LAKEPORT, Calif. – The Lake County Library’s Big Read for 2017 has wrapped up its month-long series of events that explored the themes of the Big Read novel, “Station Eleven,” by Emily St. John Mandel.

Lake County Library is one of 75 nonprofit organizations across the country that received NEA Big Read grants to host community reading programs between September 2017 and June 2018.

During October the library distributed 500 free copies of the novel to the public and held public events related to the book. The events drew a combined total of more than 350 people.

Speakers included author, playwright and Mendocino College professor Jody Gehrman, Dr. Karen Tait from Lake County Public Health and Tammy Carter from Sutter Lakeside Hospital.

Other events included a showing of the Star Trek Voyager episode that inspired Mandel’s book, and an on-air book discussion on KPFZ FM 88.1.

Discussions and events explored the book’s themes of the importance of art, the insufficiency of mere survival and what it means to be human.

Book clubs held discussions. Local breweries produced special Station Eleven-themed brews. Members of the Lake County Symphony and the Shakespeare in the Park program performed at the Soper-Reese Theatre.

The NEA Big Read in Lake County featured Station Eleven by Emily St. John Mandel. The NEA Big Read is a community-wide reading program where community members are all encouraged to read and discuss the same book.

The public joined the Lake County Library’s Big Read to discuss Mandel’s post-apocalyptic novel that examines life and death, faith and fate, music and drama, arts and technology, and power and control. Recurring images from the book include graphic novels, Shakespeare, classical music, tattoos, and museums.

The library salutes the partner agencies that helped bring about the success of the program. Friends of the Lake County Library, Friends of Middletown Library, Lake County Friends of Mendocino College, Friends of the Mendocino College Library, Mendocino College Lake Center, Lake County Office of Education, Lake County Campus Woodland Community College, KPFZ 88.1FM Lake County Local Radio, Lake County Museums, Lake County Arts Council, Middletown Art Center, Sutter Lakeside Hospital, O'Meara Bros. Brewing Co. and Kelsey Creek Brewing Co.

The Lake County Library is planning to submit a grant for a program during the month of October 2018.

You can help the library choose Lake County’s Big Read book for 2018 through the survey on the Web site www.lakecountybigread.com. Click on the link to the survey to read the book descriptions.

Please read the descriptions in the survey and then choose which book you would most like to see selected for the Big Read in Lake County.

Jan Cook is a technician with the Lake County Library.