O Pioneers! by Willa Cather is Nebraska’s reading choice for the
2013 One Book One Nebraska statewide reading program. Cather’s
O Pioneers! is the story of the Bergsons, a family of Swedish pioneers that settles on the American prairie. While Alexandra, the family matriarch, turns the family farm into a financial success, her brother Emil struggles. A novel surprisingly ahead of its time, this work touches on a wide range of enduring themes—love, marriage, temptation, and isolation.
The One Book One Nebraska reading program, sponsored by the Nebraska Center for the Book, is now in its ninth year. It encourages Nebraskans across the state to read and discuss one book, chosen from books written by Nebraska authors or that have a Nebraska theme or setting. A committee of the Nebraska Center for the Book selected the finalists from a list of twelve titles nominated by sixty Nebraskans from across the state. The Nebraska Center for the Book board announced the choice for the 2013 One Book One Nebraska at the Celebration of Nebraska Books on November 3 in Lincoln.
Libraries across Nebraska will join the Willa Cather Foundation, Nebraska Center for the Book, and other literary and cultural organizations in planning book discussions, activities, and events that will encourage Nebraskans to read and discuss this book. Support materials to assist with local reading/discussion activities will be available after January 1, 2013 at
http://onebook.nebraska.gov. Updates and activity listings will be posted on the One Book One Nebraska Facebook group at
http://www.facebook.com/onebookonenebraska.
One Book One Nebraska is sponsored by Nebraska Center for the Book, Nebraska Humanities Council, Nebraska Library Association, and Nebraska Library Commission. The Nebraska Center for the Book is housed at and supported by the Nebraska Library Commission and brings together the state’s readers, writers, booksellers, librarians, publishers, printers, educators, and scholars to build the community of the book, supporting programs to celebrate and stimulate public interest in books, reading, and the written word.
As the state library agency, the Nebraska Library Commission is an advocate for the library and information needs of all Nebraskans. The mission of the Library Commission is statewide promotion, development, and coordination of library and information services,
bringing together people and information. The most up-to-date news releases from the Nebraska Library Commission are always available on the Library Commission website,
http://nlc.nebraska.gov/publications/newsreleases. For more information, contact
Mary Jo Ryan, 402-471-3434 or 800-307-2665,
www.centerforthebook.nebraska.gov or
http://www.facebook.com/NebraskaCenterfortheBook
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