Read St. Louis
 
 
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Read St. Louis is a community-wide initiative developed by developed by the St. Louis area library systems to encourage St. Louisans to read and discuss great books.

Click here to find out how you can be a part
of Read St. Louis.

At the core of the program is a belief that making reading fun, exciting and educational will stimulate a passion for lifelong learning in all of us.

Each year, Read St. Louis showcases books to appeal to all interests and reading levels. The libraries host events with each of the featured authors.

 
Sponsors St. Louis Public Library Link UPS Link St. Louis County Lilbrary Foundation Link clarkson eyecare The Literacy Roundtable Link Left Bank Books Link St. Louis Public Radio Barnes & Noble Booksellers Links St. Charles City County Library District Main Street Books St. Louis County Library Link St. Louis Public Library Link UPS Link St. Louis County Lilbrary Foundation Link KMOX Link The Literacy Roundtable Link KMOV News Channel 4 Link Left Bank Books Link Borders Books Link Barnes & Noble Booksellers Links St. Louis Public Library Foundation Link Puddnhead St. Louis County Library Link St. Louis Public Library Link UPS Link St. Louis County Lilbrary Foundation Link KMOX Link The Literacy Roundtable Link KMOV News Channel 4 Link Left Bank Books Link Borders Books Link Barnes & Noble Booksellers Links Pudd'nhead St. Louis Public Library Foundation Link St. Louis County Library Link St. Louis Public Library Link UPS Link St. Louis County Lilbrary Foundation Link KMOX Link The Literacy Roundtable Link KMOV News Channel 4 Link Left Bank Books Link Borders Books Link Pudd'NHead Barnes & Noble Booksellers Links St. Louis Public Library Foundation Link

Calendar:

 
Richard Ford, "Canada"

Friday, March 8, 7:00 p.m.
St. Louis County Library Headquarters
Auditorium
1640 S. Lindbergh Blvd.
St. Louis, MO 63131

Pulitzer Prize-winning author Richard Ford delivers a haunting novel about the cataclysm that undoes one teenage boy's family, and the stark and unforgiving landscape in which he attempts to find grace. When 15-year-old Dell Parsons' parents rob a bank, his normal life is altered forever and he must flee the country with an enigmatic and alluring fugitive. A true masterwork from one of our greatest writers, "Canada" is a profound novel of boundaries traversed, innocence lost and reconciled, and the mysterious and consoling bonds of family.

Richard Ford is the author of the Bascombe novels, which include "The Sportswriter" and its sequels, "Independence Day"—the first novel to win the Pulitzer Prize and the PEN/Faulkner Award—and "The Lay of the Land," as well as the short story collections "Rock Springs" and "A Multitude of Sins."


Cheryl Strayed, "Wild: From Lost to Found on the Pacific Crest Trail"

Wednesday, April 17, 7:00 p.m.
St. Louis County Library Headquarters
Auditorium
1640 S. Lindbergh Blvd.
St. Louis, MO 63131

An Oprah Book Club selection, "Wild" is a powerful, blazingly honest memoir: the story of an 1,100-mile solo hike that broke down a young woman reeling from catastrophe—and built her back up again. Deeply grieving the death of her mother and destruction of her marriage, Cheryl Strayed made the impulsive decision to hike the Pacific Crest Trail—and to do it alone. Told with great suspense, warmth, and humor, "Wild" vividly captures the terrors and pleasures of one young woman forging ahead against all odds on a journey that maddened, strengthened and ultimately healed her.

Cheryl Strayed is the author of "Tiny Beautiful Things: Advice on Love and Life from Dear Sugar" and the novel "Torch." Her stories and essays have appeared in The New York Times Magazine, The Washington Post Magazine, Vogue and "The Best American Essays."


Andrew Carroll, "Here is Where: Discovering America's Great Forgotten History"

Wednesday, June 12, 7:00 p.m.
St. Louis Public Library
Central Branch
1301 Olive St.
St. Louis, MO 63103

The centerpiece of a major national campaign to identify and preserve forgotten history, "Here Is Where" is acclaimed historian Andrew Carroll's fascinating journey of discovery in which he travels to each of America's 50 states and explores locations where remarkable individuals once lived or where the incredible or momentous occurred. A profound reminder that the ground we walk is often the top sedimentary layer of amazing past events, "Here Is Where" represents the first step in an ongoing project with National Geographic Traveler that will recruit citizen historians to preserve what should be remembered.

Andrew Carroll is the author of the New York Times bestsellers "Letters of a Nation: A Collection of Extraordinary American Letters" and "War Letters: Extraordinary Correspondence from American Wars."


Laura Moriarty, "The Chaperone"

Thursday, June 13, 7:00 p.m.
St. Charles City-County Library
Spencer Road Branch
427 Spencer Road
St. Peters, MO 63376

The New York Times bestseller and the USA Today #1 Hot Fiction Pick, "The Chaperone" is a captivating novel about a woman chaperoning an irreverent starlet to New York City in 1922 and the summer that would change them both. Only a few years before becoming a famous silent film star and an icon of her generation, 15-year-old Louise Brooks leaves Wichita, Kansas, to study in New York. Much to her annoyance, she is accompanied by a complicated but traditional chaperone with her own reasons for making the trip. Drawing on the rich history of the 1920s, "The Chaperone" portrays both women's growing realizations of the promises of the twentieth century and the possibilities of being fully alive.

Laura Moriarty earned an MA in Creative Writing from the University of Kansas and was awarded the George Bennett Fellowship for Creative Writing at Phillips Exeter Academy. "The Chaperone" is her debut novel.


Mem Fox, “Yoo-Hoo, Ladybug!”

Monday, October 21, 6:00 p.m.
St. Louis Public Library
Central Branch
1301 Olive St.
St. Louis, MO 63103

Mem Fox's newest book is "Yoo-Hoo, Ladybug!" a charming, playful seek-and-find adventure that is illustrated by Laura Ljungkvist.

Mem Fox is Australia's best loved picture-book author. She has written over 40 books for children among which are the perennial favorites: "Time for Bed, Whoever You Are," and "The Magic Hat," as well as several books for adults including her best selling book for parents: "Reading Magic: Why Reading Aloud to our Children will Change their Lives Forever." Her books have been translated into 19 languages. She has received many honors and awards from various organizations for services to literature, as well as three honorary doctorates for her work in literacy.


Program sites are accessible. Upon two weeks’ notice, accommodations will be made for persons with disabilities.

Visit www.readstlouis.org for more information.

 

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