Program has Kirkland reading the same book

It’s time to start reading now for the third annual “If All Kirkland Read the Same Book” event, slated for 7 p.m. Oct. 15 at ParkPlace Books, 348 Parkplace Center.

This year’s book is “The Absolutely True Diary of a Part-time Indian” by Sherman Alexie. Seattle-resident Alexie will speak and answer questions about the novel during the event.

ParkPlace co-owner Rebecca Willow said she expects a big crowd to turn out for Alexie, whose young-adult novel won the 2007 National Book Award for Young People’s Literature.

“Last year we had Ivan Doig (speaking)…. We had 220 to 230 people show up the night he was here,” Willow said. “We’ll definitely have at least that number, if not more, for Sherman.”

The bookstore should be able to seat about 275 people for the evening, Willow said. And while it’s a free event, the store is asking for reservations to ensure adequate seating.

This is the first year that ParkPlace Books has headed up the community reading event on its own. In past years, the program has been a joint effort of the private bookstore and the Kirkland Library, with book clubs and small group discussions scheduled at the library in advance of the main event. This year, though, the Kirkland Library will be closed for remodeling in October, so extra programming is out.

“Our hands are a bit tied by not having the building open,” said Elsa Steele, managing librarian for the Kirkland Library, who has worked closely with ParkPlace to coordinate the events the past two years.

Steele said she’s glad the main event will continue this year, especially with Alexie coming to speak. “I’m just excited because he’s so quirky, and he’s local, and I think he’s also very funny,” she said.

“The Absolutely True Diary of a Part-time Indian” is Alexie’s semi-autobiographical coming-of-age tale about a teenage boy on the Spokane Indian reservation who attends an upper-class, predominately white high school off the reservation, and who faces issues of prejudice, poverty and personal loss on the way to discovering his full potential.

The book is aimed at teenagers, but offers plenty of material for readers of all ages to discuss.

Willow said they try each year to pick a book by a Northwest artist that would appeal to men, women and teenage readers. “And every year it’s been relatively easy to pick one,” she added.

The first year, the chosen book was “The Highest Tide,” a debut novel by Washington native Jim Lynch, which last year was produced as a play by Seattle’s Book-It Repertory Theatre.

Last year’s book was “The Whistling Season” by Seattle resident Ivan Doig.

Readers looking for “Absolutely True Diary” can find it in regular print, large print, and audiobook versions through the King County Library System, though there’s likely to be a wait.

The book also is for sale at most bookstores, including ParkPlace.

And for those looking to get in on some preview activities, including a sneak peak at the author himself, the city of Redmond will offer several events in September as part of its “One Book, One Redmond, One Summer” reading campaign (see sidebar for details). Redmond also picked Alexie’s “Absolutely True Diary” as its community reading book.

For more information on the “If All Kirkland Read the Same Book” event, call ParkPlace Books at 425-828-6546.

Contact staff writer Christine Shultz at 253-872-6600, ext. 5056, or cshultz@reporternewspapers.com.