Thanks to a $1,000 grant from the Connecticut Center for the Book at Connecticut Humanities, the Middletown Rotary Club’s Literacy Committee will again offer its One Book, One Middletown program this year to build community and literacy.
Now in its 11th year, representatives of Middlesex Community College, Russell Library, Wesleyan University, the City of Middletown, The Book Bower and the Rotary chose the book, “Ready Player One,” a science fiction novel by Ernest Cline as this year’s selection. The book explores the themes of technology and life in a rapidly changing, digital age.
This was one of 10 grants totaling $23,500 which the Connecticut Center for the Book awarded to libraries, nonprofits, community colleges and community groups from around Connecticut under its Community Reads initiative. The goal of the Community Reads program is to encourage residents from all walks of life to read and discuss books and the subjects they explore.
The goal of One Book is simple...to get a lot of people in the area to read the same book at the same time and then encourage them to talk about it. By doing so, we hope that more people (especially more young people) will enjoy reading.
The One Book, One Middletown program is geared to everyone from young adults to seniors and will involve discussions, movie screenings, a scavenger hunt and a Skype session with the author. The following is a list of upcoming scheduled events:
- Month of March-Scavenger Hunt-Come to Russell, MxCC, or the Book Bower for your clues!
- March 1st (FRI) 3:00PM-6:00PM One Book One Middletown Ready Player One Gaming Kick-off, Russell Library Hubbard Room
- March 6 (Wed) 12:30 PM Book discussion led by Anne Paluck Chapman Hall MXCC
- March 13 (Wed) 7 PM Book Discussion led by Indira Karamcheti Russell Library Hubbard Room
- March 14 (Thurs) 7PM Documentary and Discussion led by Richard Alleva King of Kong: A Fistful of Quarters Russell Library Hubbard Room
- March 16 (Sat) 80s theme Dance (8-11PM) and Dance Lesson (7-8PM) Vinnie's Jump and Jive 424 Main St.
- March 19 (Tues) 7PM The Making of the Games: Video Game Design and Development Presentation/Discussion by Prof. Ira Fay, Asst. Prof of Game Design and Development at Quinnipiac University Russell Library Hubbard Room
- March 22 (Fri) 6PM Book Discussion led by MHS students at The Emporium in Main St. Market.
- April 4 (Thurs) 8PM Film Big Trouble in Little China, a 1986 film with Kurt Russell.
- April 6 (Sat) 2PM Author Ernest Cline Skype session/scavenger hunt Winners Announcement Russell Library Hubbard Room
For more detailed information on events surrounding One Book, One Middletown 2013, visit the Middletown Rotary Club website at www.middletownrotary.org . Rotary maintains its membership from those who live and/or work in Middletown as well as the surrounding towns of Cromwell, Portland, Durham, Middlefield and Higganum.
Connecticut Humanities launched Community Reads as the first initiative since becoming the new home of the Connecticut Center for the Book. The Library of Congress appointed Connecticut Humanities to manage the initiative earlier this year. The center promotes reading, writing and Connecticut’s literary heritage by connecting Connecticut citizens with resources on reading, writing and literature within the state and beyond. The Connecticut Center for the Book is an affiliate of the Library of Congress. For more information, please visit cthumanities.org.
