Previous Books

Take a look at the incredible history of the Lake Oswego Reads program by viewing previous book selections and related events.

It can be difficult to visualize the impacts of a major Cascadia earthquake striking the Pacific Northwest. What will it be like for families? For businesses?

It can be difficult to visualize the impacts of a major Cascadia earthquake striking the Pacific Northwest. What will it be like for families? For businesses?

How to Read a Book is an unsparingly honest and profoundly hopeful story about letting go of guilt, seizing second chances, and the power of books to change our lives.

How to Read a Book is an unsparingly honest and profoundly hopeful story about letting go of guilt, seizing second chances, and the power of books to change our lives.

In this tender and evocative novel about love, hope, familial devotion, betrayal, and sacrifice, Thrity Umrigar shows us two courageous women trying to navigate how to be true to their homelands and themselves at the same time.

In this tender and evocative novel about love, hope, familial devotion, betrayal, and sacrifice, Thrity Umrigar shows us two courageous women trying to navigate how to be true to their homelands and themselves at the same time.

A haunting novel spanning several generations, The Seed Keeper follows a Dakhóta family’s struggle to preserve their way of life, and their sacrifices to protect what matters most. Rosalie Iron Wing has grown up in the woods with her father, Ray, a former science teacher who tells her stories of plants, of the stars, of the origins of the Dakhóta people. Until, one morning, Ray doesn’t return from checking his traps. 

A haunting novel spanning several generations, The Seed Keeper follows a Dakhóta family’s struggle to preserve their way of life, and their sacrifices to protect what matters most. Rosalie Iron Wing has grown up in the woods with her father, Ray, a former science teacher who tells her stories of plants, of the stars, of the origins of the Dakhóta people. Until, one morning, Ray doesn’t return from checking his traps. 

In 2022 we celebrated the novel How Much of These Hills Is Gold by author C. Pam Zhang. A haunting adventure story, an unforgettable sibling story, and the announcement of a stunning new voice in literature.

In 2022 we celebrated the novel How Much of These Hills Is Gold by author C. Pam Zhang. A haunting adventure story, an unforgettable sibling story, and the announcement of a stunning new voice in literature.

A gifted storyteller, Wilkerson captivates audiences with the universal human story of migration and reinvention, as well as the unseen hierarchies that have divided us as a nation, in order to find a way to transcend them.

A gifted storyteller, Wilkerson captivates audiences with the universal human story of migration and reinvention, as well as the unseen hierarchies that have divided us as a nation, in order to find a way to transcend them.

Rush personally guides readers through some of the places where change from rising seas has been most dramatic, highlighting the impact on plants, animals and humans across seven states, including Oregon.

Rush personally guides readers through some of the places where change from rising seas has been most dramatic, highlighting the impact on plants, animals and humans across seven states, including Oregon.

Cristina Henriquez draws on her childhood experiences growing up in Delaware and the stories from her Panamanian father to create her unforgettable story of love and loss in her second novel.

Cristina Henriquez draws on her childhood experiences growing up in Delaware and the stories from her Panamanian father to create her unforgettable story of love and loss in her second novel.

Lily Brooks-Dalton’s haunting debut is the unforgettable story of two outsiders as they grapple with love, regret, and survival in a world transformed.

Lily Brooks-Dalton’s haunting debut is the unforgettable story of two outsiders as they grapple with love, regret, and survival in a world transformed.

For the first time, this book tells the stories of these women who charted a course not only for the future of space exploration but also for the prospects of female scientists.

For the first time, this book tells the stories of these women who charted a course not only for the future of space exploration but also for the prospects of female scientists.

Edward Curtis was dashing, charismatic, a passionate mountaineer, a famous photographer, and he was thirty-two years old in 1900 when he gave it all up to pursue his great idea.

Edward Curtis was dashing, charismatic, a passionate mountaineer, a famous photographer, and he was thirty-two years old in 1900 when he gave it all up to pursue his great idea.

A tale of an orphan boy in Nazi Germany who has a gift with radios; a blind girl who is part of the resistance in occupied France; an old man who is haunted by the ghosts of his past; and a gem that curses whoever owns it with health and long life.

A tale of an orphan boy in Nazi Germany who has a gift with radios; a blind girl who is part of the resistance in occupied France; an old man who is haunted by the ghosts of his past; and a gem that curses whoever owns it with health and long life.

Lake Oswego Reads was proud to join Oregon Reads in the statewide celebration of William Stafford’s centennial! Poet William Stafford had a close tie to Lake Oswego, having lived here for many years, and throughout the month of February we celebrated that tie.

Lake Oswego Reads was proud to join Oregon Reads in the statewide celebration of William Stafford’s centennial! Poet William Stafford had a close tie to Lake Oswego, having lived here for many years, and throughout the month of February we celebrated that tie.

The book tells the story of Jean Patrick Nkuba, a gifted Rwandan boy, from the day he knows that running will be his life to the moment he must run to save his life, a ten-year span in which his country is undone by the Hutu-Tutsi tensions.

The book tells the story of Jean Patrick Nkuba, a gifted Rwandan boy, from the day he knows that running will be his life to the moment he must run to save his life, a ten-year span in which his country is undone by the Hutu-Tutsi tensions.

It's the tale of a town, written in a distinct and lyrical voice, and readers will close the book more than a little sad to leave the village of Neawanaka, on the wet coast of Oregon, beneath the hills that used to boast the biggest trees in the history of the world.

It's the tale of a town, written in a distinct and lyrical voice, and readers will close the book more than a little sad to leave the village of Neawanaka, on the wet coast of Oregon, beneath the hills that used to boast the biggest trees in the history of the world.

The story of twin brothers born to a doctor and a nun and orphaned at birth, the book spans decades and generations, moving through history and hospitals in India, Ethiopia and America.

The story of twin brothers born to a doctor and a nun and orphaned at birth, the book spans decades and generations, moving through history and hospitals in India, Ethiopia and America.

In celebration of Lake Oswego's Centennial, we selected a book to show what life was like in 1910.  To complement Ivan Doig’s old-fashioned story of education and intrigue on the prairie, we hosted events that evoked the time-period and themes central to the plot.

In celebration of Lake Oswego's Centennial, we selected a book to show what life was like in 1910.  To complement Ivan Doig’s old-fashioned story of education and intrigue on the prairie, we hosted events that evoked the time-period and themes central to the plot.

Kessler’s account of one Japanese family’s struggles with racism in Oregon during World War II drove us to study all aspects of Japan and Japanese immigrants.

Kessler’s account of one Japanese family’s struggles with racism in Oregon during World War II drove us to study all aspects of Japan and Japanese immigrants.

Greg Mortenson’s story of building schools for girls in Pakistan after an attempt to climb K2 inspired the community to learn more about rural Pakistan and its culture.

Greg Mortenson’s story of building schools for girls in Pakistan after an attempt to climb K2 inspired the community to learn more about rural Pakistan and its culture.

Barcelona, 1945: A city slowly heals in the aftermath of the Spanish Civil War, and Daniel, an antiquarian book dealer’s son who mourns the loss of his mother, finds solace in a mysterious book entitled The Shadow of the Wind, by one Julián Carax.

Barcelona, 1945: A city slowly heals in the aftermath of the Spanish Civil War, and Daniel, an antiquarian book dealer’s son who mourns the loss of his mother, finds solace in a mysterious book entitled The Shadow of the Wind, by one Julián Carax.