Do you love to read, but need a bit of inspiration to help you read more or decide what to read? For the past nine years, Homer Public Library staff has been compiling Lit Lineup, an annual list of books that includes staff picks and community member suggestions and covers numerous genres.

Started by library tech Teresa Sundmark when she noticed a decline in her own reading, Lit Lineup encourages people to read 15 books from the list throughout the year.

“I felt like my brain had been co-opted by social media and that I’d gone from reading several books a year to all of a sudden spending time at home with my laptop on my lap instead of a book in my hand,” she said. “I figured I might not be the only person who could use a little incentive to read more. Lit Lineup has become like a reading program for adults, similar to the summer reading program we have for kids, with the idea to get people to read more books.”

Developed mostly from books that are already in the library, staff and community member book suggestions are welcome year round. The list is created toward the end of every year to coincide with the Best Books of the Year nationally published lists, with the Lit Lineup list announced in January. Featured books are on display in the library with the list available in person and online. Supported by Friends of the Homer Library, community members who submit an entry for each book they read are entered into a monthly drawing and those who read at least 15 are entered into the year’s grand prize drawing.

Previously called Read Fifteen, the first lists included 150 books organized into 10 different categories. Today that list has been pared down to between 100 and 120 books that are carefully selected based on staff and community member recommendations, published book reviews and relevance to current events. The list includes fiction, nonfiction, classics, graphic novels, short stories, essays, biographies and poetry, as well as youth and juvenile genres.

“We have a separate summer reading program for youth, but include a few youth books on the adult reading list because some of those books are just beautiful and fun,” Sundmark said. “As adults we tend to close ourselves off from the kids or young adult section, which I think is a shame.”

In addition to encouraging more reading, Lit Lineup helps library patrons choose what to read, including genres new to them.

“There are so many books that it can be overwhelming if someone doesn’t have a specific subject they want to read,” Sundmark said. “The Lit Lineup book area has become a place where people go to look for their next read. People seem to appreciate knowing that these books have already been read and gotten lots of reviews.”

The books on the Lit Lineup shelves are a high volume check-out that can expose people to books they may not normally read. Sundmark said that one comment she heard time and again from community members was that they would not have chosen a certain book from the list on their own and that they’re glad they did.

“Many people read the same genre again and again, and having a variety of books available exposes them to explore reading other genres,” she said. “One year I read a book from the list that was about opiate addiction. It’s not a book I would have normally been drawn to read, but it’s a topic that’s in the news a lot and reading it gave me a lot of empathy and understanding for what families go through.”

One of Sundmark’s jobs is to go through the library books and remove those that have not been read, or read for a while. A few years ago, she came across “A Dream in Polar Fog” by Russian writer Yuri Rytkheu, a book that had been on the shelf for years, but rarely checked out.

“I pulled the book, started reading about it and discovered an incredibly well-written story about change, adaptation and human survival that I thought people needed to read,” she said. “I put that book on the list and that year it was one of the most reviewed and enjoyed books.”

Community member Cathy Wilmeth grew up in a family of readers and she has been participating in Lit Lineup since 2017.

“There are always so many books on the list that I’ve never heard of before, so I read things I wouldn’t necessarily pick up on my own,” she said. “Sometimes I come to the Lit Lineup display and pick up what grabs my eye and other times I seek out books on the list that I’ve heard about. When it gets towards the end of the year, I look at what I’ve read and pick a book from one of the categories I haven’t read yet. The lists help me narrow things down when I don’t know what to pick.”

Vicki Muenchow has been participating in Lit Lineup for four years in a row now. An avid reader her entire life, her favorite genres are history and science fiction/fantasy. A few of Muenchow’s favorites from the past year’s Lit Lineup lists include “The Lincoln Highway,” “Broken Horses,” “The Invisible Life of Addie LaRue,” “Chain Gang All-Stars,” “Red Comet: The Short Life and Blazing Art of Sylvia Plath” and “The Seven Moons of Maali Almeida.”

“One of the things I enjoy about Lit Lineup is that it helps me find books that might otherwise be off my radar,” she said. “Although my favorite is when I spot a book on the list that has also been recommended to me by friends and that will bump it to the top of my reading list. I also like to look for books that take place in areas I know and love, or biographies of people whose work I’ve enjoyed. I’m grateful for the program.”

A Homer resident since 2017, Matt Smith grew up with a mom who nurtured his love of reading. Today, he is married with three kids and is proud of his family of readers. On staff at the Homer library for six years as a Library Tech II, Smith took over the task of organizing Lit Lineup in 2022 when Sundmark’s work at the library shifted.

“I enjoy connecting with people in the community and talking about books,” he said. “I love it when someone comes into the library and tells me about a book they’ve enjoyed and why. Lit Lineup encourages people to read and reading provides an opportunity to connect to an experience beyond your own and to connect with your imagination. Teresa started this great adult reading program and I’m delighted to keep it going.”

This year’s list includes 10 categories, imagined by Smith and inspired by the final book selections — Art and Entertainment, Creatures, Otherworldly, Technology and Wellbeing, Things on a Map, Time Shifts, Thrills and Chills, Worldly, Water and Staff Picks. Books featured this year include fiction, nonfiction, biography, graphic novel, poetry, juvenile and young adult.

Smith personally aims to read 20 to 30 of the books on the Lit Lineup list and typically leans toward nonfiction. One of his favorite reads from last year was “The Righteous Mind: Why Good People Are Divided by Politics and Religion” by Jonathan Haidt.

“The author is a moral psychologist and this is one of those books that helps you see the world a bit differently, which I always appreciate,” he said.

Responding to community input, Smith is working to develop a more succinct way to publicly share community member book reviews.

“People want to be able to read other’s reviews of the books they’re reading and I’m looking at some way to put all the reviews that are submitted online into a catalogue,” he said. “In the past, we’ve posted reviews on the Lit Lineup shelves and in our newsletter and currently we have an announcement board and TV screen behind the circulation desk where reviews can be seen. I think these reviews are really important, that people’s reactions to books are windows to our community.”

To participate in this community-wide initiative to encourage people to read 15 books throughout the year, read a book from the list in any of the categories and note that you have done so on the Lit Lineup form online or in person. Find the 2024 list and the submission form to submit your review and be entered into the monthly prize drawing at www.cityofhomer-ak.gov/library/2024-lit-lineup.

Friends of the Homer Library support the library community year round, including sponsoring prizes for Lit Lineup readers. They also organize KBBI’s Reading Between the Lines radio program on Sunday mornings at 9:35 a.m. where someone reviews an item or service available at the library, including Lit Lineup book reviews. To listen to these book reviews, visit friendshomerlibrary.org/Reading-Between-the-Lines.

For more information on this year’s Lit Lineup, find Smith at the library or contact him by email or phone at msmith@ci.homer.ak.us or 907-235-3180.

Cathy Wilmeth, a regular Lit Lineup reader, poses with a book from the lineup on April 17, 2024, at the Homer Public Library in Homer, Alaska. Photo by Christina Whiting

The 2024 Lit Lineup brochure is photographed at the Homer Public Library on April 19, 2024, in Homer, Alaska. Photo by Christina Whiting

Homer Public Library staff and Lit Lineup organizers Matthew Smith (left) and Teresa Sundmark (right) pose with book selections at the library on April 17, 2024, in Homer, Alaska. Photo by Christina Whiting