By Heather Lusk
This year’s United We Read book is rather different than recent selections of lesser-known novels with male protagonists.
The female-centric best-seller “Hidden Figures,” by Margot Lee Shetterly, was chosen by librarians from Thorntown, Lebanon and Zionsville to be read during October throughout the county.
“Hidden Figures” follows the true stories of four African-American women navigating their NASA careers during the 1960s. The book was made into a movie in 2016.
Hussey-Mayfield Memorial Public Library librarian Orton Ortwein said the book was chosen despite its popularity.
“We like to pick books that are not necessarily obscure but not runaway best-sellers,” he said, noting programming opportunities and the appeal to various ages impacted the choice.
The committee is restricted to selecting books available in multiple formats, such as large print, digital and paperback.
“There’s a lot of great books we would have loved to pick,” Ortwein said. “There’s only so many books that would have hit all those (formats).”
UNITED WE READ EVENTS
- Oct. 10 – Indiana’s LINK Observatory will share the next phase of space exploration with a program about humans traveling to Mars.
- Oct. 11 – Book discussion.
- Oct. 13 – With a young adult version of the book available, the library’s youth services department will host a parent and child book club.
- Oct. 17 – Ortwein will demonstrate the use of smartphones for virtual reality using apps designed by NASA. Participants will receive a Google cardboard headset.
- Oct. 24 – The Gourmet Girlfriends will lead a demonstration on “Cooking Through the Decades,” making recipes from different eras.