Houston: Nationally-recognized book author Rachel Simon will be giving presentations at the Houston Public Library's 6th Annual Books on the Bayou: Houston Reads Together Program. Her book, Riding the Bus With My Sister is this year's featured adult book. The community is invited to attend all events with Rachel. Events are free and open the public.
The community is invited to the following presentations:
Riding the Bus With My Sister is about 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.
Rachel Simon 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.
Books on the Bayou: Houston Reads Together is a Houston Public Library program designed to bring 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 is being held through October 28, 2006. A Resource Guide of author presentations and group book discussions is available at your neighborhood libraries. The Houston Public Library, the City of Houston, Metro, and the Houston Chronicle are the primary sponsors of this initiative. This program is free and open to the public.
Children, teens, and adults are invited to participate in the reading program and book discussions focusing on the four selected titles: Riding the Bus With My Sister by Rachel Simon, for adults; Tangerine by Edward Bloor, for teens; So B. It by Sarah Weeks, for middle school children; and Leo the Late Bloomer by Robert Kraus, for children. These selected books titles all have a common theme: families with special needs.
Dr. Rhea Brown Lawson, director of libraries said, "This year's Books on the Bayou theme is families with special needs and the challenges they confront. Often we encounter families and/or individuals with special needs and have no idea what issues they have to deal with. Our hope is this year's reading will broaden understanding about and stimulate discussions with our friends and neighbors with special needs. We are grateful for the support of the City of Houston and our partners, the Houston Chronicle and METRO for their generous contributions to this citywide salute to literacy and reading!"
For more information, please call the Houston Public Library at 832.393.1313 or visit www.houstonlibrary.org.