It was in November 1998 that The Washington Center for the Book and its executive director, Nancy Pearl, launched a refreshingly different concept to spur a resurgence of reading and, in the process, create a unique sense of literary community.
“What if all Seattle read the same book?” they asked, and began with Russell Banks’ “The Sweet Hereafter.” The idea proved to be an inspiration. In fact, it was co-opted by cities as large as Chicago and Milwaukee and even by small states like Kentucky and Arkansas.
Four years and a host of imitative cities later, Seattle’s readers will again be connecting for their collegial read and book review, while here on South Whidbey, a separate effort will inaugurate the island’s own fledgling program of synchronized reading, asking, “What if all South Whidbey read the same book?”
The sponsor is South Whidbey Reads, a joint project of The Friends of the Clinton, Freeland and Langley libraries, with assistance from Sno-Isle Regional Library.
The book the group selected is “Montana 1948,” by Larry Watson.
“We wanted a book with rural, intergenerational issues and cultural diversity,” said Marti Anamosa of Langley, a member of South Whidbey Reads.
“We also wanted it to have broad appeal, for high school students as well as adults — teen-agers will love this book. Mostly, it had to be a really good read.”
The short novel, published in 1995, is set in the small town of Bentrock, Mont. Its narrator is the town sheriff’s 12-year-old son, David Hayden, who, now an adult, reflects on a series of events that shook the small community of his youth.
As described on Amazon.com, “The events of that small-town summer forever alter David Hayden’s view of his family: his self-effacing father, a sheriff who never wears his badge; his clear sighted mother; his uncle, a charming war hero and respected doctor; and the Hayden’s lively, statuesque Sioux housekeeper, Marie Little Soldier, whose revelations are at the heart of the story.”
Kirkus Reviews called “Montana 1948” “a literary page-turner, morally complex and satisfying in its careful accumulation of detail and in its use of landscape to reveal character.”
And Nancy Pearl, whose Best Reads program at the Whidbey Island Center for the Arts Wednesday preceded the announcement of the book’s title, said she thought “Montana 1948” was a great choice.
“It’s a well-written book that is filled with issues to talk about — coming of age issues, family relationships, treatment of American Indians,” Pearl said. “I applaud the committee who selected it.”
South Whidbey Reads pulled people from the community and each of the Friends’ groups to serve on a selection committee headed by local author Carol Ryan. The group alerted local bookstores about the title, and the Langley Library made 27 copies available to the Sno-Isle Library system.
“We also have contacted South Whidbey High School and Bayview teachers as well as Skagit College, to encourage junior- and senior-level students to read it,” Anamosa said.
It’s hoped that South Whidbey will read the book in December and January — maybe give a friend a copy for the holidays — then join in discussions at book clubs and among friends. The three South Whidbey libraries will sponsor their own discussion groups as well.
South Whidbey Reads is also printing a brochure that will include a “tool box” — tips for reading a book for discussion and suggested questions to address.
In the spring, there will be an evening event to explore the messages and ideas in the book and encouraging a community dialogue, with the author expected to participate long distance from Wisconsin.
“He said he was ‘pleased and honored’ to have his book selected,” Anamosa said.
“We hope to see new book clubs forming,” Anamosa added. “The whole purpose is getting people to read and then come together in a fun and different way.”
