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Everybody Reads 2007 Midnight at the Dragon Café: library's fifth annual community reading project begins in January

December 18, 2006

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PORTLAND, OR – Everybody Reads 2007, Multnomah County Library's fifth annual community reading project, kicks off in January. This year's book is Midnight at the Dragon Café by Judy Fong Bates, the story of Su-Jen Chou, a Chinese girl growing up the only daughter of an unhappy and isolated immigrant family in a small town in the 1950s.

Copies of the book will be available at libraries beginning January 2, and related programming will take place throughout February. The project culminates with a visit by author Judy Fong Bates on March 1.

This year, private donations and corporate sponsorships will make more than 3,000 copies of the book available for borrowing at Multnomah County libraries and pay for the presentation of 85 educational and cultural programs throughout the community, including dozens of discussion groups that will take place at Multnomah County libraries, local bookstores and other organizations. Some discussions will be led by Portland State University scholars and will focus on specific topics or themes from the novel.

The programs being offered in February cover a variety of topics and range from lectures and performances to folk arts. Lectures and talks include a roundtable discussion on the Chinatowns of the Pacific Northwest, a talk on contemporary Chinese cinema, and a lecture on the Pacific Coast race riots of 1907. There will also be performances of classical and contemporary Chinese music, demonstrations of Chinese brush painting, and a Chinese rod-puppet show. Admission to most Everybody Reads programs is free.

The Everybody Reads project guide will have a complete listing of programs, dates and times. Project guides will be available at all Multnomah County libraries, participating bookstores and on the Portland State University campus in January. In addition to a list of all related programs, the project guide contains background information, suggestions for further reading, material to help jump-start discussions about the book, and a list of participating bookstores that are offering a discount on the book.

Everybody Reads information is also available now on the Everybody Reads website at www.multcolib.org/reads.

Everybody Reads 2007 is made possible by The Library Foundation and presented by Verizon Yellow Pages. Major sponsors are Portland State University, Clear Channel Outdoor and TriMet.