It’s Big Read Lakeshore season!
Hope College started the Big Read Lakeshore program in 2014 with the goal of bringing people together through the joy of a shared book. Have conversations. Make connections. This year that book is The Great Gatsby by F. Scott Fitzgerald, but really – the book doesn’t matter. It’s the experience that matters. Big Read Lakeshore is a community reading program and those two words – community and reading – carry equal weight. Over the last decade, Hope has expanded the program to reach all ages – adding a Little Read, a Middle Grades Read, and a Mini Read.
Your favorite public library was Hope’s partner in this venture and today – 11 years later – is still your go-to place for programs, discussions, and – oh yeah! - copies of each of the titles. In addition to The Great Gatsby, this year we are featuring:
- Middle Read: Mexikid by Pedro Martin
- Little Read: Dreamers by Yuyi Morales
- Mini Read: Love: A Celebration of Mindfulness by Katie Wilson
Highlights of this year’s programs include:
- Visits by both Pedro Martin and Yuyi Morales to the North Branch Library. Mr. Martin will come on October 29th and Ms. Morales will come on November 13th. Both appearances are free and open to the public.
- Two silent discos – one for families and one for just adults – held in partnership with Hope College.
Grab a copy of Gatsby and join the conversation. Read it in high school 30 years ago and didn't’ like it? Try it again! You’re a different person now and the book might hit you differently. Not to go all Disney’s Pocahontas on you (by way of Heraclitus), but what I love most about rivers is that you can't step in the same river twice. You’re a different person than you were, say, 31 years ago, even if you are still wearing the same Wang Chung t-shirt, Jams, and New York Mets painter’s cap. (Also – it's less than 200 pages. It’s an easy read!) Or try one of the other titles from this year. Give a graphic novel a try. And you’re never too old for a picture book! Or read a Big Read title from the past or a readalike or two from this year. It doesn’t matter what you read, just read!
- Readalikes for The Great Gatsby
- Readalikes for Mexikid
- Readalikes for Dreamers
