Community turns out for reading project

Charlotte Chastain had never given much thought to World War II until last year when she read "The Guernsey Literary and Potato Peel Pie Society," a book set during that time.

"It just started my interest, and I read so many books about World War II," she said.

So when she heard that the book had been selected for this year's community reading project sponsored by Carson City and Douglas County libraries, she knew she wanted to participate.

"I wanted to read it again because I enjoyed it so much last year," she said. "I read it so fast because it was so good, I just wanted to really get into it this time."

This year's Capital City Reads project, titled Novel Destinations, began Tuesday with a distribution of books at the Carson City Library.

Outreach Coordinator Andrea Moore handed out copies of the book and explained the program.

The highlight of the project will be an April 14 visit from author Annie Barrows, who finished the book for her aunt Mary Ann Shaffer after her death in 2008.

Other activities include making Ukrainian Easter Eggs and showing of films "Shining Through" and "The Whale Rider." The culminating event will be a performance by a New Zealand dance theater.

In addition to her interest in the book, Karen Kish was also drawn to participate

in the project by the

supplemental events.

"Some of the activities, including the making of the Ukrainian eggs, looked like a lot of fun," she said.

It also will include group discussions where participants will be encouraged to not only discuss the book, but to compare it to other novels with comparable subject matters.

This is the library's third Community Read, following last year's highly successful project highlighting, "Three Cups of Tea," which included a visit from author Greg Mortensen.

Cheryl Anderson has been a part of the reading project from the beginning and her interest continues.

"I participated in the first one, and I just think it's a neat idea," she said. "This book is on my to-read list anyway, so this was convenient."