ONE HUMP OR TWO?

GET ON BOARD WITH THEBOOKJEANIE

Camels shuttle books to remote nomadic tribes throughout Mongolia thanks to the Mongolian Children's Mobile Library, a project initiated by author Jambyn Dashdondog.  Author of 108 books, Dashdondog aims to provide reading opportunities to children in rural areas who have little or no access to books.  In 2006 he won the reading promotion award from the International Board on Books for Young People (IBBY) for his "lasting contribution to promote reading among children." Dashdondog is featured in Margriet Ruurs book My Librarian is a Camel: How Books are Brought to Children Around the World.

Just spent the day at this wonderful book festival in Tucson, Arizona.  It was a bright sunny day and thousands of locals and visitors from around the country came out to enjoy this special weekend on the campus of the University of Arizona.  For two days authors gave presentations, writers provided workshops, musical groups performed, local booksellers set up bookshops, book characters delighted children - and much more, all totally free except for the delicious food offered by some of my favorite Tucson eateries.

CHECKING OUT THE AUTHORS

Lisa Genova made a return visit to the Tucson Festival of Books this year.  After hearing her speak two years ago, I ran out and bought her two books Still Alice and Left Neglected and was incredibly impressed to find that this bright articulate Harvard neuroscientist wrote as beautifully as she spoke.  Still Alice, although rejected by numerous publishers and initially self-published before becoming a best seller, remains the only novel endorsed by the National Alzheimers Association.  Alice, a renowned linguistics professor at Harvard, tells the story of her enviable life as a researcher, wife and mother until repeated disorientating episodes and memory lapses lead her to a neurologist and eventually a diagnosis of early-onset Alzheimer's disease. Genova explores this terrifying condition from the inside out, from the point of view of a woman experiencing and reflecting upon the rapid degeneration of her cognitive abilities. We become closely connected to Alice, her frustrations, her fears, and her shifting relationships with her family and colleagues. This poignant novel is not only the compelling story of an intelligent woman with a devastating illness but it is also a documentation of the progression of a frightening neurological condition and the important factors that can help make a difference in the    life of the Alzheimer patient.  I can't recommend this book more highly.

Chitra Banerjee Divakaruni spoke on a panel of authors discussing finding solace in fiction. Although I have heard of this author and her books, I have never read one of her many acclaimed novels. Divakaruni was born in India and came to the United States as a graduate student.  Her novels are set in India and the United States and often focus on the clash between the centuries-old Indian traditions and the encroachment of the new and ever-changing influences of Western culture and technology. Listening to Divakaruni speak so eloquently about the struggle of young Indian women to honor the past but become a part of the future, I was struck by her insight and compassion.  Her most celebrated novels include Sisters of My Heart and The Mistress of Spices - both of these go to the top of my reading list. 

Although I reviewed this first novel several weeks ago, I must mention it again as I was fortunate to hear the author, Karen Walker Thompson, speak today at the Book Festival.  Walker confesses that she is drawn to stories of catastrophe and believes for herself, fear of deadly disasters fuels her creativity. The Age of Miracles was inspired by a brief article that she read shortly after the devastating earthquake and tsunami in the Indian Ocean in 2004.  According to scientists, that event has caused the earth's rotation to slow a second each day.  She mulled over that fact and created the story of an ordinary young girl and how she had to deal with the challenges and trials all pre-adolescents must face against the backdrop of a major catastrophe when the earth rapidly begins to slow its rotation.  The ordinary elements and routines in life becomes incredibly special to Julia and Thompson feels that fiction can help us all to appreciate the ordinary beauty in own lives.  Pick up this extraordinary novel if you haven't already. 

THANKS FOR JOINING ME THIS WEEK. . .

KEEP READING!