Beloved African-American author Walter Mosley’s novel When the Thrill is Gone made the shortlist of titles chosen by the St. Louis Public Library and the St. Louis County Library systems for its 2011 Read St. Louis community reading initiative.
As part of the Read St. Louis event series, Mosley will visit St. Louis on Saturday, March 12 for a 7 p.m. reading at St. Louis County Library Headquarters, 1640 S. Lindbergh Blvd.
The other four titles are Joyce Carol Oates’ A Widow’s Story, Lois Lowry’s The Giver, David Finkel’s The Good Soldiers and Jonathan Franzen’s Freedom.
“With the respect Read St. Louis has developed, we’re able to pick and choose who we want,” said Carrie Robb, adult programming coordinator at the St. Louis County Library.
“Lots of cities have a reading program where they choose one book and one author to encourage community discussion. We decided to choose a range of books that appeal to wide range of readers, so everyone could find some interest in it – nonfiction, fiction, all age groups.”
The 2011 program will feature readings, events, discussions and activities surrounding each book, chosen to represent a category ranging from mystery, young reader’s fiction, nonfiction and fiction.
Beginning with a March 4 reading by Joyce Carol Oates, the Read St. Louis Distinguished Literary Achievement award winner, the selected authors will visit St. Louis at events staggered through the year. Franzen will give the final talk on Oct. 15. Booksellers including Left Bank Books, Pudd’nhead Books, Borders, and Barnes and Noble will advertise the series and sell books at each venue.
Both libraries and Read St. Louis sponsors hope to reach varied audiences and would like to reach numbers comparable to their largest audience yet: the 2009 event featuring young adult novelist Percy Jackson. To that end, they selected five recognizable authors and five titles familiar to their St. Louis audience.
In addition to the commercial success of books such as Freedom, The Metro Theater Company just finished a run of Lowry’s The Giver at the Edison Theater, and the Repertory Theater featured an adaptation of Mosley’s The Tempest Tales throughout January. Event coordinators plan to invite actors to perform scenes from the respective shows.
All of the authors on the list will stop in St. Louis as part of larger book tours. With the exception of The Giver, the titles all qualify as recent releases from the past five years.
“This is the first time we’re choosing an older title, a required reading book, one that a lot of schools use to spark discussion, so that there’s something we know kids will be engaged by,” Robb said. “It’s a classic pick that has influenced a generation.”
Read St. Louis has emerged as one of a slate of reading initiatives in the St. Louis area. According to Robb, library representatives work in conjunction with other programs, such as the National Endowment for the Art’s Big Read Festival, by hosting smaller programs and discussion groups.
“St. Louis has developed a reputation as a literary city,” Robb said.
Edited from a story that first appeared on www.stlbeacon.org.
