| |
 |
Read St. Louis is a community-wide initiave developed by St. Louis County and St. Louis Public Libraries to encourage St. Louisans to read and discuss books.
|
Click here to find out how you can be a part
of Read St. Louis.
It is an annual program, commencing
in 2009, that features different books and authors every year. At the core of the program is a belief that making reading fun, exciting and occasionally educational, will stimulate a passion for lifelong learning in all of us.
St. Louis County Library and St. Louis
Public Library will host events with each of the featured authors and a variety of programs and activities designed around each book.
Each year, Read St. Louis will showcase books selected by the two libraries from at least five distinct categories. In 2010, the categories are: classic fiction, modern fiction, non-fiction/memoir, young adult and children's fiction.
|
| |
|
2009 Authors:
|
|
“Little Bee” is the haunting novel of a young
refugee girl whose violent and courageous
journey from a Nigerian beach to a suburban
London home puts a stunning face on the
worldwide refugee crisis. Described as
an “astonishing, flawless novel” (Library Journal), “Little Bee” has landed on the Best Book lists of the New York Times, Los Angeles Times, Oprah.com, and the American Booksellers Association.
Chris Cleave is a columnist for The Guardian newspaper in London.
His award-winning first novel, “Incendiary,” was a national bestseller in England.
|
 |
|
 
Young Readers' Fiction:
Ridley Pearson
Kingdom Keepers III:
Disney In Shadow
This gripping high-tech tale will thrill every kid who has ever dreamed of sneaking into Disney World after dark! In the third installment in Ridley Pearson’s popular adventure series, clues from a dream lead the Magic Kingdom’s teenage “kingdom keepers” into Disney’s Hollywood Studios and Epcot Center.
St. Louisan Ridley Pearson is the award-winning co-author, along with Dave Barry, of the Starcatchers series. He has also written the young adult Steel Trapp suspense series and more than twenty bestselling crime novels for adults.
|
|
|
 
Fiction: Distinguished Literary Achievement
Richard Russo
That Old Cape Magic
Pulitzer Prize-winning author Richard Russo is
regarded by many critics as the best writer about small town America since Sherwood Anderson. Russo’s previous works include “Empire Falls,” which won the 2002 Pulitzer Prize for Fiction, “Nobody’s Fool,” and “Bridge of Sighs.”
Russo’s latest, “That Old Cape Magic” is a novel of deep introspection about a middle-aged man confronting what it was he thought he wanted and
what in fact he has. Full of wry humor and flawless storytelling, “That Old Cape Magic” is a remarkable look at marriage, family, and aging.
|
|
|
  Non Fiction:
Colin Beavan
No Impact Man
“No Impact Man” is journalist Colin Beavan’s
riveting account of the year he committed to making as little impact on the environment
as possible, all while living in New York City
with his Prada-loving wife, a toddler, and dog. Starting with no take-out and eventually giving up elevators, air-conditioning, food in packaging,
and finally toilet paper, Beavan’s “eco-experiment” is at times absurd and hysterical, but his commitment is always inspiring.
Colin Beavan has written for Esquire, the Atlantic Monthly, Men's Journal, Wired, and many other national magazines and is the author of two previous
non-fiction books.
|
|
|
 
“Flipped” is a classic romantic comedy
of errors told in alternating chapters by two fresh, funny new voices. Popular
young adult author Wendelin Van Draanen is at her best here with a knockout cast of quirky characters and a hilarious series of misunderstandings, but underlying the humor are two teens in transition. They are each learning to look beyond the surface of people, both figuring out who they are, who they want to be, and who they want to be with.
Wendelin Van Draanen is the author of the Edgar Award-winning Sammy Keyes mystery series, “Shredderman,” “Gecko & Sticky,” “Confessions of a Serial Kisser,” and many other books for young readers and teens.
^top
|
|
|
Fiction: