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2012 One Book Chelmsford Announced!

In 2012, instead of choosing just "One Book Chelmsford" or even "One Author," Chelmsford will be reading books by two wonderful authors: the famous literary couple of Pulitzer-prize winning authors Geraldine Brooks and Tony Horwitz.

More information is available on our One Book page, but a couple dates to reserve on you calendar now are:

• Friday evening, February 3, 2012 - "Beat the Winter Blues Party," the annual Winterfest Community Social. You can get copies of March and Confederates in the Attic

• Saturday, May 12, 2012, at 11 a.m - Join us for a visit from our 2 authors at the High School's Performing Arts Center

We'll be posting more program dates and information as it becomes available, so keep checking our One Book page for details!

Nominate Your Choice For One Book Chelmsford 2011

The Library had a great time with Dennis Lehane's Shutter Island for 2010's One Book Chelmsford, and we hope you did, too!

Now, once again we're asking for your help in choosing the next One Book Chelmsford, for 2011. Think about all the books you've read, or the books you'd like to read, and let us know which titles you'd like selected for the Town to read in 2011.

The next time you're in the library, give your nomination suggestion to any staff member. Or, you can submit your nomination online by clicking the "Submit Your Nomination" link on our homepage or using the One Book Nomination Form.

The One Book Committee will review all the suggestions and narrow them down to three final choices. Then on Election Day in November, the entire Town will vote for which of those three they'd like to be One Book Chelmsford 2011.

Summer Reading Begins June 6

Chelmsford's 2009 Summer Reading program is here!

This year's program has been tailored to fit with the 2009 One Book Chelmsford, Three Cups of Tea and author Greg Mortenson's picture book edition, Listen to the Wind. There are many aspects to this year's Summer Reading program, but the two main themes are collecting Pennies for Peace and outdoor adventures.

1. Everyone is encouraged to keep track of the time you spend reading, and for every 5 hours of reading, the Friends of the Library will contribute 100 pennies for peace. Our goal is to donate $500 by the end of the summer to Greg Mortenson's foundation for building schools
2. Enjoy hiking through Chelmsford! Chelmsford has many open spaces and trails, and hiking and exploring our community is a great way to start your own trek towards K2 like Greg Mortenson. The summer challenge for children is to hike 5 miles and record your adventures in your passbooks

For reading logs, hiking passbooks, book suggestions and links to trail maps of Chelmsford, visit the Summer Reading webpage or stop by the Children's Room.

One Book Chelmsford Events

One Book Chelmsford Three Cups of Tea co-author Greg Mortenson visited Chelmsford this past Sunday, and spoke to a large crowd about his book and work building schools in Pakistan and Afghanistan.

If you missed the amazing talk at Chelmsford’s Performing Arts Center, you still have a opportunities to catch it:

• DVD copies are available in the library's catalog
• The program will be re-broadcast on Chelmsford Cable TV Channel 8 at the following times:
  • Thursday, Feb 12, at 10:00 p.m.
  • Saturday, Feb 14, at 10:30 a.m.
  • Thursday, Feb 19, at 10:00 p.m.
  • Saturday, Feb 21, at 10:30 a.m.

(You should confirm by visiting the Chelmsford Telemedia website)

Have you read the book yet?

Additional copies of Three Cups of Tea are available at the Library. Also available are the young reader and picture book versions of the book, as well as the book on CD and playaway mp3 player.

Upcoming One Book Chelmsford Programs:

Book Discussions on Three Cups of Tea at the library

• Monday, March 2nd at 7 p.m.
• Wednesday, March 18th at 10 a.m.

Films and Discussions

• "Kite Runner” will be shown on Thursday, Feb 19, at 7 p.m. Discussion to follow
• "View from a Grain of Sand," will be shown on Thursday, March 19, at 7 p.m. Discussion to follow

Barakat Working in Central Asia
Thursday, March 12, 2009, at 7 p.m.
Damon Luloff, Executive Director of Barakat will talk about the work his organization is doing in Central Asia.

Chelmsford Volunteer Fair
Saturday, March 21, 2009; 10 a.m. - noon
Come to Chelmsford's Volunteer Fair learn about organizations that offer you a myriad of ways to give back to your community and make the world a better place. A rep from Barakat will be available to speak with you about their volunteer opportunities.

Climbing K2
Thursday, April 23, 2009 at 7 p.m.
Chuck Boyd, owner and operator of Vertical Realms, LLC, will talk about his adventures climbing K2.

The Many Facets of Islam
Thursday, April 30, 2009 at 7 p.m.
The Many Facets of Islam by Subheen Razzaqui, speaker for the Harvard Outreach Center for Middle Eastern Studies and history teacher at Newton North High School, discusses the history and basic tenets of Islam, and similarities and differences among Muslim groups in the U.S.

Exhibit of artwork inspired by Three Cups of Tea (A CALL TO ARTISTS)
May 4 - May 30, 2009
Artists are invited to submit samples of their work for a special “Three Cups of Tea” Juried Exhibition this May at the Chelmsford Library. All media: paintings, graphics, sculpture, ceramics, textiles, mixed media, photography, digital art, printmaking and three-dimensional art. Artwork may be submitted into one of two categories -Adult (over 18) and Youth (middle school age to 18).

Artwork must reflect the title or themes of the “One Book Chelmsford” 2009 book selection, “Three Cups of Tea” by Greg Mortenson and David Oliver Relin. Please visit the Chelmsford Library to get a copy of the book. You may want to review some of the book’s chapter quotes (such as the one listed below). They may offer inspiration for creating your individual work.

Here (in Pakistan and Afghanistan), we drink three cups of tea to do business; the first you are a stranger, the second you become a friend, and the third, you join our family, and for our family we are prepared to do anything–even die.
-Haji Ali, Korphe Village Chief, Karakoram Mountains, Pakistan

More details on this Call to Artists on the library website.

Three Cups of Tea Resources

One Book Chelmsford brochure [pdf]

One Book Chelmsford 2009 Announced

All the votes have been counted, and Chelmsford's One Book for 2009 is:

Three Cups of Tea,
by Greg Mortenson
The astonishing, uplifting story of a real-life Indiana Jones' campaign to build schools in the most dangerous, remote, and anti-American reaches of Asia. Inspired by a chance encounter with impoverished mountain villagers, the author is building schools to provide a balanced education in an isolated and dangerous region.

One Book events and information will be available soon, and copies of Three Cups of Tea are available through the library's catalog. Also, here are some online resources to get Chelmsford ready to read our One Book 2009:

• Official Three Cups of Tea website
• Author Greg Mortenson's website
• Wikipedia article on Three Cups of Tea
• Reviews: BookBrowse.com, LibraryThing.com

Thank you to everyone who voted! Keep checking our One Book webpage for information on One Book Chelmsford 2009.

Update: Exciting news! Greg Mortenson is coming to Chelmsford on Sunday, February 8th, as part of his book tour for his two children's books based on Three Cups of Tea. Visit the One Book webpage for more information.