet café owned by Tacho?

A: The Fallen Hand

B: The Broken Foot

C: The Crooked Finger

Send answers to: galvestonreadsbooks(at)yahoo.com

OR

Galveston Reads Trivia Contest
Rosenberg Library
2310 Sealy St.
Galveston, TX 77550

Book Discussion at The Mosquito Cafe (photos)

2011-01-26T19:58:00.000-08:00

Photos of Professors' Panel and Summary of Discussion

2011-01-26T19:41:00.000-08:00

From the Four Professors’ Panel, each professor gave an interesting overview of the book from different perspectives and entertained questions and statements from the audience.

Michael Berberich: overview of the book, summary.

Steve Curley: Urrea’s background qualifies him as a voice of the border. He was raised Mexican in Tijuana and then American in San Diego by a Mexican father and an American mother. Urrea has said “the border runs down the middle of me. I have a barbed-wire fence neatly bisecting my heart.”

John Gorman: Analogies between the book and the classical model of the Journey Quest and its Hero—Took a survey that determined that very nearly everybody really liked the book and its characters—Discussed the possibility that the ending soft-pedaled the Lethalness of drug gangs when they’re crossed (acknowledging that deadly violence got its due elsewhere—in the Border section of the tale- Talked about the whole set of current attitudes toward illegal migrants and how attitudes have hardened and how the affection we feel for Nayeli and her crew is a counterweight to that angry bitterness.

Carol Bunch Davis: In many ways, Dr. Davis points out, this is a coming of age story in that Nayeli, Tacho, and the other young women walk away from their experiences with a more mature and realistic outlook on their lives and on life in the U.S., and the novel enables such discovery through the use of popular culture to enact introspection and self-awareness.

GALVESTON READS TRIVIA CONTEST: WEEK 5

2011-01-25T14:10:00.000-08:00

Week 5

Nayeli chose to go to the United States to protect her village from whom?

(A) Thieves

(B) Her father

(C) Drug Dealers

Send answers to: galvestonreadsbooks(at)yahoo.com

OR

Galveston Reads Trivia Contest

Rosenberg Library

2310 Sealy St.

Galveston, TX 77550

GALVESTON READS TRIVIA CONTEST: WEEK 4

2011-01-25T14:06:00.000-08:00

WEEK 4

What three songs by a popular country singer, Patsy Cline, does Matt believe that every American bowling alley must install on their juke boxes?

A) Back In Baby’s Arm, Crazy Dreams, True Love

B) Crazy, Walkin’ After Midnight, I Fall to Pieces

C) Your Cheatin’ Heart, San Antonio Rose, So Wrong’

Send answers to: galvestonreadsbooks(at)yahoo.com

OR

Galveston Reads Trivia Contest

Rosenberg Library

2310 Sealy St.

Galveston, TX 77550

GALVESTON READS TRIVIA CONTEST: WEEK 3

2011-01-15T15:25:00.000-08:00

WEEK 3

In what state did Nayeli see the giant priarie dog?

A) Georgia
B) Kansas
C) Texas

Send answers to: galvestonreadsbooks(at)yahoo.com

OR
Galveston Reads Trivia Contest
Rosenberg Library
2310 Sealy St.
Galveston, TX 77550

GALVESTON READS TRIVIA CONTEST: WEEK 2

2011-01-15T15:21:00.000-08:00

What is the name of the movie that triggers Nayeli's travel into the United States?

A) "The Magnificent Seven"
B) "Seven Brides for Seven Brothers"
C) "Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs"

Send answers to: galvestonreadsbooks(at)yahoo.com

OR

Galveston Reads Trivia Contest
Rosenberg Library
2310 Sealy St.
Galveston, TX 77550

Galveston Reads Trivia Contest

2011-01-05T15:30:00.000-08:00

Galveston Reads Trivia Contest – Week 1

From staff reports

The Daily News

Published December 26, 2010

Want a chance to win $100 of books of your choice? Enter the inaugural Galveston Reads Trivia Contest.
Each week for the next six weeks, a trivia question will be asked.

All of the answers can be found in the Galveston Reads 2011 book choice, “Into The Beautiful North,” by Alberto Urrea.

1) Nayeli carries a postcard from her father. From what city and state does the postcard originate?

A) Miami, Florida
B) Kankakee, Illinois
C) Los Angeles, California

Send answers to: galvestonreadsbooks(at)yahoo.com

OR

Galveston Reads Trivia Contest
Rosenberg Library
2310 Sealy St.
Galveston, TX 77550

You can’t lose with Galveston Reads

By Glennda Rassin

Special to The Daily News

Published December 26, 2010

Win by reading the 2011 Galveston Reads book choice “Into The Beautiful North.”

Win by taking the opportunity to meet with Alberto Urrea, the author of “Into The Beautiful North,” at 6 p.m. Feb. 17 at Galveston College.

Win by attending the special showing of the vintage movie “The Magnificent Seven.” Find out about the movie’s role in “Into The Beautiful North” at 6:30 p.m. Feb. 8 at Galveston College.

Win by attending “Into The Beautiful North” discussion groups led by trained leaders.

Win by discussing “Into The Beautiful North” with a panel of professors 7 p.m. Jan. 25 at Rosenberg Library.

Win $100 of books of your choice by entering the first Galveston Reads Trivia Contest.

Everyone has a chance! Every time you answer correctly your name will be entered into a drawing for a chance to win books of your choice from The Galveston Bookshop.

Six chances to be a winner! Each week for the next six weeks, a trivia question will be asked. All of the answers can be found in the Galveston Reads book choice, “Into The Beautiful North.”

The questions will appear each Sunday in the newspaper and on the Galveston Reads’ 2011 webpage, www.galvestonreads.org. To qualify, each answer must be received before the next question is asked.

Send your answers each week to Galveston Reads Trivia Contest, Rosenberg Library, 2310 Sealy St., Galveston, TX 77550 or e-mail to galvestonreadsbooks(at)yahoo.com.

Each correct answer will be entered for the drawing.

Urrea, the author of “Into The Beautiful North, will draw the trivia winners name on Feb. 17 at Galveston College. The winner need not be present, but if present will receive an autographed book from Mr. Urrea.

Win by attending our closing celebration and panel discussion about migration issues of the Galveston Reads Program for “Into The Beautiful North” at 3 p.m. March 12 at The Original Mexican Restaurant.

“Into The Beautiful North” is the eighth book chosen by Galveston Reads.

It is an amusing, poignant story about a strong young woman and her friends who are concerned about the drug lords beginning to invade their small village. The woman and her friends figure out a way that might rid their town of these vicious men but it includes an adventure to the United States.

To find out more about her quest, pick up “Into The Beautiful North” from your local bookstore or borrow it from Rosenberg Library or The Robbie Farmer Memorial Library at Moody Methodist Church.

See more about Galveston Reads programs at http://www.galvestonreads.org/ or by reading The Daily News for more information about upcoming events.

Glennda Rassin, a social work therapist in private practice, enjoys helping choose a book each year for Galveston Reads.

Journey to the Rosenberg Library

2010-11-10T15:44:00.000-08:00

Display is up and ready to view! Thanks to Lynn Burke.
Start your journey into the book, Into The Beautiful North at the Rosenberg Library and check out our new display.

Journey Begins with Leadership Discussion!!

2010-11-09T11:51:00.000-08:00

Dr. Gorman lead us into the beautiful North! By providing questions to mull over, in facilitating book discussions for: Into The Beautiful North, on Tuesday, Nov 2, in the Randall Room at the Rosenberg Library.

Rocket Boy Roy Lee Cooke In Person

2010-03-13T08:27:00.001-08:00

A special featured event for this year’s Galveston Reads book Rocket Boys is a guest appearance by one of the original Rocket Boys and founding member of the Big Creek Missile Agency. Rocket Boy Roy Lee Cooke was “unique among us” and has been invited to Galveston to tell his side of the story. Cooke will speak on Tuesday, March 9 at 7:00 pm at Galveston College, 4015 Avenue Q, Room FA207. Program costs have been underwritten by Galveston Reads sponsors and there is no charge to attend.
When quizzed if his remembrances of those high school days were different from
the author’s Cooke responded, “When different people witness something, it is quite common for them to remember different things in different ways. If I had written the book, I'm sure I would have written different things than Homer. That doesn't mean that he was wrong in his memory.”

The #1 New York Times best-selling memoir, Rocket Boys/October Sky, is the true story of Homer "Sonny" Hickam, Jr., a boy from the mining town of Coalwood, West Virginia, a town where everything was dying except Hickam’s dreams. This inspirational book shows readers that lives can be better through hard work, perseverance and enthusiasm. All things are possible. The movie name October Sky is an anagram of the book name Rocket Boys - the same letters, just moved around. Note: When the paperback came out at the same time as the movie, it was also titled October Sky. Cooke’s character in the Universal Pictures film was played by William Lee Scott.
Cooke’s father died at age 45 after working his entire adult life in the coal mines; and Cooke and his mother stayed on in the company town. In addition to his involvement in the rocket projects he played running back on the high school football team, was named best thespian during his senior year and was active in a variety of clubs. After high school he went on to college and worked in banking for 25 years. Since that time Cooke has been President of Carolina Domestic Coal and is owner of The Cooke Company, a company devoted to bringing new businesses and venture capital into West Virginia. His company, The Red Shield LLC is the Master Developer of the City of Fairmont, West Virginia.
Cooke maintains civic and business interests in the Appalachian area, including support of the West Virginia Access Center for Higher Education. Additionally, he has New Horizons Computer Learning Centers in several states and started the Prodigy Foundation to support education and jobs in West Virginia. In memory of the beloved science teacher Frieda Riley the Prodigy Foundation each year awards an outstanding West Virginia teacher that has overcome great obstacles to be in the profession.
Over 120 communities have read Rocket Boys together. John Augelli, Rosenberg Library Executive Director, found it to be a fascinating story and, personally one of the most interesting Galveston Reads titles. It’s not too late to participate in the Galveston Reads project. You do not have to have read the book to attend the Rocket Boy Roy Lee Cooke presentation on Tuesday evening.
For more information or schedule of events about the one city/one book project, Galveston Reads visit www.galvestonreads.org or contact Karen Stanley, Rosenberg Library at 409.763.8854 x119.
Roy Lee Cooke promises not to tell too many fishing stories at the Galveston Reads program.
By Karen Stanley

Read On Galveston

2010-03-13T08:26:00.000-08:00

Even as Galveston Reads continues its 2010 programming related to 2010’s city-wide read, Rocket Boys, one Galveston Reads committee is preparing for 2011. The book selection committee, charged with finding books that will stimulate reading, discussion and community activities, has announced its three finalists vying to be the city-wide book next year. The public is invited to read the three selected as finalists and vote for their choice to be the Galveston Reads “one city, one book” selection in 2011.
Like one of the multi-stage rockets that Homer Hickam, author of Rocket Boys, worked on, the payload of 2010 programming is still in orbit, with discussions around town, a screening of “October Sky,” and an appearance by one of the original Rocket Boys yet to come. The exploratory capsule for 2011 has zoomed forward, though, as the selection committee read more than 50 books in search of the best choices for Galveston Reads.
The three books chosen—“Into the Beautiful North,” by Luis Urrea, “The Art of Racing in the Rain,” by Garth Stein , and “The Evolution of Calpurnia Tate,” by Jacqueline Kelly—were selected for their readability, relevance to the community, and broad appeal.
“Into the Beautiful North” follows a spirited band of young women from a coastal Mexican town as they head north across the border to retrieve some of the men who have left home to live in America. The tale of their road trip, as they discover both wonders and disappointments, has charmed readers with its funny, sad but always compassionate look at two cultures. “Into the Beautiful North” was written by Luis Alberto Urrea, a Pulitzer Prize finalist who draws on his Mexican-American heritage for many of his insights.
-more-
“The Art of Racing in the Rain” is narrated by a dog; readers will be amazed at how seamlessly his explanations of how dogs think are merged with his observations of his human family. The book blends auto racing, family drama and canine philosophy into an engaging and thought-provoking story.
“The Evolution of Calpurnia Tate” is set in central Texas in 1899, a time and place where young girls were expected to concern themselves with needlepoint, household skills and etiquette. The inquisitive Calpurnia Tate, however, is encouraged by her grandfather in a more scientific direction, and the conflicts that arise between her desires and the expectations of society will be eye-opening to many readers.
All three of the Galveston Reads 2011 finalists are available at Rosenberg Library and at local bookshops. Voting continues through April 27 and can be done at the library or online at galvestoneadsbook@yahoo.com.
By Karen Stanley

VOTE FOR GALVESTON READS 2011

2010-02-12T14:00:00.001-08:00

Vote for your choice for the Galveston Reads 2011 book.
Voting ends April 27, 2010
Email voting at: galvestonreadsbooks@yahoo.com
Email voting at: kstanley@rosenberg-library.org
Phone voting at: Karen Stanley 409.763.8854 x119
Bookmark voting: Turn in your bookmark at Rosenberg Library.

