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Community Corner

St. Charles County Libraries to Participate in Read St. Louis

The St. Charles City-County Library will host author Deborah Hopkinson and St. Louis illustrator John Hendrix.

The is participating for the first time this year in the Read St. Louis initiative, which is an initiative developed by and St. Louis Public Library to encourage St. Louisans to read and discuss books.

The initiative, which first launched in 2009, features different books and authors each year. St. Charles City-County Library will join the other libraries this year in hosting events showcasing the featured authors and their work.

Maggie Preiss, St. Charles City-County Library’s director of children's resources and marketing, said that this year, the St. Louis County Library and St. Louis Public Library invited the library system to participate.

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 “We are very excited about it,” Preiss said.

According to a press release from the St. Louis County Library, the addition of the St. Charles system means that Read St. Louis now reaches nearly 800,000 library-card holders across 49 library branches across the St. Louis metropolitan area.

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Each year, the libraries choose six books in several distinct categories and then host events with each featured author, as well as a variety of programs, activities and discussions related to each book.

Read St. Louis 2012: Picks and Events

Preiss said that St. Charles library customers will be able to go to any Read St. Louis event they like, regardless of which library is hosting it.

“It’s really about joining the communities through books,” she said.

This year, the featured picks include authors and books from categories for readers at every level.

The initiative will kick off on Saturday, Mar. 24 at 7 p.m. at the St. Louis County Library Headquarters with an event featuring critically acclaimed author Anne Lamott.

Lamott will discuss her new memoir, Some Assembly Required, and will be joined by co-author and son Sam Lamott.

Other 2012 Read St. Louis picks include the following.

  • Teen Fiction: Antony John, Thou Shalt Not Road Trip
  • Non-Fiction: Isabel Wilkerson, The Warmth of Other Suns: The Epic Story of America’s Great Migration
  • Children’s Non-Fiction: Deborah Hopkinson, A Boy Called Dickens
  • Fiction/New Voices: Teddy Wayne, Kapitoil
  • Distinguished Literary Achievement: Daniel Woodrell, The Outlaw Album

Preiss said that the St. Charles City-County Library district will host author Deborah Hopkinson on Aug. 24. Hopkinson will appear with St. Louis illustrator John Hendrix, who illustrated her children’s non-fiction book A Boy Called Dickens.

Preiss said the book is about famed novelist Charles Dickens during his childhood, and that it’s the perfect read for younger elementary students. She also noted that Feb. 7 is the 200th birthday of Charles Dickens.

Hopkinson has another book coming out in the spring. It’s titled Titanic: Voices from the Disaster and is a non-fiction book for older elementary school readers.

Hosting authors at the St. Charles libraries has made the whole reading experience more personal, Preiss said.

“When you hear them talk about their books and get to know them a little, it’s a whole new experience,” she said. “You’re connecting with that person who wrote the book you loved.”

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