For a quarter century, Westport has READ.
We’ve read for far longer, of course. The Bankside Farmers probably gathered around the hearth with a good book — or at least, the Good Book — back in the 1600s.
But WestportREADS — the month-long community project in which the entire town is invited to read the same work, and the Westport Library offers a variety of programs tied to it — has been around since “only” 2002.
It’s a fun, thought-provoking and wide-ranging event. Yet coming right after the holidays, it probably does not get the attention it deserves.
Hopefully, this year it will.
The very timely 2026 WestportREADS selection is “All the Water in the World,” by Eiren Caffall.
The novel follows the journey of Nonie, a girl with an intuitive connection to water, in a flooded future New York. A small group of families build a makeshift settlement atop the Museum of Natural History. As they try to safeguard the remnants of humanity’s stories and knowledge, a catastrophic storm forces them north up the Hudson River. They seek safety, community, and the possibility of a life rebuilt.
Drawing parallels to real-life stories of curators in Iraq and Leningrad who protected their cultural collections during war, the author asks readers to consider how we endure, what we value, and how we care for one another in uncertain times.
“Caffall created a fully imaginable world within a horrific new future that wasn’t all doom and gloom within a flooded city,” says Jennifer Keller, a member of the WestportREADS selection committee. “‘All the Water in the World’ explores family and climate change in a rich coming-of-age story that we can all relate to in some way.”
From January through March there will be discussion groups (including a lively Book Pub at Walrus Alley); screenings of thematically resonant films; an environmental talk connecting the novel to Westporters’ own lives, and other community gatherings. Click here, then scroll down for the full WestportREADS schedule.
This was 2021. What does the future hold? (Photo/Maria Fusco)
A complementary film series offers cinematic interpretations exploring stories of climate, family, and adaptation. Screenings include “The Day After Tomorrow,” “2040,” “Waterworld” and “Night at the Museum.”
Caffall herself comes to town February 19, for a keynote conversation on her novel. She’ll chat with Catherine Shen, host of CT Public’s “Where We Live.”
Eiren Cafall
Prefacing Caffall’s keynote conversation is a talk on February 12 with executive director of the Connecticut Institute for Resilience and Climate Adaptation James O’Donnell. He brings local context to the global themes woven throughout the novel.
O’Donnell will discuss the real impact of rising sea levels, and offer practical advice to offset the effects of climate change on Connecticut’s shoreline and the Long Island Sound.
Copies of “All the Water in the World” are available for borrowing now, in print, e-book and audiobook formats.
For more information, including outdoor survival techniques, other climate fiction, past WestportREADS selections, etc., click on the WestportREADS home page.
(Westporters read novels — and “06880.” Library programs are free. But because our hyper-local blog lacks its resources, we rely on reader support. Please click here to help us deliver what you read!)
