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Ever since Seattle started the trend in 1998, the phenomenon of One Book, One Community reading programs has been growing steadily across the country. Vintage and Anchor Books are proud supporters of these community-based reading initiatives, and whether you're already established or just getting started, we're pleased to offer a wide range of resources. Read on for selected favorites, new suggestions, on-line resources, and more.
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Suggested Titles
How do you choose the best selection for your community reading program? Take a look at what communities around the country have been reading. We've also added a few suggestions of our own--books with subjects and themes that lend themselves to great community discussion. |
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The House on Mango Street by Sandra Cisneros
"A deeply moving novel...delightful and poignant.... Like the best of poetry, it opens the windows of the heart without a wasted word." --Miami Herald
Read by: Commerce, CA | Los Angeles, CA | Pic-Rivera, CA | Sonoma County, CA | Jacksonville, FL | Miami, FL | Portland, OR | El Paso, TX
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A Lesson Before Dying by Ernest J. Gaines
"This majestic, moving novel is an instant classic, that will be read, discussed and taught beyond the rest of our lives." --Chicago Tribune
Read by: Peoria, IL | Bloomington, IN | Lafayette, LA | New Orleans, LA | Newton, MA | Washoe County (Reno), NV | Albequerque, NM | Buffalo, NY | Rochester, NY | Syracuse, NY | Greensboro, NC | Watauga County, OH | Cincinnati, OH | Columbus, OH | Multnomah County (Portland), OR | College Station - Bryan, TX | Houston, TX | Waco, TX | Richmond, VA | Seattle, WA
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Plainsong by Kent Haruf
"A novel so foursquare, so delicate and lovely, that it has power to exalt the reader." --The New York Times Book Review
Read by: Arizona (Statewide) | Loveland, CO | Springfield, IL | Vigo County (Terre Haute), IN | Cedar Rapids, IA | Grand Rapids, MI | Columbia, MO | Kansas City, MO | Lincoln, NE | Weahpeton & Breckenridge, ND | Salt Lake City, UT | Spokane, WA
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The Handmaid's Tale by Margaret Atwood
"A novel that brilliantly illuminates some of the darker interconnections between politics and sex. . . . Just as the world of Orwell's 1984 gripped our imaginations, so will the world of Atwood's handmaid!" --The Washington Post Book World
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Purple Hibiscus by Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie
"Prose as lush as the Nigerian landscape that it powerfully evokes. . . . Adichie's understanding of a young girl's heart is so acute that her story ultimately rises above its setting and makes her little part of Nigeria seem as close and vivid as Eudora Welty's Mississippi." --The Boston Globe
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Before You Know Kindness by Chris Bohjalian
"Chris Bohjalian's many fans will be glad to know he's back on the high wire, expertly balancing topical issues with the more timeless concerns of the human heart. His well-drawn, sympathetic characters deepen and intensify the novel's gripping plot rather than simply serving it. BEFORE YOU KNOW KINDNESS is smart, first-rate storytelling." --Richard Russo, author of EMPIRE FALLS
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All Over but the Shoutin' by Rick Bragg
"A grand memoir. . . . Bragg tells about the South with such power and bone-naked love . . . he will make you cry." --Atlanta Journal-Constitution
Read by: Arkansas (Statewide) | Cape Girardeau, MO | Evansville, IN | Gwinnett County, GA | Henry County, TN | Jackson-Madison County, TN | Murfreesboro, TN
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Breaking Clean by Judy Blunt
"A beautifully written memoir that is a meditation on how land and her life will always be
intertwined." --San Francisco Chronicle
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The Price of Child by Lorene Cary
"[THE PRICE OF A CHILD is] a stunning achievement . . . a deeply engrossing story. . . . Cary's impeccable research and seamless narrative carry us along." --The Philadelphia Inquirer
Read by: Buffalo, NY | Clarion, PA | Philadelphia, PA | Warren County, PA
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Honky by Dalton Conley
"With precision and poetry, this . . . absorbing volume [gives] readers a rare opportunity for insight into the complexities of race in America." --San Francisco Chronicle
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Family by J. California Cooper
"What most distinguishes FAMILY . . . is its persistent affirmation of the power of the human spirit to do battle with evil--and to win, even if only for a while. . . . It has a compelling voice." --Chicago Tribune
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Breath, Eyes, Memory by Edwidge Danticat
"Vibrant, magic. . . . Wraps readers into the haunting life of a young Haitian girl." --The Boston Globe
Read by: Hartford, CT | Miami, FL
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House of Sand and Fog by Andre Dubus III
"A page-turner with a beating heart." --The Boston Globe
Read by: Newburyport, MA
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Ella Minnow Pea by Mark Dunn
"A curiously compelling . . . satire of human foibles, and a light-stepping commentary on censorship and totalitarianism." --The Philadelphia Inquirer
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Bee Season by Myla Goldberg
"A gripping portrait of a family. . . . Goldberg is a terrifically smart, acutely talented writer." --San Francisco Chronicle
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Our Lady of the Forest by David Guterson
"Transporting. . . . Dares us to examine the mysteries of faith and redemption. . . . Balances on the tension between belief and despair without ever losing its sense of mystery." --Los Angeles Times Book Review
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The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-Time by Mark Haddon
"This original and affecting novel is a triumph of empathy." --The New Yorker
Read by: Santa Barbara, CA | North Reading, MA | New Paltz, NY | Wake County, NC | Salt Lake City, UT
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A Raisin in the Sun by Lorraine Hansberry
"A play that changed American theater forever." --The New York Times
Read by: Chicago, IL
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War Is a Force That Gives Us Meaning by Chris Hedges
"Bitterly poetic and ruthlessly philosophical. . . . A powerful message to people
contemplating the escalation of the war against terrorism." --Los Angeles Times
Read by: South Bend, IN
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The Laramie Project by Moises Kaufman and the Members of Tectonic Theater Project
"Astonishing. Not since Angels in America has a play attempted so much: nothing less than an examination of the American psyche at the end of the millennium." --Associated Press
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The Woman Warrior by Maxine Hong Kingston
"A remarkable book. . . . As an account of growing up female and Chinese-American . . . it is anti-nostalgia; it burns the fat right out of the mind." --The New York Times
Read by: Saratoga, CA
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The White by Deborah Larsen
"Riveting . . . lyrical. . . . An indelible portrait of a remarkable woman. . . . [A] brutal and beautiful novel." --The New York Times
Read by: Chambersburg, PA | Harrisburg, PA (six counties)
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The Gangster We Are All Looking For by lê thi diem thúy
"A brilliant evocation of human sorrow and desire. . . . Heartbreaking and exhilarating. . . . As vivid as a fairy tale, as allusive as a poem." --The New York Times Book Review
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Absolutely American: Four Years at West Point by David Lipsky
"A superb description of modern military culture and one of the most gripping accounts of university life. . . . Powerful. . . . Wonderfully told." --The New York Times Book Review
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Property by Valerie Martin
"This fresh, unsentimental look at what slave owning does to (and for) one's interior life must be
a first. And the writing--so prised and clean-limbed--is a marvel." --Toni Morrison
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The No. 1 Ladies' Detective Agency by Alexander McCall Smith
"One of the best, most charming, honest, hilarious and life-affirming books to appear in years." --The Plain Dealer
Read by: Grand Rapids, MI | Monterey, CA
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Who Will Run the Frog Hospital by Lorrie Moore
"Touches and dazzles and entertains. . . . An enchanting novel." --The New York Times
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Beloved by Toni Morrison
"A masterwork. . . . Wonderful. . . . I can't imagine American literature without it." --John Leonard, Los Angeles Times
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In My Hands: Memories of a Holocaust Rescuer by Irene Gut Opdyke with Jennifer Armstrong
"Powerful and life-affirming, this is the kind of exciting memoir that marks a reader forever." --The Plain Dealer
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When the Emperor Was Divine by Julie Otsuka
"WHEN THE EMPEROR WAS DIVINE is a novel about loyalty, about identity, and about being other in America during uncertain times." --Nathan Englander, author of FOR THE RELIEF OF UNBEARABLE URGES
Read by: Johnson County (Iowa City), IA | Carmel, IN | Topeka, KS | St. Peter, MN | Seattle, WA
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The Dive from Clausen's Pier by Ann Packer
"Packer's novel explores how life itself can confront ordinary human beings with daunting
moral dilemmas." --USA Today
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Dead Man Walking by Sister Helen Prejean
"Deeply moving. . . . Sister Prejean is an excellent writer, direct and honest and unsentimental; her accounts of crime and punishment are gripping, and her argument is persuasive." --USA Today
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Empire Falls by Richard Russo
"Nobody does small-town life better than Richard Russo." --Atlanta Journal-Constitution
Read by: Concord & Nashua, NH | Farmington Valley, CT | Wilmington, MA
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Balzac and the Little Chinese Seamstress by Dai Sijie
"Gives the rest of the world a glimpse into that dark place where the human spirit continues, against all odds, to shine its light." --USA Today
Read by: Santa Monica, CA | Westwood, MA | Snohomish/Island Counties, WA
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Amy and Isabelle by Elizabeth Strout
"Stunning. . . . Heartbreaking. . . . This novelist is destined for great things." --San Francisco Chronicle
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The Miracle Life of Edgar Mint by Brady Udall
"Marvelous. . . . Edgar Mint is nobody's Everyman, but he is the hope and the pain of a child looking for, and eventually finding, a home." --Los Angeles Times
Read by: Vail, CO
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Regional Appeal Titles
If you're looking for a novel that brilliantly evokes the people and landscape of a specific area or a nonfiction book with a regional focus, the following titles make for perfect selections. From the Pacific Northwest to the deep South, these authors have a talent for immersing the reader in a setting and creating a completely unique reading experience.
Northeast & Mid-Atlantic
South
Midwest
West & Southwest
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How We Can Help
There are a number of ways Vintage and Anchor Books help support One Book, One Community reading programs around the country. From contacting authors to providing poster and bookmark templates, we can help provide the materials and information you need.
- Author Information/Liaison: Once you have chosen a book, we can contact the
author on your behalf and provide biographical information. Queries should be directed
to Russell Perreault, Publicity Director, rperreault@randomhouse.com or call
212-572-2080.
- Graphics: We can provide an electronic poster template picturing the author and
the book cover. Project organizers can customize the design, adding their own logos,
messages, etc. A bookmark template is also available. Individual author photos and book
cover files are available for flyers and signage. Queries to Roz Parr, Marketing Director, rparr@randomhouse.com or call 212-940-7865.
- Ordering Books: So that we can make sure books are readily available, please let
us know as early as possible how many books you will need and when. Queries to Roz Parr.
- Discussion Guides: Over 325 Vintage and Anchor reading group guides are available, all formatted for easy printing. Browse our complete list.
For educational resources and to download Teacher's Guides, visit our Academic Resources site. High school teachers, click here.
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On-line Resources
Visit these Web sites to find out more information about One Book, One Community programs across the country.
- For more about the books published by Vintage Books & Anchor Books (we have over 3,500 active titles), go to www.vintagebooks.com and www.anchorbooks.com.
- The American Library Association Public Programs office has created a 44-page guide called One Book, One Community: Planning Your Community-Wide Read. Click here to download it in PDF form from their Web site. Also produced by the ALA is a One Book, One Community CD, available for purchase from the ALA Online Store.
- The Library of Congress maintains a complete listing of past and current One Book projects, organized both by location and by author. Visit their Web site to browse the list. It includes links to individual project Web-sites.
- Additional how-to information is available online from the Seattle Public Library and the Chicago Public Library.
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