Friends of the Library: News

Shades of Brown Newsletter Releases

April Book Review

Friends’ Book Review for April

Robert Slothus will present the Friends’ book review on Friday, April 2, 2021, starting at 12:30 p.m. and continuing until 1:15 p.m. on Zoom. This will be the Friends’ third virtual book review since the cancellation of in-person book review luncheons due to COVID.  

A first-time author, Slothus will review his recently published book Clinamen. Born in Hackensack, New Jersey, he began a career in health sciences in 1971 as an Airman in the United States Air Force. Eight years later, in January 1979, he started teaching at Williamsport Area Community College (Pennsylvania College of Technology). While at the college Slothus taught Medical Imaging for more than thirty-six years, earned the rank of Associate Professor, and took on the administrative position of Director of Radiography, which he held at the time he retired in July 2015. Slothus informs us that as he began his retirement years, he decided to re-direct himself from a daily teaching routine to something that would give him a new purpose to life, which led to writing this novel. He quotes Faulkner, one of his favorite authors, who states, “The only thing worth writing about is the human heart in conflict with itself.” Slothus states, “I put my heart and soul into writing Clinamen. It was a wonderful journey for me to write a book.”  

As one reviewer states, “Clinamen is a literary thriller that tests the limits of the human spirit against a crushing backdrop of guilt and tragedy. It tells the tale of Patrick Wallace who finds himself destined to be intertwined with Mohawk Indians, drug traffickers, DEA and FBI agents, members of the Aryan Brotherhood and Hell’s Angels.” The story takes place during the early years of the Reagan administration’s War on Drugs. Wallace encounters “all manner of deviancy, personal demons and near death experiences that challenge his very being and confront him with a terrible truth rooted in a past tragedy that has the power to change his life forever.”

This review will be a great opportunity for members of the community to question Slothus about the process of writing and marketing a book as a first-time writer and the many decisions he made relating to the characters, settings (some of which are familiar to our region), time period, and much more.  

Participants will need to register by Wednesday, March 31, using the online reservation calendar on the Library website (http://calendar.jvbrown.edu) where you will find a prompt for reservations. Please note that you will need to provide your e-mail address when you register so we can send registrants the Zoom address/link a couple days prior to the event. Additionally, please send any questions/topics that you would like Mr. Slothus to discuss during the virtual book review to the Friends’ g-mail account: friendsofjvbl@gmail.com