Saratoga Reads Announces Top Five Books for Public Vote
Special event on April 9 will give inside look at top contenders
Saratoga Reads has announced that out of some 80 titles nominated by the public for the program’s next book of choice, five have been selected as finalists. The winning title will be decided by public vote, with area residents having until May 15 to cast their ballots. The selected book will be announced in the fall.
Among the top five contenders are four novels and one nonfiction work. The novels on the ballot are A Constellation of Vital Phenomena: A Novel by Anthony Marra, Billy Lynn’s Long Halftime Walk by Ben Fountain, People of the Book: A Novel by Geraldine Brooks, and The Round House: A Novel by Louise Erdrich. The nonfiction choice is a work of investigative journalism, Behind the Beautiful Forevers: Life, Death, and Hope in a Mumbai Undercity by Katherine Boo.
Voters are urged to read the descriptions of the books. Votes may be cast at ballot boxes at the Saratoga Springs Public Library, Barnes & Noble in Wilton, and Northshire Bookstore in downtown Saratoga Springs.
“We’re currently celebrating the 10-year anniversary of Saratoga Reads, but we are already gearing up for our 11th year by inviting the public to select another great thought-provoking book,” said Tabitha Orthwein, chair of the Saratoga Reads board. “Each title on the ballot has the potential to inspire great programming and discussion. Now we need the community to make the tough choice as to the top book.”
The ballot of five books was determined by the Saratoga Reads Selection Advisory Group, a committee of some 25 community members, who worked from the list of nominations submitted by the community. Once the winning book is announced, the public will be encouraged to read the selected title and to develop and participate in educational and cultural activities stemming from the book’s themes. Saratoga Reads will also issue a list of junior companion books for grades pre-K and up.
Special Event to “meet the candidates”
To help readers learn more about the five contending books, Saratoga Reads will offer a “meet the candidates” event on April 9, 7-8:30 p.m., at the Saratoga Springs Public Library, in the H. Dutcher Community Room. Included in the evening will be an introduction to each of the books on the ballot and book-themed door prizes.
The evening will also offer an inside look at up-and-coming books of interest, provided by Ike Pulver, director of the Saratoga Springs Public Library. “The event will be a book lover’s jamboree,” said Orthwein. “Ike Pulver is tied into the book scene on the national level and will have some great recommendations both for book clubs and for individual readers.”
Behind the Beautiful Forevers: Life, Death, and Hope in a Mumbai Undercity by Katherine Boo Mumbai slum dwellers demonstrate remarkable resourcefulness and creativity in this work of reporting by a Pulitzer Prize winner. Annawadi, a sprawling settlement on the outskirts of Mumbai International Airport, is surrounded by luxury hotels and filled with people from throughout India who have come to the metropolis in search of opportunity in India’s booming economy. Based on hundreds of interviews gathered while living among her subjects for years, Boo’s reporting illuminates the hopes and desperate circumstances of Annawadi’s residents in contrast to the incredible wealth of a few.
Billy Lynn’s Long Halftime Walk by Ben Fountain Soldiers returning from the Iraq War become heroes when their battle exploits are televised by Fox News in this biting satirical novel chronicling one day of their “Victory Tour.” At a Thanksgiving Day Dallas Cowboys game at Texas Stadium, members of the Army’s Bravo Company, fresh from battling insurgents, get drunk, cause fistfights, are courted by both cheerleaders and movie producers, and are simultaneously honored as heroes and ignored as individuals. Nineteen-year-old Private Billy Lynn’s observations about life are funny, absurd, and tragic, and they are revealing about the state of American patriotism, media, and consumerism.
A Constellation of Vital Phenomena: A Novel by Anthony Marra Tragic wartime circumstances bring three disparate characters together in this novel that explores unexpected connections and the meaning of love. In war-torn Chechnya, Akhmed, a failed medical student and aspiring artist, rescues Havaa, an eight-year-old girl hiding from Russian soldiers who have taken away her father and burned down her house. Akhmed takes Havaa to a dilapidated hospital where Sonja, the last remaining doctor, has stayed to care for anyone in need of medical attention, despite the inherent dangers.
People of the Book: A Novel by Geraldine Brooks In this literary mystery, a rare-book conservator discovers the rich history of a recovered ancient manuscript lost during the siege of Sarajevo in the 1990s. Part love story and part historical novel, this work is inspired by the true story of a 14th-century illuminated Jewish religious manuscript, The Sarajevo Haggadah. The novel interweaves a series of fictionalized flashbacks revealing episodes in the book’s history with the contemporary story of the conservator’s love affair with the Muslim librarian who risked her life to preserve it for posterity.
The Round House: A Novel by Louise Erdrich A young boy hunts for the perpetrator of a violent crime that took place on a North Dakota Ojibwa reservation in a story that explores the meaning of family, friendship, and justice. After his mother is brutally attacked and slowly retreats from the world, 13-year-old Joe searches for clues to help identify her assailant, and for an understanding of the complexity of reservation justice. Vivid with descriptions of reservation life, featuring realistic and relatable characters, this coming-of-age story has drawn comparisons to To Kill a Mockingbird.