When Books In Common/Terra Com was founded in 2001, Community Reading Programs as envisioned by pioneering Seattle Librarian Nancy Pearl were in their infancy. Since then, BIC has connected with thousands of literary programs across the globe, helping event planners as they face the sometimes daunting task of selecting the perfect book for their communities, partnering with the author, and ensuring that their specific goals are met and exceeded – year after year. We focus on these important programs because we passionately believe that building common ground around literature is one of the best ways to bridge the divide among race, religion, socio-economics, sexual orientation, politics, and cultural identities.
Tag Archives: First Year Experience
BIC Book Reviews: June 2015
BIC book reviews of Molly Gloss’ Falling From Horses, Stephen Puleo’s The Caning and Anand Giridharadas’ The True American: Murder and Mercy in Texas
A Look At: Edgewood College
Lisa St. John Allaman, coordinator for Edgewood College Siena/Common Reads, explains how the program is organized and the lessons they have learned to increase participation.
BIC Book Reviews: April 2015
Heavy Hitters vs. Lite Lit: Selecting A Common Reads Title for Students
For many Common Reads program coordinators on college campuses, First Year Experience departments, and in public/private high schools, the pressures of meeting upper administrative demands while keeping students enthused and engaged can be daunting. Sometimes it may feel like these closed-door committee members are out of touch. Other times, tension originates from over-enthusiastic coordinators who prefer beach books to the literary canon.
Author Interview: Guadalupe Garcia McCall
Guadalupe Garcia McCall, author of Under the Mesquite and Summer of the Mariposa, discusses the inspiration for her books and experience with speaking engagements. April is National Poetry Month, so start planning now to book Guadalupe for next year’s celebration.
BIC a Breath of Fresh Air at the 2015 First-Year Experience Conference
At the First-Year Experience Conference in Dallas last weekend, Books In Common connected with administrators, educators, publishers, and authors from all across North America.
A Look At: Club Book, Minn.
David Katz, Club Book coordinator, discusses how Club Book came about and how it enriches the participating communities in Minnesota through literature.
Would you tell us a bit about your program? For instance how long has Club Book been coordinating literary events, how did it get started, and how has it changed over the years?
Club Book is a unique player on the Minnesota literary events scene. We collaborate with all eight library systems in the Twin Cities to bring bestselling and award-winning authors to library audiences in all corners of our metro area. In effect, this positions us to host big names in suburban communities that might otherwise not have this kind of cultural opportunity.
A Look At: Grand Valley State
Brian Jbara from Grand Valley State Community Reads explains how his community comes together for a common book.
Would you tell us a bit about your program? For instance how long has Grand Valley State been hosting the Community Reading Project, how did it get started, and how has it changed over the years?
The program is in its 11th year, and is focused on including all of campus and community (unlike first year read, per se). It was started specifically to provide interdisciplinary learning opportunities across campus, and to this day, it has stayed true to that. Each year we try to select a different themed book that addresses big issues or ideas, is accessible, and is “sticky” in nature – we want discussions to entail multiple perspectives.
Joining Forces: Opportunities to Come Together
For many of our friends in library and university communities, 2015 will see some of the most significant budget shortfalls in recent memory. As program resources increasingly diminish, even successful and longstanding Common Reads initiatives are left hanging in the balance. Worse still, these challenges come at a time when building common ground among students, citizens and diverse cultures is more important than ever. But it’s not all doom and gloom – sometimes the very challenges that threaten to divide us become opportunities to bring us together. And that’s where Books In Common can help!