Somerville Reads

Somerville Reads 2012

2012-02-10T11:27:00.010-05:00

The book for this year's Somerville Reads is Farm City, writer Novella Carpenter's engaging account of starting and running a farm on a vacant lot in Oakland. The book will be a starting point for a city-wide discussion of food: what we eat, why we eat and what should we eat? We'll talk about what it means to eat sustainably in an urban area in the Northeast.There will also be a strong

Our Second Somerville Reads....

2011-06-03T08:59:00.000-04:00

..is done. Thanks to everyone who participated. Now a question: what do you suggest for next year's Somerville Reads?

Somerville Reads Film: Hester Street

2011-05-26T14:43:00.005-04:00

Join us at the Central Library tonight at 7 for our last film for Somerville Reads, the 1975 drama Hester Street. Jake is a Russian Jewish immigrant living on the Lower East Side who is enthusiastically Americanizing himself. All in all, he's doing pretty well. He's got a job and a girlfriend. But then his wife Gitl arrives in America, bring with her their young son. Not only does Jake have to

The Love of Strangers

2011-05-24T14:26:00.005-04:00

One of my favorite passages in The Namesake poignantly illustrates the isolation of the members of the Ganguli family. They love each other, the parents want the children around as much as possible, but in so many ways they don't know each other. One November night Gogol takes the train back home from Yale to spend Thanksgiving with his father, Ashoke (his mother and sister have gone to India

Book Talk: Immigration, India and Women

2011-05-23T16:01:00.005-04:00

Join us this Wed. at 7 pm at the Central Library for a talk by award-winning Brandeis Professor Harleen Singh. She'll discuss the themes of immigration and women's roles in The Namesake and other novels of the Indian Diaspora. It's sure to be fascinating!

Book Discussion and screening of In America

2011-05-18T14:29:00.011-04:00

Tonight you have a choice of two Somerville Reads events in two different venues.At 7:00 p.m., Kevin O'Kelly will lead a discussion of The Namesake at Sherman Cafe (257 Washington Street.) Kevin is a librarian at the Somerville Public Library and a writer. His book reviews appear regularly in The Boston Globe.Also at 7:00, we'll be screening Jim Sheridan's In America at the Central Library.

What about the Women?

2011-05-16T13:23:00.002-04:00

As much as I love The Namesake, one of the aspects of the book that troubles me is the lack of development of certain female characters. Ashima and Moushumi are the only women whose heads we can get inside. But what about Maxine? It's the most serious relationship of Gogol's life so far. We learn a lot about how he feels about her, her parents, their entire world. What does she feel about him?

Their American Life

2011-05-13T15:08:00.011-04:00

One of the more poignant passages in The Namesake occurs in Chapter 3, which describes Ashima and Ashoke's adjustments to life in the college town just outside Boston where they live, and where they are raising their two children, Gogol and Sonia. It's a touching, beautiful evocation of the way immigrants become, to a degree, Americanized, yet retain much of their own culture, flavoring the

The Namesake at Porter Square Books!

2011-05-10T13:07:00.004-04:00

If you missed last week's meeting about The Namesake at SPL, there's another one at Porter Square Books this Wednesday, May 11. Author and retired English teacher Joan Sindell will lead a discussion of The Namesake beginning at 7 pm. Seating will be limited, and sometimes parking can be tight in Porter Square, so get there early.We hope to see you there....

Coverage of the Kick-Off

2011-05-06T14:29:00.002-04:00

Carrie Stanziola of The Somerville News wrote a great article on the first event of Somerville Reads 2011. Check it out.

How It Begins

2011-05-06T10:44:00.007-04:00

For my second commentary on a passage from The Namesake, I'm choosing the very start of the book. As I mulled over various parts of the novel, I kept coming back to the first pages, because they're a great example of Lahiri's skill at narrative, characterization, setting.On a sticky August evening [in 1968] two weeks before her due date, Ashima Ganguli stands in the kitchen of a Central Square

The Namesake: The Movie

2011-05-05T14:41:00.005-04:00

Join us tonight at the Main Library, 79 Highland Ave., at 6:30 for a screening of The Namesake, the 2006 screen adaptation of Jhumpa Lahiri's award-winning novel.Kal Penn (of House and the Harold and Kumar movies) plays the title role, Gogol Ganguli.The film appeared on several critics' lists of top films of the year, incuding the top ten lists of The Christian Science Monitor's Peter Rainer,

Join Us Tonight

2011-05-04T12:34:00.002-04:00

At 7 p.m. at the Central Library, Tufts English professor Neil Miller will lead a group discussion of The Namesake. Miller is the award-winning author of six books, including Sex-Crime Panic and Banned in Boston: The Watch and Ward Society's Crusade Against Books, Burlesque, and the Social Evil.The Namesake is a wonderful book that evokes strong reactions from readers, so it's sure to be a great

Like Anyone Else, Only More So

2011-04-29T15:06:00.002-04:00

From time to time during the next month I will be posting passages from The Namesake that illustrate what a wonderful book this is. In the fifth chapter, Gogol Ganguli, the thoroughly American son of the still very Bengali Ashima and Ashoke, is about to begin college. And for this new phase of his life he wants a new name. He's always hated being called "Gogol," and his father Ashoke has never

Just a Reminder

2011-04-29T15:05:00.000-04:00

Tomorrow is the kickoff event for this year's Somerville Reads. It starts at 2 pm at the East Branch (115 Broadway). We hope you can join us!

