The Houston Public Library, the City of Houston, Metro, and the Houston Chronicle invite all Houstonians to a Community Conversation with author Rachel Simon, and a book signing after the program. Rachel Simon is the author of the inspiring true story of Riding the Bus With My Sister. She is also known for her novel, The Magic Touch, for a collection of stories, Little Nightmares, Little Dreams, and for an inspirational book for writers, The Writer's Survival Guide. She teaches in the Creative Writing Program at Bryn Mawr College.
Riding the Bus With My Sister is based Rachel Simon's sister Beth, a spirited woman who has a developmental disability once known as "mental retardation." When the book opens, Beth is spending her days riding the buses in the city where she lives, creating powerful connections with the drivers and passenger. Rachel, a driven professor and writer, is struggling to come to terms with her own ambitions and loneliness - as well as her distant feelings toward her one-of-a-kind sister. One day, Beth invites Rachel to join her for a year on the buses. Rachel says yes, and so begins a journey that changes both sisters' lives. Riding the Bus With My Sister became a made-for-television movie with actress Rosie O'Donnell playing Beth.
The Houston Public Library's Sixth Annual Books on the Bayou: Houston Reads Together program brings the community and families together to read the same book at the same time. The goal of this citywide project is to cultivate a culture of reading in Houston by encouraging people to visit libraries, bookstores, community centers, homes, churches, and schools to discuss the book. The Books on the Bayou program will be held through October 28, 2006. A Resource Guide of author presentations and group book discussions is available at neighborhood libraries. The Houston Public Library, the City of Houston, Metro, and the Houston Chronicle are the primary sponsors of this initiative.
For more information, please call the Houston Public Library at 832.393.1313 or visit www.houstonlibrary.org.