First of the One Book 2011 special programs is announced!
Our special programming is falling into place for this year’s One Book – One Lincoln themes. Here’s our first confirmed event:
Ethiopian Cuisine
Sunday, October 30th, 2011 – 2:00 p.m. Walt Branch Library 6701 S. 14th St.
Experience the taste of Ethiopia!
Roy Ruei of Lincoln’s African Restaurant will share the flavors and culture of his home country, Ethiopia, the setting for much of the 2011 One Book – One Lincoln selection, Cutting for Stone.
Come learn about the ingredients, spices and traditions of Ethiopian food and enjoy samples of injera bread, meat, and vegetarian dishes!
Cutting for Stone discussed on City Focus episode
Lincoln librarians Layne, Lisa and Scott joined Diane Gonzales for an episode of City Focus on 5 City TV, to discuss Cutting for Stone. That episode is now airing on various days/times on the local Time Warner Cable, but it is also available as a YouTube clip, viewable here on the One Book One Lincoln blog:
And the official 2011 selection is…
Cutting for Stone, by Abraham Verghese.
Thank you to all of the readers, book groups and other interested parties for your continuing support of One Book – One Lincoln! We are pleased to let you know which of the three finalists you, the readers of Lincoln, voted to be the selected title for this, our tenth year of this community reading project.
You can visit the 2011 One Book – One Lincoln web page on the libraries’ web site, for information about the book and author, and a preliminary list of discussion opportunities. Special events and programming are still being finalized and will be announced via the One Book e-mail list and Facebook, as well as the libraries’ web site.
Thanks, and good reading!
Scott C. / One Book – One Lincoln organizing committee
Only ten days left to vote on the 2011 One Book – One Lincoln selection!
Today is July 21st, which means you’ve only got ten more days to cast your vote for the 2011 One Book – One Lincoln selection!
You can find all the information about the three 2011 finalists, as well as the voting form, on this year’s Finalists Page.
Please share your opinions about this year’s books and help us to select the book around which special programs and events will be built this fall!
Yes! I Have Read the One Book One Lincoln Finalists
A good time was had by all on the dock of The Mill in the Haymarket Monday morning when the three finalists for One Book One Lincoln 2011 were announced. Yes, I’ve read them all.
And thanks to the fine people at the Mill who hosted this event as a benefit for the Foundation for Lincoln City Libraries, one of my favorite organizations, after all.
I’d written about “Zeitoun” by Dave Eggers earlier. It’s nonfiction, about a Syrian immigrant to New Orleans, a man who decides to stay in the city through Katrina. I confess–I really liked this book when I read it, and I’ve recommended it to a variety of people who also enjoyed it. And regular readers of this blog know that I am on a campaign for America to Read More Nonfiction. So “Zeitoun” was a natural for me.
I finished “Cutting for Stone” by Abraham Verghese on Sunday May 29, sitting in the car during a rainy spell while we were camping at Victoria Springs up by Anselmo, Nebraska. And…I liked this one, too. A novel, not that we’ll hold that against it. Told by a man named Marion, who looks back on a life in Ethiopia, one of twins born to an Indian nun who dies during childbirth, fathered by a white doctor of British Indian background who abandons them. Marion and his brother, Shiva, are raised by loving adoptive parents and become medical men themselves. Swirling about this story are the dangerous politics of Africa, the impact of grinding poverty, betrayal by a woman he loves, success in medicine, and always, being a twin. I’m afraid that many general readers will be put off by some fairly graphic medical procedures, but I also think that the novel holds rewards that overcome those difficult scenes.
And two weeks ago, I enjoyed a Passionate Reader Jackpot–starting and finishing “The History of Love” by Nicole Krauss all in one weekend. A little like “People of the Book” by Geraldine Brooks which was a One Book One Lincoln selection in recent years, this novel is about a book. The story’s a little complicated, on the one hand about a Jewish man who escaped from Europe during the World War II era, ending up in New York. On the other hand, there’s a girl whose father has died, whose mother has found meaning in a book called “The History of Love.” That girl, Alma, goes in search of the book’s author. Eventually the stories intertwine. There are some absolutely lovely aspects to this book, in the ways that Krauss uses small gestures to show big things, and in her constant return to the power of hope.
So…read them! And tell me what you think. And be sure to vote for your favorite before voting ends on July 31.
Our special programming is falling into place for this year’s One Book – One Lincoln themes. Here’s our first confirmed event:
Experience the taste of Ethiopia!