Trace Your Family History

Inspired by her family’s Christmas ravioli tradition, author Laura Schenone traces her family’s roots from Italy to New Jersey in The Lost Ravioli Recipes of Hoboken. During her search to find the original recipe she discovers much more about herself, her family and the place they used to call home. Like Ms Schenone, you can discover much about your family’s history with a bit of research. 

The Roxbury Library provides free access to historical records, censuses and family histories online from Ancestry.com. The Library will be holding class for Roxbury cardholders on July 28, 6pm. During which you will be shown how to find your records so that you can begin to create your family history story. Patrons will be provided with a blank family tree which should be completed and brought to the class.

The Lost Ravioli Recipes of Hoboken by Laura Schenone is this year’s One Community, One Book selection by the Morristown Festival of Books. Ms Schenone will be appearing at the 2015 Morristown Festival of Books on October 2. For more information about the One Community, One Book initiative and the Morristown Festival of Books like the Facebook page and follow the Twitter feed.

Your Family Came From Where?

Wednesday, June 10 the Morristown Festival of Books’ One Community, One Book initiative is hosting “Your Family Came From Where?” that will be held at the Madison Public Library beginning at 7 PM.

The program based on the family heritage theme from this year’s One Book selection The Lost Ravioli Recipes of Hoboken by Laura Schenone.  We are partnering with the Morristown Library's genealogical department to showcase the information available in Morris County. Cher Turkington from the Morristown & Morris Twp Library will be our speaker on how early immigrants transformed the Morristown community. Philip Hussa from the Family History Center in Flanders will be presenting information on the area Family History Centers collections and of course familysearch.org. Both of these organizations will have materials on hand for attendees to learn more about the breadth of genealogical services here in the Morris County area.

The book that the OCOB committee selected to be this year’s featured selection that we hope you will enjoy is The Lost Ravioli Recipes of Hoboken written by Laura Schenone of Montclair.  By offering this and other programs leading up to the Festival which will take place on October 2 and 3, to generate enthusiasm for the book as well as the Festival. To find out more about One Community, One Book and the Morristown Festival of Books visit the website www.morristownfestivalofbooks.org and follow us on Facebook and Twitter.

Attention all book clubs: Morristown Festival of Books gearing up for 2nd Year

Once again the Recorder papers have written a great article on the festival and the One Community, One Book (OCOB) initiative. Attention all book clubs: Morristown Festival of Books gearing up for second year - New Jersey Hills: Madison Eagle News: The Morristown Festival of Books’ “One Community One Book” has made its choice for summer reading leading up to this fall's festival: The Lost Ravioli Recipes of Hoboken by Laura Schenone. We hope you read the book and participate in the OCOB events on June 10, August 27 and attend the Morristown Festival of Books on October 2-3. Books can be purchased at words and The Bookworm or your local library.

7 Days until the Morristown Festival of Books!

The Morristown Festival of Books starts one week from today! As the excitement grows, I thought I would post the flyers that can be seen all around Morris County. How many have your seen?

Put on your boxing gloves and Duke it out with the controversial author of The Price of Silence: The Duke Lacrosse Scandal, the Power of the Elite, and the Corruption of Our Great Universities. Buy your tickets here.

Don your feather boas and enjoy our free children’s author events. Afterward visit South Street Creamery, don’t forget to ask for Festival flavor Fancy Nancy in a sprinkle cone!

Calling teen writers! A panel of YA authors will discuss the how tos of a writing career. Here’s your chance to get answers to your writing questions from a trio of successful authors.

Haven’t read the One Community, One Book selection yet? No worries, attend the program and pick up a copy of Providence on site. Lisa Colozza Cocca will be signing books at the Presbyterian Parish House at the conclusion of the program.

Did I mention the Morristown Festival of Books is a free festival? All the author talks and panels on Saturday are FREE! There is no excuse not to participate; we have authors for every taste: fiction, human rights, military, cooking and more so see you there!

