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Actor and literacy advocate LeVar Burton has started an online book club.
“I’m so excited to finally be able to share that today I’m launching my very first book club, on Fable, the new social platform for reading,” Burton, who hosted the popular PBS children’s series “Reading Rainbow “from 1983 to 2006 and currently hosts a Playback Podcast, said in a Youtube video Tuesday.
Praising “the power of storytelling,” he said, “[N]ow you and I can explore our love of the written word through some of my favorite books and authors…. I would like you to join me on this journey. “He concluded with his” Reading Rainbow “slogan:” But you don’t have to take my word for it. ”
In a separate statement via Fable.co, based in Palo Alto, Calif., Burton, 64, said that James Baldwin’s semi-autobiographical classic from 1953, “Go Tell It On the Mountain,” was his first selection, explaining that he had “had a huge impact on my life.”
“At a time when black people were very poorly represented in the publishing industry, Baldwin delivered a debut novel that presented the world with a vital voice in American literature,” the statement continued. “I am both inspired and energized by the opportunity to not only re-read this story, but also to share my perspective and hear from everyone else as we read together.”
Every three months, Burton will choose three works, one of which the club members can read together and discuss. Others for this first “folio” are science fiction writer Octavia Butler’s 1993 novel, “Parable of the Sower,” and publisher Jesmyn Ward’s 2016 collection of essays and poems, “The fire this time: a new generation is talking about race “.
Burton, who garnered public attention and won an Emmy nomination as the teen star of the 1977 miniseries “Roots”, then took on the role of chief engineer Geordi La. Forge on “Star Trek: The Next Generation” syndicated 1987-94 and its derivative films. Last month, the producers of “Jeopardy!” named him among the last group of guest hosts who will close the 37th season of the quiz. More than 254,000 people have signed a Changer.org petition advocating Burton as permanent host to succeed the late Alex Trebek.
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