Category Archives: Books

Nov23

Inspiring Women: Robin Kall Turned Her Passion Into Her Profession

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Inspiring Women: Robin Kall Turned Her Passion Into Her Profession

Robin Kall Celebrates 10 Years of Reading With Robin

I always love hearing stories of women who have managed to turn a passion of theirs into their profession. This seems to be an ideal that many of us only dream about, but is exactly what Robin Kall has achieved.  As a lover of books I have been fascinated by Robin since I moved to RI, and first heard of her radio show Reading With Robin. I love to discuss books and to hear author’s speak about their work, so of course I thought it was brilliant to have an entire radio show of author interviews, and book discussions.  It is exciting for me to live in a state that always seems to have such great literary events going on, and I know that Robin plays a large part in drawing both new and  big name authors alike to our tiny state.  This Saturday November 24th marks the celebration of the 10 year Anniversary of Reading with Robin, and I finally had the chance to ask her how she turned her love of reading into a career, and what advice she would give others starting out.

 

How did you get started?

RK: I would listen to the John DePetro show and call in with my comments…I became a regular -‘Robin from Providence’ and then eventually I would come into the studio to play RI jeopardy on-air with John and the callers…that sort of thing.  I so enjoyed being on-air and writing my own material that I pitched the idea to do a show. Being such a book enthusiast I thought that doing a show about a subject I am so passionate about would make for fun radio.

What advice would you give to other women about turning your passion into your profession?

RK: As far as turning your passion into a profession -I’d say never take anything out of the realm of possibilities.  Brainstorm-write every idea down..you can always get rid of the ones that really don’t make sense. It’s amazing some of the ideas I’ve found from old notes I had written and put away. Thinking outside of the box is so cliche, but the way things are done now looks almost nothing like the way they were done even 5-10 years ago.  You need to be very creative and very persistent. When I first suggested the show idea I was greeted enthusiastically with my idea of being on-air, but not necessarily about books…but I kept at it, and here I am today..10 years and hundreds of books later!!

To celebrate those ten years on the show this upcoming Saturday morning, November 24th
from 7-8am there will be a special 10 Year Anniversary Celebration Show! The show will be streaming live at www.920whjj.com and Robin is joined by special co-host, NYTimes Bestselling author, Ann Hood!  They will be hearing from some of our favorite authors:
Susan Jane Gilman (Undress Me in the Temple of Heaven) Caroline Leavitt (Girls in Trouble), Jane Green (Another Piece of My Heart), Claire Cook (Wallflower in Bloom) and Adriana Trigiani (The Shoemaker’s Wife)
Plus a few more if there is time!  There will be special anniversary show giveaways throughout the show and also on the Reading With Robin Facebook page! (please ‘like’ it!)

Lots has changed in the ten years since the show first began but one thing that will never change is the love of a great book!!!
www.readingwithrobin.com for more information!!

 

 

Oct7

Reading With Robin

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Reading With Robin

To celebrate my friend Julie’s birthday the other night, we went to the annual An Evening With Authors event hosted by Robin Kall of Reading With Robin.  An Evening With Authors is one of my favorite nights out, it is always a fantastic event featuring amazing writers, and this was the third year we have attended. Each year we emerge just blown away by being in proximity to such rock stars of the literary world.   We are thrilled to have heard their behind the scenes stories, tricks of the trade, and details of their writing processes.  As Avid readers my girlfriends and I are always fascinated and inspired hearing glamorous bestselling authors tell us their “dirty little secrets” of  the really not so glamorous writing life.  Spending all day writing in their pajamas, not always having a say in the jacket design of their books, renting hotel rooms to find the peace they need to write. This year we heard stories of the writing lives of featured authors Elizabeth Berg, Chris Bohjalian, and Amanda Eyre Ward.

Left to Right on the Authors Panel: Robin Kall, Amanda Eyre Ward, Elizabeth Berg and Chris Bohjalian

Discussions are based on questions that the authors themselves write to ask each other, and this year some of the  questions were about their relationships with editors, and how the stories unfold as they are writing. Following the discussion attendees have the opportunity to purchase the writer’s work and meet the Authors as they get their books signed.   The evening serves as a fundraiser to support Breast Cancer Research through the Love, Carol Foundation.  The Foundation was set up to honor Robin’s mother whom she lost to Breast Cancer in 1997, when her mother was only 53 years old.

