Spokane Is Reading continues strong
And with book four, Spokane Is Reading … about art.
It’s been three years now since a group of area organizations, from the Spokane Public and Spokane County Library systems to Auntie’s Bookstore, joined forces to support the formation of a region-wide reading community.
They dubbed their effort Spokane Is Reading. The idea was to hold a monthlong series of literary events each October, from book discussions to an author’s visit, to encourage everyone in the Spokane area to read.
And read they did. The idea was so well-received that Spokane Is Reading continued.
That first year, 2002, the program tackled “Plainsong,” Kent Haruf’s minimalist novel of life in small-town Colorado. Then it turned to Charles Frazier’s Civil War saga “Cold Mountain.” Last year, in a switch, the selection committee opted for Orson Scott Card’s science-fiction novel “Ender’s Game.”
Which leads us to this year’s choice, Susan Vreeland’s blend of literature and art appreciation titled “The Girl in Hyacinth Blue.”
Vreeland’s novel is an exploration of the life of a fictional painting by the acclaimed Dutch artist Johannes Vermeer, told backward. From the current owner, Vreeland takes us back, owner by owner, telling the story of each, culminating with Vermeer and his subject, his daughter Magdalena.
The great thing about Vreeland’s book is that it offers participants a chance to explore, and experience, more than one art form, says Eva Silverstone, communications director for Spokane Public Libraries.
“The book is about a painting,” Silverstone says, “and so we decided to add some art-related programs to the calendar.”
Those events include several screenings of the 2003 Hallmark film “Brush With Fate,” which was based on the novel; various art-history and book discussions; life-drawing classes; and a visit by Vreeland on Oct. 27.
“We’re also doing a camera obscura demonstration,” Silverstone says.
A camera obscura is an optical device in which light, passing through a small hole, is projected onto an interior surface. The result is a perfect reflection of the outside image, only seen upside down.
“It’s surmised that Vermeer might have used that technique when setting up his scenes for his paintings,” Silverstone says.
Silverstone, who was part of this year’s selection committee, says the Spokane Is Reading book choices are based on several criteria.
One is that the author has to be living, “because we really want the author to come,” she says. And the nominee can’t be from, say, France, Silverstone adds, because “we don’t have that kind of budget.”
Beyond that, the committee members ask such questions as would this be a good book for discussion, would it appeal to a large variety of people, would it offend anybody?
And, Silverstone says, “We also want a book that has good literary merit.”
Spokane Is Reading
The following events are free and open to the public:
“Brush With Fate” movie screening: Tuesday, 7 p.m., Deer Park branch, Spokane County Library District (SCLD), 208 S. Forest Ave. (276-2985); Thursday, 4 p.m., Fairfield branch (SCLD), 305 E. Main (283-2512); Oct. 18, 7 p.m., Airway Heights branch (SCLD), 1213 S. Lundstrom St. (244-5510); Oct. 19, 6:30 p.m., Hillyard branch (SPL), 4005 N. Cook St. (444-5380).
Life Drawing classes (taught by Dan Spaulding): Monday, 7 p.m., Spokane Valley branch (SCLD), 12004 E. Main Ave. (926-6283); Saturday, 2 p.m., main branch, Spokane Public Library (SPL), 906 W. Main Ave. (444-5300).
Art History classes (taught by Shalon Parker, Gonzaga University assistant professor of art): Wednesday, 7 p.m., Cheney branch (SCLD), 610 First St. (235-7333); Oct. 18, 7 p.m., Argonne branch (SCLD), 4322 N. Argonne Road (926-4334); Oct. 22, 2 p.m., South Hill branch (SPL), 3324 S. Perry St. (444-5385).
Camera obscura demonstration: Wednesday, 7 p.m., Otis Orchards branch (SCLD), 22324 E. Wellesley Ave. (921-1500); Oct. 22, 2 p.m., Shadle branch (SPL), 2111 W. Wellesley Ave. (444-5390).
Book discussions: Wednesday, 6:30 p.m., Indian Trail branch (SPL), 4909 W. Barnes Road (444-5395); Oct. 17, 7 p.m., Medical Lake branch (SCLD), 321 E. Herb St. (299-4891); Oct. 19, 7 p.m., Moran Prairie branch (SCLD), 3022 E. 57th Ave (443-6663); Oct. 19, 7 p.m., Auntie’s Bookstore, Main and Washington (838-0206).
Diana Vreeland author appearances: Oct. 27, 1 p.m., North Spokane branch (SCLD), 44 E. Hawthorne Road (467-5250); 7 p.m., Northwest Museum of Arts and Culture, 2316 W. First Ave. (456-3931).
Spokane isn’t the only place around these parts to turn reading into a communal activity.
This month and next, people across the Palouse are reading “Citizen Vince” by Spokane author Jess Walter in a program called “What If Everybody Read the Same Book?”
The idea started four years ago as a joint project of the Confluence Press, Lewiston City Library and Asotin Country Library. Last fall, Whitman County Library and Pullman’s Neill Public Library joined in to read “The Sky Fisherman” by Portland author Craig Lesley.
Sponsors of this year’s event also include Prairie River Library District and WSU Libraries. All of the libraries have stocked extra copies of “Citizen Vince.”
Along with book discussions through the region, Walter will appear Oct. 20 at 7 p.m. at the Palouse Library and Oct. 27 at 7 p.m. at the Colfax branch.
For more information, call (509) 397-4366 or (877) 733-3375, or visit www.jesswalter.com or www.whitco.lib.wa.us.