Somerville Reads Kickoff!

2011-04-25T12:22:00.005-04:00

Join us at the East Branch this Saturday at 2 p.m. for the start of Somerville Reads! From 2 to 5 you can listen to Bollywood music and enjoy a performance by the Somerville High School Nepali Dance Troupe. You'll also be able to get a henna tattoo custom-designed by local artist Manisha Trevedi (example at left) and contribute to an "immigration quilt" telling the stories of the people of

If...

2011-04-21T15:15:00.005-04:00

...you haven't started reading The Namesake yet, what are you waiting for? We still have plenty of copies at the library on a display rack in front of the reference desk. If you're hesitant, Michiko Kakutani's New York Times review should whet your appetite.

Somerville Reads 2011!

2011-04-11T09:31:00.006-04:00

This month Somerville will begin its second annual one city/one book campaign, a community read project in which people throughout the city will read and discuss the same book. This year's book is Jumpha Lahiri's The Namesake, a novel that follows the lives of two generations of a Bengali-American family as they struggle with the conflicting demands of two cultures. Our kickoff event is Saturday

Vote for Somerville Reads 2011

2010-06-23T12:00:00.000-04:00

Please help us decide our next book for Somerville Reads 2011. Please click on the below link and vote for your book choice. We hope to decide the next book by the fall and the program will launch in April of 2011.Thanks for your input!http://polldaddy.com/s/C61A07679A2F6F00

Somerville Reads Concludes

2010-04-30T11:24:00.003-04:00

Thank you to all who participated in and supported our first Somerville Reads program! We hope you will continue to read The Things They Carried and to explore other Vietnam-related materials; many choices are listed on the left-hand side of this blog. The blog will stay active, as a place for future Somerville Reads programs and a place for your voice and opinions to be heard. We hope to have

Stories Can Save Us

2010-04-27T09:37:00.002-04:00

Please enjoy Michael Downing's reflections upon The Things They Carried, which he shared with our discussion group on Saturday April 17.Stories Can Save Us: The Things They Carried by Tim O’Brien Michael Downing/michaeldowningbooks.com As a teacher, I find it hard to remember how I talked to students about the war in Vietnam before the publication

Reflections on the Vietnam War

2010-04-21T15:40:00.005-04:00

The Things We Carry

2010-04-20T18:49:00.019-04:00

Somerville Reads committee member Jodi had an interesting idea: why not get people to talk about the items they carry around? Sure, we're not in a war zone (although it can seem like it when you're in Boston rush-hour traffic), but we all have distinctive assortments of items we carry around for reasons that may range from the practical to the irrational. So, Jodi asked people to come by Sherman

Sherman Cafe Discussion Group

2010-04-20T18:46:00.002-04:00

SPL would like to thank everyone who came to Sherman Cafe last Thursday night to discuss The Things They Carried. We had a lively, thoughtful discussion.We would also like to thank Sherman Cafe and their staff for hosting the event.

Recap of Saturday's discussion group

2010-04-20T09:06:00.007-04:00

Saturday's book discussion group was a tremendous success. Thank you to all the special folks who joined us and shared your thoughts on The Things They Carried, Tim O'Brien, and the Vietnam War. We had a lot of different perspectives represented, from Veterans to war protesters, which made for a very meaningful discussion. A huge thank you to Michael Downing as well, our discussion moderator,

Pictures from Porter Square Books

2010-04-15T15:10:00.004-04:00

We are happy to report the discussion group at Porter Square Books was a great success! Many thanks to all who came out and to the bookstore for providing these pictures and supporting Somerville Reads.Margot Livesey led a great discussionNice to see folks chatting after the discussion

Discussion Group with Margot Livesey @ Porter Square Books

2010-04-12T14:33:00.002-04:00

We are pleased to have Margot Livesey moderate a discussion group for Somerville Reads. Livesey's novels include Eva Moves the Furniture, Banishing Verona, Homework, and The House on Fortune Street. Her fiction has appeared in the New Yorker and The Atlantic Monthly. Born in Scotland, she lives in Cambridge and teaches at Emerson College.The discussion group will take place at Porter Square

Vietnam War lecture pictures

2010-04-12T09:55:00.005-04:00

Many thanks to Harvard Professor Hue-Tam Ho Tai for an insightful lecture on the Vietnam War and experiences of the Vietnamese people during the conflict. Also, thanks to all who attended and helped make this a successful event.Here are some pictures from the evening.

