'Things They Carried' Recent "Big Read" Events

The Big Read 2011
The Big Read, created by the National Endowment for the Arts in partnership with the Institute of Museum and Library Services and in cooperation with Arts Midwest, is designed to draw communities together around a single book through a month long series of related literary events. The goal is to restore reading to the center of a community’s culture. According to a 2004 report by the National Endowment for the Arts, Reading at Risk: A Survey of Literary Reading in America, “not only is literary reading in America declining rapidly among all groups, but the rate of decline has accelerated, especially among the young.” The Big Read aims to address this crisis by celebrating some of the greatest books.

For 2011, Get Lit! Programs is hosting Spokane County’s third Big Read series March 4th through April 16th. This year’s selection, Tim O’Brien’s The Things They Carried, is a collection of stories about soldiers who served during the Vietnam War. O’Brien is a combat veteran of the Vietnam War and his book was chosen because it exemplifies the festival theme: “Telling the American Story.” Tracing the tour of one American platoon, The Things They Carried is considered one of the finest books ever written about combat and was a finalist for both the 1990 Pulitzer Prize and the National Book Critics Circle Award. Our goal is to encourage as many people as possible to read and discuss this book in 2011.

Tim O’Brien received the 1979 National Book Award in fiction for Going After Cacciato. His other works include July, July and In the Lake of the Woods, which received the James Fenimore Cooper Prize from the Society of American Historians and was named the best novel of 1994 by Time.

The Big Read opens on March 4 with a reception hosted by Spokane mayor, Mary Verner, featuring stories by veterans of foreign wars. Following the kick-off, there will be multiple tie-in events related to the book. For example, Eastern Washington University’s Theater Department wrote an adaptation of the book which will be staged from March 4-12. There will be a Wednesday night film series related to the 1960’s and/or wars in general at one of two locations downtown. Multiple book discussions will be open to the public at local libraries, bookstores, and community spots. The Big Read will then culminate in an evening with Vietnam-War veteran Tim O’Brien and Iraq-War veteran and poet Brian Turner, during the Get Lit! Festival on April 16th at The Bing Crosby Theater.



For more information about the national efforts made by The Big Read, visit http://neabigread.org

Thirteen Moons by Charles Frazier

At the age of twelve, an orphan named Will Cooper is given a horse, a key, and a map and is sent on a journey through the uncharted wilderness of the Cherokee Nation. Will is a bound boy, obliged to run a remote Indian trading post. As he fulfills his lonesome duty, Will finds a father in Bear, a Cherokee chief, and is adopted by him and his people, developing relationships that ultimately forge Will’s character. All the while, his love of Claire, the enigmatic and captivating charge of volatile and powerful Featherstone, will forever rule Will’s heart. In a voice filled with both humor and yearning, Will tells of a lifelong search for home, the hunger for fortune and adventure, the rebuilding of a trampled culture, and above all an enduring pursuit of passion.

Named ONE OF THE BEST BOOKS OF THE YEAR by
Los Angeles Times Book Review, Chicago Tribune,
and St. Louis Post-Dispatch

“A literary journey of magnitude . . . Thirteen Moons belongs to the ages.”
–Los Angeles Times

Praise for Merle's Door

Merle's Door
Lessons from a Freethinking Dog

By Ted Kerasote
Publication Date: April 2008

Description
Now including a wonderful new photo insert chronicling Merle’s life, this national bestseller explores the relationship between humans and dogs. How would dogs live if they were free? Would they stay with their human friends?


Merle and Ted found each other in the Utah desert— Merle was living wild and Ted was looking for a pup to keep him company. As their bond grew, Ted taught Merle how to live around wildlife, and Merle taught Ted about the benefits of letting a dog make his own decisions.

Using the latest in wolf research and exploring issues of animal consciousness and leadership and the origins of the human-dog relationship, Ted Kerasote takes us on the journey he and Merle shared. As much a love story as a story of independence and partnership, Merle’s Door is tender, funny, and ultimately illuminating.


