Award-winning journalist and talk show host Anne Holliday interviews some of the most popular authors of the day, including Mary Higgins Clark, Joseph Finder, C.J. Box, Jeffery Deaver, Delia Ephron, Liane Moriarty, Linda Fairstein, Lisa Gardner, Steve Berry, David Baldacci, Gregory Maguire, and many more.
Wednesday, September 16, 2015
Opening Chapter of One Book Bradford Season
Set for Saturday
The One Book Bradford season is right on track with its first event.
The Community Book Review will be held at 10:30 a.m. Saturday in the Community Room at the Bradford Area Public Library.
Gannon, a member of the OBB committee, will lead the discussion on this year's selection, "Orphan Train" by Christine Baker Kline.
"This is a remarkable book about a time in American history that not too many people know about," said Sandy Rhodes, a member of the OBB committee. "The lives of these children and the experiences they endured should not be forgotten."
The book is a historical novel which tells the story of an orphaned girl who was put on an "orphan train" with many other homeless children. They traveled westward to join new families, but also many were chosen to provide labor for farmers in the Midwest.
"Although this literary journey starts in the 1920s, it is very intriguing how the author ties in the trials and tribulations of orphans then with present-day people and events," Rhodes said.
Gannon will show footage from the PBS "American Experience" and talk about how Americans are faring today with the plight of homeless and parentless children.
Saturday's event is free and open to the public.
OBB is a community-wide reading initiative where one book is selected each season. There are events which promote the themes of the book and the season ends with a visit to Bradford by the author.
Kline will be in Bradford in November. Her visit is funded by the University of Pittsburgh at Bradford's Spectrum Arts Series and freshman seminar.
“Orphan Train” spent more than 90 weeks on The New York Times bestseller list, including five weeks at No. 1, and has been chosen as a common reader by more than 50 communities and colleges.
The next OBB event will be A Place at the Table luncheon on Oct. 17 at Pitt-Bradford.
Tickets for the luncheon will go on sale at Saturday's event and will be available at the BAPL. The cost of the luncheon is $15.
In addition to lunch, presentations will be made by members of Bradford Little Theatre and an employee of Beacon Light Behavioral Health Systems.
BLT members will read letters from children who rode the orphan trains.
Thursday, August 27, 2015
The Nightingale
By Kristin Hannah
Vianne hopes to be as normal as possible while raising her daughter and waiting for her husband to return from the war. That hope is dashed when a Nazi soldier moves into her home.
Isabelle wants to do something -- anything -- to contribute to the war effort. She offers to drive an ambulance, roll bandages ... anything. She ends up being one of the bravest people -- man or woman -- in Occupied France and contributing to the effort in ways she's couldn't have imagined when it started.
Even Vianne ends up doing things she never imagined -- heroic, brave, necessary.
When I interviewed Kristin Hannah she said she wanted to not only show that women played an important part in the war, but to make readers feel what they felt.
She succeeded.
You can hear my interview with Kristin Hannah at WESB.com/on-demand.
Friday, August 14, 2015
Pulitzer Prize Winner Speaks at Chautauqua
As for my review of the book ...
All books are meant to be read. Some are meant to be savored. "All the Light We Cannot See" is one of those rare books that I didn't want to rush through, although I loved the main characters and wanted to find out what happened to them. I wanted to enjoy every phrase, every metaphor, every brilliant description. This book is a masterpiece in the way it's written and researched, and also for putting the reader directly into the action, whether it be in occupied France, a German orphan's home, a museum in Paris or a training school for Hitler Youth.
Wednesday, June 24, 2015
Book Review
Finders Keepers by Stephen King
The last time a fan got so disturbingly attached to a favorite author was in Stephen King’s “Misery.” King has done it again – but in a different way – with “Finder’s Keepers.”
Morris Bellamy is obsessed with his favorite author, yes, but he’s even more obsessed with “Jimmy Gold,” the character the author created and, in Morris’ opinion, ruined in the last book in a trilogy. When Morris finds out where the author lives, he kills him and grabs the thousands of dollars he had hidden in his house – as well as dozens and dozens of notebooks in which he’s been doing his only writing since the last Jimmy Gold book.
https://twitter.com/AnneSBU
Morris knows he can’t sell the notebooks – including a new Jimmy Gold story! – right away so, after a series of events that become extremely important later in the story, he buries the notebooks and money under a tree trunk near his childhood home. Shortly after that, he’s sent to prison for an unrelated crime.
