This may be too much information, but I was in the shower on Sunday morning listening to the news on KYW (I recently purchased a shower radio just for this purpose, cinching my reputation as a news geek), when I heard a familiar voice: The Mercury's own beloved columnist and OJR-area stringer Laura Catalano.

The extensively talented Catalano, who writes a Sunday column for The Mercury that always has me laughing out loud, has gone and written a book. She somehow found the time outside of her full-time job as a staff writer at the Schuylkill River Heritage Area, her part-time writing gig for our fine paper, raising three children and whatever she does for fun.

Along with SRHA executive director Kurt D. Zwikl, Laura has written "Along the Schuylkill River," (Arcadia Publishing, $21.99, 128 pp.) a pictorial history of the river that borders Pottstown. The book is part of Arcadia Publishing's Images of America series, which, incidentally, also includes a history of The Sunnybrook Ballroom and of The Route 100 corridor.

More than 200 vintage photos are featured in the book. According to a release from the SRHA,

the authors have included multiple pictures of the Schuylkill Canal, such as old canal barges, mules, boatmen and locks.

"The book contains images from virtually every major town and city along the Schuylkill River and gives a glimpse into what life was like across the region from the mid-19th to the early 20th centuries. It includes photos of numerous "firsts" in America: the first wire suspension bridge, opening day of America's first zoo, the first tunnel in North America and the country's first vineyard," states the release.

Upcoming book signings are scheduled at the followinglocations:

* Sun. Oct. 4, 1:30-3:30 p.m.-Fairmount WaterWorks Interpretive Center, Philadelphia

* Sat. Oct. 10, Noon-3 p.m.-Schuylkill RiverFestival, Riverfront Park, Pottstown

* Sun. Oct. 18, 1-3 p.m.-Schuylkill CanalAssociation Open House, Locktender's House Lock 60, 400Towpath Rd, Mont Clare, PA 19453

All author royalties benefit the nonprofit Schuylkill RiverHeritage Area.

If you want to buy a copy of the book, buying one directly from the nonprofit Schuylkill River Heritage Area ensures that a greater portion of the profits supports their mission of using conservation, education, recreation, tourism, and cultural and historic preservation as tools for community revitalization and economic development.

To order, contact Cindy Kott at the Schuylkill River Heritage Area at 484-945-0200. Or order online HERE at the SRHA website.

Boyertown native K. Scott Schaeffer (unknown to me whether he is related to the Schaeffers of former South Reading Avenue Pa. Dutch restaurant fame) has penned a book, "Biblical Freedom from Religious Oppression" (Albireo Publishing, $14,95, trade paperback, 256 pp.)

Midwest Book Review calls Schaeffer's work “an intriguing and fascinating read that may change some reader's lives for the better."

The following is taken verbatim from the Midwest Book Review:

Schaeffer examines how the teachings of most Bible-believing churches conflict with the Bible’s teachings. Using messages that resonate throughout the Bible to free Christians from strict, man-made religious rules and practices that add to human misery, Schaeffer delivers a complex and controversial book that shows how the Bible is actually more lenient than the Church.

"Schaeffer explains how Christians can achieve religious freedom by using the Every-Verse Method of Bible Study — a means through which the Bible is studied in totality, as opposed to pulling isolated verses out of context — on some of the most complicated — and confusing —issues Christians face.

"Meticulously researched and engaging, Biblical Freedom from Religious Oppression contains over 700 Bible verses and examines Biblical perspective on such issues as: freedom, creationism, alcohol consumption, sexual thought, divorce and re-marriage, oppression of the poor, Christian political power, judgmentalism, and religious arrogance. Rather than focus on isolated verses in the Bible, Schaeffer presents all of the applicable verses that address the various issues and explains the historical background, whereby allowing readers to achieve a greater understanding of the Bible’s message. For example, Schaeffer presents all 35 Bible verses addressing alcohol consumption, and upon examination of each verse, it becomes clear that the Bible’s stance on alcohol consumption is far more lenient than that of many churches.

