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Sunday, September 30, 2012

2012 Banned Books Week Proclamation

WHEREAS, the freedom to read is essential to our democracy, and reading is among our greatest freedoms; and

WHEREAS, privacy is essential to the exercise of that freedom, and the right to privacy is the right to open inquiry without having the subject of one's interest examined or scrutinized by others; and

WHEREAS, the freedom to read is protected by our Constitution; and

WHEREAS some individuals, groups, and public authorities work to remove or limit access to reading materials, to censor content in schools, to label "controversial" views, to distribute lists of "objectionable" books or authors, and to purge libraries of materials reflecting the diversity of society; and

WHEREAS, both governmental intimidation and the fear of censorship cause authors who seek to avoid controversy to practice self-censorship, thus limiting our access to new ideas; and

WHEREAS, every silencing of a heresy, every enforcement of an orthodoxy, diminishes the toughness and resilience of American society and leaves it less able to deal with controversy and difference; and

WHEREAS, Americans still favor free enterprise in ideas and expression, and can be trusted to exercise critical judgment, to recognize propaganda and misinformation, and to make their own decisions about what they read and believe, and to exercise the responsibilities that accompany this freedom; and

WHEREAS, intellectual freedom is essential to the preservation of a free society and a creative culture; and

WHEREAS, conformity limits the range and variety of inquiry and expression on which our democracy and our culture depend; and

WHEREAS, the American Library Association's Banned Books Week: Celebrating the Freedom to Read is observed during the last week of September each year as a reminder to Americans not to take their precious freedom for granted; and

WHEREAS, Banned Books Week celebrates the freedom to choose or the freedom to express one's opinion even if that opinion might be considered unorthodox or unpopular and stresses the importance of ensuring the availability of those unorthodox or unpopular viewpoints to all who wish to read them; now, therefore, be it

RESOLVED, that MAD Hoydenish celebrates the American Library Association's Banned Books Week, September 30 - October 6, 2012, and be it further

RESOLVED, that MAD Hoydenish encourages all libraries and bookstores to acquire and make available materials representative of all the people in our society; and be it further

RESOLVED, that MAD Hoydenish encourages free people to read freely, now and forever.



Adopted by MAD Hoydenish 
September 30, 2012
Out in the Yard, USA
 
 
 

Don't forget! "Call the Midwife" Premieres Tonight on PBS [Preview]

 
Don't forget! Set your alarm clock, Tivo, DVR!
Tell a friend!




 
For more information on Call the Midwife, adapted for television from the best-selling memoirs of the late Jennifer Worth, visit PBS.

Let me know what you think of it.
 

Friday, September 28, 2012

‘The Chaperone,’ by Laura Moriarty to be Optioned


The Chaperone is "a captivating novel about the woman who chaperoned an irreverent Louise Brooks to New York City in 1922, and the summer that would change them both." - Penguin.com
 
 


I listened to the audio version of The Chaperone, narrated by Elizabeth McGovern (RagtimeMasterpiece Classic: Downton Abbey) during my weekly walks. McGovern does a great job. I highly recommend it!


During an interview on CBS This Morning | Saturday [video above], Laura Moriarty revealed that Elizabeth McGovern has decided to option the film rights to The Chaperone. How exciting!

We may see a movie version in a few years. Who would you cast in the main roles for the movie?

DON'T FORGET TO: 

Thursday, September 27, 2012

THE CHAPERONE Giveaway

"The New York Times bestseller and the USA Today #1 Hot Fiction Pick for the summer, The Chaperone is a captivating novel about the woman who chaperoned an irreverent Louise Brooks to New York City in 1922 and the summer that would change them both." - Penguin.com
 
 



I won a free hardcover copy of The Chaperone by Laura Moriarty in a Twitter giveaway from Penguin Books. However, I decided to get the audiobook when I found that Elizabeth McGovern (Ragtime, Masterpiece Classic: Downton Abbey) was the narrator. So rather than let the hardcover sit on my shelf, I am giving it away using Rafflecopter.

Giveaway Deets

There is one (1) hardcover copy of The Chaperone by Laura Moriarty available.
  • Use the Rafflecopter form below to enter
  • Open to United States addresses only
  • Giveaway ends October 19, 2012

a Rafflecopter giveaway


Here's the description from the hardcover:

"In 1922, only a few years before she will become a famous silent-film star and an icon of her generation, a fifteen-year-old Louise Brooks leaves Wichita, Kansas, to study with the prestigious Denishawn School of Dancing in New York. Much to her annoyance, she is accompanied by a thirty-six-year-old chaperone. Cora Carlisle is neither mother nor friend, just a respectable neighbor whom Louise's parents have hired for propiety's sake. But upstandinding, tradional Cora has her own private reasons for making the trip."


"Of course Cora has no idea what she’s in for: young Louise, already stunningly beautiful and sporting her famous black bob, is known for her arrogance and her lack of respect for convention, and her keen inteligence. By the time their train pulls into Grand Central, Cora fears that supervising Louise will be at best exhausting and, at worst, impossible. Ultimately, the five weeks they spend together will be the most important of her life forever.

