10/02/07

Greetings, Readers!

October is upon us at last! I hope that this latest missive finds you all well as we move into the colder, drearier part of the year. Fortunately for you, even though the weather is starting to take a turn for the soggy, we have plenty of exciting things to do that will keep you nice and warm.

This weekend, Readers, we will be hosting Renee E. Davis, author of "When a Voice No Longer Speaks", a handbook for caregivers, friends, and families going through the journey of Alzheimer's and dementia. She will be speaking and signing copies of her book. If you would like to learn more about her, her work, or the people she works with, please stop on by and see her! The event will be at BookPeople Saturday, October 6th from 11am - 1pm.

BookPeople is currently selling tickets for: The Iraq War Film Series, Prairie Flyer, God of Hell, and Ensemble Amacord. The University of Idaho Women's Center is starting an Article Reading club. If you are interested in what the club has to offer, contact zbriceno@uidaho.edu for more information.

Be sure to check out the 2007 edition of the Best American Essays, which features local University of Idaho writing professor Daniel Orozco! His story, "Shakers", is just one of the many excellent works in the collection.

The Moscow Mentors program is in need of volunteers! Especially male mentors; there is a long waiting list of young boys. The commitment is only an hour a week, too! That's not very much time at all, I think. If you are interested, visit the web site: http://www.sd281.k12.id.us/sdfs/mentors. The Moscow Mentor Program strengthens our community by promoting nurturing friendships between youth and responsible caring adults. Mentors provide guidance and support as these youth pursue personal, family, and academic dreams. Sounds good to me, Readers! So go sign up, and help make a difference!

Come learn traditional Scottish and Irish dancing every Wednesday evening, from 5:30 to 6:30 at the 1912 center! the Border Highlanders Dance Group is open to all, no experience is required! Just make sure to wear comfortable, flexible shoes and come prepared for fun!

We have begun selling tickets for Sam Shepard's God of Hell, as performed by Sirius Idaho Theatre. Sirius Idaho Theatre is one of the finest theatrical companies the world has ever known, will be performing the play. We will keep you apprised of dates and times as they receive them, but know this: The play is wickedly clever, and Sirius Idaho Theatre is an outstanding organization, and together we have the makings of a must-see play. So clear your calendars, you won't want to miss this! Here's the dates and times of the shows: 7:30 at the Kenworthy Performing Arts Centre in downtown Moscow on October 5, 6 & 7. And, as a bonus, Kenworthy Film Society pass holders can buy tickets for the usual movie price at the door for the October 7th showing!

Curious about Graphic Novels? I bet you are! Well we've got just the thing for you! The illustrious Dr. Walter Hesford of the University of Idaho English Department will be hosting a discussion of Jewish Themes in Graphic Novels. The events will be on the second floor of the University of Idaho library. All sessions are free and open to the public, and everyone is encouraged to attend. The events and books are as follows: Thursday, October 18th, 7pm: Julius Knipl, Real Estate Photographer, by Ben Katchor Thursday, November 8th, 7pm: The Quitter, by Harvy Pekar Thursday, November 29th, 7pm: The Rabbi's Cat by Joann Sfar Again, everyone is welcome and encouraged to attend, and if you'd like to read the books, we will have them at BookPeople shortly! For more information, contact Ben at 885-5858.

Shark Girls! On Wednesday, October 3rd, at 7:30pm, Jaimee Wriston Colbert, author of "Shark Girls", will read at the University of Idaho Teaching and Learning Center, room 040.

Thursday, October 4th, 5:00pm - Beth Whitman, author of "Wanderlust and Lipstick", will read at the University of Idaho Women's Center. The Northwest Native American Basketweaver's Association will be having their 13th annual gathering this October! On October 6th, the event is open to the public from 11:00am to 4:30 pm! It will be held at the Clearwater River Casino Resort and Events Center. For more information, you can email info.nnaba@yahoo.com.

The Iraq War Film Series is coming in October! BookPeople will, of course, be selling tickets to this excellent event. A ticket to an individual showing is $5, or for $20, you can get a Sponsor Pass, which gets you in to all three showings! The dates and films are as follows: Gunner Palace - (86 min.) October 10th at 7pm Iraq In Fragments - (105 min.) October 11th and 12th at 7pm , and 13th and 14th at 4:45pm and 7pm. No End In Sight - (145 min.) October 17th at 7pm All showings will be at the Kenworthy, located at 508 S. Main St, Moscow, ID.

Thursday, October 11th, 7:30pm - Jonathan Johnson, author of "Hannah on the Mountain" will read at the WSU Museum of Art.

It's a jungle out there, Readers! So do your part to help the Latah County Youth Advocacy Council keep our kids safe! They're having a Benefit Dinner, Auction, and Dance! As far as ways you can help make the world a better place, this sounds like a pretty fun one! The event takes place October 13th, 2007, from 6:30 to 11:00pm. It will be at the University Inn, in the Silver and Gold rooms (which are really nice, I should add; only the best for the benefactors of the youth!). The price, for four-and-a-half hours of fun? A mere $30 per person! Live music will be provided by Beargrass and Bare Wires. For more information or to purchase tickets, please contact: Gail Silkwood or Andrea Schumaker, ph# 208-882-2268, or email lcyac@latah.id.us.

