Frankenstein comes to life at your library this October

There’s no monster under your bed… just on your nightstand. Charlotte Mecklenburg Library has selected Frankenstein, the classic novel by Mary Shelley, as the signature title for this year’s Community Read, to be read and discussed by those in the Charlotte-Mecklenburg community.

Frankenstein, and similarly-themed titles chosen for younger audiences, will become the focus of events and activities taking place throughout October. The companion titles for younger readers are: This Dark Endeavor by Kenneth Oppel (for teens), The Fourteenth Goldfish by Jennifer L. Holm (for children) and Frankencrayon by Michael 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. “Mary Shelley’s Frankenstein was chosen as the Community Read title for 2016 for numerous reasons. It has great themes that have stood the test of time: knowledge for good and evil purposes, the invasion of technology in modern life, pain and suffering at the hands of mankind, and treatment of the poor and uneducated. These themes, which were popular when Shelley wrote the book, are relevant today.”

Events that are being planned include:

• Meet authors of this year's book selections for young people: Michael Hall (Oct. 18) and Kenneth Oppel (Oct. 27)
• Frankenstein Film Series
• Oct. 22, Noon-2 p.m.: Imagi-Con, a teen comic/gaming/anime convention at ImaginOn
• Tell a Terrifying Tale: A writing contest for grades 9-12
• Plus, activities for children, teens and adults; scavenger hunts in library branches and more.  

Community Read also encourages participation in 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.

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:

All titles can be found in the Library's catalog in various formats at cmlibrary.org.

Frankenstein by Mary Wollstonecraft Shelley. Victor Frankenstein has discovered the secret of generating life from lifeless matter, and has created a monster being by using this terrible power. 

This Dark Endeavor: The Apprenticeship of Victor Frankenstein by Kenneth Oppel (selection for teens). When his twin brother falls ill in the family's chateau in the independent republic of Geneva in the eighteenth century, sixteen-year-old Victor Frankenstein embarks on a dangerous and uncertain quest to create the forbidden Elixir of Life described in an ancient text in the family's secret Biblioteka Obscura. 

The Fourteenth Goldfish by Jennifer L. Holm (for children). Ellie's scientist grandfather has discovered a way to reverse aging, and consequently has turned into a teenager--which makes for complicated relationships when he moves in with Ellie and her mother, his daughter. 

Frankencrayon by Michael Hall (a picture book for young readers). If the crayons cannot stop the scribble monster, this picture book and the play "Frankencrayon" may have to be canceled.