Friday, July 10, 2009

My Summer Reading with Kathleen Wilson, author of the new eco-fantasy "Rumer and Qix"

This week on our series My Summer Reading we have the pleasure to have with us Kathleen S. Wilson, the author of the new book 'Rumer & Qix: The Race to Terra Incognita'.

Kathleen consults with media companies on digital strategy and creative development and teaches in the Interactive Telecommunications Program at New York University’s Tisch School of the Arts. She is the author of a new book, “Rumer & Qix: The Race to Terra Incognita” – a futuristic, eco-fantasy adventure for tweens and all those who are forever tweens at heart. To learn more about “Rumer & Qix”, visit http://www.rumerandqix.com.

Kathleen is collaborating with Eco-Libris and for every sold copy of 'Rmuer & Qix' a new tree will be planted with us. Buyers of the new book will also receive our "One tree planted for this book" sticker.

Hi Kathleen, what are you reading now?
Right now I’m reading “The Earthsea Trilogy” by the incredibly imaginative and original Ursula Le Guin. I became intrigued when I read that one of my favorite animators, Hayao Miyazaki, a pre-eminent Japanese anime writer/director, once approached Le Guin to make a film based on her Earthsea series, was rejected at first, then later granted the rights.

Any recommendation on a good summer reading?
It’s great to have a range of options available in the summer depending on things like your mood, the weather, where you are and who you’re with.

Some of the summer reads I’ve enjoyed over the years are “World of Wonders” the last book in a trilogy by Canadian writer Robertson Davies, the science fiction classic, “Enders Game” by Orson Scott Card, Neal Stephenson’s eco-thriller “Zodiac,” “The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night,” a fascinating, first-person insight into Asperger’s Syndrome by Mark Haddon and, for readers of all ages, “The Lorax” by Dr. Seuss.

What you are planning to read this summer?
As always, there are so many books I’d like to read that I don’t know where to begin. I’m into a fantasy streak at the moment and a few that keep bubbling up to the top of my list are “The Wind Up Bird Chronicle: A Novel” by Haruki Murakami because it’s been described as both surreal and amusing, “The Gone Away World” by Nick Harkaway, which is supposed to be a post-apocalyptic fantasy with funny moments, “The Dark is Rising” by Susan Cooper, a magical, mythical fantasy that has been adapted to film and, not a fantasy, but still intriguing, The Botany of Desire: A Plant’s-Eye View of the World" by Michael Pollan.

What is your favorite place to read in the summer?
I live in NYC and, like everyone who lives in a big city, tend to spend too much time inside. When the warm weather arrives, I love to find a place outside to read. After a long winter, it feels like a dream to sit on the grass under a tree with a good book in any of the city’s fantastic parks, or at a table at one of the many restaurants with outside seating, or to escape the city altogether to find a spot to read by the ocean or in the mountains, either of which can be reached within a couple of hours from NewYork City.

Thanks Kathleen!

So far on My Summer Reading series:

Christian Valentiner of the Norwegian publisher Flux

Avrim Topel, co-author of 'My Green Beginnings'

Tania Hershman, author of 'The White Road and Other Stories'

Elisabeth Baines, author of the upcoming book 'Too Many Magpie'

Erica Caldwell of the bookstore Present Tense

Sue Schrader of the bookstore Sources of Hope

Jennifer Taylor of GreetQ

Yours,
Raz @ Eco-Libris

Eco-Libris: promoting green reading

An event at Bryant Park Reading Room on Wednesday with some great green authors and experts

If you're by any chance on New York next Wednesday (and why shouldn't you? it should be a nice day with 80 degrees), we got an offer you can't refuse: an event at the beautiful Bryant Park Reading Room with some of the most interesting green authors and experts around. And it's free!

The list of participants include a CEO of one of the most innovative green companies and the author of "Revolution in the Bottle", the editor of Edible Manhattan, a Canadian journalist who wrote a book on her 366-day journey to live a more environmentally conscious lifestyle, making one positive change each day and a food writer who chronicles in a new book her experiences as an urban farmer.

Sounds interesting? Here are more details on the event:

Greening Gotham

Wednesday, July 15, 2009

12:30 p.m. – 1:45 p.m.

Moderated by Maureen Hackett, Director of Horticulture Bryant Park

Participants: Novella Carpenter (Farm City), Gabrielle Langholtz (Editor of Edible Manhattan), Tom Szaky (Revolution in a Bottle: How TerraCycle Is Redefining Green Business) and Vanessa Farquharson (Sleeping Naked is Green).

Learn just what it takes to turn concrete into vegetables, skyscrapers into eco-buildings, and parks into havens, at a special author panel dedicated to creating a greener Gotham. At this event, Maureen Hackett (Director of Horticulture Bryant Park) talks with a panel of experts and authors with stories to tell about how they are helping the planet.

The event is FREE and open to the public. For updates and additional information, please visit the website at www.bryantpark.org. The Bryant Park Reading Room located on the 42nd Street side of the park - under the trees - between the back of the NYPL & 6th Avenue. Look for the burgundy and white umbrellas. Rain Venue: Library of the General Society of Mechanics and Tradesmen 20 West 44th Street (between 5th & 6th Avenue). New York.

Yours,
Raz @ Eco-Libris

Eco-Libris: promoting green reading