Enter Pete Saubers, the boy who lives with his parents and little sister in Bellamy’s old house. He also finds the money and notebooks and does something rather altruistic with the money, although it helps him as well. But when the money runs out, he decides to try to sell the notebooks.
Shortly after that he crosses paths with Bellamy – who has been released from prison after 30-some years and is furious to discover the money and notebooks are gone.
The scenes where Bellamy is trying to find out who has the notebooks, and then when he does find out, are some of the most intense I’ve ever read – by King or anyone. It’s pulse-pounding action, for sure. The final Bellamy/Pete scene is one of the eeriest King has ever written.
Add to all of this Hodges, Holly and Jerome from “Mr. Mercedes, who have no idea what they’re getting into when Pete’s little sister asks for help because her brother is acting strange.
Hodges is also obsessed with “Mr. Mercedes” – aka Brady Hartsfield – who is catatonic in a nursing home after the incident when he tried to blow up a building holding a rock conert.
Or is he catatonic? Hodges doesn’t think so.
In short, another winner from Stephen King.
Tuesday, June 23, 2015
Tiny Little Thing
By Beatriz Williams
Imagine Jackie Kennedy before she married Jack. Pretty, sophisticated with her own interests and career goals. Then she gets caught up in the Kennedy mystique and gives up everything to live the Camelot dream. Add some dirty little secrets, a wild sister and a brief but intense affair with a cousin.
You bet it is. Replace Jackie with Tiny Schuyler Hardcastle and you've got "Tiny Little Thing," the latest must-read-this-summer novel by Beatriz Williams. Not that this is a veiled biography of Jackie Kennedy. This just gives you an idea of the era, and the kind of people who are in the book.
https://twitter.com/AnneSBU
Sound like delicious fun?
Williams makes you root for Tiny as she comes into her own and realizes she may not want to be part of the Hardcastle dream after all. The chapters go back and forth from 1964 (pre-marriage) to "present day" 1966, when Tiny's husband Frank is running for Congress.
We were briefly introduced to Tiny in last summer's "The Secret Life of Violent Grant," which center on Tiny's sister Vivian. But you don't have to read that to follow this one (although I highly recommend TSLVG because it's so good).
I'm hoping Williams keeps the Schuyler Sisters alive with at least one more book. But, if we're lucky, she'll give us several more
You can hear my interview with Beatriz Williams here.
Monday, June 22, 2015
Book Review
All Good Deeds
I had a million-and-one things to do on Saturday, but I only got one done: Start Stacy Green’s “All Good Deeds.”
https://twitter.com/AnneSBU
The story is nothing less than gripping. “Lucy Kendall” grabbed me on the first page and never let go. She still hasn’t because I’m so anxious to read the next two books in the series.
Lucy is a private investigator, and former Child Protective Services worker, who is frustrated because repeat child sex offenders keep getting out of jail. So, she decides to bring them to justice herself.
As she is about to exact her brand of justice on one of the slime balls, he disappears. But then self-proclaimed sociopath Chris Hale enters the picture, tells Lucy he admires her, and wants to learn from her.
The next day, a little girl goes missing and Lucy thinks one of her former clients – who, as a 10-year-old, got sent to jail for raping and murdering a young girl – is behind it. She enlists the help of the “sociopath” as the trail leads to intriguing and surprising destinations.
Add to the mix that the detective assigned to the missing girl case is the brother of Lucy’s former CPS client. She’s worried he is going to cover things up so his brother doesn’t get sent back to prison.
This is a page-turner if there ever was one. When you pick up “All Good Deeds,” make sure you don’t have anything else planned for the rest of the day.
Saturday, June 20, 2015
Book Review
2 a.m. at the Cat's Pajama's
I wanted to like this book a lot more than I did.
https://twitter.com/AnneSBU
I did like two of the main characters -- 9-year-old Madeline, an aspiring jazz singer, and her teacher Sarina. One of the problems with the book is that there wasn't enough of them, and there was too much about the large cast of supporting characters, most of whom I could not have cared less about. Even Sarina, though, confused me a little. If a guy treated me the way Ben treated her at the prom, I wouldn't give him the time of day, let alone swoon over him 15 years later (or however long it was. I can't even remember.)
Sometimes the writing was beautiful and awe-inspiring. Other times, the odd turns of phrase and overuse of adjectives was just annoying.