10 Days until the Morristown Festival of Books!

The Morristown Festival of Books inaugural One Community,One Book initiative has been a great success!  Towns throughout Morris County, Libraries in both Morris and Somerset counties and individuals have jumped aboard to support the initiative. The Town Councils and Mayors of Butler, Florham Park, Mendham Twp, Morris Plains, Morris Twp, Morristown, Mount Olive, Netcong, Rockaway Boro, Roxbury, and Washington all have issued One Community, One Book proclamations urging their residents to read Lisa Colozza Cocca’s Providence.

Many book clubs in the area have been discussing Providence.
Pictured here is the Flanders Book Club get together.

Librarians around the area have been very enthusiastic about the One Book; engaging their book clubs in lively discussions of what Becky should do. I have to take a moment to thank Lotte Newlin, Library Director of the Kemmerer Library in Harding for allowing us to hold our kick-off event at her library. The event was fantastic and what a wonderful venue. If you haven’t been to the Kemmerer Library, it is definitely worth a look. Pick a good book off the shelf, and relax in a comfy reading chair looking out on the pretty pond out back.

A wonderful group of women donated funds to purchase Providence for many local Libraries. Through their generosity, Providence is also available in e-book format in the Morris County and Somerset County Library Systems. Look for a plaque in your Library copy thanking Modern Mondays.

Morristown Presbyterian Parish House

Now we are counting down the days (10) until the Morristown Festival of Books. At 3pm on September 27 in the Morristown Presbyterian Parish House, Lisa Colozza Cocca will take the stage to talk about creating Providence, her first fiction novel.  She will be taking questions from the audience. Personally, I hoping to hear a bit about how Lisa sees Becky, Rose and Georgina’s lives evolve after the conclusion of the book, say five years down the road. After Lisa has satisfied her readers’ curiosity, the program turns to the real world implications of Becky’s decision to run-away and raising Georgia. A panel of local experts: Judge Michael Wright (yes Mendham grads, OUR Mike Wright), Newbridge Services CEO Robert Parker and Brenda Mirley LCS, former Director Spence Chapin will discuss how the Morristown social services would help Becky, Georgia and Rose.

If you still haven’t read Providence, there is still time to pick up a copy. Bookworm, the official OCOB bookseller will be at the Parish House with books to sell. See you Saturday, September 27 at the Morristown Festival of Books.

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The 27th Annual Olde Suckasunny Day Street Fair is Saturday, September 6th on Main Street in Succasunna from 10am – 3pm. Sponsored by The Roxbury Public Library, The Succasunna United Methodist Church and by The First Presbyterian Church of Succasunna; there are games, live entertainment, musical guests including the Roxbury Marching Band, food, a Friends of the Library BookSale and 75 plus vendors, crafters, and non-profits.

The Friends of the Library are selling 15,000 gently used books priced from .50 for paperbacks and $1 for hardcover books. Among the non-profits tents at the Library are the Friends of the Library and the Daughters of the American Revolution. They can be found on Main Street between the Library driveways. The Friends table will be promoting memberships and driving traffic back to the Book Sale. Morristown Festival of Books schedules will be posted too. Meanwhile, the Ferro-MonteChapter DAR have balloons and pinwheels for the little ones, family trees and pocket Constitutions for the rest of us. The chapter will have information on the Wtreath Across America event they are sponsoring at the First Presbyterian Church and United Methodist Church cemeteries.

New this year will be a Dog Adoption from St. Hubert's which I hear will include puppies. Dad, I promise not to bring one home. Coming back after a few years absence is the Fire Safety house from the American Red Cross. Food is abundant including my favorites from hot dogs, corn on the cob and church lady brownies; a corner with no nuts please! During my break, I'm looking forward to stopping in at Village Antiques and Collectibles to see what fun things my friend Debbie Lauda has gotten in.

