The mayors of Peachland and West Kelowna, along with the acting mayor of Kelowna and a local MLA have issued challenges to their respective councils, and others, to pick up a book and read it.
But not just any book.
As part of the Okanagan Regional Library’s Okanagan Reads community read event, they want everyone here to read George Bowering Shoot!, a fictionalized western, set in the Okanagan in the 1800s and featuring real local characters from the past.
Peachland Mayor Keith Fielding, who said he is already on chapter three, West Kelowna Mayor Doug Findlater, acting Kelowna mayor Luke Stack and Kelowna-Mission MLA Steve Thomson helped kick off Okanagan Reads Thursday.
The library, which has brought in extra copies of the book to help meet the expected demand, has launched the event with the help of a former Seattle-area librarian who came up with the idea for a similar community read event there several years ago. In Seattle, it was met with tremedous success.
New ORL executive director Stephanie Hall said she hopes to not only engage the community with Okanagan Reads but also show the importance of libraries in the community as members of the public read the boo and talk about with each other.
Copies of Shoot! are currently available to borrow at ORL branches throughout the region, and can be purchased at bookstores throughout the valley.
