Lake Oswego Reads 2025

For Its 19th Anniversary Year Lake Oswego Reads Selects

How to Read a Book by Monica Wood

Lake Oswego, OR: The Lake Oswego Public Library has selected How to Read a Book: A Novel by Monica Wood for its 2025 award-winning citywide reading program, at the recommendation of the Lake Oswego Reads Steering Committee.

“In today’s world, what does it mean to be given a second chance? In How to Read a Book, a young woman named Violet is released from prison to establish a new life. In her journey, she and the reader, learn what forgiveness means along with the complexities of repentance, family bonds, the stability of work, and having friends and allies a person can trust and count on. A deceptively layered tale filled with thoughtful observations on how simple acts of kindness can powerfully impact our lives,” says Andrew Edwards, Executive Director of Lakewood Center for the Arts.

Marcy Huss, LOSD teacher, loves all the connections to books, novelists, and poets.  “It helped me think about those stories and writers in new ways. The novel's positive tone, readability, celebration of books, and variety of programming ideas make our selection a worthy pick for this year’s LO Reads.” 

Lewis & Clark Professor Emeritus, Joann Geddes adds, “I very much enjoyed this novel and greatly appreciated the strong character development, attention-to-detail, the story line itself, and the many references to books I now want to read/reread. I often paused to note a truism or observation about life in general. This is not, however, a manual on “How to…” but a story that held my attention until the end.”

Committee member Nell Diamond comments that this LO Reads selection is, “Approachable and engaging—the book’s themes of redemption and forgiveness are timely, and there will be many programming opportunities to share with the community.”

“This book left me with a glow of love which I would wish the community to share. But the book offered more than feelings—fascinating content about animal intelligence, the prison system, Spoon River Anthology, forgiveness and redemption,“ relates Steering Committee member Cherie Dupuis.

"Monica Wood’s How to Read a Book is brimming with spirited characters, both human and animal, in a compelling novel featuring the interwoven stories of three individuals seeking second chances and found family,” exclaims Melissa Kelly, Lake Oswego Public Library Director. “We are excited to present this novel for our 19th annual Lake Oswego Reads program.”

The 2024-25 Steering Committee for Lake Oswego Reads is composed of librarians, community leaders, high school English teachers, retired professors, and high school students.  Each year we welcome book suggestions for this volunteer committee to read and consider. For a listing of proposed books, go to www.ci.oswego.or.us/loreads/books-considered-2025.

Join Us

Thanks to a grant from the Friends of the Lake Oswego Public Library, 800 free books will be distributed to Lake Oswego Public Library card holders. As in recent years, the book giveaway will be held as a drive-through in the library parking lot, beginning at 11:00 am on Saturday, March 1st. The street address is 706 Fourth Street in Lake Oswego.

The Lake Oswego Reads Events Committee is developing April’s schedule of free programs that include speakers, craft classes, a children’s companion book, music, art, book discussions and more. Additionally, thanks to the Friends of Lake Oswego Public Library, Monica Wood will visit Lake Oswego in person and speak at Lakeridge High School on ­­­­­Thursday, May 1st at 7:00 pm. Tickets will be available at the Library throughout the month of April. See the Lake Oswego Library website for details on this event and all the April events as they are added to this exciting month of reading.

Background

LAKE OSWEGO PUBLIC LIBRARY

The Lake Oswego Public Library has been recognized by national organizations such as the U.S. Conference of Mayors for this immersive program that encourages all members of the community to read the same book, discuss its message, and celebrate an atmosphere of learning among all age groups. This will be the program’s 19th year and all events will be free thanks to financial support from the Friends of the Lake Oswego Public Library, Lake Oswego Rotary Club, and the Lake Oswego Review, and the City of Lake Oswego.

For more information about Lake Oswego Public Library or Lake Oswego Reads, visit the City’s website at www.ci.oswego.or.us/loreads.

About the Author

Monica Wood is a novelist, memoirist, and playwright. She is the 2024 winner of the Sara Josepha Hale award, honoring contributions to the literary arts in New England. Her most recent novel, How to Read a Book is a national bestseller about a chance encounter at a bookstore, exploring redemption, unlikely friendships, and the life-changing power of sharing stories. Her novel, The One-in-a-Million Boy, has been published in 22 languages in 30 countries and won a 2017 Nautilus Award (Gold) and the New England Society Book Award. She is also the author of When We Were the Kennedys, a New England bestseller, Oprah magazine summer-reading pick, and winner of the May Sarton Memoir Award and the 2016 Maine Literary Award. Her novel Any Bitter Thing was an ABA bestseller and Book Sense Top Ten pick. Her other fiction includes Ernie’s Ark, which has been excerpted on NPR’s “Selected Shorts” and selected by several towns and cities as their “One Book, One Community” read; My Only Story, a finalist for the Kate Chopin Award; and Secret Language, her first novel. Her widely anthologized short stories have won a Pushcart Prize and been featured on public radio. She also writes books for writers and teachers. Her nonfiction has appeared in Oprah, New York Times, Martha Stewart Living, Parade, and many other publications. Her first play, Papermaker, debuted at Portland Stage in an extended run, its bestselling play ever. Her second play, The Half-Light, debuted at Portland Stage in 2019.

Monica was born in Maine, New England to an Irish Catholic family, and worked as a guidance counselor and in a nursing home before becoming a full-time writer. She lives in Maine with her husband.

For questions, please contact Nancy Niland at 503-675-2538 or nniland@lakeoswego.city