North Country Reads Partners We are deeply grateful for the generosity of our funders and friends: Flower Memorial Library Jefferson Community College North Country Public Radio Henry Keep Home Watertown Daily Times Verizon Northern New York Community Foundation Ronald McDonald House Children's Charities Bernier, Carr & Associates Pratt Northam Foundation New York State Senate, via Senator James W. Wright Public Funds were generously provided via The New York State Council on the Arts Decentralization Program, managed by the North Country Library System in 2007 and the St. Lawrence County Arts Council in 2008

Author Dave King reading from his novel, The Ha-Ha, North Country Reads 2007 kick off event, Flower Memorial LIbrary, Water-town, NY, Jan. 3, 2007

James O’Donnell, President of the Board of Trustees, Ronald McDonald House Charities of Northern New York, Inc., Susan Sweeney Smith, NCPR, Rosanne Weir and Karen Freeman, JCC, Maxine Quigg, North Country Reads Co-Chair, in front, Ronald McDonald Check reflects a grant to purchase books for high school students around the region and also supports some of the author's expenses for the 2008 NC Reads Book: The Language of Baklava by Diana Abu-Jaber.

Dear Readers:

The Language of Baklava is a memoir about growing up as a first-generation Arab immigrant in the region surrounding Syracuse. We're proud of this selection and believe it can further cross-cultural appreciation--a critical factor in today's world. The Language of Baklava by Diana Abu-Jaber has received significant acclaim; including the following from Entertainment Weekly:

"In a culinary memoir that's as delectable for its stories as for its accompanying recipes, Diana Abu-Jaber concocts a feast of words and images from her Arab-American experience. Whether she's freezing on her family's front lawn in upstate New York as they grill kebabs to celebrate the first warmish day of the year, or battling with her father over his banishment of a suitor ("Why didn't you just lock me into some prison in Jordan when you had the chance?" His response: "I wanted to!"), Abu-Jaber recounts a textured immigrant tale filled with heartfelt dishes (e.g., "Subsistence Tabbouleh: For when everything is falling apart and there's no time to cook"). Rich, dense, and flavorful, The Language of Baklava is best savored in small bites."

We selected this particular book for a number of reasons:

• We admired it's focus on acclimation to the United States culture through the eyes of a young woman; we know it will be a great tool conversations about cultural differences
  
  
• We think food can be a universally appreciated bridge between cultures; and we love to cook and eat!
  
  
• It's potential to help our community, so closely connected to the military, understand the culture of our Arab American neighbors.

The author, Diana Abu-Jaber, will join us for four days of presentations from April 1 through April 4, 2008. She will be doing one presentation for all public schools in each of the three counties we serve, Lewis, Jefferson and St. Lawrence, as well as two open to the public events. The full schedule is available under the events calendar link on the left of this page.

We're delighted to announce that this year we will do a live broadcast of Readers and Writers On The Air from Jefferson Community College in Watertown on Thursday, April 4. Seating will be limited and we'll be accepting reservations starting March 20. Please call North Country Public Radio to reserve a seat for this first ever live broadcast of a North Country Reads author from Jefferson County.

We encourage you to read The Language of Baklava--and perhaps to savor some of the recipes. It's a real treat!

Yours in community reading:
Kate Couch and Maxine Quigg, Co-Chairs, North Country Reads