| | Published September 1st, 2010
| Lamorinda Reads Cutting for Stone
| | By Lou Fancher | | |
Lamorinda's Three Communities, One Book program, also known as Lamorinda Reads, weighs in this fall with Abraham Verghese's beefy novel, Cutting for Stone. Praised for its sensitivity and power, the novel tells the story of a young man, a missing father, a country in turmoil and mostly, a lifetime in medicine.
Verghese, a tenured professor in the Theory and Practice of Medicine at Stanford's School of Medicine and Senior Associate Chair of the Department of Internal Medicine, is also the author of two non-fiction books, My Own Country, and The Tennis Partner. His writing has appeared in the The New Yorker, The Atlantic, The New York Times, The Wall Street Journal and elsewhere. A respected speaker and lecturer on the subject of bedside medicine, Verghese frequently explores the question, "What does it really mean to touch the patient?" His novel has been praised for its poetic, detailed descriptions of surgical procedures and noted for the author's compassionate connection to his characters.
Lamorinda Reads typically schedules a single month for its book selection. The book selection is made by the library managers, with advice from staff. Paperback editions, the availability of the author for a guest appearance, and the book's appeal to both men and women are given high priority.
"We considered this book such a wonderful opportunity that we decided to extend the program to two months," says Caroline Gick, Senior Community Library Manager at the Orinda Library. The three libraries will have 750 books on hand. "I fully expect 1,500 people to check out the book. I think this will be a rather large year," says Gick. Verghese will participate in an author talk and signing on October 26th.
With a community book discussion scheduled in Moraga on October 20th, Gick emphasizes the spontaneous aspect of Lamorinda Reads. "We've heard anecdotally that people meet and talk about the book on a casual basis," Gick says, recalling a personal book-sharing experience in a local park. "It's a book-club-on-the-streets kind of thing," she says.
Cutting for Stone will be available at all Lamorinda libraries beginning Tuesday, September 7th. A series of programs leading up to the author's visit will be presented throughout the month of October.
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Cutting for Stone will be available at all Lamorinda libraries beginning Tuesday, September 7th.
- Ethiopian Cooking Demonstration by Selome Haileleoul of Cafe
Colucci, Oakland
Thursday, October 14th, 1:00 p.m. Lafayette Library & Learning
Center, Community Hall
- "Cutting for Stone" Book Discussion led by County Librarian,
Anne Cain
Wednesday, October 20th, 2:00 p.m. Moraga Library
- Bharatanatyam Dance Performance by The Kalanjali Dance
School
Wednesday, October 20th, 7:00 p.m. Orinda Library
Lamorinda Reads culminates with An Evening with the Author, Abraham Verghese, on Tuesday, October 26th, 7:00 p.m. at the Veterans Memorial Building in Lafayette.
For more information on Lamorinda Reads, call the Lafayette Library at (925) 385-2280, the Moraga Library at (925) 376-6852 or the Orinda Library at (925) 254-2184 or visit http://guides.ccclib.org/onebook.
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Lamorinda Weekly, Moraga CA