Charlotte Mecklenburg Library unveils 2015 Community Read titles
After months of thoughtful consideration by librarians, the 2015 Charlotte Mecklenburg Library Community Read book selections have been announced.
The Storied Life of A.J. Fikry by Gabrielle Zevin will be read and discussed by hundreds in the Charlotte-Mecklenburg community and become the focus of a series of events and activities taking place September 28 – October 17, 2015.
In addition to this selection for adults, complementary Community Read titles have been selected for younger readers: The Book Thief by Markus Zusak (for teens), Escape from Mr. Lemoncello’s Library by Chris Grabenstein (for children), and The Jacket by Kirsten Hall (a picture book for young readers).
"A Community Read is designed to bring people together to talk about a single book and to establish a community of readers and learners," said Dana Eure, the Library's Associate Director of Lifelong Learning and coordinator of this year's Community Read events. "The Storied Life of A.J. Fikry was chosen as the Community Read title for 2015 for a number of reasons. It has great themes of hope, redemption, love, loss and friendship, but most importantly it is about a love of books and how books impact or influence our lives."
The program also encourages participation in related events, discussions of the ideas raised in the featured books, and examination of how these ideas connect with our daily lives and local communities. The community can engage in the Community Read by reading (or listening to) the book, talking about it, attending Library programs, engaging with the Library on social media, and sharing an enthusiasm for reading.
Titles can be found in the Library's catalog in various formats at cmlibrary.org.
For more information about this year's Community Read, including upcoming events, visit cmlibrary.org/communityread. Events will be posted as they are announced.
Book summaries:
The Storied Life of A.J. Fikry by Gabrielle Zevin
A. J. Fikry’s life is not at all what he expected it to be. He lives alone, his bookstore is experiencing the worst sales in its history, and now his prized possession, a rare collection of Poe poems, has been stolen. But when a mysterious package appears at the bookstore, its unexpected arrival gives Fikry the chance to make his life over—and see everything anew
The Book Thief by Markus Zusak
Nazi Germany, 1939. The country is holding its breath. Death has never been busier, and will become busier still. Liesel Meminger is a foster girl living outside of Munich, who scratches out a meager existence for herself by stealing when she encounters something she can’t resist—books. With the help of her accordion-playing foster father, she learns to read and shares her stolen books with her neighbors during bombing raids as well as with the Jewish man hidden in her basement.
Escape from Mr. Lemoncello’s Library by Chris Grabenstein
Kyle Keeley is the class clown and a huge fan of all games—board games, word games, and particularly video games. His hero, Luigi Lemoncello, the most notorious and creative gamemaker in the world, just so happens to be the genius behind the construction of the new town library. Lucky Kyle wins a coveted spot as one of twelve kids invited for an overnight sleepover in the library, hosted by Mr. Lemoncello and riddled with lots and lots of games. But when morning comes, the doors stay locked. Kyle and the other kids must solve every clue and figure out every secret puzzle to find the hidden escape route!
The Jacket by Kirsten Hall
The Jacket is a book that needs to be a book. It's a book that pays tribute, in word and form, to all that a book is and can be. Once upon a time there was a girl who had a dog named Egg Cream. This girl loved her dog, but she also loved her special book. And Book loved her. But how about Book and Egg Cream? Could they coexist as the girl's two favorite things in the whole wide world?
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