SANTA MONICA CITYWIDE READS FEATURES THE TIME TRAVELER'S WIFE, APRIL 18-MAY 19

 

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Date:       April 7, 2007
Contact:  Robert Graves, Public Services Librarian, (310) 458-2201, ext. 5956 

Santa Monica Citywide Reads, a community reading program that invites everyone in Santa Monica to read and discuss the same novel in book clubs and other related events held throughout the city, takes place April 18 to May 19, 2007.  This year, Citywide Reads celebrates its fifth anniversary with its first featured book written by a female author, The Time Traveler’s Wife, by Audrey Niffenegger.

The Time Traveler’s Wife is the fantastic, romantic adventure story of beautiful artist Clare Abshire and dashing librarian Henry De Tamble.  Destined to be together, Clare and Henry must fight against one tremendous obstacle: Henry suffers from "chrono-displacement disorder," a condition that causes him to unexpectedly jump backwards and forwards in time, while Clare ages in the normal chronological fashion, completely unaware as to where and when she and Henry will be able to resume their lives together.  "Audrey Niffenegger makes this premise work with delightful wryness and delicate poignance," says Susan Sterr-Ryan, chair of the English department at Santa Monica College and a member of the Citywide Reads Advisory Committee.  "As we come to love her richly drawn characters, we appreciate our own challenges to live in the moment."

Audrey Niffenegger is a professor in the M.F.A. program at the Columbia College Chicago Center for Book and Paper Arts.  The Time Traveler’s Wife was her first novel and went on to become a New York Times best-seller and win several awards, including a British Book Award for Popular Fiction and the Young Adult Library Services Association’s Alex Award for books with appeal to teens.  Ms. Niffenegger has subsequently published two beautifully illustrated "visual novels," The Three Incestuous Sisters and The Adventuress, and is currently at work on a new novel about a mysterious pair of mirror-image twins.

Sponsored by the Santa Monica Public Library, with support by the Friends of the Library, Santa Monica College Associates, California Center for the Book, and community, educational and business partners, Citywide Reads invites participation in the following facilitator-led public book discussions:

  • Wednesday, April 18, at 7:00 p.m.  Montana Ave. Branch Library, 1704 Montana Ave.

  • Saturday, April 21, at 2:00 p.m.  Fairview Branch Library, 2101 Ocean Park Blvd.

  • Thursday, April 26, at 7:00 p.m.  It’s A Grind, 602 Santa Monica Blvd.

  • Tuesday, May 1, at 7:30 p.m.  Barnes & Noble, 1201 3rd Street Promenade.

  • Friday, May 4, at 4:00 p.m.  Café Bolivar, 1741 Ocean Park Blvd.

  • Saturday, May 5, at 11:00 a.m.  Ocean Park Branch  Library, 2601 Main Street.

  • Thursday, May 10, at 2:00 p.m.  Ken Edwards Center, 1527 4th Street.

  • Sunday, May 13, at 4:00 p.m.  It’s A Grind, 602 Santa Monica Blvd.

  • Tuesday, May 15, at 6:00 p.m.  Teen Book Discussion, Community Room at Main Library, 601 Santa Monica Blvd.

  • Saturday, May 19, at 1:00 p.m.  Multipurpose Room at Main Library, 601 Santa Monica Blvd.

Participation is encouraged for those who already belong to a book club by reading The Time Traveler’s Wife and discussing it with their group using a Citywide Reads Resource Guide, available at all Santa Monica Public Library locations and on the Citywide Reads website at www.smpl.org/cwr.

Related Citywide Reads special events include:

  • "Exploring Artists’ Books And Their Authors" – In addition to novels, Audrey Niffenegger creates artists’ books, but few know precisely what artists’ books are.  Joyce Pellerano-Ludmer, the Getty’s curator of artists’ books, presents an introduction to this unique art form on Wednesday, April 25, at 7:00 p.m., in the Main Library’s MLK, Jr. Auditorium, 601 Santa Monica Blvd.

  • "An Afternoon with Audrey Niffenegger" – The award-winning author of The Time Traveler’s Wife presents and discusses her novel, followed by a question-and-answer session and a book sale and signing on Saturday, May 5, from 3:00 to 4:30 p.m., at Santa Monica College Pavilion (gym), 1900 Pico Boulevard.

  • "City TV Live Call-In Discussion" – Tune in to Channel 16 for a live, moderated discussion of The Time Traveler’s Wife on Wednesday, May 9, at 7:00 p.m.

  • "Chronologically Displaced Movies" – Two movies in the Main Library’s regular movie screening series will feature time travel themed films: A Connecticut Yankee in King Arthur’s Court with Bing Crosby on Saturday, May 12, at 2:30 p.m., and Somewhere in Time with Christopher Reeve and Jane Seymour on Tuesday, May 15, at 2:30 p.m.  Both screenings take place in the Main Library’s MLK, Jr. Auditorium.

Citywide Reads book discussions and events are free and open to the public.  For more information, call the Santa Monica Public Library at (310) 458-8600 or visit www.smpl.org/cwr.

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This page was last updated on 04/07/07.