All I will say for the ending is that it was unsatisfying and I don't think it did justice to any of the characters.
As I said, I wanted to like this book a lot more than I did. I'm glad I read it but it won't be one I'll loo< at in a couple of years and say, "Oh, I loved that book."
Friday, June 19, 2015
All Bonaventure Reads Selection ‘Just Mercy’
Explores Themes of Justice, Redemption
St. Bonaventure has chosen the nonfiction book “Just Mercy” by Bryan Stevenson as its common read for 2015-2016. This All Bonaventure Reads selection explores the inequity embedded in the U.S. criminal justice system.
“Just Mercy: A Story of Justice and Redemption” was released in October and focuses mainly on the work of the Equal Justice Initiative in Montgomery, Ala., a legal practice Stevenson founded as a young lawyer that is dedicated to defending those most desperate and in need.
https://twitter.com/AnneSBU
“Each year, All Bonaventure Reads committee members search for selections guided by descriptors such as ‘engaging,’ ‘contemporary,’ and ‘thought provoking.’ We nailed all three with ABR 2015’s ‘Just Mercy’ selection,” said Jean Trevarton Ehman, chair of the ABR Committee.
“We at St. Bonaventure University pride ourselves in fostering thinking forums in which each student’s opinion is valued; ‘Just Mercy’s’ emotional narrative is ripe with thought-provoking topics. This memoir probes historical and current biases and injustices that cross curricula, and we hope our ‘Just Mercy’ programming engages our freshmen in life-long soul searching based on Franciscan values,” Ehman said.
One of Stevenson’s first cases was that of Walter McMillian, a young man who was sentenced to die for a notorious murder he insisted he didn’t commit. It transformed the lawyer’s understanding of mercy and justice forever and illustrates numerous ongoing challenges in work advocating for social justice.
Chris Brown, director of the university’s First-Year Experience program, said “Just Mercy” is a timely selection for the campus at large, especially given the ongoing national conversation about race and criminal justice.
“Tensions involving race have been in the forefront of the national media, and the importance of racial justice extends into the day-to-day lives of our student body. We have taken steps in the Bonaventure community to address injustices, and we want to make sure our students are exposed to the need for continued action on the local and national level,” Brown said.
First-year students will receive copies of “Just Mercy” during orientation in July and are asked to read the book prior to the start of the fall semester. Students are engaged in conversations about the book’s themes in their University 101 course and various campuswide events during the upcoming academic year. In addition to the ABR committee and FYE office, numerous academic departments and the Student Affairs Division are already planning opportunities to unpack the themes of this book.
“I am excited to partner with my colleagues across campus to engage the entire Bonaventure community in the All Bonaventure Reads program. We look forward in the fall to announcing a series of events that will address the important topics of racism and equality in the criminal justice system and in society at large,” added Brown.
Stevenson has won relief for dozens of condemned prisoners, argued five times before the Supreme Court, and won national acclaim for his work challenging bias against the poor and people of color. He has received numerous awards, including the MacArthur Foundation “Genius” Grant. In addition to serving as executive director of the Equal Justice Initiative, he is a professor of law at New York University School of Law.
“Just Mercy” has won praise from notable authors including John Grisham and Tracy Kidder.
“Bryan Stevenson … is doing God’s work fighting for the poor, the oppressed, the voiceless, the vulnerable, the outcast, and those with no hope,” said Grisham.
Learn more about the book and the Equal Justice Initiative at bryanstevenson.com.
Campus programming will be announced at www.sbu.edu/ABR as events are confirmed.
Thursday, June 18, 2015
Wish List ...
Since I started this job I have interviewed so many of my favorite authors, and spoken with so many authors I didn't even know, but who are now my favorites. While the list of new favorites is growing, the list of old favorites to whom I have not spoken is dwindling.
https://twitter.com/AnneSBU
Three I would love to interview are (in no particular order):
Mary Higgins Clark
Stephen King
James Patterson
Next week, I get to take one of those people off the list. I'm almost too excited to read the book. Which leads me to a problem. Yesterday I finished the latest book by one of the above-listed authors. I was planning to review it today, but if I do that I'll partially ruin the surprise.
Stay tuned ...
Wednesday, June 17, 2015
Close Your Eyes, Hold Hands
By Chris Bohjalian
I don't think it would be possible for me to like this book more than I do.