About the Author
TED KERASOTE is the author of many books, including the national bestseller Merle's Door: Lessons from a Freethinking Dog and Out There, which won the National Outdoor Book Award. His essays and photographs have appeared in Audubon, Geo, Outside, Science, the New York Times, and more than sixty other periodicals.

Michelle's House Rocks!

We missed you Candace and Julie! Candace, as a lover of dogs, we think that you would really have liked this book. We wish we had your feedback on how the author described his relationship with his amazing partner and friend, Merle.

Michelle, the Apple Dumplings were amazing! I probably shouldn't share the special ingredient so "mums" the word. It was a really fun evening so thanks for sharing your home and family with us rowdy folk!

'The Lacuna' Discussion

We missed you Candace and Michelle!

Joe was a wonderful host as always and the newly restored wooden floors look great! I hear that the Chocolate Mousse was great and so was the Pieces of Red....

We had a wide ranging discussion tonight about Kingsolver's latest book, a historical novel taking place in Mexico and the U.S. She is a great storyteller and weaves her fictional characters in with real people and events with interesting and provocative style.

We also discussed the possibility of going back up to Hill's Resort on Priest Lake the second weekend of October. Thanks for bringing it up Rhonda!! See everyone in five weeks...

Lacuna

The Lacuna by Barbara Kingsolver
The Lacuna 3.73 · rating details · 7,526 ratings · 2,769 reviews
In her most accomplished novel, Barbara Kingsolver takes us on an epic journey from the Mexico City of artists Diego Rivera and Frida Kahlo to the America of Pearl Harbor, FDR, and J. Edgar Hoover. The Lacuna is a poignant story of a man pulled between two nations as they invent their modern identities.

'The Patron Saint of Liars' by Ann Patchett

We had a great discussion at Candace's house about a book that none of us really liked. I think that we agreed that we liked the way the author writes and develops her characters but we didn't like the characters themselves. Someone said that it was Ann Patchett's first novel. It doesn't compare with her novel, 'Bel Canto', that we read several years ago which we all agreed was wonderful.

Mary Shelley Background

From 1983 Signet Classic:
Born in London in 1797, Mary Wollstonecraft Shelley was the daughter of William Godwin, a noted social theorist, and Mary Wollstonecraft, one of the leading woman literary figures of the day. Her mother died soon after her birth, and Mary was raised first under the care of servants, then by a stepmother, and lastly in the advanced intellectual atmosphere of her father's circle. In May, 1814, she met Percy Bysshe Shelley, and in July of that year eloped with him to the Continent. Two years later, after the death of Shelley's wife, the poet and Mary were able to marry. It was in Switzerland in 1816, as a result of a story-writing competition among the Shelleys and Lord Byron, that Mary began Frankenstein, her first and most famous novel. Published in 1816, it was followed by such works as Valperga (1823), The Last Man (1826), Lodore (1835), and Falkner (1837). In 1823, after the death of her husband, she returned to England; there she devoted herself to the upbringing of her son and the securing of his right to the Shelley family title. She died in 1851.

Terry Tempest Williams to Speak @ Lincoln Center

My favorite author (Refuge, Finding Beauty in a Broken World, and Open Space of Democracy) and wonderful, inspiring speaker will be at Lincoln Center on Monday November 1st, 2010. Tickets are $45 per person. This is a benefit for the Inland Northwest Land Trust.

'Devil' Sparks Discussion & Debate

We had a well attended bookclub at Candace's house including my good friend Jim who is our newest member. We had a lively and wide-ranging discussion regarding "The Devil in the White City" even comparing it to the other book of his called "Isaac's Storm". It was also interesting to hear how many of us had been to various World's Fairs (including New York, Vancouver, Seattle and Spokane's own Expo '74). Michelle had photos loaded on her Ipod of Chicago's Columbian Exposition of 1893 that was the topic of our book. Candace topped off the evening by sharing a final tribute to summer's bounty with home made Zuchini Bread!