"One Book" Community Reading Programs in Connecticut

What's one way to bring community members together to discuss ideas, broaden the appreciation of reading, and break down barriers among people? It's a "One Book" program, in which a town, city, or region reads and discusses one book, together. Use our listings below to see who's reading what, link to One Book programs statewide, and get ideas for your own One Book event.

One Book is one program that doesn't have to be the new thing to capture a community's attention and to keep it focused, at least for a time, on reading and libraries. One Book is like a public library. You can have one in every town!

• Andover - see East of the Connecticut River
• Ansonia - see Lower Naugatuck Valley
• Avon - see Farmington Valley Libraries
• Beacon Falls - see Lower Naugatuck Valley
• Berlin, Newington, Rocky Hill, Wethersfield
  "ONE BOOK 4 TOWNS"
  Berlin-Peck Memorial Library, Berlin
  Cora J. Belden Library, Rocky Hill
  Lucy Robbins Welles Library, Newington
  Wethersfield Library, Wethersfield
  

  2005 - Hometown, by Tracy Kidder 2006 - The Good Wife, by Stewart O'Nan 2007 - The Surrogate Thief, by Archer Mayor

• Bolton - see East of the Connecticut River
• Bridgeport, Norwalk, Shelton, Stamford
  "THE BIG READ" (national program)
  Bridgeport Public Library
  Norwalk Public Library
  Plumb Memorial Library, Shelton
  Ferguson Library, Stamford
  

  2007 - To Kill a Mockingbird, by Harper Lee

• Burlington - see Farmington Valley Libraries
• Canton - see Farmington Valley Libraries
• Cheshire
  "CHESHIRE READS"
  

  2007 - When the Emperor Was Divine, by Julie Otsuka

• Colchester - see East of the Connecticut River
• Columbia - see East of the Connecticut River
• Derby - see Lower Naugatuck Valley
• Durham & Middlefield
  "ONE BOOK, ONE COMMUNITY"
  Durham Public Library
  Levi Coe Library, Middlefield
  

  2006 - The Search for Major Plagge, by Michael Good

• East of the Connecticut River Libraries
  "EAST OF THE RIVER READS"
  Andover Public Library
  Bentley Memorial Library, Bolton
  Cragin Memorial Library, Colchester
  Saxton B. Little Free Library, Columbia
  Welles-Turner Memorial Library, Glastonbury
  Douglas Library of Hebron
  Manchester Public Library
  Richmond Memorial Library, Marlborough
  Portland Library
  

  2006 - Girls of Tender Age, by Mary-Ann Tirone Smith

• Eastern Connecticut
  "ONE BOOK, ONE REGION"
  

  2002 - Snow in August, by Peter Hamill

  2003 - Fahrenheit 451, by Ray Bradbury

  2004 - The Kite Runner, by Khaled Hosseini

  2005 - Mountains Beyond Mountains, by Tracy Kidder

  2006 (adult) - The True Story of Hansel and Gretel, by Louise Murphy

  2006 (teens) - Briar Rose, by Jane Yolen

  2006 (children) - Hansel and Gretel, illustrated by Paul O. Zelinsky

• Enfield
  "ONE BOOK, ONE COMMUNITY" (formerly "ENFIELD READS TOGETHER")
  Enfield Public Library
  

  2003 - The Wonderful World of Oz, by L. Frank Baum

  2004 - Treasure Island, by Robert Louis Stevenson

  2006 - My Sister's Keeper, by Jodi Picoult

• Farmington - see Farmington Valley Libraries
• Farmington Valley Libraries
  "ONE BOOK, ONE VALLEY"
  Avon Free Public Library
  Burlington Public Library
  Canton Public Library
  Farmington Library
  Granby Public Library
  Simsbury Public Library
  

  2007 - Girls of Tender Age, by Mary-Ann Tirone Smith

• Glastonbury
  "GLASTONBURY READS A BOOK"
  Welles-Turner Memorial Library
  

  2002 - Where the Heart Is, by Billie Letts

  2003 - A Stranger in the Kingdom, by Howard Mosher

  2004 - In The Heart of the Sea, by Nathaniel Philbrick

  2005 - Fahrenheit 451, by Ray Bradbury

  2006 - SEE ENTRY: EAST OF THE CONNECTICUT RIVER

• Granby - see Farmington Valley Libraries
• Hartford 2002-2006
  "ONE BOOK FOR GREATER HARTFORD"
  