A reactor at a nuclear power plant in Vermont has exploded, killing Bill and Mira Shepherd, leaving their teenage daughter Emily an orphan. What's worse is that the townspeople -- and eventually everyone else -- are blaming Bill for the catastrophe. It doesn't take long for Emily to decide she can't let people know who she is because she would be a pariah-by-association. She becomes a street kid, with everything you would imagine that entails.
https://twitter.com/AnneSBU
At one point she meets a 9-year-old homeless boy and becomes somewhat of a surrogate mother to him.
The rest of the story deals with how Emily decides to get on with her life, and I don't want to give any of that away.
I should also add that this book is so compelling that I read it in one day.
You can listen to my talk with Chris Bohjalian here.
Tuesday, June 16, 2015
Under Fire
By Grant Blackwood
A Tom Clancy/Jack Ryan Jr. Novel
Remember when Russia was "The Bad Guy" and we could all feel secure in the fact that we just had to worry about them and that was about it? Grant Blackwood takes us back to those days of Russia being the bad guy in "Under Fire."
Or are they the bad guys?
You'll have a fun time trying to figure out the good guys from the bad guys in this latest installment of the Jack Ryan Jr. series. Even Jack isn't sure if he should trust one of his oldest and dearest friends.
One of the most interesting parts of the book deals with how social media plays an important role in political uprisings.
Simply fascinating.
You can hear my chat with Grant Blackwood here.
Monday, June 15, 2015
The Fixer
By Joseph Finder
Let's just say it involves lots of money that appears mysteriously; a son who learns more than he thought he ever would about his father, who can't speak to him; and some extra-thuggy bad guys.
"The Fixer" is a page-turner if there ever was one.
You can listen to my interview with Joseph Finder here.
Friday, May 22, 2015
'Orphan Train' Author Coming to Bradford
The University of Pittsburgh at Bradford and One Book Bradford are teaming up to bring “Orphan Train” author Christina Baker Kline to Bradford this fall.
Kline will visit Pitt-Bradford at 7:30 p.m. Nov. 5, when she will give a talk that will be open to the public in the Bromeley Family Theater of Blaisdell Hall. Her best-selling novel “Orphan Train” will be used as a common reader in freshman seminar and creative writing classes on campus.
“Orphan Train” has spent more than 90 weeks on The New York Times bestseller list, including five weeks at No. 1, and has been chosen as a common reader by more than 50 communities and colleges.
https://twitter.com/AnneSBU
Community members are encouraged to read the book and attend as well. One Book Bradford is a collaborative venture under the auspices of the Bradford Area Public Library that annually chooses a book for the community to read together. Its annual events culminate with a visit to Bradford from the author.
Pat Shinaberger, chairwoman of One Book Bradford, said, “Our committee is very excited to join Pitt-Bradford in bringing an author of Kline’s caliber to Bradford. We are hopeful this is just the beginning of something great between our two groups.”
“Orphan Train” deals with orphaned, abandoned or homeless children who were sent from the East Coast to the rural Midwest to be raised by foster families between 1854 and 1929. Irish immigrant Vivian Daly is one of those children, and many years later, young Penobscot Indian Molly Ayer stumbles upon her story.
Moving between contemporary Maine and Depression-era Minnesota, “Orphan Train” has been described as “a powerful tale of upheaval and resilience, second chances, and unexpected friendship.”
Dr. Nancy McCabe, director of the writing program at Pitt-Bradford and author of two books on the adoption of her daughter from China, said that what first made her want to bring Kline to Bradford is that “Orphan Train” is “a good read and very engaging.”
She was also intrigued by the historical tie-in of the orphan trains and, from a writer’s perspective, the shifting points of view in the story between Vivian, the Depression-era orphan, and Molly, a modern foster child who meets Vivian as part of a community service project.
Those who are interested in the orphan trains and orphanages of the early 20th century will also have a chance to view the PBS series American Experience’s documentary on the orphan trains on Oct. 19. Details of the showing will be announced later this summer.
One Book Bradford will also hold a community discussion of the book on Sept. 19 and is planning a talk on the history of orphanages in the Bradford area.
Funding for Kline’s visit will be provided by the Pitt-Bradford Spectrum Arts Series and freshman seminar.
For more information on Kline or the book, visit www.christinabakerkline.com, which provides book group discussion guides and historical background on orphan trains, including the itinerary for Vivian Daly’s train, which traveled through Buffalo, N.Y., and Erie.
Copies of the book will be available for purchase at The Panther Shop at Pitt-Bradford after July 1.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)