Austin Rocket Club Launches on the Seawall

2010-01-30T15:42:00.000-08:00

Today, on a cold, clear day on the beach, at Seawall and 11th Street, promptly at 11:00 AM, the Austin Middle School Rocket Club successfully launched 15 Estes model rockets. The Club’s Advisor is Bill McAdams, a third year Engineering teacher at Austin. The Rocket Club is sponsored by G.I.S.D.'s 21st Century Afterschool Centers on Education (ACE) program. The Coordinator for Austin's 21st Century ACE program is Joel Delatorre.

There were over 85 people watching from the beach, seawall and the comfort of their cars! Dedicated parents, students and friends gathered to cheer each of the launches on this chilly day in Galveston.

The idea to form the Austin Rocket Club was stimulated by Mary Case of Galveston Reads when she approached Mc Adams about sponsoring a joint event relating to Galveston Read’s book of the year “Rocket Boys”.

Following the beach launches, three Austin students provided a presentation at Galveston College on software programs used within Austin’s STEM program. Alejandro Salazar, a 5th grader, demonstrated a NASA model rocket simulation program. Skler Wetmore, a 6th grader, demonstrated the West Point Bridge Building software. Aurora Reinmiller, a 7th grader, demonstrated the use of sophisticated engineering software. Alejandro and Aurora are students enrolled in the STEM program, while Skyler is enrolled in the College Preparatory program at Austin.
With 40 people in the audience, the student presentations impressed all the future rocket boys and rocket girls, along with their parents and the Galveston Read’s community.

Thanks to Mr. McAdams, Galveston College for the room and Mosquito Cafe for donations towards refreshments, and our own Kat for the pics and Lynn for the design of program!

Straight from Mod Coffee House

2010-01-22T11:34:00.000-08:00

from kat, participant in the Galveston Reads program held 1/21/2010 facilitated by Dr. Pat Jakobi….. if you haven’t been to one of the discussion groups about the book Rocket Boys (October Sky) don’t miss your opportunity to do so. I attended the discussion last night at MOD Coffee House, and I am in awe at the facilitator’s ability to focus and bring up some interesting theories of every reader of the book. Is there really such a thing as a “man’s book?” When I read the book, I did think to myself there’s little emotion emoting from the story teller – well – why did I think that? It’s a man’s book. We talked about the mother, the era she lived, detached, strong, a survivor… all these things coming to the forefront in our discussion. We talked about the connection of the town to the boys, how the town needed them, and how they needed the town – it was a true match. I also met some fabulous people, some new to Galveston – yeah! New Blood! In essence, I don’t portray myself as an intelligent human being, I see myself as a pseudo artist and a child seeking knowledge, and to be surrounded by such thought provoking individuals discussing the Galveston Reads book of the year was exciting to me. Don’t miss the next book discussion! You’ll be thankful you went.

and this discussion was so absorbing that all participates cried and hugged at the end and bonded as all good women's circles do! (i heard this through the grapevine...poom)

Austin Rocket Club Launches First Galveston Reads Event

2010-01-21T11:51:00.000-08:00

Come watch our very own students from Austin Middle School launch the first Galveston Reads event. Galveston Reads has selected the book: Rocket Boys, by Homer H. Hickam for 2010.

Our local rocket boys and girls will be launching Estes model rockets from the seawall. They have built and decorated the model rockets which fly approximately 300 feet before returning by parachute. The students plan to fire 15 rockets beginning at 11:00 a.m. on Saturday January 30th, 2010.

Location: 11th and Seawall

The students belong to Austin Middle School’s Rocket Club here in Galveston. The club’s advisor is Bill Mc Adams who is an engineering teacher. He is in his third year of teaching engineering at Austin Middle school. He is an enthusiastic advocate of learning, reading and engineering. Thank you to Bill and the students for their support of this Galveston Reads event.

The Rocket Club is sponsored by G.I.S.D.’s 21st Century Afterschool Centers on Education. The program is in its second year as is the club. The purpose of this program is to establish activities that provide students with academic enrichment opportunities along with activities designed to complement the students’ regular academic program. The site coordinator for the Austin 21st Century ACE program is Joel DeLaTorre.

The Austin Rocket Club will present at Galveston College shortly after the rocket firings at 12:45 p.m. Light refreshments will be served.

1/30/10 Model Rocket Launch
11th and Seawall. 11 am

Austin Middle School Rocket
Club Presentation. 12:45pm.
Galveston College.
4015 Ave. Q, Room FA207

This and the following events are sponsored by Galveston Reads, in cooperation with Rosenberg Library, a “One City, One Book” project from January through March 2010.

All fellow readers invited to attend this and upcoming events.

Please note that all events are free and open to the public

Galveston Bookshop Hosts Second Discussion

2010-01-14T15:25:00.000-08:00

Sharan Zwick and the Galveston Bookshop hosted a discussion on Tuesday evening, January 12, led by Elizabeth Spears, that started at 5:30 and finished, more or less, around 6:30 except that the cocoa and cookies gave everyone an excuse to stand around and talk a little more about the book and Galveston Reads in general. Much of the discussion dealt with the relationship between the rocket boys and their families and the community as a whole. At the beginning of the book, most parents believed that their male children would follow them into the mine, where the job was dangerous but the pay and the security were good. The rocket boys, however, forged a different path, one that originally met with great opposition but was embraced as they began to succeed and bring honors and awards to the community. At the same time, the residents of the town began to face the fact that their community was dying and their children, like the rocket boys, needed to find a path to the future outside of the town of Coalwood. Homer knew what he wanted to do from the moment he saw Sputnik trace across the sky, but without the help of valuable mentors and the eventual community support, it is possible that his dream may never have come to fruition. One of the rich aspect of the book was how "normal" so much of the boys' lives seem to be, filled with the ups and downs of teenage romance, adolescent sexuality, friendships, school work, dances, and school rivalries. This is juxtaposed against the boys' need to teach themselves, in a world without the Internet and limited library holding (although with some invaluable assistance from supportive adults), how to successfully build a rocket that could actually fly.

From the notes of Pat Jacobi...

Blasting off with Rocket Boys in 2010

2010-01-07T15:34:00.000-08:00

Galveston Reads 2010 blasts off! The first GReads event was held at Mosquito Café on January 6, 2010. Pat Bumpus led a lively discussion of this year’s book, Rocket Boys by Homer Hickam. Readers may be familiar with the movie, “October Sky,” which was the film adaptation of Hickam’s memoir about growing up in the late 1950’s fascinated with rocketry while living in the declining mining town of Coalwood, Virginia. The participants in the first discussion agreed that the book is a true heart-warmer with many universal themes with which we all can relate. Similarities to Galveston’s decline since Hurricane Ike are obvious. Other prevalent themes were the impact of mentors on young people, parental hopes for their children, and economic forces on people’s lives. Hickam also illuminates his tale with various humorous escapades of his band of rocket boys. Readers will be inspired by this story of how one boy’s focus on a dream changed not only his life, but also the lives of his friends, family, and town, and now touches millions.

GReads encourages everyone in the city to read Rocket Boys, by Homer Hickam, as part of the Rosenberg Library, “One City, One Book” project. Whether you’ve read the book or not, join us for one of the upcoming discussion groups and be inspired! On March 9, 2010, one of the original rocket boys, Roy Lee, will visit Galveston – join us and hear the story come alive again!

The next book discussion group will be held at Galveston Bookshop on Tuesday, January 12 at 5:30 pm.

The following events are sponsored by Galveston Reads, in cooperation with Rosenberg Library, a “One City, One Book” project from January through March 2010.

…….

J. Elizabeth Spears and Poom Sunhachawi-Taylor

Kick off 2010

2010-01-06T19:39:00.000-08:00

Great night with Pat Bumpus facilitating our discussion. Had quite a few GReads members, and Steve with refreshments and cookies, opened just for us!

Nice to see Gracie, Elizabeth, Beth and Fannie!

Wonderful start to the reading season at the Mosquito Cafe.

Programs 2010 Rocket Boys

2009-12-16T12:15:00.000-08:00

special events

1/30/10 Model Rocket Launch
11th and Seawall. 11 am
Austin Middle School Rocket
Club Presentation. 12:45pm.
Galveston College.
4015 Ave. Q, Room FA207
Refreshments provided.

2/23/10 Four Professors Panel
Discussion. Ball High
Lecture Hall. 4116 Ave. O
7 pm.

3/9/10 Roy Lee Cooke
An original Rocket Boy
Galveston College, 4015
Ave. Q, Room FA207, 7 pm

3/23/10 “October Sky”
Movie screening. Galveston
College, 4015 Ave. Q, Room
FA207, 6:30 pm

All events are free and open to the public

January 2010 Book Discussions

2009-12-16T12:11:00.000-08:00

book discussions

1/6/10 Mosquito Café
628 14th St., 6 pm

1/12/10 Galveston Bookshop
317 23rd St., 5:30 pm

1/21/10 Mod Coffee House
2126 Postoffice St., 7 pm

1/26/10 Sugar Bean Coffee
11 Evia Main, 6:30 pm

2/4/10 Holy Family at St.
Patrick, 1010 35th St.,
10 am

2/9/10 St. Vincent’s House
2817 Postoffice, 6:30 pm

2/10/10 Unitarian Church
502 Church St., 7 pm

2/15/10 Westminster
Presbyterian Church
5127 Ave. U., 7 pm

2/16/10 Moody Methodist
2803 53rd. St., 10 am

3/18/10 Rosenberg Library
2310 Sealy, 12 noon

3/19/10 Freeman Library
16616 Diana Lane, Clear
Lake, 10:30 am

ALL EVENTS FREE AND OPEN TO THE
PUBLIC

Rocket Boys Display in September

2009-09-15T08:06:00.000-07:00

Lynn Burke, our Galveston Reads inhouse illustrater/artist extraordinaire, has a new display for the Rosenberg Library. Hope to have members of the community join us this fall to blast off with Galveston Reads. Programming events are scheduled for Jan-March 2010.

Meetings: Tuesday, September 15th

2009-09-15T08:01:00.000-07:00

Quick reminder that we’re doing marathon meetings again Tuesday, September 15. The Book Selection Committee meets at 3:00 pm, GENERAL Committee meeting (for everyone) at 4:00 pm, and the Programming Committee will meet at 5:00 pm. All meetings will be held in the McCullough Room of Rosenberg Library and with the library closing at 6:00 pm you can be assured all meetings will be punctual and kept to one hour.

Poom asked me to let the Book Selection committee members (affectionately known as the Readers Group) know the library now has copies of American Rust and Art of Racing in the Rain. Please contact Poom if you’d like either one held for you. American Rust is spoken for, Art of Racing in the Rain is only one available now.

Rocket Boys and Girls (GReads crew and spouses) in July 4th Parade 2009

2009-07-08T08:16:00.000-07:00

Thanks to all who came and helped string those little foam beads last week, prior to parade- including Emmy’s husband, Chris! And it was so nice having a look at the rocket and banners that Poster and Lynn made (respectively)!

Thanks again, to Chris, Mike, David, Jim, Mary Case, Karen (Emmy’s friend), and Emmy for participating in the parade. We were right behind Lynn and the Privateers, who were the only marching band! More … Lynn was marching right in front of the float/truck with the Privateers, Glennda was the official photographer and Emmy, Karen(Emmy’s friend) and Galveston Reads crew, ran and tossed goodies.

We handed out bookmarks with beads, red, white and blue bears, and beads, and ran out about half way through. We enjoyed yelling: Read the book, See the movie, and Come to the library! To those who had read the book, perhaps a plot summary? Got some funny looks about plot summaries, as seemed to remind folks of school, during summer!

The silver rocket by Poster was a hit, and good for the Fourth, had a stand and colorful strings to denote fuel/engine blasts? Many in the crowd asked us to launch at them! But, Emmy didn’t think that was a good idea. I wonder why???

A good time was had by all, ended with lunch at the Mosquito and siesta for some of us!

Meetings Moved to TUESDAY August 11

2009-06-30T07:32:00.000-07:00

Next Meetings:

3 PM Readers

4 PM General

Location:

Rosenberg Library

From Karen:

Okay gang, I have good/bad news. The good news is that the summer reading club for children is going well and we have lots of kids attending our programs. The bad news is that this means the programs are a little more staff intensive than I originally thought they would be and we definitely need all hands on deck for the ferry ride scheduled July 21. What this means to you is the next Galveston Reads Meeting will be rescheduled for Tuesday, August 11 at 4:00 pm. The next Book Selection Meeting will be that same day at 3:00 pm. The meetings will be held at Rosenberg Library. Please adjust your schedules and I do apologize for any inconvenience.

Thank you!
Karen

Karen Stanley, Head of Children's Services
Rosenberg Library*2310 Sealy Avenue*Galveston TX 77550
(409)763-8854 x119

Galveston Reads Commitees 2010

2009-06-18T09:13:00.000-07:00

There are 4 committees to choose from:

1. Programming: Poom Sunhachawi-Taylor

2. Publicity: Emmy Morrison, Barbara Arnold

3. Fundraising: Sandra Sullivan, Pat Jacobi

4. Book Selection: Carol Hodges

Each committee welcomes volunteers. For further information contact the Chair, Karen Stanley at kstanley@rosenberg-library.org or call 763-8854, ext. 119.

July Meetings

2009-06-18T09:00:00.000-07:00

Our next general meeting is at Rosenberg Library on Tuesday, July 21 @ 4pm.

