‘Citizen Vince’ chosen for Spokane is Reading
Spokane Is Reading, the annual literary happening that invites people to spend the month of October reading the same book, has made its choice for 2007.
It’s Spokane author Jess Walter’s literary suspense novel “Citizen Vince.”
Like past Spokane Is Reading authors, Walter, who was a 2006 National Book Award finalist for his novel “The Zero,” will not only read from his Edgar Award-winning novel but also will talk about how he came to write the book.
Spokane Is Reading, which was created in 2002, is sponsored by a consortium of local organizations including the Spokane Public Library, Spokane Country Library and Auntie’s Bookstore.
That first year’s reading selection, Kent Haruf’s “Plainsong,” was followed by Charles Frazier’s “Cold Mountain” (2003), Orson Scott Card’s “Ender’s Game” (2004), Susan Vreeland’s “Girl in Hyacinth Blue” (2005) and Laurie R. King’s “The Beekeeper’s Apprentice.”
The only author not to make a local appearance was Frazier.
“Citizen Vince” beat out four other novels for the 2006 Edgar, which is sponsored by the Mystery Writers of America: Michael Connelly’s “The Lincoln Lawyer,” Thomas H. Cook’s “Red Leaves,” Tess Gerritsen’s “Vanish” and George Pelecanos’ “Drama City.”
The Boston Globe called it “fresh and different – a gritty story of betrayal, an extended riff on life, death and politics. Walter is a literary talent writ large.”
The Washington Post described the novel as “utterly inventive in tone and plot.”
And The New York Times said “Citizen Vince” was “for readers who appreciate wry precision and expert timing.”
To access the Spokane Is Reading Web site, go to www.spokaneisreading.org. To access Walter’s Web site, go to www.jesswalter.com.
•In other Walter news, the author will read from his works and present a lecture titled “Fiction Writing and Other Personality Disorders” at 7 p.m. Feb. 20 at Whitworth College. The event will be free and open to the public.
Call (509) 777-3275.
More free Kubrick
“Paths of Glory,” Humphrey Cobb’s 1935 novel about World War I, was the basis of Stanley Kubrick’s 1957 film of the same name.
Kubrick’s film, which is on the American Film Institute’s list of the top 400 “most acclaimed films of all time,” will screen at 5:30 p.m. Wednesday at the downtown branch of the Spokane Public Library, 906 W. Main Ave.
The event is part of the library’s ongoing Kubrick film series, which continues with “Dr. Strangelove” (March 14), “2001: A Space Odyssey” (April 11) and “Full Metal Jacket” (May 9).
All showings are held in Room 1A and are free and open to the public. Call (509) 444-5300.
•As part of its exhibit “Forever Free: Abraham Lincoln’s Journey’s to Emancipation,” the Spokane Public Library will screen the 1989 film “Glory” at 2 p.m. Saturday at the downtown branch. The film is ranked R for scenes of violence.
“Glory” was based in part on two books: Lincoln Kirstein and Richard Benson’s “Lay This Laurel” and Peter Burchard’s “One Gallant Rush: Robert Gould Shaw and His Brave Black Regiment.”
Unless otherwise noted, all events are free and open to the public.
Book talk
•Auntie’s Morning Book Group (“The Secret Life of Bees,” by Sue Monk Kidd), 11 a.m. Tuesday, Auntie’s Bookstore, Main and Washington. Call (509) 838-0206.
•Auntie’s Evening Book Group (“Snow Flower and the Secret Faun: A Novel,” by Lisa See), 7:30 p.m. Tuesday, Auntie’s Bookstore.
The reader board
•Linda Lael Miller (“McKettrick’s Luck”), signing, noon to 2 p.m. Sunday, Waldenbooks, Spokane Valley Mall. Call (509) 892-3907.
•Poetry of Emma Howell (“Slim Night of Recognition”), reading by Nance Van Winckel, Jonathan Johnson, Carlos Reyes, 7:30 p.m. Friday, Auntie’s Bookstore.
•Robert Wrigley (“Earthly Meditations: New and Selected Poems”), reading, 7:30 p.m. Friday, University of Idaho Law School Courtroom. Call (208) 885-6291.
•Jonathan Johnson (“Hannah and the Mountains: Notes Toward a Wilderness Fatherhood”), reading, 6 p.m. Saturday, Common Knowledge Bookstore and Tea House, 823 Main St., Sandpoint. Call (208) 255-4410.