One of our favorite authors to work with and one who gets–without question–the highest praise from literary event planners is Laura McBride. “Laura McBride is an incredible author, guest, and speaker. This visit has been excellent, and as one person wrote on our exit surveys last night “She is awesome!” Leslie DeLooze, Richmond Memorial Library […]
Adventurer and journalist James Edward Mills highlights another racial disparity: the low number of minority wilderness adventurers. This concern carries the opportunity to stimulate healthy conversation about race and gender disparity in our schools and communities.
Contrary to what many coordinators assume, a famous author doesn’t always ensure instant success for their Common Reads Program. Librarians who rely on circulation numbers are often missing out on up-and-coming titles; university administrators who require a book-to-film component are underestimating their readers; and most importantly, venues that insist on visiting authors with household name […]
Centre County Reads, a Community Reads Program in Pennsylvania heading into its 14th year of programming, is delighted to welcome author Karen Abbot—dubbed the pioneer of “sizzle history”—in April of 2016. This year’s selection Liar, Temptress, Soldier, Spy, is not only a common reads favorite… it has all the makings for a read that is […]
One of the many things Books In Common brings to the common reads’ table is the years of work we have done with a wide variety of venues to constantly improve their literary programs; through this wisdom, we hope venues old and new will pick up a tip or two and continue hosting successful common reads. An Interview with […]
The books chosen by colleges for all campus reads or freshman year experience programs vary widely, but as highlighted in an NPR article, most are contemporary pieces published within the past few years. Titles and authors vary from college to college and state to state, but many are focused on the same themes with topics diverse enough […]
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.
Looking for fall programming that brings your community together around one social issue? Thousands of children in the American foster care system today are awaiting forever homes. Adoptive and foster parents provide security and stability to children and give them the opportunity to learn, grow and achieve their full potential. Advocating for these youngest members of our society is a wonderful cause to rally your community around. November is National Adoption Month, and with it comes many programming opportunities and ideas, including bringing an engaging author who can lend a powerful voice to the children who need to be heard, now more than ever.
