Arlington Heights readers pick 'The Secrets We Kept' for annual community read

Arlington Heights readers have chosen a work of historical fiction that looks back on Cold War-era international espionage for the annual villagewide reading program.

Arlington Heights Memorial Library officials Tuesday announced "The Secrets We Kept," the 2019 debut novel by Lara Prescott, as the top pick in the community vote for One Book, One Village.

The book follows the parallel stories of three women - two CIA typists-turned-spies and a literary muse in Soviet Russia - and traces the real-life tale of a CIA operation that led to the publication of "Doctor Zhivago" and its proliferation around the world.

The online and paper-ballot vote took place March 1 to April 15. "The Secrets We Kept" captured 42%, followed by runners-up "Ask Again, Yes" by Mary Beth Keane and "The House of Broken Angels" by Luis Alberto Urrea.

While One Book, One Village is in its seventh year, it's only the second year the library has relied on a community vote to make the literary selection.

Copies of the book are available for checkout at the library, in the Senior Center's Reading Room or online. Patrons can place a hold on the book and pick it up at the library, the drive-up window, or bookmobile. There's also multiple copies available for book clubs.

Many of the book discussions and related programs the library normally hosts as part of One Book, One Village will take place online this year. The community reading program usually culminates with an author visit to a capacity crowd at Forest View Auditorium, but that event, too, will be replaced with a virtual forum this year.

To register for any of the programs, including Prescott's Nov. 12 presentation and Q&A, visit ahml.info/onebook.