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Oregon Road Conditions & Cams Email Story to a Friend February 6, 2006 ‘The River Why’ as community unifier? Why not? By BILL VARBLE Mail Tribune What would happen if everybody read the same book? Jackson County could find out. Soon. A program called Jackson County Reads is aimed at getting the reading community to pick up a single book — "The River Why" by David James Duncan — and then get together and talk about it. "We’re excited," says Jim Olney, executive director of the Jackson County Library Foundation. "The book is so much about Southern Oregon, it’ll hit a solid note." Various activities are planned in coming weeks around the countywide project, including discussions of the book, art displays, fly-fishing demonstrations, talks with the author and more. Duncan will visit the county April 18-20. The events are sponsored by the Jackson County library and the library foundation. Since its publication nearly two decades ago, "The River Why" has become a modern classic. It’s a coming-of-age story about Gus Orviston, a young fishing fanatic who leaves family and friends to do nothing but fish a small river near the Oregon Coast. It’s a story about fish, growing up and knowing how to live on a fragile planet. Advertisement "The issues are so relevant," Olney says. "I read it 20 years ago and then read it recently. It was as if 20 years hadn’t passed." About 20 county residents representing the library, Southern Oregon University, Rogue Community College, area writers, media and literacy groups chose Duncan’s book in November. It is among 100 chosen by the Oregon Cultural Heritage Commission as exemplifying the best of Oregon’s heritage. The San Francisco Chronicle ranked it number 35 on its list of the 20th century’s best books on the American West. Publisher’s Weekly called it "a veritable epic," and Esquire called it "wonderfully funny." Duncan is also the author of "The Brothers K." As the popularity of book groups has grown in recent years, similar projects have taken place around the nation. In Portland, people began reading "The Kite Runner," by Khaled Hosseini, in November. The projects have met with wide — if not universal — enthusiasm. A Columbia professor told a reporter he’d prefer to let people "go on our merry way as we have for the last 100 years." The California Council for the Humanities began a generally supportive 2002 newsletter on the idea by observing, "If San Franciscans tried to choose a single book to read, we’d kill each other. Fortunately, it’s been chosen for us." Olney says that although it’s not a "young adults" book, "The River Why" is good for young readers as well as adults. "If we can get them into it, we’ll make some huge steps," he says. By the end of last week, 10 of the county’s 15 library branches had planned activities around the project, and more were expected to join. Discussion guides for the project are available at all library branches now, and an activities and events calendar is expected to go up today at www.jcls.org on the Web. Duncan is scheduled to speak in local libraries in late April. "We want to get people more conscious of the importance of reading," Olney says. "People are doing their own reading things. This is an opportunity to have everybody coordinate for 10 weeks." Duncan’s book is nothing if not an embracer of big themes. In the course of the story, Gus searches for his identity, discovers something about families, awakes to the relationship between human beings and nature, meditates on the similarities between religion and fishing and discovers the role of love in his life. And it’s all in Oregon. "We don’t know what’s going to happen," Olney says. "This is a chance to talk about how to read, understand characters and plot. I think it’ll really help everybody." Reach reporter Bill Varbleat 776-4478 or e-mail �The River Why� as community unifier? Why not? ">[email protected] . Mail Tribune Home | Local News | Sports | Business | Obituaries | Life | Opinion AP News | Archives | Site Map | Community | Classified Copyright © 1997-2006 Mail Tribune, Inc. All rights reserved. Privacy Policy | Terms & Conditions | Website Feedback www.bingo.com Home Security Systems Trunks, Footlocker Custom Build Computers Computer Security Discount Hotel Reservations Casinos Canada dvd-r Generic Viagra Myspace Windermere Van Vleet Deep Muscle Stimulator Sports Equipment Online Casino Reviews Online Bingo Entertainment Guide Online Casino Fundraisers Student Loans Sudoku Online Advertisement s Advertisement