Readin' in the Rain
Eugene-Springfield's Community Reading Event
Readin' in the Rain is a collaboration of book-loving individuals and
organizations in the Eugene-Springfield area who believe in the power
of reading to promote thinking, questioning, discussing, and
understanding. Our sponsor page lists our major members each year.
Adapting the One Book concept from other communities, RIR chooses to
focus on regional Northwest authors and themes. The month of February
becomes an annual literary highlight with book discussions, readings,
entertainment, and lectures.
Since inception, our featured titles and authors have been:
2002: Sometimes a Great Notion by Ken Kesey
2003: Fire's Edge by Alan Siporin|
2004: The Lathe of Heaven by Ursula Le Guin
2005: The Jump-Off Creek by Molly Gloss
2006: Crescent by Diana Abu-Jaber
2007: Providence of a Sparrow by Chris Chester
Readin' in the Rain appreciates suggestions for future programs and bases selections on these criteria:
- The author lives in the Northwest, generally in Oregon, Washington, Idaho, or Montana.
- The author is congenial and willing to spend a long weekend participating in public programs.
- The title can be either fiction or nonfiction, though our bias is toward fiction.
- The selection is widely available in print and preferably in paperback.
- The book is between 100 and 300 pages long.
- The theme has a Northwest focus and reflects a current or ongoing interest of the community.
- Subjects of the book lend themselves to community events, with sufficient complexity of ideas, characters, and plot to generate lively, quality conversations in multiple discussions.
- The intended audience is adult, though there may be associated children's suggestions.
- The program is affordable.
Each year's featured book is publicly announced the previous December. For more information, call Eugene Public Library, 682-5450.
