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 A Five Part Series from TTBOOK! |
LIBRARIES
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Program 08-09-28-A |
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America was once a nation of readers, but now experts warn that reading is in decline as our cultural life moves online. In this hour of To the Best of Our Knowledge, an hour in praise and defense of the book. Ursula Le Guin takes book publishers to task and a beloved children's book editor recalls happy days with Danny the Dinosaur and Little Bear.
SEGMENT 1:
Maryanne Wolfe directs the Center for Reading and Language Research at Tufts University and is the author of "Proust and the Squid: The Story and Science of the Reading Brain." She talks with Anne Strainchamps about the science of reading and why there's some reason to worry about the state of reading in our culture. Also, celebrated science fiction and fantasy author Ursula Le Guin tells Steve Paulson that she believes books will always endure. Her thoughts on reading appeared in an essay in Harper's Magazine called "Notes on the Alleged Decline in Reading."
SEGMENT 2:
Geraldine Brooks has written a novel which creates a fictional history for a real book – the remarkable rare, illuminated Jewish manuscript known as the Sarajevo Haggadah. Brooks tells Jim Fleming about the real book and the novel she created, which is called "People of the Book." Also, writer and critic Alberto Manguel has assembled a personal library of some thirty thousand volumes which he houses in an old converted stone barn in a village in France. Manguel talks with Anne Strainchamps about his library and other libraries and librarians he has known. Manguel's books on reading include "A Reading Diary," "A History of Reading," and most recently "The Library at Night."
SEGMENT 3:
Susan Hirschmann is a legendary children's book editor and founder of Greenwillow Books. She talks with Steve Paulson about some of the famous children's book authors she worked with including Jack Prelutsky and Kevin Henkes.
CD copies are available at 1-800-747-7444. Ask for program number 08-09-28-A.
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Books & CDs:
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Geraldine Brooks, People of the Book (Penguin) |
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Ursula K. Le Guin, Lavinia (Harcourt) |
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| Alberto Manguel, Library at Night (Yale) | |
Music:
- Jimmy Durante, “(I’ll Never Forget) The Day I Read a Book.”
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Jasmon, “Dimdanana” – on Putumayo’s CD, “World Lounge”
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Matt Haimovitz, playing Bach’s “Suite II in D Minor” – from Haimovitz’ collection of Bach suites for solo cello
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Jonathan Rundman, “Librarian”, on his CD, “Public Library”
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Elvis Costello, “Every Day I Write the Book”
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Distribution dates: |
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