The Reader's Committee will be meeting earlier, at 3 pm.

Please contact Karen Stanley for further information on Galveston Reads.

Galveston Reads Launches a New Season

2009-05-16T15:14:00.000-07:00

Rocket Boys: A Memoir by Homer H. HIckam Jr. is the Galveston Reads book section for 2010. A highly accessible slice of mid-century Americana, Rocket Boys is the coming of age story of Hickam during the infancy of space exploration. It’s 1957, Russia has just launched Sputnik 1, and young Hickam dreams of being a part of this new frontier. In sharp contrast, his home town of Coalwood, West Virginia, is a dying mining town where the majority of teens have little aspirations other than following their daddies down into the mines. Despite a couple of early rocketry misfires, Hickam, three friends and an inspirational science teacher succeed with a science fair project that helps him launch a space career. This story will ring true with Galvestonians who understand the importance of remaining optimistic despite unsettling conditions. The Island’s close proximity to N.A.S.A. makes this a very relevant read for the community.

Rocket Boys was published in 1998 and was selected by the New York Times as one of its Great Books of the year. The movie, October Sky, based on Rocket Boys was released in 1999. The book is available under both titles.

This is the seventh year of Galveston Reads. Book discussions and related programs will be scheduled January through March, 2010.

Galveston Reads Committee welcomes anyone who would like to become a part of the project and help with planning. The first meeting will be on Thursday,
May 21, 4:00 pm at Rosenberg Library. Volunteers are needed to serve on several committees, including programming, fund raising, publicity and book selection. For additional information on how to become involved in the pre-programming stages of Galveston Reads, please call Committee Chair Karen Stanley at Rosenberg Library,
(409) 763-8854 ext.119.

May 15, 2009

Barbara Arnold
Children’s Librarian
Rosenberg Library
409.763.8854 ext.135

Rocket Boys Wins Selection for 2010

2009-04-29T14:44:00.000-07:00

Galveston Reads is proud to announce the selection of Rocket Boys by Homer H. Hickam, Jr. for 2010.

A skillfully written memoir that captures the wonder of the early years of space
exploration, this book reminds us of the mid-century wonder of seeing Sputnik in
the night sky. In his honest rendering of his youth, the author evokes the universal
angst of being a teenager while showing that anyone can rise above their
circumstances. Brought to the screen as October Sky”, the novel is far richer
and contains many more details about his life and times.

Thank You, All~

2009-04-24T09:26:00.000-07:00

To the Editor:

Over the past years we have been fortunate to work with a remarkable group of people on Galveston Reads. This particular year, we were able to rebound after Hurricane Ike and continue with this project. This city wide book club, under the organizational umbrella of Rosenberg Library, sponsored a season long series of events to encourage everyone in town to read and discuss the same book, The Glass Castle, by Jeannette Walls. This is the sixth year of this project in Galveston, starting with Tortilla Curtain by T. C. Boyle, in 2004. This project owes its success to the efforts of many people and organizations, whom we would like to thank publically:

For sponsoring: Kempner Fund, Rosenberg Library, and Friends of Rosenberg Library.

For presenting at the various discussion programs scheduled: Dale Taylor, Stephen Curley, John Gorman, Dayle DeLancey, Kat Joel-Reich, Alan Griffin, Michelle Sierpina, Dwight Wolf, Karen Smith, Glennda Rassin and Trudy Deen Davis. And for hosting those programs: Galveston College, Westminster Presbyterian Church, Unitarian Universalist Fellowship, Moody Methodist First United Methodist Church and Mosquito Café.

For volunteering on the Galveston Reads committee:
Barbara Arnold, Bernice Torregrossa, Beth Dekeyser, Carol Hodges, Dale
Taylor, Dayle DeLancey, Debra Morris, Emmy Morrison, Fanny De
Gesero, Glennda Rassin, Gracie Otin, Joan Hyatt, John Gorman, Lynn Burke,
Margaret Scofelia, Mary Case, Michael Berberich, Michelle Quinn,
Pat Bumpus, Patricia Jakobi, Patty Mayeux, Poom Sunhachawi-Taylor,
Sandra Sullivan, Sharon Pagan, Stephen Curley and Karen Stanley, Chair.

For offering the book for sale: The Galveston Bookshop and UTMB Bookstore.

For advertising the book program: Galveston Daily News, Wizard, Parrot, Islander and Guidry News.

Special thanks to Heber Taylor, of the Galveston County Daily News, for his support. The newspaper coverage was invaluable.

And finally, we’d like to thank all of you who read the book and talked about it with your friends and neighbors, especially the students and teachers that incorporated the reading of this book into their curriculum. The Galveston Reads committee is currently working on a book selection for 2010.

Vote for your choice for the Galveston Reads 2010 book:

Online voting at: galvestonreadsbooks@yahoo.com
Email voting at: kstanley@rosenberg-library.org
Phone voting at: Karen Stanley 409.763.8854 x119

Voting ends April 24, 2009.

If you would like to serve on the committee, please contact Karen Stanley at kstanley@rosenberg-library.org or call 763-8854, ext. 119.

Poom Sunhachawi-Taylor
Program Chair, Galveston Reads committee
Rosenberg Library

Last Program in 2009~

2009-03-26T14:02:00.000-07:00

Galveston Reads presented the last program, The Successfully Resilient Child and The Glass Castle; a panel discussion at the Unitarian Universalist Fellowship Hall on 502 Church Street, on Wednesday, March 25, 2009.

This season finale was well attended, with Dr. Taylor and several students from Galveston College and members of the Galveston Reads Committee. With over 55 people in the audience, panel participants Dwight Wolf, MD, a child psychiatrist at UTMB, Karen Smith, PhD, a child psychologist also at UTMB, and Trudy Deen Davis, LMSW with Glennda Rassin, LMSW, serving as moderator.

Trudy discussed how close to real life this book was for her. Literally, she felt that she couldn’t read the book, as she lived it, hearing the stories that she could name the families who were similar to the Walls family. She felt the parents did not provide sufficient support/scaffolding. She both loved and hated this book.

Karen mentioned meta-recognition, whereby Jeannette knows she has to pretend that her family’s life was one long adventure. In addition, the boundaries were blurred and the parents exposed the children to risk. The example she used was the sink or swim theory Rex used to teach Jeannette how to swim. There must have been some support as, the children; both Brian and Jeannette could read.

Dwight did not enjoy the book, as he became detached from the narrative. Initially was engaging, but, he felt the author offered little insight to her life. He mentioned the novel seemed voyeuristic. He also pointed out that children tend to trust their parents, as all powerful, all caring, all good, or all bad. Jeannette seemed to idolize her father.

Glennda defended the book with enthusiasm, as she felt that the author recalled the highlights and was successfully resilient.

Some engaging comments from the audience were received from the panel members such as background of the second husband, who had problems with alcohol and his first marriage, and impending release of a second novel: Half Broke Horses: A True Life Novel. Glennda noted this seems contradictory. The evening ended around 7:30 with more conversation among the panelists and audience.

THE SUCCESSFULLY RESILIENT CHILD

2009-03-13T15:40:00.000-07:00

As part of the programming for the 2009 book The Glass Castle, Galveston Reads will hold a panel discussion on the topic of “The Resilient Child” on Wednesday, March 25, 2009, at the Unitarian Universalist Fellowship Hall at 502 Church St. in Galveston, from 6:30 to 8 pm. The program is free and open to the public.

Children grow up in many different circumstances. Some seem to have wonderful childhood experiences, yet turn out badly. Some have very difficult childhood experiences and grow up to be strong, successful adults. The child in the memoir The Glass Castle appeared to have a very difficult, impoverished childhood, yet she became a strong and successful adult. There are many theories and research about what makes a child more resilient. We are fortunate to have a panel of experts in the field of child behavior and development to discuss latest research, different aspects of child development and community efforts in keeping children strong and healthy.

Panel participants include Dwight Wolf, MD, a child psychiatrist at UTMB, Karen Smith, PhD, a child psychologist also at UTMB, and Trudy Deen Davis, LMSW with Glennda Rassin, LMSW, serving as moderator.

In cooperation with Rosenberg Library, Galveston Reads, a “One City, One Book” project, is now in its sixth year of encouraging everyone in town to read and discuss the same book. For more information or to join the committee, please contact Karen Stanley at Rosenberg Library, 409.763.8854 x119 or logon to our website at www.galvestonreads.org.

Lifestories II: A Journaling workshop with The Glass Castle

2009-03-13T15:25:00.001-07:00

3/11/09 Lifestories II: A Journaling workshop with The Glass Castle. WestminsterPresbyterian Church Fellowship Hall, 5127 Ave. U. 5:30-7:30 pm. With MichelleSierpina.

In the second of two workshops on journaling, Michelle Seirpina helped participants practice ways to tell their own stories.

This was a great workshop with 16 participants from the community.

Workshop Participants
· Discovered basics of journaling for self-reflection
· Reviewed peer reviewed literature on benefits of writing
· Learned the health benefits of attentive listening
· Practiced writing and sharing personal vignettes
· Received a comprehensive bibliography on personal writing
· Were introduced to lifestory protocols and research on lifestory at UTMB
· Became acquainted with Osher Lifelong Learning Institute (OLLI) at UTMB

Both sessions answered the question, “What is journaling?”
· Self-reflective writing—in journals, diaries and other daily records
· Techniques include flow writing, issue resolution, guided imagery, “morning pages,” and more
· Can be done daily, but not required
· Begin with your own pattern and structure—whatever works for you

Participants used proven techniques to begin their own writing.
· Keep your hand moving
· Do not edit…ignore spelling and grammar errors
· Stuck? Write it. “I don’t know what to write about…”
· Let the writing guide you
· Keep your pen moving

Sometimes it is difficult to know what to write about, so Dr. Rachel Naomi Remen recommends using these three questions:
· What surprised me today?
· What moved me or touched me today?
· What inspired me today?

Examples of the many research studies on the importance of writing your story presented at the workshop are:
· Individuals with rheumatoid arthritis and asthma, who wrote about stressful experiences, realized measurable health improvement (Smyth, et. al., 1999).
· Writing about personal experiences for only 15 minutes a day for three days, subjects demonstrated improvements in both physical and mental health—those who used more positive-emotion words gained most benefit. Pennebaker, J., & Seagal, J. (1999) Journal of Clinical Psychology 55(10)1243-1254

Many Lifestory protocols developed in OLLI at UTMB help people tell their stories:
· Introductory Lifestory
· Lifestory as Legacy
· Meaning among the Memories
· That’s Another Story
· Advanced Lifestory
· Lifestory on DVD
· Lifestory Theater
· Harris County RPO Writers Group

Lifestory Group Programs share the following elements
· Participants write and share their stories in a safe, caring environment during 8 weekly, two-hour sessions
· One person reads a story of about five minutes in length, while other members of the group listen attentively and with intentionality
· 12-16 seniors in each group are guided by a Trained Facilitator

Lifestory Groups follow these core principles:
· Life experiences shared in 5 minutes vignettes read aloud to the group
· Personal story ideas emerge from stories others read
· Authentic lifestories—no fiction—
· One Voice—one person speaks at a time, no “cross-talk,”
· No interruptions. Everyone listens attentively.
· The writing speaks for itself
· Participants find “One thing I liked in your writing…”
· Comments are on the writing, not on the writer
· Writers refrain from:
· Dialogue about content or missing details in the story
· Conversation about similar or shared life experiences
· Group advice or problem solving

Vote for next Galveston Reads book for 2010

2009-03-04T07:56:00.000-08:00

It’s time to vote again! Since opening the final selection to the public went so well last year, Galveston Reads is pleased to announce the short list of candidates for the 2010 “One City, One Book” project. Voting for the 7th year of the community-wide book read is now open to the public. To cast a vote please email Karen Stanley at kstanley@rosenberg-library.org by April 24.

The Selection Committee started the selection process in early 2008. Even in the face of Ike and its associated problems, committee members continued reading and discussing possible books for 2010. At the beginning of 2009, the list was refined and narrowed and now there are three books for the public to choose from.

The nominations for 2010 are as follows:

“Rocket Boys” By Homer Hickam
A skillfully written memoir that captures the wonder of the early years of space exploration, this book reminds us of the mid-century wonder of seeing Sputnik in the night sky. In his honest rendering of his youth, the author evokes the universal angst of being a teenager while showing that anyone can rise above their circumstances. Brought to the screen as “October Sky”, the novel is far richer and contains many more details about his life and times.

Set in the early 60’s in a poor mining town in West Virginia, “Rocket Boys” details how Homer was inspired to start his own rocket-building club with his friends and how that group wound up winning a National Science Fair award. Initially, only his friends and his mother believe in him; by the end of the book, the whole town is cheering him on. This uplifting story reminds us to keep dreaming and keep striving towards your own personal goals, no matter what obstacles may occur. The economic setting should ring true with many readers as the mining town struggles to survive, and the close proximity of N.A.S.A. to our island strengthens its relevancy to us here on Galveston Island.

