Posters for the 2018 Washtenaw Read: Homegoing
The following links contain the 2018 Washtenaw Reads printable posters.
Book Posters
Washtenaw Reads Book Flyer—Letter Size (8.5 x 11) (pdf)
Washtenaw Reads Book Flyer (jpg)
Washtenaw Reads Book Flyer—Legal Size (8.5 x 14) (pdf) (with a spot to write in your own events)
Washtenaw Reads Book Large Poster—(11 x 17) (pdf) (with a spot to write in your own events)
Author Posters
Washtenaw Reads Author Flyer—Letter Size (8.5 x 11) (pdf)
Washtenaw Reads Author Flyer (jpg)
Washtenaw Reads Author Flyer—Legal Size (8.5 x 14) (pdf)
Washtenaw Reads Author Poster—Giant Poster Size (22 x 28) (pdf)
Blog Post
The 2018 Washtenaw Reads Title Has Been Selected!
by valerieclaires
After much deliberation, the book for the 2018 Washtenaw Reads program has been selected. A panel of community members from Ann Arbor, Chelsea, Dexter, Milan, Northfield Township, Saline and Ypsilanti voted on the winner from two finalist titles. Without further ado, this year's title is...
Homegoing, by Yaa Gyasi.
Homegoing follows the parallel paths of two half sisters, born into different villages in 18th century Ghana, and their descendants through eight generations: from the Gold Coast to the plantations of Mississippi, from the American Civil War to Jazz Age Harlem. The book has won many awards, including the PEN/ Hemingway Award, the NBCC’s John Leonard Award, New York Times Notable Book, Washington Post Notable Book and was named one of the best books of 2016 by NPR, Time, Oprah.com, Harper’s Bazaar, San Francisco Chronicle, Mother Jones, Esquire, Elle, Paste, Entertainment Weekly, the Skimm, Minneapolis Star Tribune, and BuzzFeed. One of the highlights of Washtenaw Reads each year is a visit from the author. Yaa Gyasi will appear in Ann Arbor on Tuesday, February 6 at 7:00 pm at Rackham Auditorium in a program entitled "Homegoing: A Conversation with Yaa Gyasi" - The 2018 Institute for the Humanities Jill S. Harris Memorial Lecture." The event includes a book signing and copies of the book will be for sale. Washtenaw Reads is a community initiative to promote reading and civic dialogue through the shared experience of reading and discussing a common book. Copies of Homegoing can be found at AADL and in libraries and bookstores throughout Washtenaw County. Keep an eye on the Washtenaw Reads website, wread.org, for more information on upcoming events, as well as reading and discussion resources.
Two Finalists for 2018
The two finalist titles in consideration for Washtenaw Reads 2018 have been chosen. A panel of local individuals will read both books and determine which will be chosen for Washtenaw Reads 2018.
Read along with us and leave a comment under one or both of the titles' webpages, and tell us what you think!
The two books under consideration are:
Yaa Gyasi, Homegoing. Alfred A. Knopf, 2016.
David Finkel, Thank You For Your Service. Farrar, Straus and Giroux, 2013.
Thank You for Your Service
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Thank You for Your Service, by David Finkel
No journalist has reckoned with the psychology of war as intimately as David Finkel. In The Good Soldiers, his bestselling account from the front lines of Baghdad, Finkel embedded with the men of the 2-16 Infantry Battalion as they carried out the infamous “surge,” a grueling fifteen-month tour that changed them all forever. In Thank You for Your Service, Finkel follows many of those same men as they return home and struggle to reintegrate—both into their family lives and into American society at large. He is with them in their most intimate, painful, and hopeful moments as they try to recover, and in doing so, he creates an indelible, essential portrait of what life after war is like—not just for these soldiers, but for their wives, widows, children, and friends, and for the professionals who are truly trying, and to a great degree failing, to undo the damage that has been done. Thank You for Your Service is an act of understanding, and it offers a more complete picture than we have ever had of two essential questions: When we ask young men and women to go to war, what are we asking of them? And when they return, what are we thanking them for? Full list of Awards: USA Today Best Books of the Year, Christian Science Monitor Best Books of the Year, Chicago Tribune Best Books of the Year, Minneapolis Star Tribune Holiday Book Recommendations, The Economist Magazine Books of the Year, The Telegraph (UK) Best Books of the Year, New York Times Book Review Notable Books of the Year, L.A. Times Book Prize - Finalist, Kirkus Reviews Best Books of the Year, NPR Best Book of the Year, Barnes and Noble Best New Books of the Year, Apple iBooks Best of the Year, The Globe Books 100, Washington Post Best Books of the Year, Chapters Indigo Best of the Year, Carla Furstenberg Cohen Literary Prize, National Book Critics Circle Awards - Nominee, Helen Bernstein Book Award - Nominee, Publishers Weekly Best Books of the Year, Amazon.com Best Books of the Year, Boston Globe Best Books of the Year, Seattle Times Best Books of the Year, Audie Award Finalist What did you think of this book? Tell us! |
Homegoing
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Homegoing by Yaa Gyasi (New York:Alfred A. Knopf, 2016)
Ghana, eighteenth century: two half sisters are born into different villages, each unaware of the other. One will marry an Englishman and lead a life of comfort in the palatial rooms of the Cape Coast Castle. The other will be captured in a raid on her village, imprisoned in the very same castle, and sold into slavery. Homegoing follows the parallel paths of these sisters and their descendants through eight generations: from the Gold Coast to the plantations of Mississippi, from the American Civil War to Jazz Age Harlem. Yaa Gyasi’s extraordinary novel illuminates slavery’s troubled legacy both for those who were taken and those who stayed—and shows how the memory of captivity has been inscribed on the soul of our nation. Winner of the PEN/ Hemingway Award, Winner of the NBCC’s John Leonard Award, New York Times Notable Book, Washington Post Notable Book What did you think of this book? Tell us! |
2017 Resources
BOOK DISCUSSION AND PROGRAM RESOURCES
- Visit the book's website and read biographical information about the authors.
