Showing posts with label Books. Show all posts

Tuesday, June 11, 2013

June 11, 1963

Today is the 50th anniversary of Alabama Governor George Wallace's "Stand in the Schoolhouse Door" and the successful integration of The University of Alabama by James Hood and Vivian Malone. Wallace blocked the door to Foster Auditorium, where UA students registered for classes, until he was forced to move by the Alabama National Guard under orders from President Kennedy.

Vivian Malone Jones and James Hood via

"The rights of every man are diminished when the rights of one man are threatened." - John F. Kennedy

Autherine Lucy was the first African American enrolled at The University of Alabama in 1956, but she was expelled after just three days.

Read more about how The University of Alabama is commemorating this anniversary with Through the Doors.

Further reading on this subject: The Schoolhouse Door: Segregation's Last Stand at The University of Alabama by E. Culpepper Clark and Opening the Doors: The Desegregation of The University of Alabama and the fight for Civil Rights in Tuscaloosa by B.J. Hollars.

Buy

During my time as a student at Alabama, I was able to see a closed Foster Auditorium come to life again as the home of women's basketball and volleyball and have been able to walk through the doors myself.

I have also heard B.J. Hollars speak twice on his books.

Friday, May 17, 2013

Rick Bragg

Rick Bragg is one of my favorite authors. I have been lucky enough to hear him speak on a multitude of occasions as a student at The University of Alabama, where Bragg currently serves as a Professor of Writing.

I am no wordsmith myself, but to me, Bragg can encapsulate what it means to be Southern in one sentence. His words are smooth, slow, sweet and sticky all at the same time. You can hear his accent dripping off of every sentence in every book.

He also has a regular column in Southern Living; honestly one of the main reasons I am a subscriber.
His words make me laugh and cry; they warm my heart. His stories are relatable; I often think of my Nanny while reading.

Nanny and me, Thanksgiving 2012

He, to me, captures the South without trying too hard. As Bragg says in this video, "I don't want to write about us in cliches. We're too complicated for that. You want to make a mistake in writing about Southerners? Generalize. Rationalize. You'll make a mistake about Southerners." Check out more of Bragg's videos on Southern Living's YouTube channel.

He gives some of us words when we can't find them ourselves. Like this article he wrote after the tornado that destroyed parts of Tuscaloosa, Alabama and brought an abrupt end to my senior year of college.

No water, no power, in desperate need of showers. But we still managed to find the good in the bad and hold a candlelight for Katie, celebrating her engagement, after the tornado had cancelled chapter Wednesday evening.

If you are looking for a good summer read or two, check out some of Bragg's books below.

All Over but the Shoutin'

Ava's Man (my first encounter with Bragg's work; it got me hooked )

Book discussion on Ava's Man (video)

The Prince of Frogtown

Tuesday, February 28, 2012

Book Talk Y'all

My good friend here at SLIS Callie Ann is starting a new series called "Book Talk Y'all." Check it out. It's awesome. She's awesome. Dr. Seuss is awesome. He has a birthday coming up, on March 2nd, Read Across America Day.

I make my first appearance in "Book Talk Y'all" at 1:39. At 2:41 it starts going down hill and I get a little Kristen Bell on ya', then by 6:58, I've just lost it.

Dr. Seuss's first children's book

Did you know the book above inspired this CCR song? Learn all about it and more by checking out "Book Talk Y'all!"

Tuesday, January 31, 2012

Whatcha Readin'?

Right now, in the small amount of free time I have between required grad school readings, I am reading this:

I Walked the Line: My Life with Johnny by Vivian Cash (2007)

I decided to check out this book because my friend Kate and I got together last weekend and watched this:

Normally when I'm watching movies, I'll check out IMDB to read trivia, goofs, etc. on the movies and with movies like this, try to differentiate the facts from the Hollywood storyline. This time I learned "I Walk the Line" wasn't even about June Carter Cash, it was about Johnny's first wife, Vivian. Every time I watched the movie, I was always curious about the character played by Ginnifer Goodwin (love her!)

Ginnifer Goodwin as Vivian Cash

I am enjoying the book so far. It is introduced by Vivian then is mostly reproductions of letters Johnny Cash wrote her. While interesting, the emotion and pain I felt from Vivian's own words brought me to tears by page 8. Read the NY Times review of the book here.

And to sign off, here's a bit from "The Man in Black" himself.

What are you reading? Anything good?