Winter 2008 Newsletter
In this issue:
Library Cat or Town Hero? - Kids' Review: Kickoff! - IndieBound Wish Lists - Enter to Win a Kit Doll - Holiday Gift Guide - Author Interview: Anna Maria Horner
by Mary Phy
I never have been very pet-oriented. Having a pet in our home has not been something I was ever very excited about. Cats, well, they just seemed to be arrogant, self-centered, snobbish little creatures. Most of my adult life I have felt this way… and then I met Dewey. I first saw him on a book cover, looking back at me with those huge, golden-brown eyes and fluffy orange fur and I was hooked. I had to read this book!
Dewey was a scrawny, dirty, kitten found in the book return box of the Spencer, Iowa public library one freezing January morning. It didn’t take longer than the twenty minutes the library staff spent cleaning Dewey up and getting him warm, for Vicki Myron, the library director, to decide that perhaps they could keep him at the library as part of her ongoing plan to make the library more friendly and appealing…or maybe she had just fallen in love.
This was 1988 and the farm crisis was at its height. Spencer was in the middle of Iowa farm country and the patrons of the library were affected by the downward turn of the economy. Dewey was there to greet them as they arrived, plop down in an unsuspecting lap, or be there as a handful of fur when someone reached for a book and got a cat! As each library patron formed a relationship with the little ball of fur, business at the library began to pick up. The library became a more integral part of the town. So, Vicki, after lobbying the city for years for a new facility, was finally granted an agreement of support from the city powers that be for a new library.
Dewey continued to be a hit with everyone. He attended meetings held in the conference room and lightened the mood when they would get too intense. School children and senior citizens thrived with Dewey’s attention. He became so well known that people traveled to Spencer from the world over to visit him. A film crew from Japan even came to video tape Dewey’s daily activities.
My husband and I were planning a trip west in September and I realized that Dewey would be going on sale while we were gone. Then I realized that we could possibly go through Spencer on our way to Montana if we liked! I could go to the library! Hmm…. Wonder if there will be a book signing? I called the library and, sure enough, Vicki Myron would be signing books at the library! Great! So, off we went to Spencer with Dewey books in hand.
Spencer is a thriving Midwestern town with friendly people in the middle of corn country. I was excited to see Dewey’s home and meet his “mom” Vicki and see the town of Spencer that I had come to love. Everyone at the signing was excited as well. They knew Dewey, too, and this was their story as well. I eavesdropped their animated conversations about Dewey and how this was something so special for their small town.
Vicki spoke about how the book came to be and the process of writing it. She told of the upcoming book tour and interviews to come at the time of the book’s release. She didn’t talk about Dewey, the cat, but Dewey the book. Everyone there, except my husband and I, had known Dewey. She didn’t need to explain anything about him or how she was affected by him entering her life on that cold morning. They all knew that. They lived it for 19 years. They didn’t seem particularly excited to see Vicki since she lives in Spencer and they see her all of the time. This book signing was different than others I have attended because the author was no celebrity to those in attendance! She was just the one who told their story.
You can find more pictures from Mary's trip to Spencer here.
by Colton, age 8
Tiki and Ronde Barber are identical twin brothers starting the 7th grade. They are trying out for the Hidden Valley Eagles football team. Tiki and Ronde make the team and are 3rd stringers, which means they sit on the bench for most of the game waiting for their chance to play. Tiki and Ronde finally get their chance to play and show what they learned in football practice. Tiki and Ronde also go to meetings with their mom who is trying to prevent a factory from being built in their neighborhood that would pollute the air and cause health problems and threaten the football team from playing.
Kickoff! is the best book I have ever read! I recommend this book to any kid that likes football.
Tiki Barber went on to play for the New York Giants. Ronde Barber played for the Tampa Bay Buccaneers. They have also written together By My Brother’s Side, Game Day, Teammates, and Go Long.
Itching to tell your friends and family what books you’d love to find under the Christmas tree? Why not make your wish list at IndieBound.org?
IndieBound is a network of independent bookstores that celebrates the joys of reading and shopping locally. In the spirit of the Dickson County Chamber of Commerce’s Be Local campaign, an IndieBound wish list is a great way to spread the word about books you’d love and encourage your friends and family to shop locally and support Dickson County.