“The Hungry Tide” By Amitav Ghosh
This novel is a fairly contemporary story of adventure and unlikely love, identity and history, set in one of the most fascinating regions on earth: the immense labyrinth of tiny islands known as the Sundarbans, an area between India and Bangladesh. Published in 2005, the book is told from the perspective of its two main characters, Kanai Dutt, a Delhi businessman, and Piya Roy, an American scientist of Indian descent who has come to study the rare Irrawaddy dolphin which lives in the rivers of the tide country.
Life is precarious with attacks by deadly tigers common. Unrest and eviction are constant threats for the inhabitants, and without warning, at any time, tidal floods rise and surge over the land. In this land of vengeful beauty, the lives of three people from different worlds collide. Compared to Galveston, with Hurricane Ike leaving devastation in its wake, this book offers insight to the commonalities for all inhabitants by the sea, regardless of where one is located.”The Hungry Tide” is a powerful and irresistible book about ordinary people bound together in an exotic place where devastation can occur with the ebb and flow of the tide. Does this sound similar to those of us here in Galveston? The basest of human emotions, love, jealousy, pride, and trust, make the difference for the characters in this story. Perhaps it’s a lesson that readers can share as they follow Piya, Kanai, and Fokir into the heart of tide country, the Sundarbans. Choose this title for the 2010 Galveston Reads book for a compelling read.

“The Septembers of Shiraz”, By Dalia Sofer
This is an incredible debut novel by Dalia Sofer where characters come alive and the reader is anxious to know what happens next. Imagine living a very comfortable, even luxurious life. How much of that would you be willing to sacrifice? This story of a prosperous Jewish family living in Tehran shortly after the Iranian Revolution gives us a glimpse of a particular family in a time period we’ve heard about in the news but know little. The author orchestrates the drama beautifully with the written word and family dynamics are shown by the author’s alternating of chapters giving each member a chance to tell his/her own story. The power of good literature is that it transcends our differences and shows us commonality of human experiences. Will readers be able to see any connections or experience any changes of attitude as this engaging book is being read?

Galveston Reads is a volunteer organization that encourages participation at all levels. To serve on a committee or cast your vote, contact Karen Stanley at kstanley@rosenberg-library.org or call 409-4763-8854. Remember that the vote will end on April 24th. All books are available at the Rosenberg Library, as well as local and online booksellers.

Happy Reading!

Final Three Books For 2010

2009-02-28T07:39:00.000-08:00

I’m pleased to announce the Galveston Reads Book Selection Committee has selected three finalists for the 2010 Galveston Reads Selection. Committee members and interested members of the community are encouraged to read all three books and vote for the title they think would best serve the Galveston Reads community. To cast a vote please email me at kstanley@rosenberg-library.org by April 24. Happy Reading!

The Hungry Tide by Amitav Ghosh
Rocket Boys by Homer Hickman (Paperback may be under October Sky which is the name of the movie.
Septembers of Shiraz by Dalia Sofer

These books are, of course, available for check-out at your Rosenberg Library.

Karen Stanley
Head of Children's Services
Rosenberg Library

Readers Choose Short List for 2010

2009-02-28T07:37:00.000-08:00

Short List Decided- Feb 26, 2009

The Readers’ group, part of Galveston Reads, under chair, Glennda, met and decided on the final three:

The Hungry Tide by Amitav Ghosh
Rocket Boys by Homer Hickman (Paperback may be under October Sky which is the name of the movie)
Septembers of Shiraz by Dalia Sofer

We met at Emmy’s home on Sealy Avenue, and shared food, wine and appetizers aplenty. For Bernice’s benefit, and food lovers, will list some: chick pea and red pepper(hummus type of dip), cheese crostinis, garlic chips, chocolate coated almonds, fruit plate, and lots of wines. One was a Shiraz, aptly chosen for the book, Septembers of Shiraz.

Once we’d had our fill, each of us cast votes, 3 points for #1 choice, 2 points for # 2 choice, and 1 point for # 3 choice. We did cast an absentee ballot for Bernice, as she emailed her vote to us, prior to her departure for DC, I believe.

Tally was as follows:

Rocket Boys/October Sky – 13 points

A Land So Strange, The Epic Journey of Cabeza de Vaca – 9 points

The Hungry Tide - 10 points

Septembers of Shiraz – 15 points

Mister Pip - 3 points

Film Club – 9 points

A very pleasant evening was had by all, thanks to our hostess, Emmy!

Glass Castle Discussion at Mosquito Café

2009-02-20T13:30:00.000-08:00

Six people attended the Glass Castle book discussion at Mosquito Café Wednesday evening, February 19. The question of whether Jeannette Wall’s parents were negligent was examined. The consensus was no. Although participants agreed the mother and father were not average parents they were not considered neglectful because the children turned out all right (or at least three of the four did). One participator said she admired Rosemary, the mother, for being creative and following her heart for art sake and not to make money.
Facilitator, Bernice Terregrossa, found it interesting that the opinions of the discussion group differed so much from the book’s selection committee and commented that the selection committee must have done a good job of finding a book that lent itself to divergent interpretations.
The program lasted one and a half hours with everyone in attendance saying they plan to be present for the Resilient Child Panel Discussion on March 25th. This is the last of book discussions for this Galveston Reads season 2009.
Submitted by Barbara Arnold

GALVESTON READS TO SPONSOR BOOK DISCUSSION

2009-02-18T14:51:00.000-08:00

Galveston Reads will hold a discussion of the 2009 book, The Glass Castle by Jeannette Walls, on February 18, 2009, at the Mosquito Café, 628 14th St. in Galveston at 7 pm. The program is free and open to the public.

In cooperation with Rosenberg Library, Galveston Reads, a “One City, One Book” project, is now in its sixth year of encouraging everyone in town to read and discuss the same book.

Movie and Discussion at Galveston College

2009-02-13T15:35:00.000-08:00

The movie, SURFWISE, an amazing true odyssey of the Paskowitz family is a documentary by Doug Pray. Members of the Galveston community gathered to watch the movie and participate in the discussion following the film. After the movie, Alan Griffin led an animated discussion about the movie, covering parallels and contrasts of the lives of the Paskovitz family versus the Walls family, from the Galveston Reads book, Glass Castle, by Jeannette Walls.

Thanks to Gracie Otin, Galveston College librarian for coordinating with her colleagues in publicizing the book and the movie; specifically, Dr. Dale Taylor for incorporating the book in her classes, and Michael Berberich for being part of Galveston Reads; Henry Newkirk for organizing the participation of the African American student club to provide pop corn and cold bottled water. Special thanks to Paul Mendoza , Culinary Arts Academy instructor, responsible for making the cookies, and coffee. He and his students provided a delectable treat, including biscuits with apricot jam, mint, chocolates and cakes, as well as Mr. Jose, in facilities for setting up the room, and Robert Taylor for setting up the multimedia. Thank you to Lynn Burke for the program and her painting, and our chair, Karen Stanley, along with the Galveston Reads Committee for their support.

The movie was a documentary portraying the many different ways the Paskowitz family used to drop off the grid. The unusual style and urgency Dorian “Doc” Paskowitz, the paterfamilias of what is lovingly, and at times, enviable described as the first family of surfing. It was an intensity in part born of his passionately felt engagement with history as a Jew, which took him from Stanford Medical School in the 1940s to button-down respectability in the 1950s and, thereafter, on the road and into the blue yonder with a devoted wife, nine children, a succession of battered camper trailers and the surfboards that were by turns the family’ cradles, playpens, lifelines and shields, featuring archival film footage.

The controversial method of child rearing in an isolated environment without the benefits of a formal education provided for good discussion. There was discourse regarding when the children left their bohemian/gypsy “just another beach boy” anti-establishment family pod to strike out on their own. The lack of society’s graces created an incredible culture shock when the adult children immigrated to live in the “real” world. What seems normal to many of in the audience, such as having a formal education, being able to manage households in a “modern” fashion, work, pay bills, formal public education, were examples of things they had to “learn”. The daughter even said that she felt like a fish out of water when she integrated into society as we know it. They were taught that life outside of the core family was something to be very careful of. Doc believed that you gain wisdom from life (not from Stanford). The children were reared, it seemed to some in the audience, in a Buddhist philosophical way. The children were not encouraged to have an attachment to material wealth, They had been being taught that money was the root of all evil.

The issue of survivor’s guilt for many Jews was discussed, regarding the scene of the famous photograph of the Nazi soldier in the field aiming his gun at a woman and child. How, from seeing that visual, with no sound, some people seemed to sense what happened next.. Doc Pascowitz felt personally responsible for her death, and the death of Jews. However this could have been a product of his time, and that many of the audience members who also were born after the depression era seem to feel that same guilt.

There was great discussion about the mother of these 9 children having breast fed all her children for as long as she could. Doc told her: If an ape breast feeds their young for two years, you will breast feed our children as long. “I won’t have a monkey being a better caretaker than my wife”. Doc believed that health is the key.

There was further discussion of how the family evaded Social Services. At one point Juliet (Mrs. Paskowitz) mentioned ‘if you don’t go into the system, they don’t know you exist.’ And so it was, that the children dropped off the educational grid.

Galveston Reads Rebounds in 2009

2009-02-12T08:27:00.000-08:00

Galveston Reads, a “One City, One Book” program selected Glass Castle, by Jeannette Walls for 2009. After Hurricane Ike, the Galveston Reads Committee quickly reassembled to plan the spring 2009 schedule of programming. Reading programs prevail on Galveston, with many programs and book discussions in February and March of 2009.

The next program in the series, a movie discussion programs featuring the movie Surfwise, will be shown at 6:00 p.m. February 11, 2009, at Galveston College, Room FA-207. “Surfwise: The Amazing True Odyssey of the Paskowitz Family” , a 2007 documentary by Doug Pray, of a family that lives outside the norm, is another depiction of what could be termed dysfunctional family or perhaps one that just defies the usual expectations in our culture regarding child rearing, responsibility, and schooling. The father, Dorian “Doc” Paskowitz, who was born in Galveston, drops out of life as a Stanford trained physician to live in a camping trailer and travel around to surfing locations with his wife and nine children. The movie features archival footage of the family surfing, as well as interviews with the father and children. The movie is rated R for nudity and language and will be followed by a discussion comparing the book to the movie led by Allan Griffin, a retired psychologist. This program is free and open to the public.

The kick-off program for Galveston Reads, the Four Professor Panel Discussion, was held on January 6th at Galveston Colleges with over 50 people in attendance. The kickoff panel featured Drs. Taylor, Gorman, Curley and Delancey, and facilitator, Ms. Joel-Reich. The panel provided a very interesting, varied panel on this book. Dr. Taylor is an associate professor of English and Journalism at Galveston College, where she teaches writing and literature classes. Dr. John Gorman, is an island resident and teaches literature and creative writing at the University of Houston-Clear Lake. He is involved with Poets Roundtable and the Osher Life Long Learning Institute; he has been part of Galveston Reads since its inception. Dr. Dayle DeLancey is an Assistant Professor of the History of Medicine in the Institute for the Medical Humanities at The University of Texas Medical Branch at Galveston. She received her Ph.D. in the History of Science, Technology, and Medicine from the University of Manchester, Manchester, England. Dr. Stephen J. Curley is a professor of English at Texas A&M University in Galveston who received his Ph.D. from Rice University in 1974. Currently is the Area Chair for the Sea Literature, Popular Culture Association; serves on the Advisory Board of the Journal of American Culture and is also a member of the American Culture Association. His interests are anything having to do with sea literature, including chanteys (work songs at sea); Jean Lafitte and Texas culture.

The professors brought up various themes, such as the archetypical early American point of view, the autodidactic father, Rex Walls, the resilient child, free spirits from the 1960s, counter culture parenting, conscientious non-conformist parents, choosing to be lower class, no safety net such as health insurance or a regular income for the family, the narcissistic father and mother, forgiveness and redemption, the doppelganger/double personality effect on Jeannette, the Joshua tree symbolism of resilience to the wind and elements as are the children, the glass castle as a fragile symbol of hope, mental illness, and eventual homeless status.

Galveston Reads has encouraged reading by offering programs held at various locations throughout Galveston County for the past six years. Past selections include Tortilla Curtain, by T.C. Boyles; Friday Night Lights: A Town, a Team , and a Dream, by H. G. Bissinger; A Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night, by Mark Haddon; Nickel and Dimed: On (Not) Getting by in America, by Barbara Ehreinreich and A Lesson Before Dying, by Ernest J. Gaines. The programming has included local discussion groups, theatrical presentations, author visits and panel discussions, including the ever popular evening with local English professors.

The next book selection for 2010 is under consideration by the committee, and to be selected by the community later this spring.

2009 Glass Castle Program, Movies and Discussions

2009-02-07T13:37:00.000-08:00

Book Discussions

2/9/09 Westminster Presbyterian Church.5127 Ave. U. 7 pm.
2/10/09 Moody Methodist First United Methodist Church.
2803 53rd St. Noon.
2/11/09 Unitarian Universalist Fellowship. 502 Church St. 7pm.
2/18/09 Mosquito Café. 628 14th St. 7 pm.

