‘Citizen Vince’ featured book for annual read-along

It’s the eve of October, and you know what that means.

It’s time for Spokane Is Reading, the annual community read-along – now in its sixth year – that invites area literature fans to tackle the same book.

And this year, for the first time, the work of a local author is being featured: Jess Walter’s Edgar Award-winning novel “Citizen Vince.” On Oct. 18, Walter is scheduled to talk twice about his book: 1 p.m. at the North Spokane Library, 44 E. Hawthorne Road, and 7 at the Masonic Temple, 1108 W. Riverside Ave.

Spokane Is Reading is co-sponsored by Spokane Public Library, Spokane County Library District and Auntie’s Bookstore. Beginning in 2002 with Kent Haruf’s “Plainsong,” the reading selections have included Charles Frazier’s “Cold Mountain” (2003), Orson Scott Card’s “Ender’s Game” (2004), Susan Vreeland’s “The Girl in Hyacinth Blue” (2005), and Laurie R. King’s “The Beekeeper’s Apprentice” (2006).

Walter, a former Spokesman-Review reporter, has written four novels. The first three, “Over Tumbled Graves,” “Land of the Blind” and “Citizen Vince,” are set principally in Spokane. His most recent, “The Zero,” was a 2006 National Book Award finalist.

Other Spokane Is Reading events are (all are free and open to the public):

“6:30 p.m. Tuesday, discussion, South Hill Library, 3324 S. Perry St.

“3:30 p.m. Oct. 9, discussion, Shadle Library, 2111 W. Wellesley Ave.

“7 p.m. Oct. 10, discussion, North Spokane Library.

“7 p.m. Oct. 23, discussion, Cheney Community Library, 610 First St., Cheney.

“Response to the choice of ‘Citizen Vince’ has been very good,” says Eva Silverstone, the public library’s communications coordinator. “Lots of book clubs have reported that they are reading the title and some as far away as New York and Maine.”

For further information about Spokane Is Reading, go to www.spokaneisreading.org, call Silverstone at (509) 444-5307 or Beth Gillespie, communications specialist at Spokane County Library, after Oct. 8 at (509) 893-8205.

Blurb fever

Author William F. Nolan, much-published writer and co-author of the novel that became the film “Logan’s Run,” is a fan of Spokane author John Gaetano’s book “American Deceit.” His blurb for the book is a masterful bit of market-speak.

“Of the more than 450 books written on the Kennedy assassination, ‘America’s Deceit’ is the only one to explore the full truth regarding the death of our 35th president,” Nolan wrote. “Backed by 30 years of careful research, John Gaetano brilliantly dismantles the ‘lone gunman’ theory. … For any concerned citizen who seeks the detailed truth behind the tragic event of November 1963, ‘America’s Deceit’ is a treasure – a truly stunning work of in-depth research. Here is the gloves-off book that conspiracy buffs have been waiting for.”

Correction

In last week’s column, I wrote about a National Endowment for the Arts grant that’s been awarded to the Eastern Washington University Press. But I reported the wrong amount. The press received $75,000 to publish an anthology of 40 Pakistani poets. Mea culpa.

Unless otherwise noted, all events are free and open to the public.

Book talk

“Gay & Lesbian Book Group (“Almost Like Being in Love: A Novel,” by Steve Kluger), 7 p.m. Tuesday, Auntie’s Bookstore, Main and Washington. Call (509) 838-0206.

The reader board

“Peter Chilson (“Disturbance-Loving Species”), reading, 7 p.m. Monday, Cafe Silos, Moscow, Idaho. Call (208) 882-2394.

“M.D. Kincaid (“Alaska Justice”), reading, 7:30 p.m. Tuesday, Auntie’s Bookstore.

“Elizabeth Cook-Lynn (“New Indians, Old Wars”), reading, 7:30 p.m. Wednesday, Auntie’s Bookstore.

“Jaimee Wriston Colbert (“Dream Lives in Butterflies: Stories”), reading, 7:30 p.m. Wednesday, University of Idaho Teaching and Learning Center, Moscow, Idaho. Call (208) 885-6156.

“Sam Ligon (“Safe in Heaven Dead”), Eastern Washington University MFA students, reading, 7 p.m. Friday, Empyrean Coffee House, 154 S. Madison St. Call (509) 838-9819.

“John Bucko (“The Convict Cookbook”), signing, 1 to 3 p.m. Saturday, Auntie’s Bookstore.

“Laurie Lamon (“The Fork Without Hunger”), reading, 4 p.m. Saturday, Weyerhaeuser Hall, Whitworth College. Call (509) 777-4401.

“Washington-Idaho Symphony cookbook (“Bach to the Kitchen”), fundraiser signing, 10 a.m. to p.m. Saturday, BookPeople, 512 S. Main St., Moscow, Idaho. Call (208) 882-7957.