Welcome to ReadMOre
In its 8th year, ReadMOre once again invites Missourians to collectively join in what has become an annual statewide reading celebration. Begun in 2002, the ReadMOre movement has gained momentum – with a steadily growing number of participants throughout the state.
Libraries, schools and booksellers have joined in this annual rite of Spring by sparking the enthusiasm of Missourians to read a single, highly acclaimed and thought-provoking book.
2009 Selection: A Thousand Acres by Jane Smiley
Why are there six cover designs for the 1992 winner of the Pulitzer Prize? That question launches the excellent reader's guide for the 2009 ReadMOre selection.
The story is about a successful Iowa farmer, the fateful decisions he makes about his three daughters’ inheritance, and the emotions and ties that bind and divide them. It is about keeping up appearances; it is about how families shape their stories; it is about character and character flaws. Themes of truth, justice, love and pride play out a contemporary Shakespearean tragedy.
Jane Smiley was born in California and grew up in Webster Groves, Missouri. She spent much of her adult life teaching writing at Iowa State University. She plans several early April appearances in Missouri where book groups are discussing A Thousand Acres.
“A full, commanding novel … a story bound and tethered to a lonely road in the Midwest, but drawn from a universal source. Profoundly American.” – The Boston Globe
“A family portrait that is also a near-epic investigation into the broad landscape, the thousand dark acres of the human heart … “ – The Washington Post Book World
“Absorbing. . . . Exhilarating. . . . An engrossing piece of fiction.” —Time