Programs

1/6/09 Five Professors Book Discussion. Galveston College, Rm. FA207. 4015 Ave. Q. 7 pm. Featuring Michael Berberich, Dale Taylor, Stephen Curley, John Gorman and Dayle DeLancey. Facilitated by Ms. Joel-Reich.
2/11/09 Screening of “Surfwise” movie. Galveston College, Rm. FA207. 4015 Ave. Q. 6-8:30 pm. Facilitated by Allen Griffin.
2/17/09 American Dissenters and The Glass Castle. Westminster Presbyterian Church Fellowship Hall, 5127 Ave. U. 7 pm. Featuring John Gorman and Dale Taylor.
2/28/09 Lifestories I: A Journaling workshop with The Glass Castle. Westminster Presbyterian Church Fellowship Hall, 5127 Ave. U. 2:00-4:00 pm. With Michelle
Sierpina.
3/11/09 Lifestories II: A Journaling workshop with The Glass Castle. Westminster
Presbyterian Church Fellowship Hall, 5127 Ave. U. 5:30-7:30 pm. With Michelle
Sierpina.
3/25/09 Resilient Child Panel Discussion. Unitarian Universalist Fellowship. 502 Church. 6:30—8 pm. Featuring Dwight Wolf, Karen Smith and Trudy Deen Davis.

GALVESTON READS TO SHOW MOVIE ‘SURFWISE’

2009-01-16T14:23:00.000-08:00

Galveston Reads’ choice for 2009, The Glass Castle, depicts what many would call a highly dysfunctional family. That description, however, is debatable given the successful adult lives of the children in the story. “Surfwise: The Amazing True Odyssey of the Paskowitz Family” , a 2007 documentary by Doug Pray, of a family that lives outside the norm, is another depiction of what could be termed dysfunctional family or perhaps one that just defies the usual expectations in our culture regarding child rearing, responsibility, and schooling.

The father, Dorian “Doc” Paskowitz, drops out of life as a Stanford trained physician to live in a camping trailer and travel around to surfing locations with his wife and nine children. The movie features archival footage of the family surfing, as well as interviews with the father and children. The movie is rated R for nudity and language.

The movie will be shown on February 11, 2009, at Galveston College, Room FA207, 4015 Ave Q in Galveston beginning at 6 pm. The film is 93 minutes long and will be followed by a discussion led by Allan Griffin, a retired psychologist. This program is free and open to the public.

Galveston Reads, a “One City, One Book” project is now in its sixth year of encouraging everyone in town to read and discuss the same book. For more information or to join the committee, please contact Karen Stanley at 409.763.8854 x119 or logon to our website at www.galvestonreads.org.

GALVESTON READS ANNOUNCES FIRST PROGRAM FOR 2009

2008-12-19T09:00:00.000-08:00

GALVESTON READS ANNOUNCES FIRST PROGRAM FOR 2009 BOOK THE GLASS CASTLE:

Professors' Panel in January

Galveston Reads’ popular Three Professors Panel Discussion returns this year featuring Five Professors to discuss the 2009 book selection, The Glass Castle, by Jeannette Walls. The book introduction and discussion will be held on January 6, 2009, at 7 pm on the campus of Galveston College in Room FA-207.
This year’s featured professors are Mr. Michael Berberich and Dr. Dale Taylor from Galveston College, Dr. Stephen Curley from TAMUG, Dr. John Gorman from UHCL, and Dr. Dayle DeLancey from UTMB. Ms. Joel-Reich will be the moderator.
Galveston Reads, a “One City, One Book” program, encourages reading by offering programs held at various locations throughout Galveston County that revolve around the currently selected book. Programming will include local discussion groups led by trained discussion leaders, movie or theatrical presentations, discussion panels, and workshops. Details of further programs for this year will be announced soon. All programs are free and open to the public. For more information, please contact Karen Stanley, Chair, at 409.763.8854 x119 or via email at kstanley@rosenberg-library.org.

Galveston Reads Unveils Glass Castle Display

2008-08-18T11:36:00.000-07:00

Galveston Reads installed a multimedia display for their 2009 selection, The Glass Castle by Jeannette Walls, in the lobby at the Rosenberg Library. The display, which was created by Galveston Reads committee member, Lynn Burke, represents a scene from the book, as interpreted by the artist. Using oil pastels, paper, and a salvaged window, Lynn depicted a moment in the story as it might have been seen through the window of one of the many desert houses occupied by the family in the book. The view is of the night sky, the time is Christmas, and the story is told in The Glass Castle. Read the book and join the discussion for the 2009 Galveston Reads book.

Book Nomination Email~

2008-05-19T13:49:00.000-07:00

To nominate books for 2010 send to:

galvestonreadsbook@yahoo.com

Glass Castle selected for 2009~

2008-04-29T11:00:00.001-07:00

Galveston County Reads Press Release

“Galveston County Reads Selects Glass Castle for 2009”
by Patty Mayeux

Galveston County Reads, a “One City, One Book” program, has selected Glass Castle, by Jeannette Walls for 2009.

The memoir begins with Walls slipping down in the back seat of a taxi to hide from her homeless mother, whom she sees sorting through garbage on the streets.

Walls then skillfully unfolds the details of her life beginning with the time when, at the age of three, she was rushed to the hospital after setting herself on fire. She had been cooking hot dogs on the stove while her mother painted in the next room.

Glass Castle is a memoir that reads like a novel, despite the underlying reality of growing up with unstable and generally neglectful parents, whose decisions were more often based on their own needs than those of their children. Walls and her three siblings learned to make due on their own as the family criss-crossed the country, at times fleeing unknown enemies in the middle of the night, slept in cardboard boxes beneath a leaking roof and often went for days without substantial food.

Galveston County Reads encourages reading by offering programs held at various locations throughout Galveston County that revolve around the selection. Past selections include Tortilla Curtain, by T.C. Boyles; Friday Night Lights: A Town, a Team , and a Dream, by H. G. Bissinger; A Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night, by Mark Haddon; Nickel and Dimed: On (Not) Getting by in America, by Barbara Ehreinreich and A Lesson Before Dying, by Ernest J. Gaines.

Programming has included local discussion groups led by trained discussion leaders, theatrical presentations, author visits and panel discussions, including the ever popular evening with three local English professors.

This year voting was open to the public for the first time. The Galveston County Reads committee is excited about the selection of The Glass Castle, one of four finalists chosen from the dozens of books reviewed by the book nomination committee. Other finalists were Oryx and Crake, by Margaret Atwood; The Worst Hard Time, by Timothy Egan and Water for Elephants, by Sara Gruen.

For more information or to volunteer as a committee member of Galveston County Reads, visit www.galvestoncountyreads.org.

Webcast with Ernest J. Gaines

2008-03-12T12:25:00.000-07:00

Our final event ended well, with the live, interactive webcast with Mr. Gaines. Galveston College hosted this event in the Fine Arts Auditorium. The program started at 7 pm and ended at 8:30 pm.

With the help of GC’s IT staff, Dale Harville and Andy Moon, our connection was tested, up and running, well before anyone arrived. Thanks to Michael Berberich for making this event happen at Galveston College and John Gorman for being a ready and willing facilitator! In addition, Ms. Geisu Lewis, Coordinator of Student Activities, and Dr. Phyllis Mingus-Pepin, Vice-President of Academic and General Studies are greatly appreciated for their support.

Leading up to this event, Dr. John Gorman, Dr. Steve Curley, Dr. Dale Taylor and Poom Taylor had the opportunity to interview Mr. Gaines by phone. He alluded to some questions the audience brought up, such as the death penalty and the autobiographical aspects of the book, based on one of the two main characters, Grant Wiggins. Mr. Gaines believes that there’s a little of him in all the characters, and a little of his aunt in the two female characters, Tante Lou and Miss Emma. His aunt, who brought him up, until he was fifteen, was crippled, and one can discern some similarities with the Tante Lou character.

He described the writing process by which he wrote A Lesson before Dying, and then took questions from the audience for half an hour.

There were more than 60 people in attendance, our dedicated Galveston County Reads members, and various community readers who attended some of the previous events or book discussions.

Book Nomination Email~

2008-03-12T08:45:00.000-07:00

Please send in your choice for 2009 to:

gcrbooknominations@yahoo.com

Voting ends April 25, so start reading and vote!

Choose one of the four books listed, see summaries in previous post:

The four titles nominated are:

Water for Elephants by Sara Gruen

The Worst Hard Time: The Untold Story of Those Who Survived the Great American Dust Bowl by Timothy Egan

Glass Castles: a Memoir by Jeannette Walls

Oryx and Crake by Margaret Atwood

Gaines Interview on Pelican Island

2008-03-06T07:45:00.000-08:00

Literature, the Latin-speaking old timers used to say, is for delight and instruction. Galveston Countians should get plenty of both from Ernest J. Gaines at Galveston College (4015 Ave. Q) on Tuesday night. The author of A Lesson before Dying will be visiting via an interactive videoconference in the auditorium, Fine Arts-207 at 7:00 pm. This high-tech conversation--admission free-- concludes a stimulating season of discussions for Galveston County Reads.
At 75 Gaines is one of the strongest African American presences in American literature. Probably the best-known of his many books is The Autobiography of Miss Jane Pittman. His characters, many white, are mostly black. “We have more in common than in difference,” he says. He proves that in smooth-reading yet sophisticated tales that are never soft or “sentimental.”
To get ready for the face-to-face, three local professors and a staff expert from the Rosenberg Library talked by speaker phone with Mr. Gaines and his wife at their home in Louisiana. What does he want from his readers? “I try to put you in a jungle, in a swamp, with a good machete. I try to let you strive and get out of there the best you can.”
The tangled growth in A Lesson involves family, love, race, justice (or its opposite) and the roles of godmother, preacher and teacher. The time is 1948 in rural Louisiana. A very young man, numbed by the battering he has taken in life, approaches death in the electric chair.
Gaines says that, while he is often asked about capital punishment, it is a structuring tool in his book, not a personal cause. “I was trying to write a novel about two men growing up.” Jefferson, the younger man, will die. Grant, who had paid little attention to Jefferson when he was his pupil at a small plantation school, either will or won’t go deeper into the role of teacher, one he doesn’t entirely want. The double tension draws readers relentlessly.
How does Gaines do this to us? “I write and rewrite and rewrite.” he says. “A friend of Flaubert asked, ‘What did you do yesterday?’ he said, “That comma we were talking about yesterday, I took it out.’ “What did you do this afternoon,” the friend asked. “I put it back in there.”
Though he’ll mention the great French novelist and remark, after his own style is praised, “the Bible is simple that way too,” Gaines wants readers to stay in the time and place of his books. As a young man he went to California, spent 15 years and returned to Louisiana. “The food, the color, the culture, music, our jazz, our blues just everything. You can’t stay away.”
Thanks to A Lesson before Dying, and an interlocking body of other novels and stories we can always go there. We can feel the universal human drama in a perfectly rendered local world. There are too many aspects of Gaines’s book to point to in a short article. Come to Galveston College and meet (electronically, but for real) the man himself.

Short List for 2009!

2008-03-06T07:43:00.000-08:00

Galveston County Reads Announces Short List for 2009:

Community invited to vote.

Galveston County Reads announces the short list of candidates for the sixth year of the community wide book club. In the spirit of the electoral process, the voting will be open to the public this year. Copies of the books are available at local public libraries, including Rosenberg Library, and at area bookstores. The committee is a volunteer organization that invites your participation. To cast your vote or become a committee member, please email Karen Stanley at kstanley@rosenberg-library.org or call 409.763.8854 x119. Voting ends April 25, so start reading and join the discussion.

Following are the book nominations for the 2009 season:
The Glass Castle
By Jeannette Walls
In The Glass Castle, Jeannette Walls takes us on a journey of her childhood that begins with setting herself on fire at the age of three while cooking hot dogs on the gas stove and ends with her struggle to create a sane, stable life for herself. Walls expertly develops the characters in the book, slowly revealing bits and parts of their personalities to help the reader understand what drives their bizarre actions. High praise for any novel, but The Glass Castle is a memoir and the characters are the members of the Walls family. As she chronicles the often terrifying events of her childhood, Walls shares intimate glimpses of the family. Fleeing town in the middle of the night so often that no place can ever become “home,” being taught to hold your nose in order to stomach eating rotten ham and barely surviving a ride in the back of a u-haul with the doors flapping open as the parents obliviously ride in the safety of the cab are just a few examples. Many of the images Walls shares are horrifying, yet they are balanced with humor, hope and a belief in the ability of individuals to rise above struggle, adversity and even deprivation to discover who they truly are. The Glass Castle takes the reader to a new understanding of mental illness and homelessness, but also illustrates the power of familial love even in the most dysfunctional setting. Book available in paperback, hardback, Large Type, CD and cassette.

Orxy and Crake
By Margaret Atwood
Reviewers have called Orxy and Crake a work of science fiction that is more like Jonathan Swift than Robert Heinlein because there are no flying cars in this book. Although it is set in the future there are already parallels that can be drawn between the events in the world of this novel and those in the real world today. The narrator, Jimmy, who calls himself Snowman, may be the last human alive. In flashbacks, he tells the reader of the events that lead up to his present circumstances. Margaret Atwood, a talented Canadian author, spins a great narrative that includes genetic engineering, an unknown apocalyptic event and an ending that allows for intriguing speculation. This book is a vast departure from other Galveston County Reads selections and from titles on the list this year. However, it is a masterfully written thriller that has lots of dark humor and endless possibilities for discussion. It is available in hardback, paperback, audio and download. May also have limited availability in Spanish.

