Saratoga Reads announces upcoming events
Saratoga Reads, a Skidmore College-Saratoga collaboration, will offer a number of events in January and February, designed to appeal to both adult and young readers. All activities are free and open to the public.
The programs will revolve around the current Saratoga Reads book of choice, The Housekeeper and the Professor by Yoko Ogawa.The novel, set in Japan, tells the story of a once-brilliant mathematics professor who has lost all but 80 minutes of short-term memory. He is tended by a housekeeper and her young son, with whom he forges a deep relationship, though he forgets them every day.
The events will kick off on Sunday, Jan. 23, when Saratoga Reads joins forces with SUNY Empire State College to offer a taste of Japanese culture and a movie at the college's new office building, 113 West Ave., room 137. The activities will begin at 2 p.m. with a Japanese tea tasting, led bytea expert Kim Stote of SUNY Empire State College and by Doreen Kamen of the Fortunate Cup cafeer.
The tasting will be followed by a showing of the movie Proof, starring Gwyneth Paltrow and Anthony Hopkins, which tells the story of a brilliant but mentally disturbed mathematician and the legacy he leaves his daughter. The event will also offer math video clips, information on famous mathematicians referred to in The Housekeeper and the Professor, and some brain-teasing math puzzles.
"Hot tea, a good book, a free movie, and community engagement - what could be better on a cold afternoon in January," said Tabitha Orthwein, chair of the board of Saratoga Reads."Our collaboration with SUNY Empire State College has resulted in a creative interdisciplinary program designed to provide an introduction to themes within this year's selected book.The event will enhance the reading experience but will not be a 'spoiler' for those of you who have not yet read the novel."
The events will continue during the city's Winterfest weekend, Feb. 5-6, with a two-daybenefit for Saratoga Reads at Borders on Broadway in Saratoga Springs. Shoppers who use a special coupon will have a chance to win a Kobo e-reader, and in addition, Borders will donate 10 percent of all coupon sales to Saratoga Reads in support of the organization's public programming. Coupons will be available in the store and online at www.SaratogaReads.org.
The line-up of events will include special programs for young readers based on this year'scomplementary junior discussion book, The Invention of Hugo Cabret by Brian Selznick, a mysterious tale that combines text with some 284 pages of drawings. Orphan, clock keeper, and thief, young Hugo lives a secret life in the walls of a busy Paris train station in the 1930s.
The Invention of Hugo Cabretwill serve as the basis for two evening discussions at the Saratoga Springs Public Library, beginning at 6:30 p.m. on successive Thursdays, Feb. 3 and Feb. 10. Designed for grades 4-6, the sessions will be led by student mentors from Skidmore College and Saratoga Springs High School, under the direction of Skidmore Professor of English Catherine Golden. Youngsters interested in participating should email kids@saratogareads.org or sign up with school libraries in the Saratoga Springs school district.
Saratoga Reads will offer an open discussion of The Housekeeper and the Professor at the Higher Grounds Cafe in the Saratoga Springs Public Library, Thursday, Feb. 10, 6:45-8 p.m. Parents of students participating in the simultaneously occurring junior book discussion in the library are especially encouraged to attend.
Saratoga Reads is a Skidmore College-Saratoga collaboration. Major sponsors of Saratoga Reads are Barnes & Noble (Wilton), Borders (Saratoga Springs), Hewitt's Garden Center, Saratoga.com, Skidmore College, The Saratogian, Adirondack Trust Company, Community Care Pediatrics-Saratoga, Saratoga Springs Rotary Club, Sperry's Restaurant, Wise Development Group, Impressions of Saratoga, and Smile Sanctuary.
For more information on go to www.SaratogaReads.org, find us on Facebook, or follow us on Twitter.