2007 One Book One Community Read!
events | books | read-a-likes | author | libraries | sponsors | livingstonreads.org
 What if...
Everyone read the same book?
The One-Book-One-Community Selection for 2007 is Montana 1948 by Larry Watson.
"TAUT, MEMORABLE.... In crisp, restrained prose, Watson indelibly portrays the moral dilemma of a family torn between justice and loyalty; by implication, he also illuminates some dark corners of our national history." --Publisher's Weekly
If you have read the Book, request a complimentary lapel pin fr om our Check-Out Desk or Information Desk. There's a limited supply of lapel pins, so get yours soon!
Selected Events
See full list of events at the Livingston Reads Site
  Local History & Law Enforcement
Sunday, April 15, 2007; 1:00 pm - 3:00 pm, Historic Green Oak Township Hall, 10789 Silver Lake Road - Green Oak Township was the place to be for an afternoon of lectures and crafts highlighting law enforcement--and scandals!--in 20th-century Livingston County. This program for children and adults (onsite parental supervision required!) was promoted by the three libraries serving Green Oak Township and the Green Oak Township Historical Society in conjunction with the Green Oak One Book, Montana 1948 . Generously sponsored by the Friends of the Brighton District Library.
Reg Pettibone's Native American
Dance Program 
Wednesday, April 18; 7:00-8:00pm, Brighton District Library -
Reg Pettibone, a full-blooded Native American Champion Dancer from the Ho-Chunk Nation, and his family used dance, song, narration, and artifacts to bring Native American culture to life. A tipi was set up in the library atrium for the day.
Montana 1948 author talk--Larry Watson: A Writer's Heritage
Thursday, April 19, 2007; 7:00-8:30pm, Howell Carnegie District Library -
Montana 1948 author Larry Watson read from and discussed his book.
Montana 1948 and the '40s
Wednesday, April 25, 3:00-4:30 pm, Brighton District Library offsite program at Independence Village of Brighton, 7800 Nemco Way. Book discussion of the one-book-one-community book Montana 1948 by Larry Watson. "Remember When?" guided reminiscence session to follow. Co-facilitators: librarians Mary Ann Scott and Mary Johnson.
About the book
"From the summer of my twelfth year I carry a series of images more vivid and lasting than any others of my boyhood and indelible beyond all attempts the years make to erase or fade them...."
So begins David Hayden's story of what happened in Montana in 1948.
The events of that cataclysmic summer permanently alter twelve-year-old David's understanding of his family: his father, a small-town sheriff; his remarkably strong mother; the Hayden's Sioux housekeeper, Marie Little Soldier, whose revelations are at the heart of the story; David's uncle, a war hero and respected doctor. As their story unravels around David, he learns that truth is not what you believe it to be, that power is abused, and that sometimes you have to choose between family loyalty and justice.
In a voice as brilliantly clear as the eastern Montana sky, Larry Watson has created a completely new American classic. With nearly perfect pitch, Watson evokes a time, a place, and more: a story whose pages will not stop turning, because its characters will not let them.
Read-a-likes
- Plainsong by Kent Haruf
- Peace Like a River
by Leif Enger
- Ellen Foster
by Kaye Gibbons
- To Kill a Mockingbird
by Harper Lee
- Fried Green Tomatoes at the Whistle Stop Café
by Fannie Flagg
- A Tree Grows in Brooklyn
by Betty Smith
- The Heart is a Lonely Hunter
by Carson McCullers
About the Author
 Larry Watson was born in 1947 in Rugby, North Dakota. He received his BA and MA from the University of North Dakota, his Ph.D. from the creative writing program at the University of Utah, and an honorary Doctor of Letters degree from Ripon College. Watson has received grants and fellowships from the National Endowment for the Arts (1987, 2004) and the Wisconsin Arts Board.
Larry Watson is the author of the novels IN A DARK TIME, MONTANA 1948, WHITE CROSSES, LAURA, and ORCHARD; the fiction collection JUSTICE; and the chapbook of poetry LEAVING DAKOTA. He has received prizes and awards from Milkweed Press, Friends of American Writers, Mountain and Plains Booksellers Association, New York Public Library,Wisconsin Library Association, and Critics’ Choice. MONTANA 1948 was nominated for the first IMPAC Dublin international literary prize. The movie rights to MONTANA 1948 and JUSTICE have been sold to Echo Lake Productions and WHITE CROSSES has been optioned for film.
Watson taught writing and literature at the University of Wisconsin/Stevens Point for 25 years before joining the faculty at Marquette University in 2003 as a Visiting Professor.
He and his wife Susan live in Milwaukee, Wisconsin. They have two daughters and two grandchildren
Participating Libraries
Livingston Reads Participating Libraries: |
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Brighton District Library
100 Library Drive
Brighton, MI 48116
810-229-6571
www.brightonlibrary.info |
Cromaine (Hartland) District Library
3688 N. Hartland Road
Hartland, MI 48353
810-632-5200
www.cromaine.org |
Fowlerville District Library
131 Mill Street
Fowlerville, MI 48836
517-223-9089
www.fowlervillelibrary.org |
Hamburg Township Library
10411 Merrill Road
Hamburg, MI 48139
810-231-1771
www.hamburglibrary.org |
Howell Carnegie District Library
314 W. Grand River
Howell, MI 48843
517-546-0720
www.howelllibrary.org |
Pinckney Community Public Library
350 Mower Road
Pinckney, MI 48169
734-878-3888
www.pinckneylibrary.org |
“Thank You” to the Sponsors of Livingston Reads:
Friends of the Howell Carnegie District Library
Friends of the Brighton District Library
Friends of the Cromaine District Library
Fowlerville District Library
Hamburg Township Library
Pinckney Community Public Library
For details on these and other One-Book-One-Community events, contact Mary Ann Scott, Adult Services Librarian. For county fun facts, book discussion opportunities, and additional county-wide events relating to Montana 1948, see the Livingston Reads! website.
events | books | read-a-likes | author | libraries | sponsors | livingstonreads.org
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