Click here for a listing of upcoming book discussions including the books in each series. Series are running in:

Grantham - Ultima Thule: Literature of the Far North
Harrisville - Journeys to the Edge
Littleton - Mysteries on Both Sides of the Pond
Madison - Mysteries on Both Sides of the Pond
Wilton - Mysteries on Both Sides of the Pond

Our NEW on-line book discussion catalog is available now.

Looking for a book discussion near you? View our Calendar page for a listing of upcoming programs, including book discussions, around the state sorted by date and by region.

Learn more about how to host a What is New Hampshire Reading book discussion series below. There are some important changes in the book discussion guidelines which are explained here.

What’s new with What is New Hampshire Reading for 2008

Welcome to a year of reflection and reevaluation for What is New Hampshire Reading, the Council’s book discussion program available to libraries and partnering organizations. In 2007 the Humanities Council’s book discussion leaders shared conversations with myriad readers, asked provocative questions, and prompted audiences to consider alternate vantage points. Using the humanities as a focusing lens, they married, when possible, divergent points of view, explored images and themes, and enriched the reading and interpretation of literature.

Many small, dedicated reading discussion groups convened across the state, as evidenced by the many positive evaluations we received. Almost 90 groups met, a total of 1,160 participants and an average of 13 per group. We have crafted a few changes in What is New Hampshire Reading for the coming year to increase accessibility and encourage audience expansion.

* There is a new limit of four discussions per library per calendar year. We want to broaden the audiences we serve and boost attendance so we are encouraging folks who would like to offer more programs to partner with other community organizations.

* We are returning to a non-competitive, rolling application process and will accept applications on the 1st of each month. We will require 10 weeks lead time for effective publicity, so please plan your series and its timing carefully.

* A reading series with multiple books should have multiple book discussion scholars. In short, share a wealth of perspectives and vantage points with your community.

* We have updated What is New Hampshire Reading on-line content and added a searchable database. The web page includes a forms library so all pertinent documents will be available including applications, evaluations, and both high and low resolution files of the Humanities Council’s logo for use in your promotional materials and on your website.

Our Speculate book discussion series focusing on science fiction and fantasy literature is now available through our book discussion catalog and the New Hampshire State Library Book Bag system. We invite you and your patrons to explore this fresh and exciting genre.

In 2008 we will not be launching a new reading series. For grant-savvy folks with new ideas, this is a promising time to try your hand at a reading discussion mini- or major grant which may include author visits and other events that expand on a series’ theme. Contact Rick Agran, Grants Officer, at 224-4071 x14 for more information or if you have any questions.

COMMUNITY BOOK DISCUSSION PROGRAMS

Catalog
Application

Any public library in New Hampshire can host book discussion programs through the New Hampshire Humanities Council. In addition, any community group or business can plan a book discussion series if they partner with their local public library. Typical sponsors are libraries, historical societies, businesses, professional organizations, senior centers, civic groups, service clubs, museums, arts groups, church groups and schools.

These programs are easy to organize and affordable. NHHC provides the books free of charge, helps you select a scholar who facilitates your discussion, and pays up to half of the cost of running the series. Your share of the cost involves some cash and some “in-kind contributions” – the equivalent of “wages” for your volunteers and free use of your meeting room, for example.

You can design your book discussion series with your participants in mind (members of your service club, for example), but all discussions must be free and open to the public.
Themes and books: You can choose from more than 50 discussion themes. Through the NH State Library, we lend copies of each book a month ahead of your program. This makes it easy for your participants to pick up and read the book before the discussion.

Each program is led by a scholar familiar with the author and book you will be discussing. The scholar’s role is to guide an open discussion of all aspects of the book; the scholar is also prepared to offer, within the discussion, information about the author and the book’s context, place in history and so on. Total program time is about an hour and a half, and programs are normally scheduled from two to four weeks apart.  

How to apply - Download our Book Discussion Application

First, plan the details of your program. You can run a single one-book program, or a multi-book (up to four books) series. You can choose from a multitude of books and series in our What is New Hampshire Reading catalog. Choose your booklist, meeting date(s) and scholar(s), and proceed as if your program will be accepted and funded.

1. Are the BOOKS available? Call the NH State Library’s Book Bag program (271-2616) to reserve the books. Books are delivered by library van to most libraries throughout the state. To see how many copies of each book are available, visit the NH State Library Book Bag website. If your group is not a public library, please check with your partnering library to arrange receipt and return of the books for your group. Most programs will ask participants to pick up books at the library; others may prefer to distribute books at the workplace or other site.

