WKCTC announces its 2019-2020 One Book Read
Paducah, KY (09/03/2019) — Nothing Like an Ocean by Kentucky author Jim Tomlinson is the 2019-2020 One Book Read at West Kentucky Community and Technical College.
The eleven stories in the book confirm the promise of Tomlinson's award-winning debut, Things Kept, Things Left Behind. The stories spotlight small-town lives that are thrown into quiet turmoil by unexpected events or outsiders in the fictional town of Spivey, Ky.
Adept at comparing light and dark elements, Tomlinson displays compassion for characters searching for moments of found grace and earned redemption. The title story, about a divorced man who receives an anonymous invitation to a church social for middle-aged singles, carries tragic undertones as the protagonist is continually reminded of his son's accidental death and the subsequent dissolution of his marriage. Other stories - a man's broken-down car prompts a bittersweet hometown reunion; a husband is surprised to find that the idyllic spot where he courted his wife has been obliterated by mountaintop removal; a waitress watches in fascination as a regular customer blossoms as muse to an artist from Belarus - also delve into the heart of what it takes to face and overcome life's obstacles.
Tomlinson's stories have appeared in Five Points, Shenandoah, Bellevue Literary Review, New Stories From The South and elsewhere. His fiction has been shortlisted for both Best American Short Stories and Best American Mystery Stories. Along with the Al Smith Fellowship from the Kentucky Arts Council, he is the recipient of a National Endowment for the Arts Literature Fellowship, and a Walter E. Dakin Fellowship to Sewanee Writers Conference.
Several events will be scheduled in the coming months that will revolve around Nothing Like an Ocean and Tomlinson's visit to the WKCTC campus March 17-18, 2020 - the finale of this year's One Book Read.
Copies of the book can be checked out WKCTC's Matheson Library and the McCracken County Public Library, both in print and electronically for Kindle. Copies can also be purchased in the WKCTC bookstore or online.
For more information about the One Book Read visit onebookread.com.
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Kentucky author Jim Tomlinson. His book Nothing Like Ocean is the 2019-2020 One Book Read at West Kentucky Community and Technical College.
Book cover of Nothing Like an Ocean by Kentucky author Jim Tomlinson. Book is the 2019-2020 One Book Read at West Kentucky Community and Technical College.
West Kentucky Community & Technical College
Tammy Thompson, (270) 534-3215, tammy.thompson@kctcs.eduShare this Story
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