Saratoga Reads closed out its seventh year of public programming with a well-attended capstone event on the evening of Friday, April 8. The event, held at the Saratoga Springs Public Library, featured a talk by noted translator Stephen Snyder, professor of Japanese studies at Middlebury College, who discussed the art of translation and the challenges of bridging cultures through literary works.
Snyder was the translator for this year's Saratoga Reads book of choice, The Housekeeper and the Professor, a novel by contemporary Japanese author Yoko Ogawa. The book was originally published in Japanese in 2003, selling more than 2.5 million copies, and was translated by Snyder into English in 2009.
In his capstone presentation, Snyder discussed the process of translating The Housekeeper and the Professor and the challenges that editors and translators face in moving a book from one language and literary culture to another. He described how a book gets chosen for translation, how translators and publishers are selected, and the role of translation in increasingly globalized societies. The talk was illustrated with photos and artwork. More...
Saratoga Reads wraps up season with session on the art and challenges of translation
Event with Japanese theme will also reach out to disaster victims
Saratoga Reads invites the public to a special event on Friday, April 8, to hear from noted translator Stephen Snyder, professor of Japanese studies at Middlebury College, who will discuss the art of translation and the challenges of bridging cultures through literary works. The talk will take place at 7:30 p.m. in the H. Dutcher Community Room of the Saratoga Springs Public Library.
The evening is the "capstone" event for year seven of Saratoga Reads and a celebration of the program's current book of choice, The Housekeeper and the Professor, a novel by contemporary Japanese author Yoko Ogawa. The book was originally published in Japanese in 2003, selling more than 2.5 million copies, and was translated by Snyder into English in 2009.
Describing the book as a "gorgeous, cinematic novel," Susan Salter of the LA Times wrote, "The Housekeeper and the Professor is a perfectly sustained novel, a tribute to Stephen Snyder's smooth translation; like a note prolonged, a fermata, a pause enabling us to peer intently into the lives of its characters." More...
Saratoga Reads offers Sunday afternoon events through March
Saratoga Reads and its community partners will offer a series of Sunday afternoon programs in March, ranging from discussions on such topics as cognition, memory loss, and aging to a family movie matinee with showings for both adults and kids. All events are open to the public.
The events 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 and baseball enthusiast 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. In addition to this title, Saratoga Reads has recommended a list of companion books for young readers that explore related themes.
The series will begin on March 13 with a panel discussion titled Memory: Lost and Found—A Conversation About What We Remember, or Don't, sponsored by the Friends of the Saratoga Public Library. The event will take place in the library's H. Dutcher Community Room, 2 to 4 p.m. More...
Saratoga Reads to hold "Books and Brunch" benefit, March 6
Saratoga Reads will join forces with the famed Sperry's Restaurant on Caroline St. in downtown Saratoga Springs for a "books and brunch" event on Sunday, March 6, 11 a.m. to 2 p.m.
The culinary celebration will include special food and drink items based on the themes from the current Saratoga Reads book of choice, The Housekeeper and the Professor by Yoko Ogawa, and from the junior companion books for young readers. The event will feature fun activities, raffles, and more. A portion of the day's proceeds will go to support Saratoga Reads and its community programming.
"The brunch will offer a clever and fun menu, from the 'Organic Logarithm Salad' to the 'Fermat's Last Theorem' chocolate dessert," said Tabitha Orthwein, chair of the Saratoga Reads board. "Bring your family, friends, and even your book club!"
Saratoga Reads announces next round of community events
Mathematics, arts activities for kids, book discussions, and great food—all of this will be brought together in the next round events offered by Saratoga Reads and its community partners.
The events 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 series will begin with Skidmore College's annual Edwin M. Moseley
Lecture, which this year will be a talk titled "Layers, Lines and Boxes: Some Mathematical Puzzles and Pearls" by Professor of Mathematics Alice Dean. The event will take place on Wednesday, Feb. 23, at 8 p.m. in Gannett Auditorium of Palamountain Hall on the Skidmore campus. More...
Book fair at Borders Feb. 5-6 supports Saratoga Reads
Use of special coupon benefits the community-wide reading program
Saratoga Reads will offer a two-day book fair at Borders in downtown Saratoga Springs over the weekend of Feb. 5-6 in conjunction with the city's Winterfest celebration.
Shoppers who use a special coupon will have a chance to win a Wireless Kobo eReader, and in addition, Borders will donate 10 percent of all coupon sales to Saratoga Reads in support of the organization's public programming. For a printable coupon page, click here.
The Border book fair will celebrate 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.
In addition, Saratoga Reads will offer an open discussion of The Housekeeper and the Professor at the Higher Grounds Café in the Saratoga Springs Public Library, Thursday, Feb. 10, 6:45-8 p.m.
Upcoming events to encourage reading, discussion
Two-day book fair at Borders to support community reading program
Saratoga Reads 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 by tea expert Kim Stote of SUNY Empire State College and by Doreen Kamen of the Fortunate Cup café.
More...
Join us for our January events
Saratoga Reads is off and running with events related to this year's book of choice, The Housekeeper and the Professor, by Yoko Ogawa. All activities are open to the public free of charge.
A discussion of the book and its wide-ranging themes will take place on Monday, Jan. 10, 7 p.m. at the Circus Cafe, 392 Broadway, Saratoga Springs, as part of the café's monthly book club sessions. For information on attending the event, call the Circus Café at 518-583-1106 or visit www.circuscafe.com.
