Fort Collins Reads – Welcomes Garth Stein

Fort Collins Reads has selected “The Art of Racing in the Rain” by Garth Stein for this year’s one-book, one-city event.

 Stein will speak Nov. 7 in Fort Collins at 7:30pm.

Fort Collins Reads has selected Art of Racing in the Rain

“The Art of Racing in the Rain” is a New York Times best-selling novel about a dog’s perspective on navigating life’s ordeals. Enzo is a shepherd-poodle-terrier mix who watches television and listens to his master, a race car driver, to create a philosophy that life, like racing, isn’t just about going fast. Enzo helps his owner and family deal with cancer, death and a custody battle over the owner’s young daughter.

In connection with Stein’s visit to the Fort Collins area, Colorado State University Libraries will host a talk by Temple Grandin, an author and CSU professor known for her perspectives on autism and animal science. She’ll speak at 7 p.m. Sept. 20 at the University Center for the Arts, 1400 Remington St in Fort Collins.

Other speakers will include Frank Amorso, a Boulder, CO automotive journalist and race car driving instructor; Mark Bekoff, a University of Colorado professor who has written about the emotional lives of dogs; and Kate Solisti, an author and animal communicator. Book talks will be held at the Poudre River Public Library District main library in Fort Collins, CSU’s Morgan Library, and the Michener Library at the University of Northern Colorado.

Stein’s main talk will be at 3:30 p.m. and 7:30 p.m. Nov. 7 at the CSU Lory Student Center Theatre. Tickets will be $5 and on sale after Labor Day at local bookstores and online through the Lincoln Center in Fort Collins box office.

Fort Collins Reads annual fundraiser, an adult spelling bee; organizations or businesses can sponsor or create their own three-member teams to compete in the event. Grand prize is dinner with the author. Proceeds support Fort Collins Reads in its mission of bringing well-known authors to Fort Collins and encouraging community-wide discussions of their books.

This year marks Fort Collins Reads eighth event. Past books were “The Giver” by Lois Lowry; “Holes” by Louis Sachar; “Bless Me, Ultima” by Rudolfo A. Anaya; “The Color of Water” by James McBride; “An Unfinished Life” by Mark Spragg; “When the Emperor Was Divine” by Julie Otsuka; and “The Tortilla Curtain” by T.C. Boyle.