A committee comprised of Park City and Summit County librarians and Dolly’s Bookstore chooses the annual reading selection. The book for 2024 is “Woman of Light,” a novel by award winning author Kali Fajardo-Anstine.
Summit County Library Director Dan Compton says “Woman of Light” checks many of the boxes the committee looks for in selecting a One Book.
“We really just loved the themes in this in this novel, that it was also kind of a Western from another perspective or voice that we don't often get to hear. And with this novel, we're hoping to bring in more of an indigenous or Latinx type history that our residents can look into and learn more about. And we hope that the themes in this in this novel will resonate. Racism is a big one.
The city and county libraries purchase extra copies of the selected book to ensure that everyone has the opportunity to read it before the author visits Park City in August.
“We're very fortunate that Kali Fajardo-Anstine has agreed to come and speak to us in August on the 14th at 7 p.m. in the Jim Santy auditorium,” he said. “That will be the pinnacle of this program and we hope that as people read and discuss it throughout the summer, they'll look forward to that.”
The author grew up in Denver, but has a blended ancestry of indigenous populations, including Pueblo and Mexican and northern European.
“She talks about how she felt growing up, that she was kind of unique, or it was a rare occurrence for people to have that kind of background,” he said. “She'd heard her family telling all their amazing stories throughout her childhood and just wanted to write this book to kind of give their perspective on things.”
Compton adds that the committee tries to rotate between novels and nonfiction works every year for the One Book One Community choice. Last year’s One Book was Heather Hansman’s “Powder Days: Ski Bums, Ski Towns and the Future of Chasing Snow.”
“Woman of Light” is available for check out as a physical book at each library, or as an ebook or audiobook on Libby. Books can also be purchased at local bookstores.