On Sunday, Jan. 23, Saratoga Reads will collaborate 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 by tea expert Kim Stote of Empire State College and by Doreen Kamen of the Fortunate Cup cafe. More...
Saratoga Reads kicks off year seven with Barnes & Noble book fair
Saratoga Reads will launch its seventh year of public programming with a book fair featuring activities for the whole family on Sunday, Dec. 5, 11 a.m. to 5 p.m., at Barnes & Noble, Route 50, Wilton.
The event will celebrate this year's Saratoga Reads book of choice, The Housekeeper and the Professor by Yoko Ogawa, and will raise funds in support of the community-wide reading program. Giveaways include the grand prize of a Nook e-reader as well as copies of the selected book.
Barnes & Noble will donate to Saratoga Reads a percentage of purchases made that day by shoppers who use the special book fair voucher. Vouchers and the book fair schedule are available from this site. Shoppers must use the voucher or specifically mention Saratoga Reads in order to have their purchases benefit the organization. More...
Saratoga Reads announces selected books for young readers
Saratoga Reads has announced its choice of a junior discussion book and a list of some 45 other titles for young readers, selected to complement the program's book of choice for this year—The Housekeeper and the Professor by Yoko Ogawa. The list of "companion books" has been designed to appeal to a wide of range of age groups and to encourage families to read together.
As a complementary junior discussion book, Sararoga Reads has selected The Invention of Hugo Cabret by Brian Selznick, a mysterious tale that combines text with some 284 pages of original drawings. Orphan, clock keeper, and thief, young Hugo lives a secret life in the walls of a busy Paris train station in the 1930s. When he encounters an eccentric, bookish girl and an old man who runs a toy booth in the station, his life becomes all the more adventurous. More...
Saratoga Reads announces this year's book of choice
Public vote has determined winner
The Housekeeper and the Professor, a novel by contemporary Japanese author Yoko Ogawa, has been selected as this year's book of choice for Saratoga Reads, the community-wide reading program now in its seventh year.
Each year, Saratoga Reads invites area residents to nominate books for a shared reading experience and then to vote for their favorite title from a select group. This year, 431 votes were cast for the slate of top five titles, with The Housekeeper and the Professor garnering 120, or 28 percent of the vote. In second place was the novel Little Bee with 22 percent. The other contenders were the novel Await your Reply and two nonfiction works—No Impact Man and The Boy Who Harnessed the Wind. View a brief description of each!
The Housekeeper and the Professor, written in Japanese and translated into English in by Stephen Snyder, is a best-seller in Japan, with more than 2.5 million copies sold since its publication in 2003. The English translation of the book was released in 2009.
The novel tells the story of a once-brilliant mathematics professor and baseball fanatic, who has been robbed of all but 80 minutes of short-term memory by a traumatic car accident. He passes his time in a ramshackle cottage in his sister-in-law's backyard, with notes to aid his memory pinned all over his clothing. There he is tended by a housekeeper and her young son, with whom he forges a deep relationship, though he forgets them every day. Using the poetic qualities of mathematics and baseball, the book explores the trio's unlikely friendship. More...
Saratoga Reads Announces Top Five Books
Public vote to determine winner
Saratoga Reads has announced that out of some 80 titles nominated by the public for this year's book of choice, five have been selected as finalists.
The winning title will be decided by public vote. Area residents have until October 31 to cast their votes, and the book of choice will be announced on November 12.
Among the top five contenders are two nonfiction works, The Boy Who Harnessed the Wind by William Kamkwamba and Bryan Mealer, and No Impact Man by Colin Beavan. The other three books are novels—Await Your Reply by Dan Chaon, Little Bee by Chris Cleave, and The Housekeeper and the Professor by Yoko Ogawa.
Votes may be cast online at the Saratoga Reads web site. In addition,
ballot boxes are available at a number of locations in the area,
including the Saratoga Springs Public Library, Barnes & Noble
(Wilton), Borders (Saratoga Springs), Wesley Health Care Center,
Prestwick Chase senior community, the Skidmore Shop (on the Skidmore
campus), Empire State College (113 West Avenue), and the Saratoga Springs High School library. More...
Saratoga Reads Seeks Book Nominations for Year Seven
Public vote to determine winner
If you are digging into any great books this summer or have titles you highly recommend, Saratoga Reads wants to hear from you. As the community reading program gears up for its seventh year, organizers are seeking nominations for the year's book of choice.
Nominations should be works of prose such as novels, short stories, memoirs, non-fiction works, and biographies. The suggested books must be readily available in paperback, capable of inspiring community participation and invigorating dialogue, and should not exceed 400 pages in length. More...
Saratoga Reads! C/O Skidmore College Box 2481 Saratoga Springs, New York 12866
518.580.8008 info@saratogareads.org
Saratoga Reads closed out its seventh year of public programming with a well-attended capstone event on the evening of Friday, April 8. The event, held at the Saratoga Springs Public Library, featured a talk by noted translator Stephen Snyder, professor of Japanese studies at Middlebury College, who discussed the art of translation and the challenges of bridging cultures through literary works.
Saratoga Reads invites the public to a special event on Friday, April 8, to hear from noted translator Stephen Snyder, professor of Japanese studies at Middlebury College, who will discuss the art of translation and the challenges of bridging cultures through literary works. The talk will take place at 7:30 p.m. in the H. Dutcher Community Room of the Saratoga Springs Public Library.