- Use this Book Discussion Guide with Questions as you and your group read and discuss the book.
- Hosting your first book discussion? Take a look at these Book Discussion Guidelines to keep the conversation flowing and on topic.
- Explore Eastern Michigan University Library's Washtenaw Reads Research Guide.
- Watch an interview with coauthor Kathryn J. Edin as originally seen on PBS Newshour.
- A recap of the differences between President Clinton and Congress in the making of the 1996 Welfare Reform can be found here.
- Read a 1997 Atlantic article by Peter Edelman who resigned from the Clinton Administration to protest the signing of the Welfare Reform Bill.
- Watch How to Address Poverty with Kathryn J. Edin.
- Kathryn J. Edin reads from the book at Johns Hopkins University beginning at the 4:35 mark in the video.
- Kathryn J. Edin speaks at The City Club of Cleveland, beginning at the 4:29 mark in the video.
RELATED TOPICS
- For further reading on topics from this year’s Washtenaw Reads selection, check out this Related Reading List.
- Looking for even more related reading? Try some titles on this list from The Booklist Reader.
- Want to share the themes of this year's read with your children or students? Use these lists of related titles for youth, compiled by Washtenaw County librarians.
- Want to know what other books were considered for this year's Read? See our Bibliography.
- Book blog Book Riot put together this list on Understanding America Through Books: Poverty.
EVENT PUBLICITY RESOURCES
Hosting a book discussion, Read program, or want to promote the Read? See our Posters Page for posters you can download and print to promote the Washtenaw Reads program or your own book discussion!
Special Thanks 2017
Washtenaw Reads Committees
Steering Committee
Tim Grimes, Ann Arbor District Library
Barbara Beaton, Milan Public Library
Diane Hockett, Washtenaw Intermediate School District
Debbie Johnson, Saline District Library
Lori Kunkel-Coryell, Chelsea District Library
Ira Lax, Ann Arbor District Library
Paul McCann, Dexter District Library
Zaley Nelson, Northfield Township Area Library
Julianne Smith, Ypsilanti District Library
Valerie Sobczak, Ann Arbor District Library
Screening Committee For Reads Finalists
Molly Mahony, University of Michigan
Sara Memmott, Eastern Michigan University
Maureen Angyan, Ypsilanti Public Schools
Barbara Beaton, Milan Public Library
Peter Blackshear, Bookbound
Lindsey Fortino, Barnes & Noble
Rhonda Fowler, Eastern Michigan University
Meg Goldwyn, Northfield Township Area Library
Kristal Jaaskelainen, Skyline High School
Debbie Johnson, Saline District Library
Paul McCann, Dexter District Library
Kelsey O'Rourke, Literati Bookstore
Elizabeth Pearce, Ann Arbor District Library
Lynn Riehl, Nicola's Books
Julianne Smith, Ypsilanti District Library
Keegan Sulecki, Chelsea District Library
Final Book Selection Committee
Mary Christianson
Paul Courant
Barbara Davenport
Dr. Benjamin P. Edmondson
Jason Lindauer
Val Mann
Publicity Committee
Tim Grimes, Ann Arbor District Library
Barbara Beaton, Milan Public Library
Peter Blackshear, Bookbound
Lindsey Fortino, Barnes & Noble
Mary Garboden, Ypsilanti District Library
Emma Jackson, Washtenaw Intermediate School District
Debbie Johnson, Saline District Library
Ira Lax, Ann Arbor District Library
Joey Mastro, Northfield Township Area Library
Paul McCann, Dexter District Library
Shannon Powers, Chelsea District Library
Lynn Riehl, Nicola's Books
Valerie Sobczak, Ann Arbor District Library
Amanda Szot, Ann Arbor District Library