The 5th annual ‘Hood River County Reads’ officially begins…

Sunday, February 28, 2 PM at the Hood River County Library with a performance and sing-along by performer Rick Meyers. The Library will be open for this free event.

The books selected for this year ‘Hood River County Reads’ both feature pioneer life. Molly Gloss’s ‘The Heart of Horses’ is set in rural Eastern Oregon in WWI. Pam Munoz Ryan’s ‘Riding Freedom,’ a book for middle school readers, deals with the settlement of California during gold rush days.

Performer Rick Meyers has been performing and teaching pioneer music and folklore to children and adults since 1976. His performances are known for their educational value, humor and high level of audience participation. Meyers plays and demonstrates the banjo, guitar, autoharp, musical saw, spoons, mouth harp, limberjack, washboard, ukulele, and washtub bass.

Each year the Friends of the Library search for a new book that the community can read at the same time and talk about with their neighbors. Wendy Best, journalist, says of ‘The Heart of Horses: ‘Just because there is a picture of a horse on the cover, don’t think this book is all about horses. It’s actually about ranching and farming in Eastern Oregon in 1917. You will meet wonderful people, horrid people, and sick and troubled people. History is dropped in like little jewels here and there, and pretty soon you fell as if you have been there. Molly Gloss lets the story tell itself. It’s a great read.’

Additional ‘Hood River County Reads' Events are: February 25, 7 PM: Book Discussion at the Cascade Locks Library; March 14, 2 PM, Library: Mary Schlick, author of ‘Coming to Stay;’ April 11, 2 PM, Library: Jody Foss, ‘The Sagebrush Story’, a lecture by a modern woman who still travels the west by horseback.

Author Molly Gloss will conclude ‘HRC Reads 2010’ with a public presentation at the Library, Sunday, April 19, 2 PM. On Monday, April 20, Gloss will make presentations at the Hood River Valley High School speaking with students there about her book and the writing process.

Molly Gloss says of ‘Heart of Horses: ‘I was looking for a way to rework the classic cowboy story: to find a central place in it for women, reshape it around the realities of the

Historical West, and retell it, not as a legend of a lone, wandering hero, but of a community of people putting down roots, and the courage of ordinary lives.’

Copies of the books are now available for check out at the Hood River County Library. ‘Hood River County Reads 2010’ is sponsored by the Friends of the Library and funded with grants from the Hood River County Library Foundation, the Hood River County Educational Foundation, and Starseed Foundation.