Water for Elephants
By Sara Gruen
Water for Elephants is a novel told in flashback by Jacob Jankowski, now in his nineties and spending his days in a nursing home. Jacob takes readers back into the Depression when he was a young man preparing for veterinary exams at Cornell. Jacob receives the sad news of his parents’ demise and finds himself facing a mental breakdown. Jacob flees school and his old life to join the circus where he’s hired to care for the animals. Jacob learns the inner workings of circus life, falls in love, and begins to understand himself a little better in his new and strange surroundings. This is a beautiful and well-written historical novel that will likely touch the reader by the emotional honesty and depth of Jacob. Book available in paperback, hardback, Large Type, CD and Spanish, Aqua Para Elefantes

The Worst Hard Time: The untold story of those who survived the Great American Dust Bowl
By Timothy EganTimothy Egan, a Pulitzer Prize winning journalist, has brought to life the heartbreak and hardships endured by the families that attempted to eke out a living in the American Great Plains during the extensive drought of the 1930s. Through interviews with survivors and the use of newspaper accounts, journals, and letters written at the time, Egan provides moving portraits of several families struggling to exist while watching their farms blow away. Much of the action is centered around Dalhart, Texas, one of the hardest hit areas in the 400 million acre dust bowl. Egan examines government policies on homesteading, water, and wheat subsidies during the wars as well as farming practices of the times as contributing factors to the disaster, prompting the necessary discussion of water policies that will haunt our near future. Informative, moving, and highly readable, this book is available in hardcover, paperback, audio CD, audio download, MP3 CD, and Kindle book formats.

Gaines interview on Pelican Island, TAMUG~

2008-02-21T11:30:00.000-08:00

Ernest J. Gaines’ novel “A Lesson before Dying” has been the focus of The Galveston Reads program for the last year. Several community discussion groups have formed as a result. This interview precedes a March 11 telecast with Gaines. The following is a transcript of a Friday, Feb. 15 interview with Mr. Gaines by professors Dr. Stephen Curly Curley of Texas A&M University, Dr. John Gorman of University of Houston-Clear Lake, and Dr. Dale Taylor of Galveston College. Ms. Poom Taylor, with Galveston’s Rosenberg Library, also participated in the interview.

Transcript provided by Dr. Dale Taylor.

Dr. Gorman: How important is teaching as a subtheme--Grant as a teacher—in making the novel?
Mr. Gaines: Remember, Grant wishes to do other things than teach school in a small one room school house. I’ve know teachers were very good under those conditions; I’ve known teachers who were not very good under those conditions because they wish to do other things, so Grant could be representative of a certain teacher—not, I would say, of all teachers. I went to a one-room school house. I had some good teachers there. I had some poor teachers there. So Grant is just one of the teachers.

Dr. Curley: Since we’re on the question of personal experience, I love the character of Taunt Lou. Is she modeled after anybody that you were raised by?

Mr. Gaines: I don’t know any one Taunte Lou. I’ve known thousands of Taunte Lous. I never knew one Miss Jane Pittman, but I knew thousands of Miss Jane Pittmans. I did not base it on only one character. Even Grant, or Jefferson or any of my characters there. The experience of the characters that I’ve know in my world here in Louisiana. This is experience of my characters I’ve known in my world.

Dr. Taylor: In Chapter 27, interaction between Grant and Reverend Ambrose includes a discussion about the nature of faith and a belief in an afterlife.
“‘I want him in heaven as much as you do Reverend.”
“A place you can’t believe in?”
“No, I don’t believe in it, Reverend.”
“And how can you tell him not to believe in it.”
“I’ll never tell him not to believe in it.”
“And suppose he ask you if it’s there, then what? Suppose he write on that tablet you give him, is it there? Then what?”
“I’ll tell him I don’t know.”
“You the teacher.”
“Yes. But I was taught to teach reading, writing and arithmetic. Not the gospel.”
To what extent is this a commentary on the separation of church and state? Increasingly, politicians pass legislation that encroaches on the separation of church and state. Does this portion of your novel suggest that the two should not be separate or does it emphasize the quandary that educators find themselves in as they are expected to be open advocates of religion?

Mr. Gaines: The story takes place in 1948; that’s 60 years ago. And you’re dealing with two people here—one teaching on a small one-room school house in the deep south in 1948. It’s dealing with a preacher who never went to school at all—or maybe very limited education, hardly any education. He felt that his duty was to baptize, to soothe the ill, to visit the ill, to bury the dead, that was his job. The position of Grant at this time, 60 years ago at this time, a one-room school house on a plantation, was to teach his African American students the basic things that they needed to know to survive in that community at that time and that basic thing was reading, writing and arithmetic. Nobody was thinking separation of church of and state at that time. For me to make my novel realistic as I possibly could, I had to go back to that world and think as they thought in that world. As the minister felt, I had to become part of that minister. As Grant felt, I had to become part of Grant. The question of state and church today is a new thing. Neither Grant or the minister had anything like that in mind. And although I might think of the separation of church and state, I had to be part of those characters at that time. I did the best I could with those characters—the way they thought and the way they felt at that time.

Dr. Curley: Do you keep in mind what effect it has on the reader? Do you always have an audience in mind? Do you keep in mind what effect it’s going to have on the reader or do you write to please yourself? Do you think, oh they’re going to laugh at this or they’re going to cry at that? Or do you say, I’m going to write what I’m going to write because that’s what sounds right to me?

Mr. Gaines: I would not publish anything that does not sound right to me. I don’t have an audience in mind. I’ve been asked, Do I see a black audience in mind or a southern audience in mind? When I lived in California, I was accused of being a California writer who wrote about the South. I try to write as well as I possibly can. I’ve had books translated into 12 or 15 foreign languages—Japanese, Chinese, Russian, Portuguese and several other foreign languages. I try to write as truly—as well—as I possibly can. Most of us in this world have more in common than we have differences. If I write truly as I possibly can, others other people will relate to my characters. What I do when I’m writing is I try to put you in a jungle, in a swamp with a good machete. I try to let you strive and get out of there the best way you can. I try to write so that anybody can read my work. A 12-year-old child can read and understand my work or a professor, as you are, can understand my work. I try to make it as simple as I possibly can.

Dr. Gorman: One of the community discussions I was in went pretty heavily into a capital punishment theme, and I was very impressed with the power of that novel to remind us of what we’re doing when we consent to take another person’s life by public process. Is that a theme that you’re glad to have circulated when people talk about the book?

Mr. Gaines: I was trying to write a novel about two men growing up—two men who were not fully grown up—Jefferson and Grant—how to get Jefferson, not this boy, but to become this man in those five and a half months. I tried to do the same thing for Grant. Jefferson is to die in five and a half months and Grant is going to live another 40 years. I was not thinking about the death penalty or anything like that. I’ve been asked about that many times. I’ve received manuscripts where people want me to comment on the death penalty. That was not my intention when I wrote this book.
I wanted to put them under the extreme tensions to become a man or become a true human being. I was not pro or con as far as the death penalty goes.

Dr. Taylor: Does the exchange between Rev. Ambrose and Grant represent any experience of your own?

Mr. Gaines: I’ve known preachers who were uneducated, and they believed in sending you to heaven rather than proving your condition here. People in my family—older people—were constantly telling me to be good, to be good, to be good, because you have trouble being good all the time. He represents an older conscience, an older idea of what one should do. Grant of course was educated and had different ideas for what people were to do—life was for people to stand up, people to think, to speak. The minister felt that you have to be good, to attend the church; this is the way to live. I think we all—if you’re old enough. I’m 75 years old—if you’re old enough—when I was a child—I knew people who thought like this minister—30 years ago, 40 years ago, and I in some way disagreed with them but I can understand them.

Dr. Curley: To what extent did you believe you had to leave and then later return to Louisiana to write about it? Or do you think it could have worked out if you had stayed in Louisiana?

Mr. Gaines: If I stayed in Louisiana I doubt that I had become the writer that I am today because I didn’t have anyway to go to school. I wouldn’t have received the kind of teaching that I got at San Francisco State and Stanford. I wouldn’t I have been exposed to those kinds of books or the critics or the writers if I had stayed there. However, had I gone to California and never returned to Louisiana, I doubt that I would have been the writer that I am today. I’ve said quite often that two of the biggest moves that I made in my life were when my family took me to California at the age of 15 to be educated. When I returned 15 years later, I didn’t want to come back to Louisiana because of problems in the civil rights demonstrations and the violence that was going on. After Jim Meredith came back into Mississippi in 1962, I decided I wanted to become a writer. I wanted to write. I had to come back—I tried to write in San Francisco—many things—ghost stories, interracial love affairs, all the experience of a bohemian life in San Francisco, all that sort of thing. But the soul was not there, everything was here in Louisiana. I knew that if Jim Meredith had to go through all the things he went through, I had to come back to Louisiana to become the writer that I wanted to be. My friends were going to Africa, Asia—they were leaving San Francisco, and I wanted to go too. But I was tied to Louisiana. Meredith went to University of Mississippi. I realized I had to come back here and go through whatever pressures I had to go through to write about Louisiana. I couldn’t think about anything more worthwhile to write about.

Dr. Gorman: If Grant were a real person, I would ask him why he didn’t stay in California. According to the chronology of the book, he went out there when he was older than 15 and would have had more scope. Vivian tells him why he came back and why he’s going to stay. He never explains why he has done this.

Mr. Gaines: If you read the rest of my books, you can’t stay away; if you’re born in Louisiana, you can’t stay away. The food, the color, the culture[change the period . to a comma], music, our jazz, our blues, just everything. You can’t stay away. In “The Autobiography of Miss Jane Pittman,” she tried to walk to Ohio, but she couldn’t get out of the swamps of Louisiana. . . . Robert X comes back from California and he dies in Louisiana. Grant is one of those characters. Lillian could not leave. Many of my characters can’t leave. They won’t be away long if they left.

Dr. Taylor: Jefferson observes in his journal: “It look like the lord just work for wite folks cause ever sens I wasn nothing but a little boy I been on my on haulin water to the fiel on that ol water cart.” Does this reflect the feeling of a number of young African-Americans you think that—God is for white people? Jefferson’s feelings reflect a sense of hopelessness. How much is this a reflection of not only Jefferson’s realization that he is stuck in a class and caste that offer no escape, but others who are failed by the educational system of our country?

Mr. Gaines: Jefferson is uneducated, and he always did what he was told to do with his life. Although his aunt knows about God, and the minister tells him about God, he doesn’t see that God is working for him. I grew up around quite a few young men who believed that—felt there was no hope. Not only in Louisiana but when I was in San Francisco—that there was no hope—but at the same time Jefferson is one of a kind. He does not represent all young black African Americans at ’48 or 2008 but he does represent a number of them.

Dr. Curley: What do you read for pleasure? Do you read any genre fiction like mystery, romance, westerns? You mentioned ghost stories. Do you have a favorite kind of fiction when you go to B. Dalton or Barnes and Noble? Do you find yourself going to the mystery section? What do you like to read when you read?

Mr. Gaines: I don’t go to B.Dalton. I have a large library of my own with thousands of books. I walk around in my library. I can stop at the shelf and pull down a novel of Tolstoy or Hemingway or maybe some poetry or Mark Twain or Shakespeare. I read all of this. I like a good mystery on television, but I don’t particularly like mystery novels or western novels. Although I love westerns, I’m a great western fan. I watch “Shane” and “High Noon” and those kinds of movies—I love them. I don’t read novels anymore. I read parts of novels; I read chapters, maybe an act of a play, a bit of poetry, a bit of philosophy. I don’t have any certain genre. Wherever I stop—I just look around and read a little bit of it.

Dr. Gorman: Are there younger writers—writers who are in midstream--you’re interested in?

Mr. Gaines: We just had the Ernest J. Gaines literary award recently. A young lady, Olympia Brennan, won for her book, “A Killing in This Town.” She’s very, very talented. There are others out there who are good writers.

Dr. Taylor: Is your representation of the mixed-race or mulatto male characters a reflection of the animosity that existed in the community in which you lived? Or is this a sort of ranking or hegemonic fictional device that polarizes and categorizes white and black in the novel? Do these characters serve to polarize white and black—was that your purpose? Or are they a natural part of your novel?

Mr. Gaines: I know characters like that in my book and in my community. I grew up with these types of people who have those kind of attitudes. Those attitudes are still around in Louisiana or you can go to Los Angeles or other parts of this country and you’ll find those attitudes. I’ve been around it—even in my own family where there’s a distinction between fair and darker people so it’s just one of those things. Writing a book is like building a house; you need extra boards and bricks—whatever it takes to make the novel more representative of your land, your area, your place—this is what you use. If I wrote only about dark skinned African Americans, I wouldn’t be true to my work and my area. If I did not bring conflict between the Creoles—the darker skinned Creoles and the lighter skinned Creoles—I would not be true to my work. If I didn’t write about conflicts between Catholics and Protestants, I would not be true to my work. So I bring all of these things into to develop my work. I’ve known characters like this.

Dr. Curley: Since this is a Galveston Reads Program, a number of people have been interested in whether you’ve ever visited Galveston

Mr. Gaines: Yes, we’ve been to Galveston. I’ve been all over the place.

