The Wilson Library hosted the annual Book Day day event, a celebration of University of La Verne authors Tuesday via zoom. Roughly 30 community members attended to honor five faculty members who recently published books.
This year’s authors were Allyson Brantley, assistant professor of history and author of “Brewing a Boycott,” published in 2021; Issam Ghazzawi, professor of management and author of “Danilo and the Chocolate Hills,” published in 2022; Benjamin Jenkins, University archivist, assistant professor of history and author of “California’s Citrus Heritage,” published in 2021, Marcia Godwin, professor of public administration and co-author of “The Roads to Congress 2020: Campaigning in the Era of Trump and COVID-19”; and Sylvia Mac, assistant professor of education and author of “Neoliberalism and Inclusive Education: Students with Disabilities in the Education Marketplace,” published in 2021.
For the first half of the presentation, participants were divided into breakout groups for informal discussion with the various authors.
Brantley’s book is about one of the longest consumer boycotts in U.S. history – of Coors Beer.
“It took me about 10 years to research this book,” Brantley said.
Ghazzawi’s book, a fictional story about a child on a trip through the “mystical chocolate hills” in the Philippines, came about as “ a hobby of mine,” Ghazzawi said.
Jenkin’s “California’s Citrus Heritage,” a photographic book, focuses on the history of immigrants who worked in the citrus industry and helped build the California economy.
“We’re lucky today that all our smartphones have the technology to tag times and locations.”
For more information on these books, visit the Wilson Library on campus or online at library.laverne.edu.
—Joslyn Aguilar
Joslyn Aguilar, a junior communications major, is a staff writer for the Campus Times.