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Tolstoy and the Purple Chair: My Year of Magical Reading by Nina Sandovitch

Wed, 09/05/2012 - 00:00 | Beth Solka
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Tolstoy and the Purple Chair

Nina Sankovitch is an avid reader as is her whole family.  They have turned to books for generations for joy and comfort.  When her sister Ann-Marie dies from cancer, Nina goes into a depression until she decides to take steps to get her life back in order by giving up her job as a lawyer and reading a book a day for a year.  This memoir is the progression that she makes from grief to joy over the course of the year.  Tolstoy and the Purple Chair is so eloquent, so beautifully written that it has become one of my favorite books. Nina shares so much wisdom that it is the kind of book that you would like to keep to read over and over again.  There were many times that I wanted to stop reading long enough to yell out, “Yes, Nina!!  You are so wonderful!” 

Bluefish

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By Pat Schmatz

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Everything changes for thirteen-year-old Travis, a new student who is trying to hide his illiteracy, when he meets a sassy classmate with her own secrets and a remarkable teacher.  Available in eBook.

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Camel Bookmobile

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Masha Hamilton

"A fictional tale of an American librarian who leaves Brooklyn to work for a relief organization in Africa that sends books on the backs of camels to forgotten villages. Her intentions are entirely pure but, when the bookmobile causes a feud among the nomadic tribe it aims to help, she realizes her good deeds may come with a high price." (Book Description)

9780061173493
Adult

 

The Camel Bookmobile Official Website, http://www.mashahamilton.com/the_camel_bookmobile/

The Author

Masha Hamilton’s Official Website, http://www.mashahamilton.com/

Interview with Masha Hamilton, http://litminds.org/blog/2007/04/interview_with_masha_hamilton.html


Readers' Guides and Discussion Questions

http://www.harpercollins.com/author/authorExtra.aspx?isbn13=9780061173486&displayType=readingGuide

http://www.galesburglibrary.org/BookClub/CamelBookmobile.pdf

http://www.hachette.com.au/readinggroups/TheCamelBookmobile.html

http://www.litlovers.com/guide_camel_bookmobile.html

http://www.bookmovement.com/app/readingguide/view.php?readingGuideID=1702

 

Miles' Song

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By Alice McGill

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In 1851 in South Carolina, Miles, a twelve-year-old slave, is sent to a "breaking ground" to have his spirit broken but endures the experience by secretly taking reading lessons from another slave. J Fic Mcg
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E.S.O.L.: English for Speakers of Other Languages

Tue, 04/07/2009 - 13:29 | Virginia Johnson
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Immigrants to America come here with hopes and dreams for their futures. They are willing to work hard, but to succeed they need to become proficient in the language of their new country. For over a hundred years, libraries, churches, and other social institutions have been places where newly arrived immigrants could go to learn English. The tradition continues today with the help of adult education programs across the United States, some of which receive federal funding.