One Read voting opens Monday

After receiving more than 140 reader suggestions, the One Read Reading Panel has narrowed that list down to two books for area library patrons to vote on for the Daniel Boone Regional Library's 2012 community reading program, starting Monday.

Up for consideration this year are "The Tiger's Wife" by Téa Obreht and "Turn of Mind" by Alice LaPlante, two fiction novels that One Read Co-Chair Doyne McKenzie, also the collection development manager for DBRL, said have plenty to offer for One Read programming.

"I think "The Tiger's Wife' is very chock-full of subjects to talk about," McKenzie said. "It's steeped in superstition, myths, lots of culture and it's set in the Balkans. You learn a lot about the culture."

She described "Turn of Mind" as "the ultimate unreliable narrator."

"It's told by a surgeon whose mind is deteriorating," McKenzie said. "Her friend is murdered, and she starts wondering if maybe she is the murderer, which makes it very interesting."

According to a DBRL press release, "The Tiger's Wife" is "about the war-torn Balkans where young physician Natalia searches tales from her grandfather's past in an attempt to understand his mysterious death far from home."

"As Natalia looks for answers, she discovers the extraordinary story of a deaf-mute woman in her grandfather's boyhood village who befriended a tiger that had escaped from a zoo during World War II," the release stated. "Personal history, quest, myth, superstition and the aftermath of war combine to create a magical narrative."

The release also included a summary of "Turn of Mind."

"Dr. (Jennifer) White suffers from severe dementia, struggles with fractured memories of their relationship and wonders if she actually committed the crime," the release stated. "This literary thriller follows not only Dr. White's poignant decline and the slowly unfolding murder mystery, but it also explores the complexities of marriage, family and long-term friendship."

To help the tornado-stricken people of Dumas and surroundings, donations can be made to the Delta Area Disaster Relief Fund, care of the Delta Area Community Foundation, P.O. Box 894, Dumas, AR, 71639, or through the Arkansas Community Foundation, 700 S. Rock St., Little Rock, AR, 72202.