For Cora, New York holds the promise of discovery that might answer the question at the center of her being, and even as she does her best to watch over Louise in this strange and bustling place she embarks on  her own  mission. And while what she finds isn’t what she anticipated, she is liberated in a way she could not have imagined. Over the course of  the summer, Cora’s eyes are opened to the promise of the twentieth century and a new understanding of the possibilities for being fully alive."


Dig into the novel's details on Penguin.com:
  • Read an Excerpt
  • Author Interview
  • Notes on the Text
  • Reading Group Guide


  • Check out my pin collage inspired by the book.

    Wednesday, September 26, 2012

    The Anatomy of a Rafflecopter Giveaway [Infographic]

    I have a few books that I would like to give away.
    I am going give Rafflecopter a try.
    Do you like the service?

    The Anatomy of a Rafflecopter Giveaway - Infographic


    Courtesy of: Rafflecopter

    Tuesday, September 25, 2012

    CALL THE MIDWIFE -- Coming to PBS beginning Sept. 30 | Preview

    I still haven't managed to get my hands on a copy of Call the Midwife. Yet that's not gonna stop me from checking out the United States premiere of the BBC television adaptation of Jennifer Worth's novels - the midwife trilogy (Call the MidwifeShadows of the Workhouse, and Farewell to the East End) and In the Midst of Life.


    The "new"series premieres on PBS on Sunday, September 30, at 9 pm (ET). Starring Jessica Raine, Pam Ferris, and Vanessa Redgrave (narrating as main character, the mature Jenny Lee), Call the Midwife follows a group of midwives based in East London in the 1950s.

    Let me know what you think of it.

     
     
    Call the Midwife: Season One (DVD) will be released on 11/06/2012 (you can pre-order now via Amazon).
     
     
    View more on the book, Call the Midwife.
    View more on the series.

    Monday, September 24, 2012

    Q&A with Sheryl WuDunn on Goodreads on October 1, 2012


    Huzzah! I joined the Goodreads Featured Group: Ask Sheryl WuDunn - October 1, 2012 and entered to win a signed copy.
     
    Have you?

    "Join [Goodreads] on Monday, October 1, 2012 for a special discussion with the author of Half the Sky: Turning Oppression into Opportunity for Women Worldwide, and now a PBS special! Sheryl will be discussing her work, including her most recent book Half the Sky: Turning Oppression into Opportunity for Women Worldwide!"

    • Follow Sheryl WuDunn on Twitter: @WuDunn
    • Follow Goodreads on Twitter: @goodreads
    • Follow the Half the Sky Movement on Twitter: @Half





    Goodreads Book Giveaway For Half the Sky: "Enter to win a copy of Half the Sky, signed by Urmi Basu, an agent-of-change featured in the Half the Sky documentary!"

    Sunday, September 23, 2012

    Check Out "Hostage" (film) on Hulu.

    
    Hostage, based on the book Hostage by Robert Crais, is available for free viewing via Hulu for a limited time. Adapted for film by Doug Richardson and directed by Florent-Emilio Siri, Hostage starred Bruce Willis as Jeff Talley, a former SWAT negotiator. Check it out for free while you can!




    (click the triangle-in-circle button to play the movie from this page)

    HOSTAGE (film)

    Actors: Bruce Willis, Kevin Pollak, Serena Scott Thomas, Jimmy Bennett
    Rated: R
    Run Time: 113 minutes
    Studio: Lionsgate Miramax
    Release Date: (USA)
    Adapted From: Hostage: A Novel, Robert Crais


    FROM ROBERTCRAIS.COM: HOSTAGE

    "Jeff Talley was a good husband, a fine father, and a front line negotiator with LAPD's SWAT unit. But the high-stress, unforgiving job took an irreparable toll on his psyche. Unable to talk down a despondent father before he murders his wife and son and takes his own life, Talley plummets into a downward spiral. His marriage ends, he resigns from SWAT, and he struggles to escape from his former life by taking the chief-of-police job in a sleepy, affluent bedroom community far from the chaos and crime of Los Angeles."


    Do you Hulu? Check me out and send me a friend invite.

    Saturday, September 22, 2012

    HOSTAGE (2005) - Movie Trailer

    Earlier this week, I noticed that Hulu has a new movie category called films based on books.  The image of a salty Mr. Willis called to me from the list. So I have decided to start with Hostage.




    Hostage is a 2005 movie thriller starring Bruce Willis and directed by Florent-Emilio Siri. The film is based on Hostage: A Novel by Robert Crais (adapted for film by Doug Richardson).



    Although I am almost positive that I must have seen the movie when it came out, I cannot remember it. [Is that a bad sign?] So I am considering it "new to me."

    I picked up the book today. Have you read it?

    Thursday, September 20, 2012

    The Book Depository Competitions: James Bond Reloaded


    Skyfall, the next Bond movie, is set to hit cinemas this November. Get ready with The Book Depository's James Bond Reloaded competition. Enter for a chance to win 1 of 3 collections of 12 unabridged classic Bond stories (competition ends October 8, 2012). Click the banner for complete details.





    Wednesday, September 19, 2012

    Do you Hulu? Check out films based on a book.

    I have been poking around on Hulu - checking out the new layout. I like some of the new features, others not so much. Hulu has a new movie category called films based on books

    It's small right now, but hopefully Hulu will continue to add to the listings. In the meantime, I am all over the free ones.

    Do you Hulu? Check me out and send me a friend invite.