Biblical Freedom from Religious Oppression explains the Four Fundamental Freedoms of the Christian Faith, as well as the Four Freedom Defeaters. Moreover, Biblical Freedom from Religious Oppression presents, in clear and concise terms, where the Bible and the Church differ in sections entitled “Required by the Church, but Not by the Bible,” ”Forbidden by the Church, but Not by the Bible,” and “Committed by the Church, but Opposed by the Bible.”

Thoughtful and thought-provoking, Biblical Freedom from Religious Oppression explains how Christians can differentiate between which Christian practices are truly Biblical, which are optional, and which are evil, and explains how to achieve freedom from the myths, misconceptions, and man-made rules that prevent us from leading the lives God intended.

According to Schaeffer, “Millions of people have been driven away from both the Bible and God thanks to those who have distorted isolated Bible verses to promote oppressive religious traditions. The good news is that the Bible actually rescues us from this oppression. Biblical Freedom from Religious Oppression is simply a fresh look at the Bible, stripping away tradition and assumption as much as possible, and, from beginning to end, forces us to let the whole Bible dictate the truth to us. It denies us permission to approach the Bible with the intent of finding verses that support our pre-existing beliefs. My hope is that readers are prepared to have their traditional beliefs challenged, but will ultimately develop a greater appreciation for what Christianity is all about.”

Schaeffer now devotes his life to exposing the differences between Biblical teaching and church tradition.

"Biblical Freedom from Religious Oppression" will be nationally released on Oct. 15. To learn more, check out the Biblical Freedom website.

Barbara Kingsolver's "The Poisonwood Bible: A Novel" (HarperCollins, 1998, 543 pp.) is an epic by definition and in scope and proportion. I realize now I was just cutting my teeth on Kingsolver's earlier, shorter yet just as vividly and potently written novels, "The Bean Trees" and "Pigs in Heaven." I am now convinced of - or happily reacquainted with - her genius.

What begins as the tale of an evangelical Baptist family on a mission trip to the Belgian Congo in the late 1950s, evolves into a larger more allegoric tale.

Nathan and Orleanna Price bring their four daughters, Rachel, twins Leah and Adah, and baby girl Ruth May into the remote jungle village of Kilanga fully unprepared for what awaits them. They bring with them cake mixes, bean seeds and Sunday best clothes, not realizing the climate will render such things useless.

The book's chapters are narrated by the female characters in turn. The viewpoints range from self-centered teen Rachel, who worries more about her appearance than anything else, to crippled Adah, who, due to a birth deformity, walks with a limp and tends to see things differently - literally: She reads books back to front, speaking and reading the words backwards. Leah drinks in Kilanga, becomes a huntress, a teacher, a speaker of its language. Then there's the innocent Ruth May, wide-eyed and accepting, who teaches the village children to play "Mother May I."

I expected the book to end with the family's return to the states. But the majority of the family never go back to their native land. We follow the girls into their very different adulthoods and witness how Africa has marked and changed them forever.

I can tell you that one of the daughters loses her life on that vast continent, as Orleanna will tell you on page one of the novel. But she won't tell you which one. That's revealed a few hundred pages later.

Orleanna (the mother): "We aimed for no more than to have dominion over every creature that moved upon the earth. And so it came to pass that we stepped down there on a place we believed fully unformed, where only darkness moved on the face of the waters. Now you laugh, day and night, while you gnaw at my bones. But what else could we have thought? Only that it began and ended with us. What do we know even now? Ask the children. Look at what they grew up to be. We can only speak of the things we carried with us, and the things we took away."

The poisonwood bible, the basis of the novel, basically says that, well, "Tata Jesus" really is "bangala," a Kikongo word that can have several meanings, including most precious and most deadly. The bible, for a baptist preacher, is a much different set of life lessons when compared to the hundreds of years of oral traditions passed down through the ranks of the African villagers. Baptism, which may be a sacred rite for the Rev. Nathan Price, is equated with fear and certain death for the children of Kilanga (in a river rife with hungry alligators). Simlarly, their ways confounded the Rev. Price.