  2002 - Breath, Eyes, Memory, by Edwidge Danticat

  2003 - The Color of Water, by James McBride

  2004 - When I was Puerto Rican, by Esmeralda Santiago

  2005 - Reading Lolita in Tehran, by Azar Nafisi

  2006 - Drinking Coffee Elsewhere, by ZZ Packer

  2007 - SEE ENTRY: HARTFORD 2007- (below)

• Hartford 2007-
  "THE BIG READ" (national program)
  

  2007 - Their Eyes Were Watching God, by Zora Neale Hurston

• Hebron - see East of the Connecticut River
• Lower Naugatuck Valley:
  "ONE BOOK, ONE VALLEY"
  United Valley Libraries:
  Ansonia Library
  Beacon Falls Public Library
  Derby Public Library
  Derby Neck Library
  Oxford Public Library
  Seymour
  Plumb Memorial Library, Shelton
  

  2005 - The Kite Runner, by Khaled Hosseini

• Madison
  "ONE BOOK, ONE TOWN"
  Scranton Memorial Library
  

  2005 - Waiting for Snow in Havana, by Carlos Eire 2007 - Journey from the Land of No, by Roya Hakakian

• Manchester
  "ONE BOOK, ONE VILLAGE"
  Manchester Public Library
  

  2006 - The Promise, by Oral Lee Brown

  SEE ALSO ENTRY: EAST OF THE CONNECTICUT RIVER

• Marlborough - see East of the Connecticut River
• Middlefield - see Durham
• Middletown
  "ONE BOOK, ONE MIDDLETOWN"
  Russell Library
  Middlesex Community College
  ... and other local organizations
  

  2003 - The Giver, by Lois Lowry 2004 - Tuesdays with Morrie, by Mitch Albom 2005 - The Kite Runner, by Khaled Hosseini 2006 - My Sister's Keeper, by Jodi Picoult 2007 - The Glass Castle, by Jeannette Walls

• New Haven
  "THE BIG READ" (national program)
  

  2007 - To Kill a Mockingbird, by Harper Lee

• Newington - see Berlin
• Norwalk
  "THE BIG READ" (national program)
  See also Bridgeport
• Oxford - see Lower Naugatuck Valley
• Portland - see East of the Connecticut River
• Ridgefield
  "RIDGEFIELD READS"
  Ridgefield Library Association
  

  2003 - The Wonderful Wizard of Oz, by L. Frank Baum

• Rocky Hill - see Berlin
• Rowayton
  "ONE READ"
  Rowayton Library
  

  2004 - The Cruelest Miles, by Laney and Gay Salisbury

• Seymour - see Lower Naugatuck Valley
• Shelton
  "THE BIG READ" (national program)
  See also Bridgeport
see also Lower Naugatuck Valley
• Simsbury - see Farmington Valley Libraries
• Southington
  "SOUTHINGTON READS"
  Southington Library and Museum
  

  2006 - Honkey, by Dalton Conley 2007 - Girls of Tender Age, by Mary-Ann Tirone Smith

• Stamford
  "THE BIG READ" (national program)
  See also Bridgeport
• Stratford
  "ONE BOOK, ONE STRATFORD"
  Stratford Library Association
  

  2006-2007 - Hamlet's Dresser, by Bob Smith

• Wallingford
  "ONE TOWN, ONE TRILOGY: ONE BOOK AT A TIME"
  Wallingford Public Library
  

  2002 - The Fellowship of the Ring by J.R.R. Tolkien

• Waterbury
  "THE BIG READ" (national program)
  Mattatuck Historical Society, the Silas Bronson Library and others
  

  2007 - To Kill a Mockingbird, by Harper Lee

• Westport
  "WESTPORTREADS"
  Westport Public Library
  

  2002 - The Giver, by Lois Lowry 2003 - Snow in August, by Pete Hamill 2004 - When the Emperior Was Divine, by Julie Otsuka 2006 - The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-time, by Mark Haddon 2007 - The Soloist, by Mark Salzman

• Wethersfield - see Berlin
• Windsor
  Windsor Public Library
  

  2003 - The Color of Water, by James McBride 2005 - Buffalo Soldier, by Chris Bohjalian February 2007 - Their Eyes Were Watching God, by Zora Neale Hurston (with Hartford Public Library) -     SEE ENTRY: HARTFORD 2007- 2007 (Summer/Fall) - The Year the Colored Sisters Came to Town, by Jacqueline Guidry