When you pick up a new book to read, is it usually from the same genre? Do you only read love stories or thrillers? The National Endowment for the Arts Big Read, taking place in the Central Arkansas Library System (CALS), aims to broaden your horizons by sharing a good book.
CALS is one of 78 "dynamic community reading programs" to receive NEA grants from $5,000 to $15,000" plus resources, outreach materials and training to implement the Big Read, which began in September and runs through June. The CALS activities are set from Thursday to April 28 in all 15 branches of the library.
The Central Arkansas library's book is The Things They Carried, by Tim O'Brien, a book about the Vietnam War that was chosen from a diverse range of contemporary titles expressing different voices and perspectives. The idea is to inspire conversation and discovery, an NEA news release says, and events include reading groups, panel discussions and a movie series with a Vietnam War theme.
O'Brien is a former reporter for The Washington Post who had a typical 1950s upbringing before being sent to Vietnam as a soldier in 1969. The Things They Carried is O'Brien's firsthand account of the horrors of war. The book's title alludes to the things soldiers must carry with them as they march, including the mental baggage.
Given Central Arkansas author Charles Portis' recent death, a more fitting book for the local Big Read might have been True Grit, but the public library in Athens, Ala., got that one. (Turns out, CALS chose The Things They Carried because of personal connections to the author.)
The Big Read overlaps the 17th annual Six Bridges Book Festival, set for April 23-26. More than 60 authors will discuss a range of topics and genres. O'Brien will the festival's keynote speaker. For a list of authors and events at that festival, visit sixbridgesbookfestival.org.
BIG READ SCHEDULE
Thursday: We Were Soldiers, Ron Robinson Theater, 100 River Market Ave., Little Rock, 7 p.m. Introductory comments by Dr. James Ross of the University of Arkansas at Little Rock. (501) 320-5715.
March 10: The Things They Carried and the Art of Narrative, panel discussion with Dr. Alex Vernon, Dr. Catherine Calloway and Guy Choate, Amy Sanders Library, 10200 Johnson Drive, Sherwood, 6-7:30 p.m. (501) 835-7756.
March 12: Full Metal Jacket, Ron Robinson Theater, 100 River Market Avenue, Little Rock, 7 p.m. Introductory comments by Dr. James Ross of the University of Arkansas at Little Rock. (501) 320-5715.
March 17: The Things They Carried reading group led by Martene Campbell, Sidney S. McMath Library, 2100 John Barrow Road, Little Rock, 6-7 p.m. (501) 225-0066.
March 17: Movies at MacArthur, Homecoming: A Vietnam Vet's Journey, MacArthur Museum of Arkansas Military History, 503 E. Ninth St., Little Rock, 6:30 p.m. (501) 376-4602.
March 18: The Things They Carried book discussion led by Polly Deems, Millie Brooks Library, 13024 Arkansas 365, Wrightsville, 4:30 p.m. Information: (501) 537-3186.
March 19: The Things They Carried book discussion led by Dr. Alex Vernon, John Gould Fletcher Library, 823 N. Buchanan St., Little Rock, 10-11 a.m. (501) 663-5457.
March 19: The Deer Hunter, Ron Robinson Theater, 100 River Market Avenue, Little Rock, 7 p.m. Introductory comments by Dr. James Ross of the University of Arkansas at Little Rock. (501) 320-5715.
March 21: The Things They Carried reading group, Sue Cowan Williams Library, 1800 Chester St., Little Rock, 11:30 a.m. (501) 376-4282.
March 23: Wreath-placing ceremony at Vietnam Memorial at Arkansas State Capitol with Vietnam veterans reading excerpts from The Things They Carried, 10 a.m.
March 26: Born on the Fourth of July, Ron Robinson Theater, 100 River Market Avenue, Little Rock, 7 p.m. Introductory comments by Dr. James Ross of the University of Arkansas at Little Rock. (501) 320-5715.
March 26: Milam Book Chat, The Things They Carried, Max Milam Library, 609 Aplin Ave., Perryville, 12:30 p.m. (501) 889-2554.
April 1: Legacies and Lunch — Dr. Cathleen Calloway, "The Vietnam War: Its Legacy in Literature," Darragh Center, Main Library, 100 Rock St., Little Rock, noon. (501) 320-5744.
April 2: Good Morning Vietnam, Ron Robinson Theater, 100 River Market Avenue, Little Rock, 7 p.m. Introductory comments by Dr. James Ross of the University of Arkansas at Little Rock. (501) 320-5715.
April 7: The Things They Carried book discussion led by Dr. Alex Vernon, John Gould Fletcher Library, 823 N. Buchanan St., Little Rock, 6-7 p.m. (501) 663-5457.
April 8: Terry Book Club, The Things They Carried, Adolphine Fletcher Terry Library, 2015 Napa Valley Drive, Little Rock, Noon to 1:30 p.m. and 6:30 to 7:30 p.m. (501) 228-0129.
April 9: Snag a copy of The Things They Carried and make Vietnamese Spring Rolls in the Adult Cooking Program, Hillary Rodham Clinton Children's Library and Learning Center, 4800 West 10th St., Little Rock, 5:45 p.m. Email tobaugh@cals.org for more information and to reserve your spot.
April 9: Apocalypse Now, Ron Robinson Theater, 100 River Market Avenue, Little Rock, 7 p.m. Introductory comments by Dr. James Ross of the University of Arkansas at Little Rock. (501) 320-5715.
April 11: "Lens, Pens, and Lyrics — Remembering War Through Photography, Writing, and Song": With Bruce Wesson on photography, Pat Hoy on writing, and Steve Dean on songs and the Freedom Sings program, MacArthur Museum of Arkansas Military History, 503 E. Ninth St., Little Rock, 1 p.m. (501) 376-4602.
April 13: The Things They Carried book discussion, Maumelle Library, 10 Lake Pointe Drive, Maumelle, 7 p.m. (501) 851-2551.
April 16: Platoon, Ron Robinson Theater, 100 River Market Avenue, Little Rock, 7 p.m. Introductory comments by Dr. James Ross of the University of Arkansas at Little Rock. (501) 320-5715.
April 25: Tim O'Brien, Welcome Home Vietnam Veterans Celebration, Jacksonville Museum of Military History, 100 Veterans Circle, Jacksonville, 1 p.m. (501) 241-1943.
April 25: Tim O'Brien Keynote, Six Bridges Book Festival, Ron Robinson Theater, 100 River Market Avenue, Little Rock, 6:30 p.m. (501) 918-3069.
April 28: The Things They Carried book discussion, Thompson Book Club, Roosevelt Thompson Library, 38 Rahling Circle, Little Rock, 6:30 p.m. (501) 821-3060.
CORRECTION: The seven movies in the Central Arkansas Library System’s Vietnam War movie series will start at 7 p.m. Thursdays from now through April 16. An earlier version of this story listed incorrect start times. The series, which is affiliated with the National Endowment for the Arts Big Read, will be at the library’s Ron Robinson Theater, 100 River Market Ave, Little Rock.
Style on 03/03/2020