Books & Big Ideas: A Kittery Community Read Program
Books & Big Ideas Community Read Program ( Winter - Spring 2024)
Turn on your book lights and grab your bookmarks because the Town of Kittery is kicking off the next edition of Books & Big Ideas: a Kittery Community Read program. The program celebrates and fosters community dialogue around important themes affecting our community and those living and working within it. Topics for the program will range from affordable housing to diversity, equity and inclusion, climate change and more.
Each topic featured as part of our Community Read will include a variety of options for fiction, non-fiction and children/young adult titles. Copies of each book will be available at the Rice Public Library, located at 8 Wentworth Street in Kittery. Residents interested in acquiring the books included in this program should contact the library at www.rice.lib.me.us or 207-439-1553.
Community members of all ages are encouraged to participate by reading and sharing their perspectives with friends and neighbors in local book-clubs, at one of our upcoming group discussions or public events, and on social media.
The winter/spring edition of Books & Big Ideas will take place from February 2024 - April 2024 and focus on the topic of climate action and sustainability in Kittery, the state of Maine and beyond. Through the power of literature, we will collectively learn about the environmental issues facing our planet and community, along with the complexities of the unfolding climate crisis.
By exploring this topic and the actions that can be taken in our everyday lives to help mitigate the adverse effects of climate change, we can foster a greater sense of stewardship for the place we call home.
Selected Titles for the Fall/Winter Community Read Are:
Calendar of Events & Activities
By reading and sharing unique perspectives about topics that affect those around us, we can find innovative and rewarding solutions to help Kittery thrive.
Please see below for a list of events, programs and activities that explore the themes of climate action and sustainability and ways that you can participate in the conversation:
February 2024
March
April
For Information on Previous Editions of Books & Big Ideas, Please See Below:
Fall Edition (September 2023 - December 2023)
The selected titles for the fall/winter community read were:
Adult Short Story Collection: Night of the Living Rez by Morgan TaltySpring Edition (March 2023 - August 2023)
The spring portion of Books & Big Ideas took place from March 2023 - May 2023 and focused on the theme of housing. Kittery and Maine as a whole, are in a housing crisis, which means there is a shortage of affordable housing options available to residents and workers of all ages. The spring topic was “sponsored” by the Kittery Housing Committee and is part of their year-long community information drive.
The selected books have a shared theme of housing insecurity, and the importance of "home". Through these stories, we seek to enrich the discussion about affordable housing and its place in our community.
The selected titles that explore the topic and impacts of affordable housing are:
Non-fiction: Housing for Humans by Ileana Schinder
Children/Young Adult:
- Last Stop on Market Street by Matt de la Peña
- A Chair for My Mother by Vera B. Williams
Previous Author Event Information - Available Online:
Housing for Humans Author Ileana Schinder joined us via Zoom to talk about her book, Housing for Humans: A Book to Imagine, Create and Design a New Housing Model in America. The program is available for streaming 24/7 via Town Hall Streams. To view the event online, please click here.