Ruth May: "Father is trying to teach everybody to love Jesus, but what with one thing and another around here, they don't. Some of them are scared of Jesus, and some aren't, but I don't think they love Him. Even the ones that go to church, they still worship the false-eye dolls and get married to each other time and time again. Father gets right put out about it."

There is also the political aspect of the novel. The Belgians, the Portuguese, the Americans and others who exploited the various African countries' resources (diamonds, people) and tried to force Africa to adapt to their ways might have won the battle, but not the war, Kingsolver seems to say. These conquerers and their pieces of history will dissolve into the greater story of Africa.

My journey through this novel, I can say with chagrin, took roughly a month (kind of an epic in itself). I got the audiobook out of the Pottstown Public Library for a 6-hour roundtrip in August. It was interesting because Kingsolver read the novel herself, and did the various girls' voices, Georgia accents and childish misconceptions and all.

But I didn't get through it all, because the tapes ran 10+ hours, and my check out time ran out. I traded them in for the actual book after my trip. I hauled that huge library book around for a long time! Not that the reading wasn't enjoyable, just that I've been busy and have only been reading a page or two here and there.

This morning, as I finished the novel, I was happy to be reunited with the voice of the Price sister/daughter who didn't make it. How fitting that she should narrate the end of the novel. She was there with the family all along, and urges them to move on with their lives.

Cathy Greenberg and Barrett Avigdor authors of "What Happy Working Mothers Know: How NewFindings in Positive Psychology Can Lead to a Healthy and Happy Work/LifeBalance," (Wiley, $19.95, 2009, 256 pp.) will be two of the keynote speakers at the Pennsylvania Governor's Conference for Women on Thursday, Sept. 17, at The Pennsylvania Convention Center in Philadelphia.

Barrett S. Avigdor, J.D., is the director of legal talent strategy at Accenture, a position she created in 2007. In this role she strives to maximize the productivity, creativity and engagement of the 400 legal professionals at Accenture around the world. Avigdor spent much of her legal career as a senior executive in the legal group at Accenture, though she's also a certified career coach and an advocate for happiness. Avigdor writes and speaks to audiences around the globe on the subject of finding happiness by working to your strengths and aligning your time to your values. She is a graduate of the University of Chicago Law School and a former Fulbright Scholar to Brazil.

Cathy L. Greenberg's books include "Global Leadership: Next Generation," with Marshall Goldsmith, which ranked No. 1 in leadership on Amazon.com. She is cited as an authority on leadership behavior by all major business and financial newsorganizations, as well as by popular media outlets such as Glamour, Oprah Magazine and Martha Stewart Living Radio. Named a "Top 100 Leadership Coach" byExecutive Excellence Magazine (2008), she is a business talk show host on "Voice America" and founder of h2c, LLC Happy Companies Healthy People, a beacon for successful leaders.

Click here for more information about the Pennsylvania Governor's Conference for Women.

Every attendee will receive a free copy of "What Happy Working Mothers Know."

James Patterson just created a new definition for deadline pressure.

He must've wanted a challenge ... and a few more million dollars.

Crankin': Patterson to write 17 books in 3 years
NEW YORK (AP) — After more than 40 best sellers, James Patterson is just getting started.

He has agreed to a 17-book deal with his longtime publisher, the Hachette Book Group — an unthinkable commitment for most writers, but for Patterson a mere three years worth of work.

"Jim has all of these incredible franchises," says his literary representative, Washington attorney Robert Barnett, who cited such popular series as "Maximum Ride," ''Daniel X" and the Alex Cross detective stories. "And when you put all of those franchises together, that's a lot of books."

Hachette announced Tuesday that the ultra-prolific novelist will turn out 10 adult thrillers, one nonfiction work and six novels for young people by the end of 2012.

Financial terms were not disclosed.

Patterson will have help with those books. His co-authors have included Maxine Paetro and Andrew Gross and he will continue to use collaborators, Barnett says.

"Whenever he works with a co-author he fully discloses it," Barnett says. "There's no secret he works with collaborators."