Dr. Gorman: We wish you had been able to come to the Island so we can show you around. Everybody is looking forward to the webcast. I have read “The Autobiography of Miss Jane Pittman” and “A Gathering of Old Men,” and I very much enjoy following that community from decade to decade as the political things and the cultural things change.
Do you mind being compared to Faulkner . . .?

Mr. Gaines: I’ve been compared to Faulkner, because I write about a central place just as he did, but so did Joyce, and so did Balzac and many other writers have written about a certain area. I never compare myself to anybody. If that’s what people want, that’s O.K. with me. I just want my agent to get as much money from my books as he possibly can.

All: (Laughter)

Dr. Gorman: All right. A beautiful motive and one that many of us envy if we don’t have agents. Thank you very much.

Dr. Taylor: Vivian also serves to demonstrate the internalization of colorism. In this exchange, Jefferson is speaking about how pretty she is. “I see how pretty she is an im sorry how I talk that day when I was mad at you an say them nasty thing bout her caus she so pretty an smil so pretty. . . Vivian also she so pretty an im so ugly”(232). We see this theme, this sort of colorism running through texts such as Yellowman by Dael Orlandersmith and yours—a sort of internalization and acceptance of hegemony—the sort of ranking of worth based on skin color. What do you think is the cure for this?

Mr. Gaines: I think Jefferson doesn’t feel this way because of color. She’s a beautiful woman. No one has probably spoken to him or kissed him [except] Nanan, his godmother, the elderly lady who cares for him. The scent about her body. He’s been locked up in a jail cell and treated like an animal, and he knows he might die soon. He regrets what he said; it’s not because of color.

Dr. Curley: When I first read the novel, I thought how simple it was—it’s so simple people aren’t going to have anything to talk about. It’s certainly obvious. You can’t put it down emotionally. As you close the covers—it’s a parable of a story that refuses to die and go away. Do you do this on purpose?

Mr. Gaines: The Bible is simple that way too. I receive more letters from white students— middle grade on up all over the place—they say the same thing—we can understand this book. Many people from attorneys to children, after reading the opening chapter of “A Lesson Before Dying,” say how much they liked it. If I can get that reaction from 10th, 11th, 12th grade students and attorneys in their 40s and 50s I’ve reached a public out there.

Dr. Curley: When you revise do you try to keep in mind the effect a certain turn of phrase or action will have on your readers? Or do you write entirely to please your own sensibilities?

Mr. Gaines: I write rewrite, and rewrite. I want to get it so well that you can understand it. It’s like the machete in the jungle. A friend of Flaubert asked, “What did you do yesterday?” He said, “That comma we were talking about yesterday, I took it out. What did you do this afternoon? The friend asked. “I put it back in there.” Whichever makes it easier to read.

Dr. Gorman: Can you comment on Jefferson’s diary?

Mr. Gaines: I think Jefferson’s diary is a great uplift. He’s very sad, but it shows he’s growing.

Dr. Taylor: The development that Jefferson and Grant go though is representative or a metaphor of the growth that many African American men find themselves going through in this country.

Mr. Gaines: Right, I wanted the teacher to teach the student and the student to teach the teacher to help both develop.

Ms. Poom Taylor: Why did you select the names Jefferson and Grant?

Mr. Gaines: Jefferson and Grant those presidential names—I just came up with a name—had nothing to do what the presidents.

Dr. Curley: I think this has been a wonderful conversation. I had a college class read it and one student said, “You know I never read a book before, but this is my favorite book ever.”

Mr. Gaines: A guy told me the same thing. He said, “Mr. Gaines, “A Lesson Before Dying” is my favorite book and the “Sky is Grey,” the short story.” I said, “How many novels have you read?” He said, “one.” I asked him how many short stories he’s read. He said, “one.”

3 professors, movie and the play

2008-01-31T12:29:00.000-08:00

Three of our special events have been held, with our kickoff, the scenes from the play, presented by the Ensemble Theatre of Houston. Was well attended, food from the book was served, fried chicken and refreshments.

The movie was shown at the Rosenberg Library, in the Randall Room, to a full crowd and popcorn was served to complete the full movie viewing effect.

3 professors was wunderbar! See Heber's write up in the Daily News:

Rediscovering a real human pleasure

By Heber Taylor

The discussion at Rosenberg Library on Tuesday night about “A Lesson Before Dying” reminded me of why I love living in Galveston.Galvestonians are known for arguing about politics. But their arguments about books might be even more interesting.Every year, Galveston County Reads chooses a book and conducts a series of public discussions. On Tuesday, three college professors — John Gorman, Stephen Curley and Michael Berberich — led a discussion of Ernest J. Gaines’ novel.I was astonished by all the things I’d missed in the book that other readers pointed out. It wasn’t just the English professors who helped me. I’m still thinking through some comments from a cardiologist who retired from the University of Texas Medical Branch and from a young man not long out of high school.One of the points of the book is that we all want to develop fully as human beings before we have to face death.So what does it mean to be fully human? The characters in this book disagree.My neighbors on the island helped me rediscover a real human pleasure, though. It’s a pleasure to read and exchange insights into the work of some our important artists.If you haven’t dropped in on one of the discussions, you really ought to check the calendar.

The evening ended with an interesting comment, comparing the death penalty to lynching... and furthur discussion will be entertained at our next event:

Family Dynamics of Black Male Incarceration at Old Central

2/7/08

Panel discussion with Yoni Benson, Linda Ferguson, Leah Fanuiel, Robert Caraway, Charlie Baldwin, and James Dennis. Facilitated by Jason Glenn. Central Cultural Center Library, 2627 Ave. M, Galveston. Sponsorship and refreshments provided by the UTMB Office of Diversity and International Affairs. 6 – 8 pm

1st Discussion at Mosquito Cafe~

2008-01-07T16:59:00.001-08:00

Thanks to Steve Rennick for graciously hosting our first discussion at the Mosquito. He had homemade cookies, coffee and mint iced tea.

We had a good crowd led by Fanny DeGesero. On the heels of the two articles in the Daily
News, we had some engaging conversation on the criminal justice system and justice in America today, versus when Gaines recalls Louisianna in 1948, which was 13 years after he moved to California. Had to leave just when it was getting interesting... turning a blind eye to violence war, and wholesale slaughter of chickens at Krogers! Basically, conversation moved to chicken, the sanitized version we see in stores towards the war in Afganistan and Iraq!

Fanny gave us some interesting biographical insight to the novel and the author, how Gaines moved away and came back to Louisianna and had the matriarch influences in his life, as the two main characters do.

Next discussion: Tuesday, Jan. 8th, TOMORROW!

St. Patrick Catholic Church, 1010 35th St., Galveston. 7 pm. 1/08/08

Play tickets are going fast.... do pick them up at the Rosenberg Library. As of 7:09 pm, Monday, there are 60 or so left!

Play tickets for LBDying

2008-01-04T13:51:00.000-08:00

Tickets will be available from the Circulation Desk, at the Rosenberg Library on Saturday, January 5, 2008.

2 tickets per person, please.

There are approximately 190 seats available at The Strand Theatre.

Please arrive before 2:00 to ensure that you are seated. This ticket does not guarantee your seat. Others on the waiting list will be given any seats that are not occupied by 1:55 pm.

1/13/2008 “A Lesson Before Dying” - scene from the play and dialogue. Strand Street Theatre, 2317 Ships Mechanics Row, Galveston. 2 pm. Sunday. Phone: 409-763-4591

Presented by Ensemble Theatre of Houston.

A lesson in reading between the lines

2008-01-02T09:26:00.000-08:00

A lesson in reading between the lines
By Dale Taylor
The Daily News
Published December 28, 2007

Editor’s note: Every year, Galveston County Reads chooses a book and puts on a series of public discussions. This year’s selection is Ernest J. Gaines’ novel “A Lesson Before Dying,” which won a National Book Critics Circle Award in 1993.

Ernest J. Gaines’ 1993 novel “A Lesson Before Dying” provides fertile ground for discussion as its Jim Crow setting places the reader in the middle of several controversial questions — among them the illegitimacy of race, the death penalty and the inadequacy of U.S. prison systems.The story features two central characters, Grant Wiggins, a teacher who has been charged with reforming a criminal, and Jefferson, the young man who is at the center of the story’s plot because of his unwitting part in a robbery and murder.Wiggins reluctantly accepts an emotional appeal from his aunt and her friend who press him into reforming Jefferson. At his trial, Jefferson is referred to as a “hog” for his involvement in the murder of a store owner. The story revolves primarily around Wiggins’ anger at having been asked to accomplish a task that he is doubtful can be achieved and his eventual acquiescence and visits to Jefferson in jail.Wiggins represents the broader educational and prison systems in this country that also are charged with reforming and acculturating people who have committed crimes. The story’s humanizing of Jefferson from an object to a human is a convincing argument for reforming the American justice system. However, the story also references important social structures.

There are several methods for examining this story; two key phrases seem appropriate as a tool for examining the internal workings — “discourse” and “hegemony.” “Discourse” refers to those words that are used by specialists in their work.The word “discourse” in a literary context focuses on a particular aspect of the society as it relates to the literature. As such, the word “hegemony” is important as well.“Hegemony,” coined by Antonio Gramsci, in philosophy and literature refers to those ways in which society orders itself with some people playing upper, middle or lower class roles on the social and economic ladder. Several key ideas emerge from the novel as we consider the discourse of race — language that defines who is black, white, multi-racial, etc. The story is set in a late 1940s Louisiana community that is galvanized by Jefferson’s trial. Through Wiggins’ internal dialogue, the reader learns how the society of his time is structured.Gaines, through his character Wiggins, makes it clear that whites are considered upper class in the community, and blacks are considered lower class. Certainly there is nothing exceptional in this portrait as the same kinds of social structure appear in novels by Mark Twain, Harriet Beecher Stowe and other writers.A middle class in the story — unionized mulattoes or multi-racial characters — plays no special role except as the target of the narrator’s frustration. Even this is not exceptional in that American authors use multi-racial characters to mark and test boundaries. White and black groups are polarized in their respective positions as they vie for power and dignity. The novel ends on a hopeful note as Gaines suggests in Wiggins’ relationship with Paul, a white deputy at the jail, that white youth will see the humanity in blacks.One might read this story as an allegory for the social movement that begins in the late 1940s and ’50s, when young whites and blacks protested invalid hegemonic assignment of human value, or one could see it as a suggestion that Americans have much work left to do.The story makes this point clearly — communities have a responsibility for the care of all of their members, despite a sordid past and an invalid means of ranking members of the “human” race.

Here is a question that might be pondered for this text: To what extent do stories such as this one reinforce existing hegemonies or give us an opportunity to challenge them?

Dale M. Taylor has a doctorate in literature and teaches at Galveston College.

Daily News Coverage in December!

2007-12-26T16:05:00.000-08:00

For those of you who missed Heber's column on Our View, section B, page 8:

Have you read a good book lately?By Heber Taylor The Daily News
Published December 26, 2007

Do people still read for pleasure? Do good things happen when people get together to discuss — and even argue about — books?Galveston County Reads has shown that good discussions are still possible in the age of electronic entertainment and instant gratification.Every year, the organization chooses a book and puts on a series of public discussions. The theory is that we become a better community if we turn off the TV for a couple of evenings, read the same book and discuss it.In an age where we’re bombarded by predictable sound bites, it’s refreshing to hear differing — but well reasoned — perspectives on topics that affect us all.It’s interesting, challenging and free.To get in on the fun, all you have to do is read the book.This year’s selection is Ernest J. Gaines’ novel “A Lesson Before Dying,” which won a National Book Critics Circle Award in 1993. It was chosen for Oprah’s Book Club 10 years ago.The story, set in Louisiana in the 1940s, is about Jefferson, an uneducated black man who is going to be executed for the murder of a white man. It’s also the story of Grant Wiggins, a young teacher who visits him in jail and tries to give him a sense of his own humanity before he dies.How do you give people in prison a sense of their own humanity? Is it a religious quest or something else? Characters in this novel disagree on that point.Is the value of people in prison something we even think about today?Critics have had vastly different assessments of the value of this book. We suspect there might be a disagreement or two among readers of this page.We’ve got three invitations:First, read the book.Second, check the schedule of events and commit to making at least one. As you see, the first discussion is set for Jan. 2. But don’t worry. “A Lesson Before Dying” is a quick read.Third, drop us a line. We’d love to fill an installment or two of “Word on the Street” with your views about his book.

He concludes by posting the events and book discussions.

One event he missed was:

3/11/08 A Lesson Before Dying: An interactive videoconference with Ernest Gaines. Facilitated by John Gorman. Galveston College, Auditorium FA-207, 4015 Ave. Q, Galveston. Sponsorship and refreshments provided by Galveston College. 7 pm

All events are free and open to the public. Please join us!

