It can be difficult to get every one of the nearly 900 students at Choate to read the required summer-reading book. The Wallingford Public Library (WPL) has taken on an even tougher task: it’s invited all of the more than 45,000 Wallingford residents to pick up a copy of The Reason You’re Alive, by Matthew Quick, as part of its One Book, One Wallingford program.
One Book, One Wallingford is an initiative to promote discussion among Wallingford community members concerning the themes presented in a particular book. To aid productive conversation, the WPL has coordinated a series of related programs to provide readers with a greater contextual understanding of the novel. The program will culminate with a visit from the author, who will speak this spring in Choate’s Paul Mellon Arts Center (PMAC).
Matthew Quick’s novel The Reason You’re Alive is the first pick of the Wallingford library’s new book club.
“It was something that I’ve been wanting to do here for quite a while,” said Wallingford Public Library Director Jane Fisher. As Ms. Fisher and the library’s Head of Adult Programming Ms. Julie Rio explained, the concept of an all-town read was the brainchild of Seattle librarian Nancy Pearl in 1998. The Wallingford Public Library has been planning for the launch of the program since June of 2017. “We’re a strong reading community. There are people waiting outside our door every day when we open,” said Ms. Fisher. “We already know that we have a community that likes to read, and I think we’ve seen in recent years that we have a community that likes to come together to talk about what they’re reading.”
A planning committee was tasked with organizing all aspects of the event, including the choice of book, types of related programming, and event locations. Rio attested to the experience of inviting author Mr. Matthew Quick for the One Book, One Wallingford finale, saying, “Every author is different. Some want you to go through their publicist; some want you to go through their administrative assistant; some want you to go through the publishing company. So it’s a matter of figuring that out and then contacting the right person. Then it was coordinating between his assistant and the PMAC to get a date that worked for everyone.”
Mr. Quick also authored The Silver Linings Playbook, among other novels. He wrote The Reason You’re Alive from the perspective of Vietnam War veteran David Granger, who is far from afraid to speak his mind. Granger’s acerbic tone is clear from the forefront, his opinionated nature and use of expletives prominent from the first page. “It’s heavy duty. It’s not a hard read at all, but it’s ‘politically uncomfortable,’” commented Ms. Fisher.
Choate’s Instructional and Digital Services Librarian Ms. Courtney Jaser, a member of One Book, One Wallingford’s planning committee, added, “It’s very political. It’s sort of about political extremes, so I think it’s especially important in this political climate to be talking about those kinds of things.”
The WPL has observed that the book has effectively fostered conversation within the town and even piqued the interest of some outside of Wallingford. “Our book is starting to really create some buzz,” said Ms. Fisher. A book group from a neighboring town has also taken up The Reason You’re Alive after hearing about its role in One Book, One Wallingford, and a few people came from out of town to attend one of the associated programs.
Those who may have recognized the name “One Book, One Wallingford” likely saw the event advertised in Choate’s Andrew Mellon Library, at which one of the related programming events was held last week. This was a presentation given by Ms. Marianne Silva, LCSW and Dr. Jason DeViva, Ph.D., that gave a medical analysis of post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD). Dr. DeViva discussed the medical world’s developing understanding of PTSD through references to war and its effects as found in literature dating as far back as the Iliad. Ms. Silva described the ways in which PTSD can be treated, and both fielded questions from attendees.
Future One Book, One Wallingford programming includes a question and answer session with Vietnam veterans, a discussion lead by Professor Ben Kiernan of Yale University, and an event held at The Eatery.
Mr. Quick will be coming to campus on April 4 to speak to the Wallingford community. Tickets for this event can be found at the Wallingford Public Library and are free of charge.
“People are stopping me on the street and saying, ‘Oh, I really love that book’ or ‘That book really made me think,’ so, to me, that’s the best outcome,” said Ms. Fisher. Ms. Rio expressed similar appreciation for the effects of the program. “To see people excited about it, that’s just a good feeling,” she said, continuing, “I’m excited for all of it, every moment of it.”
