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Ann Arbor/Ypsilanti Reads
The goal of the Ann Arbor/Ypsilanti Reads is to promote reading and civic dialogue through the shared experience of reading and discussing a common book. Library, university and community representatives from both Ann Arbor and Ypsilanti work throughoutr the year to identify a theme, screen many books appropriate to the theme, select one title for the community to read, provide training on leading a book discussion group, and promote the event during January through March annually. Ann Arbor/Ypsilanti Reads 2007
In 2007, we will explore . . .
"We the People . . .the many people that we are, the diverse communities we have created, and the challenges we face in fostering a continuing sense of belonging and civic engagement in a rapidly changing world."
The Selection Committee has chosen the book for 2007: Mountains Beyond Mountains by Tracy Kidder. Briefly, this biography tells the story of Dr. Paul Farmer who travels to Haiti, Peru, and other countries to attack public health issues. This book demonstrates how one person can make a difference. To read more about Mountains Beyond Mountains, please click here.
An excellent list of additional resources related to the book may be found here.
Previous Years
The theme for 2006 was Revolutions in Science: The theories, explanations and discoveries that challenged our thinking and changed the world. The selected title featured a detailed account of the research done by Peter and Rosemary Grant in their 20 year pursuit of practical evidence of microevolutionary changes in the beaks of finches contained on Daphne Major in the Galapagos Islands. Pulitzer Prize winning author Jonathan Weiner who wrote The Beak of the Finch: A Story of Evolution in Our Time about the Grants made an author visit to this area in January, 2006.
In 2005, the program encouraged readers of all ages to explore the Cultural Treasures of the Middle East. Leo Africanus by Amin Maalouf was the selected book. In 2004, readers were invited to explore progress in race relations in the fifty years since the landmark 1954 Supreme Court ruling in the case of Brown vs. The Board of Education. The book selected was Why Are All the Black Kids Sitting Together in the Cafeteria? and Other Conversations about Race by Beverly Tatum. In 2003, Ann Arbor Reads focused on life science issues, and the selected book was Abraham Lincoln's DNA by Philip Reilly.
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