Galveston County Reads Events Schedule Announced

2007-12-11T12:26:00.000-08:00

The following special events have been scheduled for the 2008 Season of Galveston County Reads:

1/13/08 A Lesson Before Dying. Scene from the play and dialogue. Presented by Ensemble Theatre of Houston. Strand Theatre, 2317 Ships Mechanics Row, Galveston. 2 pm

1/22/08 A Lesson Before Dying. Film. Rosenberg Library, Randall Rm., 2310 Sealy, Galveston. 6 pm

1/29/08 A Lesson Before Dying. Three Professors Panel Discussion: Not Your Typical English Class! Presented by Michael Berberich, Stephen Curley, and John Gorman. Rosenberg Library, Wortham Auditorium, 2310 Sealy, Galveston. 7 pm

2/7/08 Family Dynamics of Black Male Incarceration. Panel discussion with Yoni Benson, Linda Ferguson, Leah Fanuiel, Robert Caraway, Charlie Baldwin, and James Dennis. Facilitated by Jason Glenn. Central Cultural Center Library, 2627 Ave. M, Galveston. Sponsorship and refreshments provided by the UTMB Office of Diversity and International Affairs. 6 – 8 pm

3/11/08 A Lesson Before Dying: An interactive videoconference with Ernest Gaines. Facilitated by John Gorman. Galveston College, Auditorium FA-207, 4015 Ave. Q, Galveston. Sponsorship and refreshments provided by Galveston College. 7 pm

All events are free and open to the public. Please join us!

Galveston County Reads Book Discussions Set

2007-12-11T12:24:00.001-08:00

The following book discussions have been scheduled for the coming year:

1/02/08 Mosquito Cafe, 628 14th, Galveston. 7 pm
1/08/08 St. Patrick Catholic Church, 1010 35th St., Galveston. 7 pm
1/10/08 Starbucks, 2808 61st St., Galveston, 5:30 pm
1/12/08 Moody Memorial First United Methodist Church, 2803 53rd St. Galveston. 10 am
1/19/08 LaMarque Public Library, 1011 Bayou Rd., LaMarque. 9 am
1/23/08 Moore Memorial Public Library. 1701 Ninth Ave. North, Texas City. 7 pm
1/24/08 Mod Coffee House, 2126 Postoffice St., Galveston. 7 pm
1/30/08 Helen Hall Library, 100 West Walker, League City. 2pm
2/05/08 St. Patrick Catholic Church, 1010 35th St., Galveston. 7 pm
2/11/08 Westminster Presbyterian, 5127 Ave. U, Galveston. 7 pm
2/12/08 Moody Memorial First United Methodist Church, 2803 53rd St. Galveston. Noon
2/13/08 Rosenberg Library– McCullough Rm., 2310 Sealy, Galveston. Noon.
2/13/08 Midsummer Books, 2309 Ships Mechanics Row, Galveston. 5:30 pm
2/19/08 Friendswood Public Library, 416 South Friendswood Dr., Friendswood. 7 pm
2/27/08 Unitarian Universalist Fellowship, 502 Church St., Galveston. 7 pm
3/01/08 Y’a Bon Village Coffeehouse, 2828 Church St., Galveston. 2 pm
3/04/08 St. Patrick Catholic Church, 1010 35th St., Galveston. 7 pm
3/06/08 Tiki Book Club, Public Safety Bldg, 747 Tiki Dr., Tiki Island. 7 pm

All discussions are free and open to the public. Come join the fun!

December Meeting on Monday

2007-12-04T12:21:00.000-08:00

December meeting will be on Monday, Dec. 10th.

Book Nomimation Committee: 3:00 Rosenberg Library, Wortham Auditorium

GCReads Committee: 4:30 Rosenberg Library, Wortham Auditorium

November meetings and training session

2007-11-07T08:25:00.000-08:00

Galveston County Reads: Lesson Before Dying

Mark Your Calendars:

Monday, November 12 @ 3pm - Book Nomination Committee meets to discuss next year's book! Meets in Wortham Auditorium, Rosenberg Library

@4:30 pm - General Committee meeting to tie up loose ends. Meeting in Wortham Auditorium, Rosenberg Library

@6:00 pm - Book Discussion Leader Training with Dr. John Gorman. Please RSVP to Karen kstanley@rosenberg-library.org Phone: 409-763-8854 x119. Meeting in Wortham Auditorium, Rosenberg Library

October Meeting Monday

2007-10-17T13:05:00.000-07:00

Next Meeting: Monday, October 22 @ 4pm Rosenberg Library

Discussion Leader Training Workshop Set

2007-08-24T12:00:00.000-07:00

John Gorman will conduct a discussion leader training workshop on Monday, November 12 at 6 pm at Rosenberg Library. To register for this event, please call Karen Stanley at 409.763.8854 x119.

The publicity team sent letters to 97 places of worship in the city of Galveston inviting them to send a representative to this program so that they can sponsor discussions at their facilities. We hope to have a large, enthusiastic turnout for this event.

Display at Rosenberg for LBDying book

2007-08-08T10:14:00.000-07:00

The display for A Lesson Before Dying went up yesterday, August 7 in the lobby of the Rosenberg Library.

Lynn Burke, the publicity committee chairperson, painted the backdrop.

The scene is meant to signify the struggle down the road of life, and the door symbolizes a new day dawning.

The article can be found on the Guidry News Service online, published Monday, August 06, 2007 with the review by Patty Mayeux.

August Meeting Monday at 4 pm

2007-08-07T14:41:00.000-07:00

Next committee meetings will be on Monday, Aug. 13th.

The Nominating Committee will meet at 3 pm.

Galveston County Reads Committee will meet at 4 pm.

Rosenberg Library

Wortham Auditorium

Book Review: Lesson Before Dying

2007-08-07T14:40:00.001-07:00

The Most Important Lesson
By Patty Mayeux

A man is accused of murder, found guilty and sentenced to die via electric chair.

In A Lesson Before Dying, by Ernest J. Gaines, this common story is told in post-World War II Louisiana. The accused is a young black man, Jefferson, who claims he had nothing to do with the death of the white store owner, nor with the deaths of the two black men he had earlier hitched a ride with.

Condemnation and redemption do battle as the struggle between a young teacher and the accused plays out day by day in a dreary jail cell. Neither one wishes to be involved in the task set before them.

Jefferson has limited mental capabilities and believes he is no better than the “cornered animal” his defense attorney had likened him to during the trial: “What justice would there be to take this life? Justice, gentlemen? Why, I would just as soon put a hog in the electric chair as this.”

Jefferson’s godmother, Emma, knows his fate is sealed when the guilty verdict is read; accepting the fact that very soon her reason for cooking, cleaning and caring will be put to death along with her godson. On that day, a determination is borne in her tired soul.

Emma wishes for Jefferson to walk upright to the electric chair. She didn’t raise a hog to be slaughtered without dignity. Grant Wiggins, the only teacher in the “quarter,” is the only one qualified to help Jefferson make the transformation from animal to man. Grant is reluctant, made tired enough by the daily trials of teaching in the make-shift school, housed in the old church on the plantation. Jefferson simply doesn’t care. He has enough capability to realize he will soon die. What could it possibly matter how he does?

Tante Lou, Emma’s best friend and Grant’s aunt, gives the young teacher no choice but to ask the sheriff to allow him to visit Jefferson daily. The request sounds simple, but the circumstances of the day require Grant to step below his education and act the part of the second-class citizen the sheriff believes him to be, based on the color of his skin.

It is out of love and commitment to his aunt that Grant withstands blatant bigotry and mistreatment in order to attempt the task he believes he is incapable of. His college education and limited experience have had nothing to do with teaching a young person like Jefferson how to become a man.

At one point during the months-long struggle, Grant reacts to a show of appreciation by Jefferson: “I caught myself grinning like a fool. I wanted to throw my arms around him and hug him. I wanted to hug the first person I came to. I felt like someone who had just found religion. I felt like crying for joy. I really did.”

The time and place may be foreign to us today, but the lesson remains the same. Where do we gather courage, belief and, even in the face of death, hope? From whom do we gain dignity? In A Lesson Before Dying these questions haunt the teacher and the answers evade the student until the line between the two blurs, creating a subtle shift in the relationship between savior and saved.

Galveston County Reads hopes you will read this inspiring book and join in the many community discussions and programs throughout Galveston County. For information, dates and locations go to www.galvestoncountyreads.org or call Karen Stanley at the Rosenberg Library, 409-763-8854, x119..

GCR on Galveston.com

2007-07-13T12:06:00.001-07:00

We now have a link to our website from the galveston.com page. Log on to:http://www.galveston.com/default.asp choose Living in Galveston from menu bars on the left, then choose Organizations from the drop down menu. We're the first listing under Educational. Thanks, Lee!

June 27th Meeting

2007-06-19T06:43:00.000-07:00

Next meeeting will be at 4:00 pm in the Wortham Auditorium, Rosenberg Library.

For further information please contact the chair:

Karen Stanley(409) 763-8854 x119
Email: kstanley@rosenberg-library.org

Ball High Summer Reading List

2007-06-15T07:24:00.000-07:00

The Galveston Reads book, A Lesson Before Dying has made the summer list for Ball High.

For the 12th grade:

1984- Orwell

Les Miserables - Hugo

The Kite Runner - Hosseini

Shadow of the Wind - Zafon

A Lesson Before Dying - Gaines

A Lesson Before Dying chosen for 2008!!

2007-05-23T18:53:00.000-07:00

Lesson Before Dying by Ernest J. Gaines has been selected as the next title for the Galveston County Reads project. A Lesson Before Dying is Ernest J. Gaines' eighth novel, published in 1993. It was selected for Oprah's Book Club in 1997.The Galveston Reads committee is now working on ways to promote and publicize Lesson Before Dying. An effort will be made to publicize the book to Galveston County high schools and colleges for inclusion in their curriculum for next year. Programming for the book will occur January through March, 2008.

There are 4 committees to choose from:

1. Program

2. Publicity

3. Finance

4. Book Selection

Each committee welcomes volunteers and the Chair, Karen Stanley can be contacted for further information:

(409) 763-8854 x 119

Email: kstanley@rosenberg-library.org

Galveston Reads

Movie Night: Room Change~

Movie Night - Thursday, January 26th 7pm @ TAMUG

Embracing Aging: Press Release

Book Discussions start at Moody Methodist on Monday!!

Embracing Aging Exhibit Up!! Kicks off Galveston Reads for 2012!!

Galveston Reads Reading List December 2011

Upcoming exhibit at Rosenberg Library

Group Leader Training Kicks Off Season! Tuesday, Nov 15th

Committee Meetings July 20, 2011

Readers/Book Selection Meeting in June: Friday 17th: 3 pm

May Meeting: Tuesday: May 24th: Galveston Reads: Committees Meetings

2012 Book Chosen: Still Alice

Three good book choices for readers

Experts in Community Health and Law to Lead Migration Issues Panel Discussion

Summary of Presentation by Galveston Reads Author Luis Alberto Urrea

Movie Screening of “The Magnificent Seven” for Galveston Reads

GALVESTON READS TRIVIA CONTEST: WEEK 6

Book Discussion at The Mosquito Cafe (photos)

Photos of Professors' Panel and Summary of Discussion

GALVESTON READS TRIVIA CONTEST: WEEK 5

GALVESTON READS TRIVIA CONTEST: WEEK 4

GALVESTON READS TRIVIA CONTEST: WEEK 3

GALVESTON READS TRIVIA CONTEST: WEEK 2

Galveston Reads Trivia Contest

Journey to the Rosenberg Library

Journey Begins with Leadership Discussion!!

Rocket Boy Roy Lee Cooke In Person

Read On Galveston

VOTE FOR GALVESTON READS 2011

Top 3 Books for 2011 Galveston Reads Selection

Austin Rocket Club Launches on the Seawall

Straight from Mod Coffee House

Austin Rocket Club Launches First Galveston Reads Event

Galveston Bookshop Hosts Second Discussion

Blasting off with Rocket Boys in 2010

Kick off 2010

Programs 2010 Rocket Boys

January 2010 Book Discussions

Rocket Boys Display in September

Meetings: Tuesday, September 15th

Rocket Boys and Girls (GReads crew and spouses) in July 4th Parade 2009

Meetings Moved to TUESDAY August 11

Galveston Reads Commitees 2010

July Meetings

Galveston Reads Launches a New Season

Rocket Boys Wins Selection for 2010

Thank You, All~

Last Program in 2009~

THE SUCCESSFULLY RESILIENT CHILD

Lifestories II: A Journaling workshop with The Glass Castle

Vote for next Galveston Reads book for 2010

Final Three Books For 2010

Readers Choose Short List for 2010

Glass Castle Discussion at Mosquito Café

GALVESTON READS TO SPONSOR BOOK DISCUSSION

Movie and Discussion at Galveston College

Galveston Reads Rebounds in 2009

2009 Glass Castle Program, Movies and Discussions

GALVESTON READS TO SHOW MOVIE ‘SURFWISE’

GALVESTON READS ANNOUNCES FIRST PROGRAM FOR 2009

Galveston Reads Unveils Glass Castle Display

Book Nomination Email~

Glass Castle selected for 2009~

Webcast with Ernest J. Gaines

Book Nomination Email~

Gaines Interview on Pelican Island

Short List for 2009!

Gaines interview on Pelican Island, TAMUG~

3 professors, movie and the play

1st Discussion at Mosquito Cafe~

Play tickets for LBDying

A lesson in reading between the lines

Daily News Coverage in December!

Galveston County Reads Events Schedule Announced

Galveston County Reads Book Discussions Set

December Meeting on Monday

November meetings and training session

October Meeting Monday

Discussion Leader Training Workshop Set