Starting this week, Deschutes Public Library will begin their Novel Idea book events. The adult book that the library has chosen to highlight and center the programs around is The Other Americans by Laila Lalami.
Liz Goodrich, the Adult Programs Supervisor for the Deschutes Library, indicated, “This is our 18th year of A Novel Idea. We have a long history of great books, great programs, and great author presentations.”
The programs consist of a:
- Webinar from Joshua Tree National Park (register, and watch on April 6th).
- Build your own terrarium video.
- Merging Flavors: Cooking Workshop.
- PTSD: Symptoms and Treatment webinar, and more.
“The programs that we organize as part of Novel Idea are designed to help readers go a little deeper into the subjects, topics, and geography presented in the novel,” said Goodrich.
On May 2nd, there will be a virtual interview with Laila Lalami, the author of The Other Americans. She will discuss the book, as well as her new book, which is a collection of essays called Unconditional American.
Goodrich reached out to Bill Cravis, an art professor at COCC, to see if any of his students were interested in reading the book and creating an art piece inspired by the book.
“One of our beliefs is that art, in this case, literary art, can inspire other art,” said Goodrich.
“Students from Bill’s class have created art based on the book, including an amazing sculpture,” said Goodrich.
The link to the time-lapse of the making of the sculpture can be found on the Deschutes Public Library’s website on April 26th.
“You can go on the website and can see all the way back to the first year. We have videos of most of the author presentations,” said Goodrich.
This opportunity is a way to explore books that you might not pick for yourself and have a chance to hear directly from the books’ authors.
The program has expanded and developed over the years.
“The first year, we had about four hundred people participate, and last year we had over nine thousand people participate. It’s a project that really has been embraced by Deschutes County readers,” said Goodrich.
