One Book One Community

One Book, One Community
...Appleton Reads! 2007

We have a committee! We have a name! We are in launch sequence!

On April 18, representatives from The Post-Crescent, the Appleton Area School District, Lawrence University, Conkeys Book Store, Friends of the Appleton Library, UW-Fox Valley, and APL staff met and recommended five titles be submitted for a vote to choose the 2007 community read book Area residents were asked to participate in the balloting at several locations including; online at The Post-Crescent website, at the AASD libraries, Conkeys, and at the Appleton Public Library.

The five titles recommended as possible 2007 community reads were:


Bean Trees by Barbara Kingsolver. This warm and memorable novel depicts life in a small town as a young woman tries to find her place in the world.	My Sister’s Keeper by Jodi Picoult. An exploration of the controversial practice of having children in order to be donors of cells, bone marrow or organs for siblings with life-threatening illnesses.
A Step From Heaven by An Na. The experiences of a young Korean girl and the cultural tug of war her family experiences in America.	Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-Time by Mark Haddon. The murder of a neighbor’s dog, leads Christopher, a 15 year old autistic boy on an unexpected and terrifying journey when he decides to investigate the murder.
Nickel and Dimed: On (Not) Getting By In America by Barbara Ehrenreich. A darkly funny and wrenching account of the months the author spent working in unskilled and semi-skilled jobs for poverty level wages.

The winning title was announced June 8th in The Post Crescent and on the library website. The selected title is…Nickel and Dimed!

Formal launch of the One Book, One Community ---Appleton Reads! is set for January of 2007. Community events and a possible author visit are planned for the spring of 2007.

More information will be available at the library, on the library website (www.apl.org) and in the Post Crescent as plans for the community read are developed.