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Traverse City READS, a “One Book, One Community” literacy initiative, has selected The Living Great Lakes: Searching for the Heart of the Inland Seas by Jerry Dennis as the focus for Northern Michigan’s eighth annual community book club.

TC READS has designated April through October 2009 as reading months.  There will be events to celebrate the treasures of the fresh waters of our Great Lakes, and which  will culminate with an appearance by the author, Jerry Dennis on October 22, at the City Opera House.

The schedule allows area schools to incorporate the book into their fall planning, as well as engaging summer visitors looking for the perfect beach read.  Middle and high school teachers and local church groups plan to add The Living Great Lakes to their curriculums in an effort to further encourage family involvement in reading.

A skillful storyteller, Dennis weaves anecdotes from his childhood with fascinating accounts of the natural history of the lakes and the people who live here. Through the retelling his journeys on a tall masted schooner, a racing yacht, and voyageur canoe, the reader is given insight into a sailor’s life that includes, storms, politics, and personalities.  Along the way, Dennis ties the spectacular sites the Great Lakes afford with their history and natural science in a blend of personal observations and historical, geological and environmental sketches.

Using humor and excitement to entertain and educate, Dennis carries his readers on a voyage through the largest fresh surface water system on earth, the fragile nature of which was too long overlooked.  Today, we understand that our health and our children’s inheritance depend on the wise management of this complex ecosystem.  Water is a treasure and the Great Lakes are the mother lode.

Jerry Dennis, a Traverse City resident, has lived near the Great Lakes most of his life.  Dennis has written A Place on the Water: An Angler's Reflections on Home, From a Wooden Canoe: Reflections on Canoeing, Camping, and Classic Equipment.  He also writes about nature and the outdoors for Sports Afield, Gray’s Sporting Journal and the New York Times.

TC Reads celebrates the joys of reading and the common threads that unite us as a community by encouraging everyone to read and discuss one book.

TC READS is sponsored by Friends of the Traverse Area District Library.  For details on how to become a sponsor, please email Ruth Bay at jackbay@charter.net or call Ruth at 231-947-1619.