Omaha Reads

Omaha Reads!!!

| Ted Wheeler

I’m very excited to share that The War Begins in Paris has been selected by Omaha Public Library patrons as the book for this year’s Omaha Reads!

Read more about the program and see a list of related events here.

It’s such an honor to have my work voted in by the community. I’m excited to hear what people think!

Upcoming Omaha Reads Opportunities

Sunday, Oct. 27, 3 p.m.: Omaha Reads Author Visit with Theodore Wheeler. Join us for a conversation with the author of the 2024 Omaha Reads book, “The War Begins in Paris,” moderated by OPL Partnerships Manager Amy Mather, and followed by a Q & A session with the audience. Copies of “The War Begins in Paris” will be available for purchase and signing. Registration is required. The event will be held at the Downtown Branch of Omaha Public Library at 1401 Jones St.

Book Club Discussion Groups:

  • Tuesday, Aug. 6, 4 p.m.: Under the Dundee Sun Book Club at A.V. Sorensen Branch, 4808 Cass St.
  • Saturday, Aug. 17, 1 p.m.: Plain Pages Book Club at Willa Cather Branch, 1905 S. 44th St.
  • Wednesday, Aug. 21, 12:30 p.m.: Jolly Neighbors Book Club at Bess Johnson Elkhorn Branch, 2100 Reading Plz
  • Wednesday, Aug. 28, 1 p.m.: Go Readers Go Book Club at Milton R. Abrahams Branch, 5111 N. 90th St.
  • Thursday, Sept. 6, 10:30 a.m.: Between the Lines Book Club at Saddlebrook Branch, 14850 Laurel Ave.
  • Wednesday, Sept. 11, noon: Chat N Chew Book Club at Downtown Branch, 1401 Jones St.
  • Thursday, Sept. 12, 10:30 a.m.: Benson Pageturners Book Club at Benson Branch, 6015 Binney St.
  • Tuesday, Sept. 17, 6 p.m.: Novel Nights Book Club at Charles B. Washington Branch, 2868 Ames Ave.
  • Thursday, Sept. 19, 2 p.m.: Page Turners Book Club at Saddlebrook Branch, 14850 Laurel Ave.
  • Tuesday, Sept. 24, 6 p.m.: Willa Cather Book Club at Willa Cather Branch, 1905 S. 44th St.
  • Wednesday, Sept. 25, 6 p.m.: Double Booked Book Club at Millard Branch, 13214 Westwood Ln.
  • Thursday, Sept. 26, 6:30 p.m.: Friends & Strangers Book Club at Milton R. Abrahams Branch, 5111 N. 90th St.

Visit omahalibrary.org to reserve your copy.

Omaha Reads Finalist!

| Ted Wheeler

The War Begins in Paris has been named a finalist for the 2024 Omaha Reads selection!

The winner will be chosen by a community vote. You can vote for my book, as many times as you like, at this link. Voting ends on April 1.

The War Begins in Paris is a historical noir novel set among a cohort of American foreign correspondents who gather in Europe in 1938. The books tells the story of how a young woman’s life is propelled by a series of visions that take her from a Mennonite farm in Iowa, to a job as a foreign correspondent in Paris, to what she comes to see as a secret mission to assassinate a Nazi propagandist in wartime Germany.

The novel was recently listed as a national bestseller by USA Today.

Omaha Reads, a program of the Omaha Public Library, is an annual event that celebrates the power of literature by bringing the community together to read and explore the themes of one book. The book is selected through a public vote and promoted through book talks, author visits, and related programs.

If you have a spare moment, GO VOTE NOW!

Kings a Finalist for Omaha Reads!

| Ted Wheeler

vote kings
See how easy it is to vote at any OPL branch location! (Photo by M. Edward Wheeler.)

Some very exciting news last week, as voting opened for Omaha Public Library’s 2018 Omaha Reads selection and my novel Kings of Broken Things is a finalist!

Please go vote for Kings here. We’re up against some heavy-hitters and can surely use your support.

The other finalists are Frankenstein by Mary Shelley, The Hate U Give by Angie Thomas, Lincoln in the Bardo by George Saunders, and A Warrior of the People by Joe Starita.

If you’re not familiar, Omaha Reads is the city’s largest book club and marks a great opportunity for increased visibility. In addition to increased sales and library checkouts, of course, OPL also hosts numerous discussion and author events. Here’s a little background from Omaha World-Herald entertainment reporter Micah Mertes.

Friend of the blog (and one of my great mentors) Jonis Agee saw her novel The Bones of Paradise selected last year. It was a lot of fun seeing Jonis get the attention she deserves locally, and I’d be floored to earn the same noteriety for my book too.

GO VOTE!