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Asheville NC 28801
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The Together We Read Book of 2009



Animal, Vegetable, Miracle
by Barbara Kingsolver

The Together We Read Book of 2008



Boone
by Robert Morgan



 



NEWS
 
Together We Read Announces reading selection for 2009


Representatives from 14 Western North Carolina (WNC) counties, including Polk County, met at UNC-A to confirm their support for a cooperative community reading program.

 More specifically for the existing Together We Read (TWR).  Prompted by financial and organizational changes, the meeting followed a call for participation issued to all public and academic libraries in WNC. Those in attendance affirmed their support for continuing TWR including centering the 2009 activities on Barbara Kingsolver’s Animal, Vegetable, Miracle, the title selected prior to the reorganization.  

“Our primary purpose is to foster a sense of community in WNC through the reading and discussion of our best regional writers,” said Ed Sheary, Director of Buncombe County Public Libraries and one of the founders of TWR.  The program began in 2002 and is considered to be one of the best community reading programs in the nation. Janet McDonald, the Chair of TWR said: “A great deal of the success of TWR comes from the hard work, dedication, and vision of Rob Neufeld. Although he is no longer the Director, we plan to build on several of the firm foundations that he established.” The new organization will depend more upon grassroots cooperation than external funding for programs and support materials.

Participants in this year’s TWR will hold a kickoff in June 2009 and conclude in October. Events such as local speakers related to alternative agriculture, the importance of buying local and organic foods, and energy independence are a few of the topics that may be a part of the book discussions.

Details will be posted on the TWR website, http://togetherweread.org/ and on TWR’s new facebook page. If you are interested in having your group participate this year or are looking for a group to join, give Tracey Daniels a call at 828-894-8721 or email at tdaniels@publib.polknc.org.

About The Book

Author Barbara Kingsolver and her family abandoned the industrial-food pipeline to live a rural life—vowing that, for one year, they’d only buy food raised in their own neighborhood, grow it themselves, or learn to live without it. Part memoir, part journalistic investigation, Animal, Vegetable, Miracle is an enthralling narrative that will open your eyes in a hundred new ways to an old truth: You are what you eat.

A reader's guide is available at readinggroupguides.com.

Visit Barbara Kingsolver's site here.

Further Reading and Additional Links

ASAP - The Appalachian Sustainable Agriculture Project
wncgogreen.com - ecologically safe alternatives for Western North Carolina
NPR Interview of Barbara Kingsolver
Weather Channel interview of Barbara Kingsolver


Please contribute to Together We Read :
  • Help TWR provide the means by which to further the cause of reading.
  • Receive bulletins about developments in the fields of regional literature and heritage.
  • Receive invitations to special events.
  • Receive acknowledgements in publications and publicity (ask for more info).
For more info click here.
Download the membership form here.
UPCOMING EVENTS


 

Together We Read Sponsors
  • NC Humanities Council
  • Friends of Henderson County Library System
  • Glad Tithings Foundation
  • National Endowment for the Arts
  • Community Foundation of Western North Carolina
  • Asheville-Buncombe Technical Community College
  • Asheville-Buncombe Library System Trust Fund
  • Friends of Buncombe County Library System
  • Friends of Polk County Public Library
  • Asheville Citizen-Times
  • Friends of Mountain History
  • Mars Hill College
  • Mountain Area Information Network
  • UNCA's Friends of Ramsey Library
  • Western Carolina University
  • Warren Wilson College
  • Janirve Foundation
  • Many other individual and institutional donors
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