The return of Homer’s asynchronous book club

In an effort to encourage community reading, Homer Public Library staff have been compiling an annual list of books every year for the past 11 years. The list includes staff picks and community member suggestions in a variety of genres and is known as the library’s Lit Lineup.

The idea is simple — to get people to read more books, with Lit Lineup’s goal for everyone to read at least 15 books annually. The book list is announced in January, coinciding with the Best Books of the Year nationally published lists, and featured books are displayed in a special area of the library. Supported by Friends of the Homer Library, readers are invited to submit an entry and, if they like, a review for each book they read, with entry submissions entered into a monthly drawing. Those who read at least 15 books are entered into the year’s grand prize drawing.

Every year, between 100 and 120 books are chosen 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 get recommendations, particularly from volunteers and Friends of the Homer Library board members who sponsor the cost,” said Matthew Smith, HPL Library Technician and Lit Lineup organizer for the past six years. “We also consider Best Books of the Year lists and different literary awards like the National Book Award and the Booker Prize.”

After the list is created, Smith looks for patterns, making connections between books to create category headings.

“Sometimes I have to stretch it a little to put a book in a category, even though I don’t think the categories are all that important,” he said. “The main goal is to find 100 great books that will appeal to a broad segment of our community.”

Smith said that 13 community members completed the Read-15 challenge last year by submitting at least 15 reader reviews either in the library or on the website.

“We had almost 400 review submissions compared to about 350 the year before,” he said. “This doesn’t reflect the number of readers who use the Lit Lineup to choose books. It’s just the number of readers who submit a review.”

The Lit Lineup 2025 Top Ten by circulation included all but one fiction book:

1. “James” by Percival Everett

2. “The Wide Wide Sea: Imperial Ambition, First Contact and the Fateful Final Voyage of Captain James Cook” by Hampton Sides (Nonfiction)

3. “The Frozen River” by Ariel Lawhon

4. “Playground” by Richard Powers

5. “The Ministry of Time” by Kaliane Bradley

6. “Wandering Stars” by Tommy Orange

7. “The Teacher” by Freida McFadden

8. “Intermezzo” by Sally Rooney

9. “Sandwich” by Catherine Newman

10. “Night Watch” by Jayne Anne Phillips

The Lit Lineup 2025 Top Ten by reviews submitted included eight fiction works, one non-fiction work and one book of poetry:

1. “James” by Percival Everett

2. “The Frozen River” by Ariel Lawhon

3. “The Wedding People” by Alison Espach

4. “Intermezzo” by Sally Rooney

5. “Sandwich” by Catherine Newman

6. “The Boys of Riverside: A Deaf Football Team and a Quest for Glory” by Thomas Fuller (Nonfiction)

7. “City of Thieves: A Novel” by David Benioff

8. “The Ministry of Time” by Kaliane Bradley

9. “Wandering Stars” by Tommy Orange

10. “Forest of Noise: Poems” by Mosab Abu Toha (Poetry)

This year’s categories include “Color and Shade,” “Communication and other Technologies,” “Conflict and its Aftereffects,” “Far Afield,” “Getting Emotional,” “Partnerships,” “Strong Associations,” “The Ties that Bind,” “Trying Times” and “Staff Picks.” Featured book genres include fiction, nonfiction, biography, graphic novel, juvenile and young adult. Among these are large print and CD audio versions as well.

In addition to encouraging more reading, Lit Lineup can help library patrons choose what to read.

“In library speak, the Lit Lineup is a ‘Readers’ Advisory’ program,” Smith said. “For people who don’t follow all the latest books and the publishing world, it can be daunting to choose from thousands of books. Lit Lineup represents what the library staff think are the best of the best for our community. Of course, we all have different tastes, but the books are well vetted choices that we are excited to promote.

“I also think of the Lit Lineup as my asynchronous book club. The list provides opportunities for more people to have read the same books and be able to talk about those books with others, even if it’s not in a formal book club setting. I love talking about books and learning about other people’s experiences around what they read.”

Smith said that the current state of the world has a strong influence on the books that are published, and does affect how the library creates their book list.

“Of course, the books on the list reflect the current state of the world,” he said. “On this year’s list, the book, ‘Everything is Tuberculosis,’ is a passionate plea for more equitable healthcare worldwide, particularly concerning tuberculosis which is a curable disease that kills more than a million people every year. The book, ‘By the Fire We Carry: The Generations-Long Fight for Justice on Native Land,’ is an exciting story about Native land rights in Oklahoma and an inmate on death row whose case went all the way to the Supreme Court with serious implications for recognition of Indigenous rights and jurisdiction in Oklahoma. ‘Waste Wars: The Wild Afterlife of Your Trash’ has been highlighted to me by more than one patron for how much they learned from the book and how surprised they were by how the things we throw away are literally a global problem due to the far-off places our trash ends up.”

Smith personally aims to complete the Read-15 challenge and encourages others to get a copy of the list and see what catches their interest.

“Last year I only read 16 books, but most years I read between 20 and 30 of the books on the list,” he said. “I am personally eager this year to read ‘Red Dog Farm’ based on the recommendations of two fellow staff members who both loved it. I’m also eager to read ‘Waste Wars’ because a few patrons have highly recommended it, and I am really excited to read all of the trivia books, especially ‘Black Woods, Blue Sky’ before the author Eowyn Ivey comes to Homer in April.”

New to Lit Lineup this year is a trivia competition based on the school reading program, “Battle of the Books,” where students read books based on their grade level and answer questions about the books as a statewide competition. Homer High School tied for third place for high schools in Alaska last year.

“Bringing people together around a list of books also seems like a fun way to spend an evening and meet other people who love reading,” Smith said.

The trivia night will take place sometime in October and will include teams of up to six people competing for prizes as they answer questions on eight of the books in this year’s Lit Lineup, including “A Marriage at Sea: A True Story of Love, Obsession, and Shipwreck” by Sophie Elmhirst, “Black Woods, Blue Sky” by Eowyn Ivey, “Buckeye” by Patrick Ryan, “The Correspondent” by Virginia Evans, “The Emperor of Gladness” by Ocean Vuong, “Everything is Tuberculosis” by John Green, “The Gales of November: The Untold Story of the Edmund Fitzgerald” by John U. Bacon, and “My Friends” by Fredrik Backman.

“On a team of six, one would only have to read a few of the books to make a significant contribution to your team,” Smith said. “The library either has or is getting more than one copy of all of the trivia books, and there are also e-book and e-audio copies of the titles on the Alaska Digital Library.”

A brochure of the electronic copies of Lit Lineup books available through the digital library can be found on the Homer Public Library website’s home page, under “2026 Lit Lineup.”

Anyone wanting to be part of trivia team can talk to Smith at the circulation desk or leave their name and number for him and he will try to partner readers looking to make a team.

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 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 at the Friends of the Homer Library website, under Programs.

To participate in the Homer Public Library’s annual, community-wide reading initiative, simply read a book from the list in any of the categories. Find the list at the library in the Lit Lineup section near the circulation desk and online. If you would like your readings entered into the monthly drawings, submit your book review on the Lit Lineup form in person or online at www.cityofhomer-ak.gov/library/2026-lit-lineup.