The Common Ministry at Washington State University presents the 30th Annual Roger Williams Symposium. Dr. Rita Nakashima Brock will be giving lectures on Paradise and Empire, Paradise and Holy War, and an Ethics of Beauty (three separate lectures, mind you!) dinner, a light breakfast, and lunch are also provided as part of the enrollment. If you would like to register, or to find out more, then visit www.wsu.edu/~common . The event will be on October 14th and 15th, 2007

Friday, October 19th, 7:00pm: The Kenworthy Performing Arts Centre presents Prairie Flyer, a kickin' good Bluegrass band! BookPeople will be selling tickets to the event. To learn more about them (and to check out their song samples!) go to www.prarieflyer.com.

Tuesday, October 23rd, 7:30pm - the next installment of the Auditorium Chamber Music Series hits the stage. Ensemble Amarcord will play at the University of Idaho Auditorium. Ensemble Amarcord is continental Europe's finest male "a capella" quintet, and they have been delighting listeners for over 15 years, so don't miss this chance to check them out! We are selling tickets for the show, of course, so come on by!

Thursday, October 25th, 7:00pm - Mary Matsuda Gruenewald, author of "Looking Like the Enemy", will read at BookPeople.

Saturday, October 27th - Paul Brians, professor of English at WSU and author of "Common Errors in English Usage" (an excellent book (and calendar), which I enjoy immensely), will give an informal how-to lecture, geared towards teaching new authors how to take their work from the web to the printed page. I erroneously referred to this as the prelude to an upcoming book, which is not the case - sorry Paul!

How in the heck do you act Shakespeare? Find out from the Mirror Theater, now offering Beginners, Intermediate, and Advanced Master classes. Beginners classes start on Monday, October 29th, with Intermediate and Advanced classes starting in 2008. For more information about the theater, visit their website at www.MirrorTheater.org or email them at Inquiry@MirrorTheater.org

The University of Idaho and Washington State University are both hosting some (very) distinguished visiting writers this fall semester! The University of Idaho will host Patricia Hampl on November 14th and Ann Pancake in March of next year. The readings will all be at 7:30pm, on their respective days, in the University of Idaho Law Building Courtroom. BookPeople will, of course, be present at all three events with plenty of books for sale, and we will also have their books for sale in the store before the events.

Washington State University will be hosting Jonathan Johnson on October 11th and Peter Chilson on November 8th. Both readings will be at the WSU Museum of Art, at 7:00pm. We might not make it to Pullman for those, but you can be darn sure we'll have their books out here! So come pick one up, read it, and go show your support for the author by getting it signed! There's nothing authors love more than to know that someone has enjoyed their books. The Mirror Theater presents Shakespeare Sundays! You, the audience, will do the acting for these performances. Come sign in at 1:15 for the part you're dying to play. No preference is given for race, gender, or age, and scripts are provided! If you're musically inclined, then come accompany the acts on your instrument of choice! The schedule: Romeo and Juliet: October 14th and 28th The Merchant of Venice: December 2nd and 16th Henry the Fourth, Part I: January 13th and 27th Hamlet: February 10th, 24th and March 16th The Tempest: May 4th and 18th. A two-dollar contribution is required to participate. The plays will be based on the Oxford Shakespeare, second edition, but as noted above, scripts will be provided! For more information, visit www.MirrorTheater.org !

 Bob had this to say about Banned Book Week: "Banned Book Week 2007 started off with a bang, as the Federal Bureau of Prisons purged prison chaplain libraries of hundreds of books of all faiths. Many of these texts had been in the libraries for decades. The Bureau wanted to make sure that no literature promoting religious violence accidentally made it on to the shelves, but when faced with the enormous list of titles (numbering in the tens of thousands), it decided instead to make a list of approved books. In one prison, this reduced the section of the chaplain's library devoted to Islam to a Koran and a handful of compilations of the sayings of Mohammed. If you're interested in knowing which books were banned, both the new York Times and Sojourner Magazine list the books by religion on their respective websites. (A link, for your convenience: http://www.nytimes.com/2007/09/21/us/21prison.html?th&emc=th ) The American Booksellers Foundation for Free Expression organizes "Banned Book Week" to call attention to efforts to suppress or limit people's reading choices, and to make governmental bodies recognize the first-amendment rights of all Americans." Check out the ABFFE on the web at http://www.abffe.com/

Finally, Readers, we have a new feature! The Series of the Week! Every week, Bookperson Stacey will select a young adult series that she thinks everyone should read, and I will tell you about it! This week's selection is the ever-popular Sisterhood of the Travelling Pants, a great feel-good coming-of-age novel about the amazing pants that help four close friends feel emotionally together, even as they grow physically apart. We've got it in stock, so come on by and check it out!

Phew, that was quite a lot to get through, wasn't it? Fortunately, you've got a whole week ahead of you to recover. Until next time, I wish you all the best!

--BookPeople of Moscow

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