University Libraries
Cast Your Vote for the Next Big Read Book!
The Big Read is a community reading project that brings neighbors, friends, family and students in the Miami Valley together to read and discuss the same book. After taking a year off, the Big Read is back, and you can help choose the book your community reads!
The first step is choosing the Big Read book. A selection committee has narrowed the options to three finalists, and now the community is invited to vote. The finalists are:
The Round House by Louise Erdrich (HarperCollins, October, 2012): In this contemporary coming of age novel, thirteen-year-old Joe Coutts of the Ojibwe tribe in North Dakota is thrust prematurely into the adult world when his mother is attacked and left unable to communicate. This heart-stirring story of injustice is superbly written with firsthand knowledge of Native American culture and issues.
The Night Circus by Erin Morgenstern (Random House, September, 2011): This bestselling fantasy revolves around two young magicians, Celia and Marco, who are groomed since childhood to compete against each other until death in a fantastical circus. No one could have predicted that the opponents would fall in love and compromise this competition that has been going on for generations.
Wild: from Lost to Found on the Pacific Crest Trail by Cheryl Strayed (Knopf, 2012): Twenty-two year old Cheryl Strayed, an inexperienced hiker, decides to hike the eleven hundred mile Pacific Crest Trail, and the drama in her life that led to her decision is artfully woven into her memoir. Hiker or not, readers will relate to her quest, the people she meets and her love of the beautiful trail.
Paper ballots will be available at all Dayton Metro Libraries, Books & Co. and at local universities and bookstores October 1-31. Many other public libraries in the Miami Valley area participate in The Big Read and will offer ballots for voting. Vote online at the Big Read website, www.bigread.org. Ballots will be counted in early November and the winner announced shortly thereafter.
Book discussions and other events centered on the chosen book will take place in the spring, 2014. Discussion group schedules and other information will be posted on the Big Read website as they become available.
Pick up a print ballot at the Circulation Desk in the lobby of Roesch Library or cast your vote online, then get ready to read!