Westport, CT - Among other storytelling mediums, books offer an extraordinary immersive experience, comparable to the joy of traveling to a new destination or engaging with a friend. Despite the solitude of reading, the act of getting lost in a good book is an enduring force of imagination that brings communities together to discuss, debate, and delight in its wonder.
In the Distance by Pulitzer Prize-winning author Hernan Diaz isn’t just a good book, it’s a great book — and even better than that, it is the WestportREADS 2025 book selection.
The Westport Library is thrilled to announce this year’s selection and even more excited to welcome Diaz to the Trefz Forum on Thursday, February 13, for a conversation about his first novel, the story of a poor Swedish immigrant’s transformation into a legendary outlaw in the American West.
Limited copies of the book are available for borrowing now, with the full allotment of volumes arriving Friday, December 13. In the Distance is also available as a digital copy (e-book).
Part book club, part reading challenge — and more than anything, a season of literary revelry brought to life by the Library’s dynamic happenings — WestportREADS is a special community experience that is entirely its own. Created in 2002, this landmark event serves as an occasion to bond over a great book and is designed to deepen our community’s engagement in literature throughout Westport and across Fairfield County.
Each winter brings a new WestportREADS book selection, with unique events and programs that connect readers to the story — and each other — in thematically captivating ways. Throughout January and February, get ready to head out west and experience an unconventional hero’s journey in the age of the Gold Rush with book discussions, crafts for all ages, and other immersive events centered around In the Distance.
A lecture led by U.S. historian Kris Klein Hernández kicks off the WestportREADS festivities on Thursday, January 16, followed by a film series screening First Cow (2019), The Gold Rush (1925), and Meek’s Cutoff(2010) on Fridays, January 17 and 24, and February 7, respectively.
Discussion groups are recurring throughout January and February, with a Book Pub at Walrus Alley on February 4 offering a chance to meet new people, form connections, and unite in our shared love of reading. Take this opportunity to not only read a great book, but to engage with your community as well.
In the Distance was a finalist for the Pulitzer Prize and the PEN/Faulkner Award and the winner of the Saroyan International Prize, the Cabell Award, the Prix Page America, and the New American Voices Award, among other distinctions. It was also a Publishers Weekly Top 10 Book of the Year and one of Lit Hub’s 20 Best Novels of the Decade.
Håkan Söderström, In the Distance’s protagonist, travels east in search of his brother, moving on foot against the great current of emigrants pushing west. Driven back again and again, he meets naturalists, criminals, religious fanatics, swindlers, Indians, and lawmen, and his exploits turn him into a legend. In the Distance defies the conventions of historical fiction and genre, offering a probing look at the stereotypes that populate our past and a portrait of radical foreignness.
Diaz told The Paris Review, "The experience of foreignness has determined my entire life. I wanted to recreate that feeling. In doing so, I tried to transcend the obvious fact that the protagonist is a foreigner. I tried to make genre and even language itself feel foreign. But at the same time, this is a very American story, which makes us remember that foreignness is part of the American experience to begin with ... I couldn’t think of a better way to say what I think about this country — which I love despite its enormous flaws — than through this book."
Past WestportREADS selections include The Art Thief by Michael Finkel, Firekeeper’s Daughter by Angeline Boulley, The Invisible Life of Addie LaRue by V.E. Schwab, Towards a More Perfect Union: Confronting Racismby Layla Saad, and Exit West by Moshin Hamid, among others.
For more past WestportREADS selections, and to learn more about the annual event, visit the WestportREADS homepage on The Westport Library website.
WestportREADS is supported through a generous bequest by the estate of Jerry A. Tishman.
WestportREADS landing page: https://westportlibrary.org/westportreads-2025/
Keynote conversation: https://westportlibrary.org/event/westportreads-keynote-conversation-pulitzer-prize-winning-author-hernan-diaz-on-in-the-distance/
About The Westport Library
Founded in 1886, built in 1908, and transformed in 2019, The Westport Library is one of the most active and innovative public libraries in the nation, devoted to enriching the intellectual and creative lives of the community. Among its many highlights are a full collection of books for children, teens, and adults; an engaging and colorful Children’s Library; a MakerSpace; a Library of Things; a Seed Library; a robust café and store; and professional art installations that rotate throughout the year. The Westport Library is also home to Verso Studios, replete with an SSL hybrid analog sound studio and broadcast control suite featuring a state-of-the-art console and six robotic cameras, and the Trefz Forum, an open, flexible space that can accommodate up to 600 patrons and features an 18-foot video wall, 35-foot stage, state-of-the-art sound, and theatrical lighting. Situated in the heart of downtown Westport overlooking the scenic Saugatuck River, The Westport Library annually hosts StoryFest, the largest literary festival in Connecticut, and VersoFest, its multi-day music and media festival. Above all, the Library strives to serve the whole community as a vibrant gathering spot where people of all ages come to seek information, gain knowledge, exchange ideas, and share experiences. For more information, visit westportlibrary.org.
About WestportREADS
Created in 2002, WestportREADS is a way for the Westport community to bond over a book and is designed to deepen our community’s engagement in literature. Throughout January and February, there will be events and programs centered on this year’s selection, In the Distance, plus book discussions, celebrations, and much more. It is a chance to not only read a great book but to engage with the community, meet new people, and celebrate our shared love of reading. For more information, visit westportlibrary.org/westportreads-2025.