For more than 20 years, the Summit County Library, Park City Library and Dolly’s Bookstore have invited readers to participate in the community-wide reading program, which includes book discussions and author events.
This year, the committee selected Shelley Read’s debut novel, “Go as a River.” Summit County Library Director Dan Compton said the book’s themes are expected to resonate with Summit County readers.
“A lot of the books take place in the American West and have themes that we feel people will relate to,” Compton said on KPCW’s “Local News Hour,” May 7. “And this one we feel really strongly about. It takes place in rural Colorado, and it's back in the 1940s through about the 1970s in a town called Iola. And this town was eventually submerged under the Blue Mesa Reservoir because they dammed the Gunnison River, so the residents in Iola were displaced, and that right away resonated with us, because we have Rockport and Jordanelle reservoirs where those small towns experience similar fates.”
Several community events are planned in conjunction with the book selection.
“No.1 will be on Thursday, June 18, at 6:30 p.m. at the old church at Rockport State Park,” he said. “We're going to have Alan Siddoway come and speak about his family's experience in Rockport before they were displaced. And then also there will be a community book discussion planned at the Park City Library. That's planned for Thursday, July 9, beginning at 4 p.m.”
Author Shelley Read will meet with readers in Park City July 30 at 7 p.m. in the Jim Santy Auditorium.
Libraries have purchased additional copies of book for checkout. Readers using the Libby app can also download the e-book and audiobook with no wait time.