With Robin Kall (center) at An Evening With Authors

Julie getting her book signed by Chris Bohjalian

I love that Robin Krall has created a successful career for herself based on her love of reading and books. In 2002 she launched Reading With Robin a RI radio talk show she hosts, that airs on WHJJ 920AM and is devoted to authors, readers, and the books they love.  She also writes the  “Well-Read” column for  www.golocalprov.com which appears every Tuesday.  I am so grateful that she creates events for readers and lovers of books in the community, bringing authors to our area, and enriching the depth of our reading lives.

The Author (of this blog post) with Amanda Eyer Ward and Elizabeth Berg

 

Aug17

Books For Tiny World Travelers

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Books For Tiny World Travelers
Books For Tiny World Travelers

Both my husband and I love to travel, so when we had kids we were determined to continue to do so.  Our fist child had traveled to Turkey, France, England, South Korea, and Hawaii by the time she was two.  We made it back to Turkey with two kids, and then came children number three and four. With the cost and the accessories that come with four kids ages six and under, our travel as a family came to a halt.  My husband and I continued to travel, but were lucky enough to be able to leave the kids with my in-laws at home when we did.  Still determined to bring them up as global citizens, we would bring back tokens from abroad and always search for children’s books to read to them that incorporated other cultures in the stories.  I was thrilled when Sataya House Publications asked me if I’d like to review their children’s series  “I See the Sun in …” , which is a series of bilingual picture books that takes children around the world to sample different cultures along the way.  These are exactly the types of books that I love to share with my children.  Author, Dedie King, was a Peace Corps volunteer in Nepal, and has spent much time in all of the countries she writes about. Each of the “I See The Sun In…” books are written in English and translated by a native speaker of the language of the country she is writing about.  I love having the written language of the country we are reading about along side the English words to show the kids examples of different languages in writing.  The books have won awards and have been well received by parents, teachers and children alike. The series is currently available in the titles “I See the Sun in…: Nepal, China, Afghanistan, Russia, and Mexico, with more countries in the works.  When I read the books with my younger kids I loved the questions that they brought up, and the interest in these other cultures that I could see it spark in them.  In the past couple of years we’ve begun to take the kids with us again when we go abroad.  We did a family trip to Canada,  the older two came to France with us last spring, and we took a family trip to Alaska this summer.  It has only recently become easy to travel with them again without needing all of the car seats, boosters, diaper bags, bottles, portable high chairs, and clothing changes, plus they can pull their own luggage, which is huge.  Now that it is easier, we look forward to exposing them to foreign cultures through travel, and in the mean time these books can help us pave the way to understanding the beautiful diversity that makes up our world around us.

 

 

 

 

 

* I received free copies of the above books for the purpose of review, all opinions are my own and not swayed in any way by outside sources.

 

 

Aug3

Marcus Samuelsson’s Red Rooster NYC: Ethiopia-Sweden-America

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Marcus Samuelsson’s Red Rooster NYC: Ethiopia-Sweden-America

Marcus Samuelsson’s story is amazing.

He was born in Ethiopia, and when he was only three his mother walked for days with her two children to get medical care to treat their tuberculosis. Sadly, his mother did not make it, but Marcus and his sister received the care they needed to recover. A year later they were adopted into a loving family and brought up in Sweden. It was the love of cooking that his Swedish grandmother instilled in him which he credits for guiding him to where he is today. He has risen to become a world-renowned chef and author of Yes, Chef; A Memoir in which he details his fascinating life.

Me with Chef Marcus Samuelsson at Red Rooster

While in New York City for the Blogher conference I had the pleasure to meet Chef Marcus Samuelsson and check out his acclaimed Red Rooster Restaurant in Harlem. He has created a vibrant atmosphere in which to serve what he describes as American comfort food with hints of his Swedish and African roots. While there, he greeted us with the same easy smile and warm welcoming manner with which he seemed to grace all those he encountered. He graciously took us on a tour downstairs to Ginny’s Supper Club , which is fashioned as a modern speakeasy and opened in 2012 as a tribute to the Harlem Renaissance. The food was amazing and the ambiance electric, so if you are looking for a cool night out, Red Rooster is where you want to go.

A drink called Yes, Chef

Mar26

$10 Starbucks giftcard & Little Pickle Press Award Winning Children’s Book Giveaway!

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$10 Starbucks giftcard & Little Pickle Press Award Winning Children’s Book Giveaway!

Rana DiOrio, the founder of Little pickle Press has generously signed and offered to give away copies of the four “What Does It Mean To Be…?” books to one of our lucky readers!  Find out more about Rana and how she founded a green publishing company from the ground up  here.  Little Pickle Press is dedicated to helping parents and educators cultivate conscious, responsible little people by stimulating explorations of the meaningful topics of their generation through a variety of media, technologies, and techniques.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 


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