And read all over

A debut novel that explores themes of identity, stereotyping and civil liberties is the focus of the Vermont Humanities Council's Vermont Reads program this year.

"When the Emperor Was Divine," by Julie Otsuka, is the latest pick for the council's annual statewide one-book community reading program.

The book chronicles the internment of an unnamed Japanese-American family in California during World War II. It's appropriate for children in fifth grade and above, and for adults.

Vermont Reads encourages communities around the state to bring people together to read, discuss and build activities around the book. In recent years, an average of 60 towns have taken part each year, receiving copies of the book to give away.

Past activities have included read-a-thons, staged dramatic readings, art projects and exhibits, oral history presentations and field trips. This year, they can include Japanese art projects and tea ceremonies, kite building, study of government documents relating to the internment program, and events organized by local Asian cultural organizations. Vermont Public Radio also will air programming about the book.

The author will make appearances in two Vermont communities in the spring and fall (the dates haven't been set) to kick off and wrap up the Vermont Reads program.

For more, visit vermonthumanities.org.

Nothing but green sky

The award for strangest title this month goes to "The Gort Cloud," coming soon from Vermont-based publisher Chelsea Green.

What does it mean? Author Richard Seireeni reportedly coined it to refer to "the vast and largely invisible network" of nongovernmental organizations, trend spotters, advocacy groups, social networks, business alliances, certifying organizations and other members of the green community that have the power to make or break new "green" brands.

To explain how the "cloud" influences consumers, he looked to entrepreneurs including Jeffrey Hollender, head of Burlington-based Seventh Generation, a purveyor of environmentally friendly household products and the lifestyle to go with them.

The company was a leader in making consumer products an extension (and statement) of the buyer's belief system. With his book, Seireeni aims to show other entrepreneurs how to find the silver inside the "Gort Cloud."

Shazam!

From the "it's about time" department comes the librarian action figure, a plastic superhero in a blue skirt whose arm features push-button shushing action.

We discovered this gem courtesy of a new Web page from the St. Johnsbury Athenaeum that rounds up its staff's favorite book-related Web sites and highlights a Site of the Month. January's pick was the Book Lust Wiki site operated by American librarian Nancy Pearl, known for her 2003 title "Book Lust: Recommended Reading for Every Mood, Moment and Reason."

The athenaeum notes that Pearl became so famous among book lovers that she inspired the action figure.

Her Wiki site offers book club recommendations and reviews, and it invites visitors to suggest their own.

We're just as interested to see what the athenaeum comes up with this month.

A novel approach

Colchester novelist Jim DeFilippi is trying a new way of reaching readers: He has posted several of his crime novels (they include "Blood Sugar" and "Duck Alley") on his Web site, jimdefilippi.com, for free download as PDFs ranging from about 1.5 MB to nearly 3 MB.

He says they're also available from Amazon.com for download to its Kindle electronic reader. The price? Eighty cents. (He says Amazon wouldn't let him give them away for free.)

The reading light: spotlight on events

Fans can get up close with two authors from the fast-growing "cozy" mystery genre when Nancy Atherton presents "Aunt Dimity Slays the Dragon" and Vermont author Barbara Luff presents "Tea Time" on Thursday at 7 p.m. at the Northshire Bookstore in Manchester Center.

"Tea Time" is Luff's first published book. She grew up in Brownsville and returned to writing, a childhood interest, after raising her family.

The story is set in 1955 Bellows Falls, where a widow struggling with the loss of her husband and the family business discovers something sinister linking her life's tragedies.

Also, storyteller and entrepreneur Burr Morse, whose East Montpelier "empire" on a former family dairy farm includes a popular sugarhouse, gift shop and cross-country ski trails, will talk about his second book, "Golden Times," on Tuesday at 7 p.m. at Bear Pond Books in Montpelier.



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