Garth visited Southern California this March for Long Beach Reads One Book and the Malibu Library's first-ever Speaker Series. Not only did Garth escape the Northwest's winter weather for a few days, he also test drove a specialized Mazda.

Whenever Garth visits SoCal, the folks at Mazda hook him up with a nice ride. This time, he was given a one-off MX-5 Mazda that was specially built by their Research and Development team for the 2012 SEMA car show. "One-off" is car talk for "one of a kind," and Garth had great fun speeding up the PCH to get in some beach action between events.

"If I went to someone for therapy, I wouldn't be a writer...I would just be well adjusted." - Garth Stein

The Stafford Creek Corrections Center hadn't seen the last of Garth when he visited its Freedom Tails program last September. Garth returned to the Aberdeen institution this February for its first-ever book club author visit.

Hosting this book club was the Washington State Library Book Discussion Group. The Correction Center hopes to host more authors in the SCCC Read program, which is based on the community reads programs popular in many Washington cities. Other Washington libraries donated copies of The Art of Racing in the Rain and other books to the center's library after using them for their own common reads.

Questions tackled car racing, death, a dog's view of life, and why Garth chose particular topics or personality quirks. One offender spoke up about how a friend with terminal cancer had enjoyed and recommended The Art of Racing in the Rain to him, and how the discussion with Garth and other offenders had helped him understand why the book had been so important to his friend.

When discussing his choices about what to write and what to focus on, Garth said, "I'm interested in the interaction between characters, and that's what I write about. I don't write about the needles on the tree outside the house."

Garth also shared sneak peeks of his next novel, which is set in western Washington, while still holding back some details. Not everything is meant to be explained, whether it's the zebra or the importance of learning to drive in the rain. That, perhaps, is why we read books: the stories help us understand the confusing parts of life from an emotional perspective, without needing to define things with a dictionary's clarity.

Garth with Lauren Sherbo (program manager) and Jeannie Remillard (SCCC librarian).  Photos and quotes courtesy of Karen Diehm.

Long Beach Reads One Book went all-out for this year's book, The Art of Racing in the Rain. In addition to dozens of community events, such as a contest for an Enzo look-alike, the Reads program commissioned an original symphonic piece from local composer Sean O'Loughlin, and inspired by the book.  

The Long Beach Polytechnic High School Orchestra and conductor Andy Osman performed it during Garth's visit. For those of us who couldn't visit Long Beach for the event, California Media filmed the performance and posted it online. Check it out! 

Last year we introduced you to Ruby, a certified therapy dog who assisted disabled veterans. Despite coming to this vocation late in life, she was a natural at lifting spirits. This month, we learned that she has passed on.  

"I have never met a more kind-hearted person in my life than my dog, Ruby." says handler, Michae Weinberg. After a career change from Guide Dogs for the Blind, Ruby continued to devote her time to helping others for her remaining eight years, of which the final three were spent working almost exclusively at the Long Beach Veterans Medical Center. She was trained to become a certified therapy dog as a part of Therapy Dog International (TDI), a volunteer organization that provides pet therapy to those in need.  

Over the course of Ruby's service, her visits included assisting living and Alzheimer's centers, YMCA ARK (service for foster care children), and hospitals. Ruby lived to be almost 16 years old, providing therapy service until almost a month before she passed away.

Ruby's pastimes included sniffing the pantry, daydreaming, and fetch...She was a one-of-a-kind dog that will always be remembered for her love for life.

~ Michael Weinberg, Certified Therapy Dog Handler