Just go to IndieBound.org and join the movement! Once you’re a member, you can befriend other book lovers and get to work on your list of coveted titles. Even better, if you become a fan of Reading Rock Books, or any of the other indie stores on the site, your wish list will include a list of all your favorite stores. You can become a fan of Reading Rock Books by going to our profile here.
If you have any questions about IndieBound or making an IndieBound wish list, call us at (615) 326-0401 or email us at info@thereadingrock.com.
Come to Reading Rock Books for a chance to win an American Girl Doll! On Saturday, December 20, we will have a drawing and one lucky winner will get to take Kit home!
Kit Kittredge is a ten-year-old girl growing up in the 1930’s, at the height of the Great Depression. She is a resourceful and spirited aspiring writer, learning hard lessons about money, humility, and life. Still, her stories are hopeful and Kit is full of cheer, even in hard times.
The winner of the Reading Rock Books drawing will receive the Kit doll; her accessories, which include a hat and purse; a doll stand; and a paperback copy of Meet Kit, the first of six books in the Kit series. The retail value of this prize is $121. Entry forms will be available at Reading Rock Books from Nov. 21 through Dec. 20 at 3PM, when the drawing will take place.
No purchase is necessary to enter and a purchase will not increase your chance of winning. If entrant is under 18, the signature of a parent or legal guardian is required.
Kit’s stories are timely for girls growing up in our country’s current financial distress. They speak to fears of shaky situations and how to be cheerful, resourceful, and helpful. The doll is 18 inches tall, with moveable arms, legs, and head of vinyl on a cloth body.
 The Tales of Beedle the Bard |
 Moon Landing |
 The Gingerbread Architect |
 Seams to Me |
 Rachel Ray’s Big Orange Book |
 Martha Stewart’s Cooking School |
 
American Prince by Tony Curtis |
 The Intellectual Devotional: Modern Culture |
 Love Your Life |
Author Highlight: Anna Maria Horner
Anna Maria Horner designs textiles in bright colors and bold prints. Her designs, projects and blog are hugely popular with crafters. Her first book, Seams to Me, was released in October. For more information on Anna Maria Horner, check out her blog, annamariahorner.blogspot.com.
RRB: There seems to be a growing interest in sewing and crafting in teens and twenty-somethings--from craft blogs to alternative craft fairs to eco or green crafting. Why do you think that is?
AMH: I'm hardly a pop culture expert, but, I think in some ways this started years ago, during the ballooning of the information age. The world seems such a smaller place than it did. We are more informed, more interested, and more connected about how and where goods are made, and we've since developed very personal ideas about the ramifications of buying store-bought. I also think after 9/11 everyone started turning homeward. In entertaining, in remodeling, in all forms of DIY, everything turned towards the home and towards appreciation of what we have. I also think it's generational. Today's younger generations don't see wealth as the answer to success as much as they see happiness as the answer to success. Hand making goods celebrates life's smaller pleasures instead of just purchasing them. Creating things with your own hands requires a slower pace and is a break from the technological world and the faster pace that we are all caught in.
RRB: Who (or what) are your design influences and role models?
AMH: I'm inspired by painters like Frida Kahlo, Georgia O'Keefe, Henri Matisse. I love the clothing designs of Anna Sui, Balenciaga, Prada. My role models have always been both of my grandmothers. One was in Greece and one in Indiana, but both on farms, and both answered most family needs with hard work and creativity.
RRB: What surprises did you find in the publishing world? How much did Seams to Me evolve or change? What was your overall impression of the process?
AMH: Seams To Me came about only after my publisher had asked me to write for a different title. The first title was a more comprehensive and less visual guide to sewing but with a friendly, easy-going angle. This was a title that had already been formatted and developed and was the part of a series of how-to craft books. However, after completing half that book the publisher decided that they liked my writing and projects so much that they wanted me to write a book that was more of my own making. Something that was much more visual and much more to do with design. I therefore was granted a huge amount of freedom with the structure and the look of the book. It was very exciting but also very overwhleming. I think what surprised me most about the process was that I was able to harnass all the ideas and images in my head into a cohesive set of projects, and make it work. It was such an involved thing to write a book, and also to take on all the photography myself. More than a year of work, but so gratifying when I see people enjoying it.
RRB: What's your favorite book? Favorite author?
AMH: I don't get to read much, but I really loved the book The Glass Castle by Jeanette Walls. Its a really moving memoir about her highly unusual upbringing. I love true stories told in very honest ways. Especially when the main character is able to come out stronger and smarter despite hardship. Don't we all love those?