What is The Big Read?

In short, the Big Read is all about communities reading the same book, then getting together to talk about it. The six-week reading event is sponsored by local libraries, bookstores, non-profit organizations, and the Dayton Daily News. A group of people from these organizations selects a list of possible titles each year. They not only look for a great read, but one that could spark discussion. Each fall, a vote on those titles at area libraries and on The Dayton Daily News website gives the public a chance to cast their ballot for the next Big Read book.  Look for an opportunity to vote for the following year’s Big Read selection each fall.

Cities across the country have their own community read events. Here in the Miami Valley, 2012 will be the seventh year for the Big Read.

Former Nominees and Winning Big Read Selections

2011
Still Alice by Lisa Genova
The Immortal Life of Henrietta Lacks by Rebecca Skloot  *Winner*
The Color of Water: A Black Man's Tribute to his White Mother by James McBride

2010
This I Believe - The Personal Philosophies of Remarkable Men and Women
Various authors, edited by Jay Allison and Dan Gediman
Dreamers of the Day by Mary Doria Russell  *Winner*
The Soloist by Steve Lopez

2009
Nineteen Minutes by Jodi Picoult *Winner*
The People of the Book by Geraldine Brooks
Three Cups of Tea:  One Man's Mission to Promote Peace One School at a Time
by Greg Mortenson and David Oliver Relin

2008
Funny in Farsi by Firoozeh Dumas  *Winner*
Water for Elephants by Sara Greun
Animal, Vegetable and Miracle by Barbara Kingsolver

2007
The Glass Castle by Jeannette Walls  *Winner*
Freakonomics by Steven D. Levitt
The Things They Carried by Tim O'brien

2006
Plainsong by Kent Haruf
Kite Runner by Khaled Hosseini
To Kill a Mockingbird by Harper Lee  *Winner*

2005
Nickel & Dimed by Barbara Ehrenreich  *Winner*
Fahrenheit by Ray Bradbury
Peace Like a River by Leif Enger