The Daniel Boone Regional Library has completed taking suggestions from the public for what one book the community should read for One Read 2012. The One Read Reading Panel is now working to narrow that list down to two or three titles for a public vote this spring.
Thank you to everyone who suggested books to be considered for the 2012 program. We invite you to take a look at the nominated titles we’ve previously highlighted to learn what others in the community are reading and discussing.
The outsider’s perspective often calls into question practices and environments we think of as unexceptional, normal, a given. Award-winning author and journalist Eula Biss, who grew up in a racially mixed family, uses her personal experience to explore what it means to be American, our complex attitudes about race, community, self and belonging. Her collection of essays, “Notes From No Man’s Land,” is the final One Read 2012 suggestion we’ll be highlighting here at oneread.dbrl.org.
Our nominator writes, “These essays are exquisite, complex, crystalline and would prompt a variety of community conversations and invite a whole raft of possible facilitators.”
Many thanks to the more than 100 of you who nominated titles for our reading panel’s consideration. Our community’s involvement and support are what make this program great!
See all of the nominated titles we have highlighted for One Read 2012.
Harry Bernstein’s “The Invisible Wall” proves that it is never too late to write your first book. In his 90s, Bernstein has written a fascinating memoir about his childhood in an impoverished mill town in England before and during World War I. Our nominator elaborates: “His family was poor, his father was abusive and the particular street that he grew up on happened to be the dividing line between the Jewish and Christian neighborhoods, so there is an interesting dynamic between the two sides. This compelling true story also involves a love story between a Jewish girl and Christian boy. My mom and I and everyone we have recommended it to love it.”
See other readers’ nominations for One Read 2012.
The publisher of “Just Like Us: The True Story of Four Mexican Girls Coming of Age in America” by Helen Thorpe describes this book as offering “a powerful account of four young Mexican women coming of age in Denver–two of whom have legal documentation, two of whom don’t–and the challenges they face as they attempt to pursue the American dream.”
Our nominator recommends “Just Like Us” for One Read 2012 because “immigration – especially illegal immigration – is an important, timely issue in our country. This is the true story (with the names of the families changed) of four girls about to graduate from high school and how their legal status affected their lives.” Coming-of-age, social conditions for Mexican-Americans and the living conditions of undocumented workers are all topics ripe for discussion.
See other readers’ nominations for One Read 2012.
