The 2011 Big Read Kicks off!

This year, for the first time, Get Lit! will participate in The Big Read, a program created by the National Endowment for the Arts in partnership with the Institute of Museum and Library Services and in cooperation with the Arts Midwest. The goal of The Big Read is to restore reading to the center of our community's culture. According to a 2004 report by the National Endowment for the arts, "not only is literary reading in America declining rapidly among all groups, but the rate of decline has accelerated, especially among the young." The Big Read aims to address this crisis by celebrating some of the greatest books.

The 2011 Big Read will consist of a series of events all connected to Tim O'Brien's The Things They Carried, and will serve as a month-long lead-up to this year's Get Lit! Festival. The Big Read in the Spokane area officially kicked off on March 4 with a reception at the Chase Gallery in Spokane's City Hall where several area veterans spoke and will continue with 50 events, now through April 16.

Now is a good time to pick up a copy of Tim O'Brien's award winning book The Things They Carried. Tracing the tour of one American platoon, The Things They Carried is not just a tale of the Vietnam War, although it is considered one of the finest books ever written about combat. This award-winning book is a brutal, sometimes funny, often profound narrative about the human heart - how it fares under pressure, and what it can endure. The book was a finalist for the Pulitzer Prize and the National Book Critics Circle Award and the title story of the collection was selected for Best American Short Stories of the Century.

There are various book discussions around town that you can participate in:

Riverpoint Campus on March 9 at 6 pm

North Spokane Library on March 9 at 7 pm

Auntie's Bookstore on March 12 at noon

Riverpoint Campus on March 16 at 6 pm

Sinto Senior Activity Center on March 16 at 10 am

Liberty Lake Library on March 17 at 6:30 pm

Barnes & Noble (NorthTown) on March 19 at noon

North Spokane Library on March 20 at 1 pm

VFW Post 51 on March 25 at 5 pm

Barnes & Noble (Spokane Valley) on March 31 at 7 pm

Fairchild Air Force Base Library on April 5 at 6 pm

South Hill Library on April 11 at 6:30 pm

Hillyard Senior Center on April 12 at 1 pm

Deer Park Library on April 24 at noon

Plus you have the option to go online and participate in a blogging book club with University of Idaho students moderated by Dr. Emily Duvall, assistant professor of curriculum and instruction at the University of Idaho. Read what students have to say about The Big Read book, The Things They Carried, and leave your own comments.

Also, beginning March 4, you can catch a stage adaptation of the book put on by Eastern Washington University's Theater Department. They will present the same show for one night only on March 18 at The Bing Crosby Theater. You can see films related to the 1960's and to veterans on Wednesday nights at several libraries. Several groups are offering panel discussions and teach-ins. And mark your calendars for the culminating event: "An Evening with Tim O'Brien and Brian Turner," on Saturday, April 16 at 8 pm at The Bing Crosby Theater. (The cost is $15, but military get a $5 discount and students are free with a current high school or college ID.)

To find out more about Get Lit!'s involvement in The Big Read visit our website, or for a complete calendar of events, click here.

Check out this video to see what it's all about: