Book Selection Process
As the Reading Together Selection Committee considered the list of nominated titles that met the broad selection criteria, they voted for titles that they felt met these additional criteria for the 2008 Reading Together program:
- A multifaceted book that connects with groups we've not yet reached; new stakeholders; broadest possible audience
- Good literature; beautiful prose
- Applies directly to current events/news in our region
- A topic we have not previously covered
- An author who is available to visit
Nominated Books
Nonfiction
Silent Spring- Carson, Rachel
Ghettonation: A Journey Into the Land of Bling and Home of the Shameless- Daniels, Cora
The God Delusion
- Dawkins, Richard
Collapse: how societies choose to fail or succeed- Diamond, Jared
The worst hard time: the untold story of those who survived the great American dust bowl- Egan, Timothy
The weather makers: how man is changing the climate and what it means for life on earth- Flannery, Tim F.
The edge of disaster: surviving terror and catastrophe- Flynn, Stephen E.
The world is flat: a brief history of the twenty-first century- Friedman, Thomas L.
An inconvenient truth : the crisis of global warming- Gore, Albert
- Infinite Love Is the Only Truth: Everything Else Is Illusion
- Icke, David
- Teaching with Fire: Poetry That Sustains the Courage to Teach
- Intrator, Sam and Megan Scribner, Editors
The 101 most influential people who never lived: how characters of fiction, myth, legends, television, and movies have shaped our society, changed our behavior, and set the course of history- Lazar, Allan
Mountains beyond mountains- Kidder, Tracy
Field notes from a catastrophe: man, nature, and climate change- Kolbert, Elizabeth
There are no children here: the story of two boys growing up in the other America- Kotlowitz, Alex
Under the banner of heaven : a story of violent faith- Krakauer, Jon
Burning Rainbow Farm: how a stoner utopia went up in smoke- Kuipers, Dean
A sand county almanac: with essays on conservation- Leopold, Aldo
Last child in the woods: saving our children from nature-deficit disorder- Louv, Richard
The undertaking: life studies from the dismal trade- Lynch, Thomas
- The Lakota Way: Stories and Lessons for Living
- Marshall III, Joseph M.
- Please Understand
- Peake, Marcy L.
The shelter of each other: rebuilding our families- Pipher, Mary Bray
Better together: restoring the American community- Putnam, Robert D.
- Climate Change Begins at Home: Life on the Two-Way Street of Global Warming
- Reay, Dave
- Healing racism in America: a prescription for the disease
- Rutstein, Nathan
The bookseller of Kabul- Seierstad, Asne
The Urantia book concordance- Urantia Foundation
- Blood Brothers: Among the Soldiers of Ward 57
- Weisskopf, Michael
Fiction
For one more day- Albom, Mitch
Pride and prejudice- Austen, Jane
- The sweet hereafter
- Banks, Russell
The Book of Fred- Bardi, Abby
Ender's game- Card, Orson Scott
- A Trip to the Stars
- Christopher, Nicholas
The red tent- Diamant, Anita
The memory keeper's daughter- Edwards, Kim
Silas Marner: the weaver of Raveloe- Eliot, George
Invisible man- Ellison, Ralph
Peace like a river- Enger, Leif
Middlesex- Eugenides, Jeffrey
So big- Ferber, Edna
The great Gatsby- Fitzgerald, F. Scott
Extremely loud & incredibly close- Foer, Jonathan Safran
- The book of Ruth
- Hamilton, Jane
I say a little prayer- Harris, E. Lynn
The world to come- Horn, Dara
The kite runner- Hosseini, Khaled
The misfits- Howe, James
The known world- Jones, Edward P.
Broken for you- Kallos, Stephanie
The mermaid chair- Kidd, Sue Monk
Animal dreams- Kingsolver, Barbara
The namesake- Lahiri, Jhumpa
- Chronicle of a death foretold
- Garcia Marquez, Gabriel
Life of Pi- Martel, Yann
The road- McCarthy, Cormac
Nowhere is a place- McFadden, Bernice L.
Jude- Morgenroth, Kate
Sula- Morrison, Toni
Nineteen minutes- Picoult, Jodi
All quiet on the western front- Thomas, Richard
Gilead- Robinson, Marilynne
- In Perfect Light
- Saenz, Benjamin A.
Housekeeping- Robinson, Marilynne
Persepolis- Satrapi, Marjane
Lizzie Bright and the Buckminster boy- Schmidt, Gary D.
The lovely bones- Sebold, Alice
Memoir
Too soon to say goodbye- Buchwald, Art
Our town: a heartland lynching, a haunted town, and the hidden history of white America- Carr, Cindy
Made in Detroit: a south of 8 Mile memoir- Clemens, Paul
The year of magical thinking- Didion, Joan
- A peculiar treasure
- Ferber, Edna
The Freedom Writers diary : how a teacher and 150 teens used writing to change themselves and the world around them- Freedom Writers with Erin Gruwell
- Barefoot heart: stories of a migrant child
- Hart, Elva Treviño
The woman warrior: memoirs of a girlhood among ghosts- Kingston, Maxine Hong
The faith club: a Muslim, a Christian, a Jew: three women search for understanding- Idliby, Ranya
Blackbird: a childhood lost and found- Lauck, Jennifer
- The Man Who Outgrew His Prison Cell
- Loya, Joe
Unbowed: a memoir- Maathai, Wangari
Three cups of tea: One man's mission to promote peace...one school at a time- Mortenson, Greg
A child called “It”: one child's courage to survive- Pelzer, David J.
A whole new life- Price, Reynolds
Riding the bus with my sister: a true life journey- Simon, Rachel
The glass castle: a memoir- Walls, Jeannette
Considered Books (short list)
Selection Criteria Applied to Nominated Titles
- treatment of universal social issues that are relevant to our diverse community
- quality writing that fosters an appreciation of literature;
- availability in at least three alternative formats such as large print, audio recording, foreign language, online, or film/play versions;
- reading level, vocabulary, length and subject matter appropriate for and appealing to adults as well as high school and college students.
The following 22 titles met the selection criteria and were considered for 2008
- For one more day
- Albom, Mitch
- Pride and prejudice
- Austen, Jane
- The sweet hereafter
- Banks, Russell
- The red tent
- Diamant, Anita
- Collapse: how societies choose to fail or succeed
- Diamond, Jared
- The year of magical thinking
- Didion, Joan
- The memory keeper's daughter
- Edwards, Kim
- Invisible man
- Ellison, Ralph
- Middlesex
- Eugenides, Jeffrey
- The weather makers: how man is changing the climate and what it means for life on earth
- Flannery, Tim F.
- An inconvenient truth : the crisis of global warming
- Gore, Albert
- The Freedom Writers diary : how a teacher and 150 teens used writing to change themselves and the world around them
- Freedom Writers with Erin Gruwell
- The known world
- Jones, Edward P.
- Animal dreams
- Kingsolver, Barbara
- The namesake
- Lahiri, Jhumpa
- The road
- McCarthy, Cormac
- Sula
- Morrison, Toni
- Three cups of tea: One man's mission to promote peace...one school at a time
- Mortenson, Greg
- All quiet on the western front
- Thomas, Richard
- Gilead
- Robinson, Marilynne
- The lovely bones
- Sebold, Alice
- The glass castle: a memoir
- Walls, Jeannette
Books Selected by Vote (top vote-getters)
- Animal Dreams
- Kingsolver, Barbara
- The Known World
- Jones, Edward P.
- Invisible Man
- Ellison, Ralph
- The Weather Makers: How man is changing the climate and what it means for life on earth
- Flannery, Tim F.
- The Sweet Hereafter
- Banks, Russell
- The Namesake
- Lahiri, Jhumpa
(no other title received multiple votes)