Somerville Reads Is Underway

2010-04-01T14:06:00.010-04:00

Thanks to all who attended our first kickoff for Somerville Reads last Sunday at Arts at the Armory. We had about 100 people in attendance and were so happy to see a great variety of folks representing our great city of Somerville. Here are some pictures of the event, which was a huge success!The Band That Time ForgotThe dance floor...View from the balcony...

A Brief History of the Vietnam War

2010-03-30T10:06:00.003-04:00

We are pleased to host Harvard Professor Hue-Tam Ho Tai at the Central Library this Thursday, April 1 at 7:00 p.m., for a talk on the Vietnam War. She will discuss the experiences of Vietnamese on all sides of the conflict from a very unique perspective. The lecture will also be accompanied by a PowerPoint presentation. Hue-Tam Ho Tai is the Kenneth T. Young Professor of Sino-Vietnamese

New Novel on Vietnam War

2010-03-26T10:14:00.002-04:00

A new novel has just arrived that deserves a worthy mention. Matterhorn: A Novel of the Vietnam War, is Karl Marlantes' first novel. Thirty years in the making, this novel makes a grand entrance into the genre of Vietnam War fiction. To reserve a copy from the library, click here. BooklistDue to the efforts of such soldier-writers as James Webb and Tim O'Brien, the Vietnam novel has come of

A Conversation with Tim O'Brien

2010-03-24T15:33:00.003-04:00

On Wednesday, March 24, 2010, Tim O'Brien took part in a discussion with seniors at Washington D.C.'s Cardozo High School to commemorate the 20th anniversary of The Things They Carried. Iraq Veteran and author Nate Fick (One Bullet Away) moderated the conversation, and read additional questions submitted by students across the country. Over 300 schools broadcast the event live.An archived

Somerville Reads Kicks Off This Sunday!

2010-03-22T10:58:00.004-04:00

We are super excited about our kick off event this Sunday, March 28, at Arts at the Armory! The event will be from 4-8pm and there is a lot to look forward to: Vietnam war-era music by The Band That Time Forgot, free food, dancing, and socialzing with community friends. We hope you will spread the word and bring your family and friends with you as we celebrate Somerville Reads!Arts at the

Tim O'Brien in Harvard Square This Week

2010-03-22T10:10:00.002-04:00

Tim O'Brien will be speaking at the First Parish Church Meetinghouse this Thursday, March 25, at 7:00 pm. The event is hosted by the Harvard Book Store and tickets are $5.00.For more information, click here.

Additional Resources

2010-03-02T03:25:00.001-05:00

We hope you are interested in pursuing further resources inspired by The Things They Carried. Included below is a link to a pathfinder to get you started. There are numerous directions to go into with the subject of Vietnam, so keep in mind this is only a start. All resources listed on the pathfinder are available at the Central Somerville library and when listed, at the East and West branches

Event Schedule

2010-03-01T12:18:00.013-05:00

Here are the events we have planned so far. Stay tuned for updates!March 28, 2010, Arts at the Armory (191 Highland Ave), 4:00pm: Program Kick-off, including free food and festive war-era music by The Band That Time ForgotApril 1 - April 30, Central Library Auditorium: Somerville high school student art exhibit, in response to the themes of war, the Vietnam war, and The Things They CarriedApril

Somerville Reads Kickoff 3/28/10

2010-02-26T14:09:00.006-05:00

We hope you will join us for the first Somerville Reads kickoff event on Sunday March 28 at Arts at the Armory from 4-8pm. We are thrilled to have The Band That Time Forgot as our special guest, for an evening of Vietnam War era music and celebration. The event is free, refreshments will be provided, and all are welcome to attend. Tell your friends, bring your family, and come party with us!

Why you should read The Things They Carried

2010-02-23T12:43:00.025-05:00

There are so many reasons why Tim O'Brien's The Things They Carried is the perfect book for our first community reading program. If you are curious about why we chose this book or just curious what the buzz is about, here are some things to know about The Things They Carried:First published in 1990, The Things They Carried is regarded as the quintessential fictional work about the Vietnam War.

On the Same Page

2010-01-25T15:03:00.006-05:00

This spring Somerville is launching its first "one city, one book" campaign, a community read project in which people all over the City will read and discuss the same book. The book that has been selected is The Things They Carried by Tim O'Brien, a collection of related stories about a platoon of American soldiers in the Vietnam War. A variety of events and exhibits are being planned in venues