Published in the November 11-24, 2015 issue of Morgan Hill Life
By Staff Report
The Santa Clara County-based annual Silicon Valley Reads program will feature the topic of water with its selection of books in 2016. Benjamin Parzybok, the author of the critically-acclaimed novel “Sherwood Nation,” will speak at the Morgan Hill Library 7 p.m. Tuesday March 8.
The other Silicon Valley Reads book selected is “Memory of Water” by Emmi Itäranta.
The Silicon Valley Reads program next year focuses its selection on the topic of global warming and what the possible consequences might be if it is not solved, said Morgan Hill Librarian Peggy Tomasso.
“The two books were chosen to engage the public in discussing and eruditing this complex issue that is currently confronting our society and our state which is in the middle of a crippling drought,” she said.
Both books are part of an emerging literary genre called eco-fiction or climate fiction which shows how much this issue is permeating our culture, she said.
There will be a discussion of the “Memory of Water” on 7:30 p.m. Jan. 25 at the library’s Books with Dessert Book Club.
In addition the library plans to have a program on water conservation and graywater systems presented by a speaker from the Santa Clara County Water District, Tomasso said. This is in the planning stage and no date has been set yet.
The Silicon Valley Reads program is a way for Santa Clara County residents to share a common literary experience.
“There is nothing like reading the same book and getting together with others who have read the same book to share what one thinks the author is trying to say,” Tomasso said. “Anyone who has taken a literature class or gone to a book discussion can attest that even though one might read the same book, different readers can have very different views on what the author is trying to say. How often does one get to be a part of a book discussion with thousands of people reading the same book?”