2. Is the SCHOLAR available? Schedule the scholar(s) at least eight weeks ahead of time. Scholars are listed with each theme. A reading series with multiple books should have multiple book discussion scholars. In short, share a wealth of perspectives and vantage points with your community. Find the scholar's contact information in the catalog and contact her or him to see if they are available to facilitate your dicussion or series. You can choose one scholar for your entire series or different scholars for different discussions. Be aware that each scholar does not lead discussions on all of the books on the list. Be aware, also, of mileage costs and, if possible, choose scholars near you.

3. Submit your application form to NHHC.
 
4. Be ready to meet your responsibilities as a book discussion sponsor:

Publicize the program effectively (We can help you with this!)
Recruit participants (a minimum of 10 per program; 17-20 is ideal at each program)
Reconfirm the scholar(s)
Choose a coordinator from your library or organization who will:
* serve as contact for the scholar(s) and NHHC
* be present for each session, taking care of set-up and closing,
and crediting NHHC for its support
* pay the scholar (usually done at the end of the program)
* distribute and collect evaluation forms at each session
* return the final report and evaluation forms to NHHC within 2 weeks
after the program
* return books on time

What is New Hampshire Reading - Download our Book Discussion Application

You may submit this form via U.S. mail or fax. Programs are not officially booked until NHHC approves your application. You will be notified of approval 2-3 weeks after the application deadline.

Non-library sponsors should either collaborate with their local public library or contact NHHC for assistance in planning a book discussion series.

Want to move beyond What is New Hampshire Reading
themes and books? Apply for a mini-grant!

NHHC offers up to $1,500 in the form of mini-grants for innovative projects, including creating a humanities-centered book discussion series. NHHC’s funding could include basic costs like buying books and paying a discussion leader, and activities such as author visits, film discussions and cultural exhibits related to the series. Also, see our Request for Proposals for new series featuring contemporary titles.

 Thank you for your interest in hosting a book discussion program!
Questions? Please contact Rick Agran at 224-4071.   

Current Book Discussion Series
Each session is a stand-alone discussion. You may attend all sessions
in a series, a few, or just one.

Harrisville
Harrisville Public Library, 7 Canal St.
827-2962
Series: Journeys to the Edge

June 19, Thursday, 7 p.m.
The Endurance: Shackleton's Incredible Voyage by Alfred Lansing. Sir Ernest Shackleton's voyage in 1914 to explore the South Pole ended when his ship Endurance was crushed by ice. Lansing recounts this suspenseful survival adventure: the captain and crew survived for months on floating ice in the harsh Antarctic climate before escaping in a lifeboat. Julia M. DiStefano leads this month's discussion.

July 17, Thursday, 7 p.m.
Shadow Divers by Robert Kurson. This superlative journalistic narrative tells of two deep-sea wreck divers who in 1991 dove to a mysterious wreck lying at the perilous depth of 230 feet, off the coast of New Jersey. Both had a philosophy of excelling and pushing themselves to the limit; both needed all their philosophy and fitness to proceed once they had identified the wreck as a WWII U-boat. Shadow Divers follows their seven-year search for the U-boats identity. This month's discussion is led by Kristen Laine.

August 14, Thursday, 7 p.m.
Into the Wild by Jon Krakauer. Chris McCandless gives up a bright future, his college education, and material comfort to pursue a life of principle. He ends up dying, alone, in the backcountry of Alaska. The question Krakauer explores is Why? What is it that drives people like McCandless to drop out of society, take enormous risk, and willingly look death in the eye? Into the Wild captures the heart of the "Journeys to the Edge" theme as it sheds light on some of these questions. This month's discussion is led by Mark Long, Keene State College.

Littleton
Littleton Public Library, 92 Main St.
444-3959
Series: Mysteries on Both Sides of the Pond

June 26, Thursday, 7 p.m.
Scent of Evil by Archer Mayor. Introspective and deliberate in his methods the Vermont author's hero, Lt. Joe Gunther of the Brattleboro, VT police, finds himself with a murdered stockbroker who had a penchant for drugs, sex, and a Brattleboro police officer's wife. Faced with a killer who appears to be one step ahead of the Lieutenant, the convoluted plot keeps readers guessing as more murders occur. "Whodunit?" This month's discussion is led by Julia M. DiStefano.

