The finalists for this year's "One Book-One Lincoln" program have been announced and area book lovers are already digging in.
The readership development program is modeled after the original that was started in Seattle. One Book-One Lincoln's purpose is to encourage literacy and bring the community together through literary discussion.
This year's finalists are "The Book Thief," by Markus Zusak, "The Double Bind," by Bohjalian, "The Memory of Running," by Ron McLarty, "The Thirteenth Tale," by Diane Setterfield and "Three Cups of Tea," by Greg Mortenson.
The program, which is now in it's seventh year, continues to grow bigger. "We've had a lot of support right from the beginning (of the program)," Lincoln City Library, Bennett Martin branch employee and One Book-One Lincoln task force member Lisa V., said.
Where once people were waiting for the winner to be announced to start reading, "we've noticed a lot of people reading all five finalists," Kathy Magruder, manager of Lee Booksellers, said.
"It's generated a community-wide involvement," Scott C. said. "I've heard people talk about (the books) in odd places," added the Lincoln City Library, Bennett Martin branch employee and One Book-One Lincoln task force member.
The top five are whittled down from over a hundred entries.
"We want to be as inclusive as we can," Lisa V. said. Qualities that the selection committee look for in nominees include availability of paperback copies, publication of a large print format, how wide of an audience the title will appeal to and, possibly most importantly, the abundance of discussion points.
"A lot of times it doesn't have to be the best written book, so long as there is something to talk about," Magruder said.
"I think it gets a lot of people together," Magruder said. Last year's selection, "The Worst Hard Time," by Timothy Egan, brought people in to Lee Booksellers from all over the city with stories to share. The book, about the Dust Bowl era, allowed people to remember their own experiences during the time and discuss them with others.
The program is definitely bringing more businesses to area bookstores. "Whenever the books come out, we get a huge influx of people coming in and buying all of them," Don Wehr, Lee Booksellers employee, said. "And then when the winner is announced, we have a different influx of people coming in for that. They like to see if they would have made the same choice."
The bottom line is, the program is getting more Lincolnites to pick up books and think about what they read. "People that would not have ordinarily discussed books are. It's made people believe that Lincoln is important in a literary sense, like all of the bigger cities," Lisa V. said.
To read about the books that made the cut, click here.
To find a library nearest you, click here.
