Events

« Saturday October 02, 2010 »
Sat
Banned Books Week Start: 9:00 am End: 7:00 pm Banned Books Week September 25 - October 2 Banned Books Week (BBW) is the only national celebration of the freedom to read. It was launched in 1982 in response to a sudden surge in the number of challenges to books in schools, bookstores and libraries. More than a thousand books have been challenged since 1982. The challenges have occurred in every state and in hundreds of communities. During the last week of September every year, hundreds of libraries and bookstores around the country draw attention to the problem of censorship by mounting displays of challenged books and hosting a variety of events. Intellectual freedom—the freedom to access information and express ideas, even if the information and ideas might be considered unorthodox or unpopular—provides the foundation for Banned Books Week. BBW stresses the importance of ensuring the availability of unorthodox or unpopular viewpoints for all who wish to read and access them. The top 10 most frequently challenged books of 2009 are: Author Signing: Cornelia Amiri Start: 1:30 pm End: 3:30 pm Celtic romance author Cornelia Amiri signs Druid Bride, Queen of Kings and A Fine Cauldron of Fish. The heroine, Druidess Tanwen, grew up as a child or war, and is determined to halt the Roman conquest, now spreading to the north of Caledonia. The Roman Governor, Suetonius annihilated her mother's tribe, the Iceni, and the Roman Governor, Agricola exterminated her father's tribe, the Ordovices. She watched her brother die in the second massacre at the Druid learning Center. Tanwen managed to escape with the help of two elderly druids, who had survived the first massacre. She must now leave them, the only family she has left, and travel from her home of Britannia to Caledonia, to wed a wild Pict, the son of the chief of the Caledonii tribe. The spirit of her ancestor, her grandmother, Boudica, has sent her on this quest. The ghost of the rebel queen foretold this marriage will aid the Celts in the war against Rome and also keep Boudica's bloodline alive. But the hero, Brude, son of the chief of the Caledonii, is not ready to marry. And he swears he will never marry a druidess. How will she persuade him? Ireland. She builds the famed kingdom of Emain Macha, marking off the borders with the pin of her treasured cloak brooch. Even still, a Champion from the wilds of Connaught throws the powerful battle queen off guard when he comes to claim her heart. Has Macha met her match in Nath of Connaught? Will he pass the three trials she has set before him? It's summer on the Isle of Man and Andrew is looking for hot girls and good times. So when he meets the dreamy and seductive Margaid, he thinks he's hit the jackpot. There are only a couple of minor problems: Margaid lives in a cave under the sea, is invisible, and thinks that only Andrew's blood can save her from turning into a kelpie! But hey, whoever said love was perfect!?