July 24, Thursday, 7 p.m.
Trouble in Paradise by Robert B. Parker. Chief Jesse Stone of Paradise, Massachusetts is the typical hard-boiled hero in a world of tough guys where women are judged by their looks and men by their fierceness of character. In this taut thriller, the boozy Chief must battle his own demons concurrently with battling a gang of ruthless thieves. Frumie Selchen leads this month's discussion.

August 28, Thursday, 7 p.m.
Cover Her Face by P.D. James. Time magazine has called James "a worthy successor to Sir Arthur Conan Doyle and Agatha Christie." Scotland Yard's Chief Inspector Adam Dalgliesh has a house full of suspects in the murder of a young housemaid who used her body and brains to try and better her social station. Clia Goodwin leads this discussion.

September 25, Thursday, 7 p.m.
The Murder of Roger Ackroyd: A Hercule Poirot Mystery by Agatha Christie. Combining murder with rumor, gossip, and numerous "red herrings" as clues, this is one of Christie's most controversial mysteries. A widow's suicide has raised questions of blackmail and parallels the murder of Roger Ackroyd, rumored to be her secret lover. This month's discussion is led by Marion Schafer.

Grantham
863-2621
Series: Ultima Thule: Literature of the Far North

June 19, Thursday, 7 p.m. at Grantham Town Hall, 350 Route 10 South
Arctic Dreams: Imagination and Desire in a Northern Landscape by Barry Lopez. The masterpiece of one of the most widely acclaimed writers working today, Arctic Dreams is an unforgettable study of the Far North, the marvelous and mysterious land of stunted forests and frozen seas, of muskox and narwhal, where sunrise and dusk are seasonal rather than daily phenomena. Lopez offers a thorough examination of this obscure world -- its terrain, its wildlife, and the history of the Eskimo natives and intrepid explorers who have arrived on its icy shores. This month's discussion is led by Suzanne Brown, Dartmouth College.

August 19, Tuesday, 7 p.m. at Grantham Methodist Church, Route 10 South
Smilla's Sense of Snow by Peter Høeg. In this international bestseller, Peter Høeg successfully combines the pleasures of literary fiction with those of the thriller. Smilla Jaspersen, half Danish, half Greenlander, attempts to understand the death of a small boy who falls from the roof of her apartment building. Her childhood in Greenland gives her an appreciation for the complex structures of snow, and when she notices that the boy's footprints show he ran to his death, she decides to find out who was chasing him. As she attempts to solve the mystery, she uncovers a series of conspiracies and cover-ups and quickly realizes that she can trust nobody. Her investigation takes her from the streets of Copenhagen to an icebound island off the coast of Greenland. What she finds there has implications far beyond the death of a single child. The unusual setting, gripping plot, and compelling central character add up to one of the most fascinating and literate thrillers of recent years. Patrick Anderson, Colby-Sawyer College, leads this month's discussion.

Madison
Madison Library, 1895 Village Road, Madison
367-8545
Series: Mysteries on Both Sides of the Pond

July 21, Monday, 7 p.m.
A Great Deliverance by Elizabeth George. Part detective story and part psychological thriller, this is George's debut novel. A mismatched pair of Scotland Yard detectives, representing the upper and lower classes of British society, do not believe that the apparent perpetrator of a savage crime is guilty, in spite of her first and last words, "I did it. And I'm not sorry." The truth will be found in the village's tangled web of secrets, scandals, and horrendous crimes. This month's discussion is led by Clia Goodwin.

August 18, Monday, 7 p.m.
St. Alban's Fire by Archer Mayor. Mayor’s Investigator Joe Gunther finds his latest adventure in the rural farming community of St. Albans, Vermont. When the Cutts’ family barn is burned down, all the dairy cows inside are killed--as is teenager Bobby Cutts. As he starts to investigate, Gunther discovers other suspicious fires in the area. Was Bobby in the barn by accident? What do the fires have in common? Paul Goodwin leads this month's discussion.

Wilton
Wilton Public - Gregg Free Library, 7 Forest Road, Wilton
654-2581
Series: Mysteries on Both Sides of the Pond

August 20, Wednesday, 7 p.m.
A Great Deliverance by Elizabeth George. Part detective story and part psychological thriller, this is George's debut novel. A mismatched pair of Scotland Yard detectives, representing the upper and lower classes of British society, do not believe that the apparent perpetrator of a savage crime is guilty, in spite of her first and last words, "I did it. And I'm not sorry." The truth will be found in the village's tangled web of secrets, scandals, and horrendous crimes. This month's discussion is led by Kathleen Shine Cain, Merrimack College.