One Book One Community - The Book of Delights by Ross Gay

Summit County Library, Park City Library, and Dolly’s Bookstore are pleased to announce The Book of Delights by Ross Gay as this year’s One Book One Community selection. The e-book and e-audiobook are available with your Summit County Library card through Libby, and physical copies may be checked out from the libraries or purchased from Dolly’s Bookstore.

Everyone in Summit County is encouraged to read The Book of Delights and then attend a virtual event with author Ross Gay on Wednesday, October 6th at 7:00 p.m. Watch the event on Zoom or on Facebook Live. 

Zoom link: 

https://us02web.zoom.us/j/88018981875?pwd=aVFHclhsanVrL0g3Y1VaeWRoQUtMdz09

Passcode: 843893

Ross Gay’s The Book of Delights is a genre-defying book of essays—some as short as a paragraph; some as long as five pages—that record the small joys that occurred in one year, from birthday to birthday, and that we often overlook in our busy lives. His is a meditation on delight that takes a clear-eyed view of the complexities, even the terrors, in his life, including living in America as a black man; the ecological and psychic violence of our consumer culture; the loss of those he loves. Among Gay’s funny, poetic, philosophical delights: the way Botan Rice Candy wrappers melt in your mouth, the volunteer crossing guard with a pronounced tremor whom he imagines as a kind of boat-woman escorting pedestrians across the River Styx, a friend’s unabashed use of air quotes, pickup basketball games, the silent nod of acknowledgment between black people. And more than any other subject, Gay celebrates the beauty of the natural world—his garden, the flowers in the sidewalk, the birds, the bees, the mushrooms, the trees. The Book of Delights is about our connection to the world, to each other, and the rewards that come from a life closely observed. Gay’s pieces serve as a powerful and necessary reminder that we can, and should, stake out a space in our lives for delight.

Supporting programs include:

• Community Book Discussion - Park City Library Reading Garden (1255 Park Ave., Park City) - Saturday, September 18th at 10:00 a.m.
• Journal Making Kit Pick Up - Get excited to hear from Ross Gay by creating your own Book of Delights. Supplies are limited, so please register if you would like a kit. Kit pick up will be September 20-29. 
• Journaling Workshop - Writing & Radical Joy: Claiming Space for What Delights You - Kimball Junction Branch Library - Thursday, September 30th from 6:30-8:00 p.m.
• Kamas Book Group Discussion - All are welcome. The Kamas Book Group will be discussing The Book of Delights on Monday, October 4th from 4:00-5:00 p.m. on Zoom.

This program is supported by Utah Humanities.

If you are interested in receiving any future updates for this event, please register below.