Admission into the fair is free with events scheduled throughout the day starting with opening ceremonies with Mayor Jim Rilee. The fair is on Main Street from Hillside Avenue to Hunter Street. Parking for the fair will be available at: Lincoln Roosevelt School, Franklin School and the Saint Therese Church where they are sponsoring a Granny's Attic.

Counting down to Morristown Festival of Books

There are 24 days until the Morristown Festival of Books starts.  The Festival kicks off with Keynote Speaker, William D Cohan Friday September 26 at the Mayo Performing Arts Center. Cohan latest tomb the controversial "The Price of Silence" about the Duke Lacrosse scandal promises to bring strong reactions from the audience given the local kids involved and the timely topic of excesses of college life as the new school year gets underway.  The Friday night event is the only Festival event that has a ticket fee. I’ve got my ticket do you? Hope to see you on the 26^th!

Morristown Festival of Books Launches its One Community, One Book Initiative with the announcement of Providence by Lisa Colozza Cocca as the 2014 Featured Book

In this inaugural season, the Morristown Festival of Books introduces One Community One Book (OCOB) and its 2014 selection of Morris County resident’s YA novel, Providence.  The One Community, One Book committee, co-chaired by Roxbury resident Kim Armstrong and Morristown resident Michelle Russo, considered a wide variety books, before settling on Ms. Cocca’s Providence. The OCOB initiative encourages curiosity, dialogue and discovery by engaging community book groups, high school students and teachers, library patrons and the public at large in discussions using a single book that appeals to a diverse readership.  The One Book selection needs broad appeal to all ages of readers. Providence touches on loss and abandonment, the challenges of the elderly and keeping small communities vibrant. “As a member of the sandwich generation, I can easily relate to the multi-generation aspects of Providence and believe others will as well.” says Armstrong.

Lisa Colozza Cocca

“New Jersey is celebrating its 350 anniversary, so showcasing a local author was high on our wish list” continues Armstrong. Lisa Colozza Cocca, a Flanders resident, is a freelance writer and editor in educational publishing.  She is the author of numerous nonfiction titles for children and young adults, including Reconstruction and the Aftermath of the Civil War, Marquis de Lafayette: Fighting for America’s Freedom, and the Understanding Graphs series. When the sun goes down, Lisa is back at the computer writing. She is most excited about her debut YA novel, Providence (Merit Press/F&W Media). Lisa can be found at www.lisacolozzacocca.com.

Providence will be a recommended summer reading selection for Pingry and other area schools. Book clubs throughout the county will join in the discussions in the months surrounding the festival. Other events around the area include a June OCOB Kickoff at Kemmerer Harding Library and an in-depth panel discussion on the themes addressed in Providence. The Morris County libraries, which strengthen our communities by connecting people with ideas and information, are solidly behind the OCOB initiative and are participating in the planning of activities and events. Providence will be available at your local library and through the Bookworm in Bernardsville, the official bookseller of OCOB for the Festival.

The Morristown Festival of Books will take place on Sept 26-27 on South Street. As described by the event’s chair Linda Hellstrom from Morristown," it is designed to celebrate the power of the written word to challenge, transport and transform us, while bringing together our community in conversation." The festival model has been used successfully by communities around the world.

Lisa Colozza Cocca will be one of the 17 authors participating in the Friday – Saturday Festival.  The full author line-up and the schedule for Saturday will be published in June. For more information on One Community, One Book and the Morristown Book Festival, visit us on the web at: www.morristownfestivalofbooks.org, like us on Facebook at: Morristown Festival of Books and follow us on Twitter: @MorristownBooks

Questions? Go to info@morristownfestivalofbooks.org

Morristown Festival of Books Announces Keynote Speaker

 Morristown Festival of Books kicks off Sept. 26 - New Jersey Hills Media Group: Randolph Reporter News: William D. Cohan, author of "The Price of Silence" about the Duke lacrosse scandal, will be the keynote speaker for the inaugural Morristown Festival of Books at 7:30 p.m., Friday, Sept. 26 at the Mayo Performing Arts Center, South Street, Morristown.