Shake TOWN
BI Reads Makes Its Choice for 2025
Unquestionably, Bainbridge Island is a paradise for both authors and readers.
The City of Bainbridge Island launched the B.I. Reads program in 2022, aiming to build community through the reading of one book together, encourage creative expression and foster beneficial dialogue.
Through a community voting process, this year’s selection is “This is Chance!: The Great Alaska Earthquake, Genie Chance, and the Shattered City She Held Together,” by islander Jon Mooallem. He is the author of two other critically acclaimed nonfiction books. He currently writes (fascinating) obituaries and features for
The Wall Street Journal and, for nearly 20 years, wrote for The New York Times magazine.
Events highlighting the themes of “This is Chance” will continue through October 2025, including a LeadHERship Spotlight, to honor local women leaders, and a craft talk on writing nonfiction by Mooallem.
Mooallem said he was surprised by how little was known about the largest recorded earthquake in American history. The quake occurred in Anchorage, Alaska in the spring of 1964, registering 9.2 on the Richter Scale and lasting approximately 4.5 minutes with 52 separate aftershocks.
He tells the story of Genie Chance, a working mother and part-time radio reporter, who broadcast tirelessly in the aftermath of the disaster, helping to pull the devestated community back together. “I found out that Chance’s daughter had all these boxes and recordings and material,” Mooallem said. “I simultaneously felt obligated to tell the story and more excited than ever. Having all that untouched archival stuff to work with is a writer’s dream.“
Mooallem faced his own disaster, launching the critically acclaimed book in the midst of the COVID pandemic. “There was a big book tour scheduled and much higher hopes for real commercial success than with my previous books.”
But all is not lost. As a community, let’s give “This is Chance!” another chance, and discover Mooallem’s opus for ourselves.
>> For more information visit cityofbainbridgeisland.civilspace.io
