Thank you

First of all, thanks to readers throughout the Mount Washington Valley. Without your interest and participation, One Book One Valley would not be marking its 6th year.

Thanks are also due to many organizations and individuals for helping spread the word, for hosting programs, and for funding the series of events.

Funders:
New Hampshire Humanities Council
Pequawket Foundation
Anna and Kendal C. Ham Charitable Foundation
Friends groups from local libraries

Media:
WMWV and Roy Prescott and Mark Johnson
Conway Daily Sun and columnists Ed Parsons and Tom Eastman
Tom Ryan in his blog Tom and Atticus

Event hosts:
Lutheran Church of the Nativity
White Birch Books
ARLNH-North
Your local library

Big Event this week!

To all One Book One Valley readers! This Thursday, November 17 at 7 pm is our big event. Tom Ryan, author of Following Atticus, will speak at the Lutheran Church of the Nativity, on the corner of Route 16 and Grove Street in North Conway village. Atticus M. Finch will attend, questions will be asked and answered, and books will be signed. Please join us, even if you haven’t (yet) read the book. This event is free and open to the public.

Tom Ryan will donate his speaker’s fee to the Animal Rescue League of NH-North. If you wish, donations to ARLNH-North will be accepted at this event.

Hiking the Whites in All Seasons

Ed Parsons will present an illustrated talk, “Hiking the Whites in All Seasons” on Wednesday, November 9 at 7 pm at the Cook Memorial Library in Tamworth. Parsons, hiking columnist for the Conway Daily Sun, will take you through the mountains – kayaking in spring high water, celebrating the beauty of the trails both alone and with special friends, and seeing it all again from the air.

In the media

The Saturday, November 5 edition of the Conway Daily Sun has a feature story by Tom Eastman on Following Atticus, along with an interview with the author, Tom Ryan. This week’s teletalk question picks up the theme: “Has a pet ever changed your view of life or your view of the world, and how?”

An event each day

This week (Oct.31-Nov. 4), there are five Following Atticus book discussions at locations throughout the valley (see schedule). All are welcome at any of these events.

At the Madison Library on Thursday, November 3 at 7 pm, One Book One Valley’s project humanist, Marcia Schmidt Blaine, will give a talk on “Saving the Mountains: New Hampshire and the Creation of the National Forests,” a look at the history of the mountains and trails that we all enjoy today.

This year marks the 100th anniversary of the Weeks Act, the law that created the eastern national forests. New Hampshire’s White Mountains played a leading role in events leading to the act. Focusing on Concord’s Joseph B. Walker and the Forest Society’s Philip Ayres, Marcia Schmidt Blaine will explore the relationship between our mountains and the individuals who worked to protect them in this New Hampshire Humanities Council program.

Further reading

What part or parts of Following Atticus drew you in? Here are some suggestions for further reading. Add your suggested titles by leaving a comment below.

White Mountains:

• Beyond the Notches: Stories of Place in New Hampshire’s North Country, edited by John R. Harris, Kay Morgan & Mike Dickerman, Bondcliff, 2011.
• The White Mountain Reader, edited by Mike Dickerman, Bondcliff, 2000
• Every area library and bookstore has a good selection of hiking guides to the White Mountains–The 4000 Footers of the White Mountains (the guide Tom Ryan mentions in Following Atticus), a number of Appalachian Mountain Club guides, the tried-and-true guides by Daniel Doan–ask your librarian for a suggestion.

Human-dog relationships:

• Dogs Never Lie About Love: Reflections on the Emotional Life of Dogs, by Jeffrey Moussaieff Masson, Three Rivers, 1997
• Hidden Life of Dogs, by Elizabeth Marshall Thomas,  Houghton Mifflin, 1993
• Pack of Two: The Intricate Bond Between People and Dogs, by Caroline Knapp, Dial, 1998.

And, as Roy Prescott reminded us on WMWV radio this morning, if you haven’t read To Kill a Mockingbird by Harper Lee, it’s the best way to know why Atticus is such a cool name.

Discussable

We’re happy to see new faces at the library book discussions this year. There are still a lot of opportunities to attend a book group, see schedule at right or on our Events page.

If you have already been to a “Following Atticus” book discussion, what were some of the things from the book that triggered the most or best discussion? Please tell us by leaving a comment.

Two events in Conway

Monday, October 17 is One Book, One Valley day in Conway. At 10:15 am, Conway Public Library’s book group will discuss “Following Atticus.” Newcomers are welcome!

At 6:30 pm on October 17, in the Conway Public Library’s Ham Community Room, the public is invited to the presentation “It’s Not About the Hike” by Nancy Sporberg and Pat Piper. The two New Hampshire hikers, both over age 50, decided to climb New England’s 4,000+ foot peaks. The presentation tells what they found within themselves along their journey. Their message is “you can do this, too!”

Book discussions start this week

If you’ve finished reading Following Atticus, consider attending a book discussion. This week, readers will meet at the ARLNH-North (Conway Shelter on Route 113, East Main Street) on Tuesday, October 11 at 4 pm, at the Fryeburg Public Library on Wednesday, October 12 at 10 am, and on Thursday, October 13 at 7 pm at White Birch Books.

Never attended a book discussion? See our post from last year’s program encouraging newbies to attend.

If you’re leading a discussion, be sure to check out the book discussion guide prepared by Marcia Schmidt Blaine, our project humanist.

Big screen?

Barbara Coles, in her review of Following Atticus for New Hampshire Magazine, thinks that the story is a natural for a movie. Do you agree? Ask your book discussion group. Leave a comment here.