Spokane Is Reading Celebrates 20 Years & Shares 12 Books That Writers Recommend

Posted on July 29, 2021 at 7:00 am

BY ERIN DODGE

For 2021, Spokane Is Reading has announced its Writers Recommend Booklist in celebration of its 20th anniversary.

These dozen books look like a mishmash selection at first glance. And that’s because we put the choice for wonderful reading recommendations into the hands of past Spokane Is Reading authors. Our one caveat was to select a book (or two in some cases) that brought them hope, joy, or laughter during the last year.

This is a change of pace for me as a member of the board for Spokane Is Reading. Usually, I have read the selected book (along with dozens of other options) long before it is announced.

This year, I am reading these books right along with you, and I’m looking forward to all of the great fiction and nonfiction books on this list.

Here’s the Writers Recommend Booklist for 2021:

On the Spokane Is Reading website, you’ll find a quote from each recommending author about what they enjoyed about the book(s) and how it brought them joy, hope, or laughter.

I offer you a peek at what two authors had to say about their book selections. Here’s Jess Walter’s recommendation for Washington Black, by Esi Edugyan:

“It might be surprising to suggest a book that begins with the horrors of slavery as an uplifting read, but it’s thrilling to watch the hero of this novel escape a West Indian plantation on a hot air balloon and experience a whole wide world of nineteenth century adventures.”

Amy Stewart shares the following about Anxious People, by Fredrik Backman:

“For pure escapism and stress relief, I recommend Anxious People, about a bank robber who didn’t really intend to harm anyone. It’s a warm and comforting book about people overcoming difficult circumstances through the help of strangers. It was a good friend when I was awake in the middle of the night wanting something to read until I could fall asleep again.”

I hope you read one or several titles from Writers Recommend Booklist. And of course, you could read them all!

To get copies, you can borrow or purchase from the three sponsoring organizations: Spokane Public Library, Spokane County Library District, and Auntie’s Bookstore.

For those of you missing the in-person author events that Spokane Is Reading hosts, please know that we miss them too! The board members are hopeful that we will be able to bring a book and author to Spokane County for Spokane Is Reading in 2022.

Spokane Is Reading is a collaborative effort of Spokane Public Library, Spokane County Library District, and Auntie’s Bookstore. For more information visit www.spokaneisreading.org.

Erin Dodge

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