Being Heard:

A Community Forum on Equal Justice

Tonight, Feb. 21 from 5:00-7:00pm there will be a forum on Community Justice held at Boney Courthouse. Join Justice Robert Eastaugh of the Alaska Supreme Court and members of the Supreme Court’s Advisory Committee on Fairness and Access for a community conversation on “Fairness & Access in Alaska’s Courts: Ensuring Equal Treatment for People of All Races & Ethnicities.” The library will have a representative attending to talk about the Big Read and hand out readers’ guides and library information. We would love for you to attend!

 For more information please contact Susanne DiPietro at sdipietro@courts.state.ak.us or 907-264-0785.

Boney Courthouse is located at 303 K Street.

Reaching Out

Collaboration among Anchorage Public Library, Sisters in Crime and the Iditarod Race Committee has led to an amazing first for the Iditarod. Children at 14 checkpoints along the Iditarod Trail will receive new books from Jane Blaile, this year’s Teacher on the Trail.

The Iditarod checkpoint book distribution is an outgrowth of this year’s Big Read project, a one-book community read directed by Anchorage Public Library all over the state. The book APL selected is “To Kill a Mockingbird” by Harper Lee, which focuses on justice, compassion and integrity.

“The original Iditarod was an incredible feat of courage and compassion by a series of mushers,” said Karen Keller, APL Director. “It ties right into our themes. When we talked about partners for this Big Read we really wanted to find a way to incorporate the Last Great Race.”

After a lot of discussion and some serendipitous organization, the Big Read on the Iditarod Trail project came together. Sisters in Crime, excited to be a part of a youth book distribution project contributed $1,500 to purchase books. A list of books for young readers with similar themes to “To Kill a Mockingbird” was created and library staff shopped in book stores all over Anchorage to fill the book bags. The bags were packed in boxes, labeled and picked up by Iditarod volunteers. The Iditarod Air Force dropped the boxes off at Nikolai, McGrath, Takotna, White Mountain, Ruby, Galena, Nulato, Nome, Kaltag, Unalakleet, Shaktoolik, Koyuk, Elim and Golovin.

“It’s so exciting to think of a child somewhere along the Iditarod Trail being inspired by one of the great books that were sent out,” Keller said. “It never could have happened without that great can-do attitude Alaskans have. We dreamed it and then it was real.”

The Big Read project led by APL runs through the end of April. Dozens of book club kits are being distributed to librarians and other interested parties throughout the state. The Big Read is an initiative of the National Endowment for the Arts designed to restore reading to the center of American culture. The Big Read brings together partners across the country to encourage reading for pleasure and enlightenment. The Big Read in the Pacific Northwest is supported, in part, by a grant from the Paul G. Allen Family Foundation. For more information about The Big Read in Alaska, go to www.anchoragelibrary.org.

Booklovers Quiz Show

“Settings for $100″ “First lines for $50.” You know what we’re playing, so play along!

That’s right ladies and gents, it’s time for the Booklover’s Quiz Show! Come out Tuesday the 19th from 12-1pm and test your knowledge. Think you’re the biggest bookworm in Anchorage? Prove it! Meet up with fellow bibliophiles and put yourself to the test.  Want to submit question or catagory ideas? You can do that here.

The event will be at Loussac Library in the Wilda Marston Theater on Level 1. This is part of the “Booklovers Gone Wild!” series presented by the Alaska Center for the Book and hosted by Anchorage Public Library.

We will have a table outside of the theater will all sorts of Big Read information as well. We would love to see you, so take some time Tuesday afternoon and come have some fun!

Weekend Plans

There are several fun events coming up this weekend. The first takes place tonight (see previous post) at the museum.  Since it’s a long weekend for many of us thanks to President’s Day, Monday’s activities are also included in this post.

Saturday, the 16th, there is a book discussion being held at the Loussac Library. This is part of a group that meets each third Saturday of the month. If you’re interested in getting more information about the book club call 562-READ. They will meet at 3pm at the Loussac in the Ann Stevens Room on Level 3. Please join in!

Monday evening brings the literature enthusiasts to A Novel View, local used book store and occasional dinner hosts, for an Interactive Novel Dinner. These dinner’s are one of the many great reasons to go explore A Novel View. Unlike a book discussion, the Interactive Novel Dinner allows participants to assume traits of characters or relate to events from the book. Participants are unaware of their role until they sit down to the dinner table. The informal event allows a lighthearted learning experience. This one will be focused on “To Kill a Mockingbird.”

Reservations are required and tickets must be purchased in advance. The dinner will take place Monday, Feb. 18, at 6:30pm. As of this post there were a few tickets left. For more information visit A Novel View’s website, here, and for reservations and tickets give them a call at (907)-278-0084.

A Novel View is located downtown at 335 E Street.

What are you doing Friday night?

Nothing? Not any more! Tomorrow night, Feb. 15, the Anchorage Museum at Rasmuson Center is presenting “Our Story, Our Rhythm, Our Song.” The event starts at 7pm and will be held in the auditorium. Enjoy the richness of African-American culture with the whole family as local artists gather to present a verbal & visual feast honoring the African-American experience. The performance will feature spoken word artists, singers, and dancers.  There will be a reception following the event and a Big Read table next to the auditorium. The event is free and would be a wonderful way to start off your weekend!

Hairspray

One of the partnerships the library has for the Big Read this year is with the musical, Hairspray. Because of the way the musical deals with issues of racism and discrimination in the early 60s, we thought this would be a perfect pairing! The musical will run from Thursday, Feb. 14 through Tuesday, Feb. 19 in the Atwood Concert Hall. This show is appropriate for adults and children 13 and older. The Big Read and the library will have an informational table on the Orchestra Level for all performances so come talk to us!

What’s Hairspray all about? In Hairspray it’s 1962 – the ’50s are out and change is in the air. Baltimore’s Tracy Turnblad, a big girl with big hair and an even bigger heart, has only one passion–to dance. But can a trendsetter in dance and fashion vanquish the program’s reigning princess, win the heart of heartthrob Link Larkin, and integrate a television show without denting her ‘do?

 Tickets are still available as of this posting and can be purchased online here.

Getting started

Just began re-reading TKM.  I bought the beautiful hard-cover 35th anniversary edition but it sat on my bookshelf.    This book is so blended with the movie version–it’s hard not to read anything Atticus Finch says and not get a mental picture of Gregory Peck.

If you liked To Kill a Mockingbird…

If you’d like to read works by authors admired by Harper Lee, you might enjoy:
Jane Austen’s Mansfield Park (1814)

Truman Capote’s The Grass Harp (1951)
Mark Twain’s The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn (1885)

If you’d like to read other books set in the South, you might enjoy:
Olive Ann Burns’ Cold Sassy Tree (1984)
Zora Neale Hurston’s Their Eyes Were Watching God (1937)

Carson McCullers’ The Heart is a Lonely Hunter (1940)

If you’d like to read other coming-of-age novels, you might enjoy:
Louisa May Alcott’s Little Women (1868)
John Knowles’ A Separate Peace (1959)

Hello Anchorage! Let’s read a book!

Welcome to The Big Read. Copies of To Kill a Mockingbird can be found at Anchorage Public Library.

Please visit the Discussion Pages to discuss various aspects of To Kill a Mockingbird with other members of the community.