Washington Public Library to hold book discussion December on 2019 All Iowa Reads Title: This Blessed Earth by Ted Genoways

By Allie Paarsmith

The Washington Public Library invites members of the community to a program on Tuesday, December 3, 2019 at 12:00 p.m. and again at 6:00 p.m. to discuss the 2019 All Iowa Reads title: This Blessed Earth: A Year in the Life of An American Family Farm by Ted Genoways.

I just started reading it through BRIDGES, our digital library, and it is a wonderful look at agrarian life in the Midwest and how it came to be this way. Books are available at the front desk and it's a fairly quick read.

About the 2019 Title: This Blessed Earth

The family farm lies at the heart of our national identity, yet its future is in peril. Far from an isolated refuge beyond the reach of global events, the family farm is increasingly at the crossroads of emerging technologies and international detente. Ted Genoways explores this rapidly changing landscape of small, traditional farming operations, mapping as it unfolds day to day.

The 2019 title is a joint selection between Iowa's All Iowa Reads program and Nebraska's One Book One Nebraska program to celebrate the combined Iowa and Nebraska Library Associations Conference in Omaha in the fall of 2019.

About All Iowa Reads

Established in 2003, the All Iowa Reads program from the Iowa Center for the book encourages Iowans to come together in their communities to read and talk about a single book title in the same year. 'All Iowa Reads fosters a sense of unity through reading, and I invite Iowans to join me in reading this book and finding a group to discuss the book with in 2019,” said State Librarian Michael Scott.

The Iowa Center for the Book is a program of the State Library of Iowa with the mission to stimulate public interest in books, reading, literacy and libraries. Find out more at www.IowaCenterfortheBook.org.

The State Library of Iowa strengthens Iowa libraries and information access for Iowans. www.StateLibraryofIowa.org.