Programme
- Mesa Public Library launched a limited-edition Jimmy Eat World card for Maricopa County residents, workers, and students.
- The band's recommended books include Hemingway's For Whom the Bell Tolls and Grann's The Wager.
- Jimmy Eat World launched a North American tour in June marking 25 years of Bleed American.
- The tour marked the band's first Warped Tour appearance since 2001, ending in Orlando in November.
The Mesa Public Library in Arizona has launched a limited-edition library card honoring hometown band Jimmy Eat World, available to anyone who lives, works, or attends school in Maricopa County.
Residents who already hold a standard card can swap it for the Jimmy Eat World version. The program follows similar partnerships between Jay-Z and the Brooklyn Public Library, and Laufey and the Reykjavik City Library.
What books did the band recommend?
The collaboration includes a reading list curated by Jimmy Eat World. The selections were not sorted by band member, but the collection features:
- For Whom the Bell Tolls by Ernest Hemingway
- Skink by Carl Hiaasen
- The Vintage Book of Contemporary Short Stories by Tobias Wolff
- The Wager by David Grann
The full list is available through the library.
Why is Mesa honoring the band now?
Long before Jimmy Eat World crafted one of the definitive pop-rock hits of the 2000s, the four members were kids growing up in Mesa, Arizona. The city chose to recognize that history through the library partnership.
The card arrives in the middle of a major anniversary run. In June, the band kicked off a North American tour marking 25 years of their album Bleed American. The run featured support from Sunny Day Real Estate, Illuminati Hotties, Mom Jeans, Jay Som, Pup, and more.
The tour also carried symbolic weight: it marked the band's first appearance back at Warped Tour since 2001. Jimmy Eat World will close the trek in November with a performance at the Orlando edition of the long-running punk festival.
The Mesa card gives the band's hometown audience a permanent keepsake of the anniversary year — one that doubles as an invitation to read Hemingway, Hiaasen, and Grann.
Original: youtube.com
