The Big Read

Creating a nation of readers

The Big Read has announced their 2012-2013 grantees and the list of books for this year’s national reading project.  This is a program of the National Endowment for the Arts “designed to restore reading to the center of American culture.” Launched in 2004, it's a response to a precipitous decline in reading across America, especially "among the young" (I'm not sure if that means school-age or under-40).  Anyway, I do like the idea of a short list of books being read concurrently by thousands (millions?) of people all over the United States in a given year (besides The Hunger Games or Fifty Shades of Gray).

I’m a little bit sad that not a single Maine library or institution is listed among the grantees this year, although in the last go-round Island Readers & Writers in Bar Harbor was a granted participant.  Hearty congratulations to our neighbors to the west, because Concord's Center for the Book at the New Hampshire State Library DID receive a grant!

Even without an official grant, we can all enjoy the list of suggested books.  Perfect for helping a book group choose their next book, or even for me to add to my own list.

Coming up later this week: I am just pages away from finishing Patrick Rothfuss' Name of the Wind.  I’m so overtired because the book is about 650 pages and I’ve been reading into the wee hours (I lose track of time).  Stay tuned….