The Big Read 2016-17 NEA Book Selections

Posted by Michelle Dempsey, Book Specialist on May 30th 2016

Google the term “community reading program” and you’re likely to pull up thousands of responses directing you to different reading programs and initiatives across the country. Small reading groups, large reading groups, and everything in between – there is so much attention being paid to the importance of literature in all of our lives.

None of these, however, can compare to the mac daddy of all community reading programs:

The Big Read

The Big Read can actually be described as huge. Giant. Enormous. Why? Because for the last ten years, this program, sponsored by the National Endowment for the Arts (NEA), has funded over 1,255 programs across the country, providing almost $20 million in reading grants to organizations in every district in America. What does this mean? It means books, lots of books – and reading programs, events, and activities that continue to engage a wide-range of audiences through programs designed around one single book.

Now let’s be clear - this is no ordinary book club. Because of The Big Read programs, over $35 million in funding has been raised to support its initiatives. Organizations selected to participate in this awesome event receive a grant, online training opportunities and educational promotional materials designed to help spread the message and garner community involvement. Since it’s inception just a mere 10 years ago, the organization is up to over 4 million attendees and approximately 72,000 volunteers.

Epic.

One single book and a movement this large? Absolutely – and one book is all it takes to strategically develop campaigns and events devoted specifically to all parts of the featured read. Using the specific text as a point of departure, you can expect panel discussions, author readings, film screenings, book discussions and more. And all of this is happening in cities across our great nation at any given moment and is expanding as we speak.

The book specialists at Bulk Bookstore are so motivated and excited by The Big Read that we’ve compiled a list of all of the 2016-2017 Big Read book selections. This powerful list of classics and bestsellers has a little bit of something for everybody, guaranteed to meet the needs and pique the interest of any reader.

Here are a few of the classics you can expect to find on The Big Read list for this upcoming year:

The Great Gatsby by F. Scott Fitzgerald, 9780743273565

The Great Gatsby

F. Scott Fitzgerald’s classic tale of love, betrayal, and ghosts of the pasts no doubt provides creative opportunities and ideas for The Big Read events.

A Farewell to Arms, 9781476764528 by Ernest Hemingway, Patrick Hemingway, Sean Hemingway, 9781476764528

A Farewell to Arms

One of Ernest Hemingway’s most widely celebrated works of love during wartime and its alternate endings no doubt make this a stellar choice for The Big Read’s upcoming year of events.

Great Tales and Poems of Edgar Allan Poe, 9780307474773 by Edgar Allan Poe, 9780307474773

Great Tales and Poems of Edgar Allan Poe

One of the NEA’s newer selections for their Big Read program, this collection of classics has entertained for decades with famously chilling masterpieces and heart-tugging poems, even including a theory on how good writers write.

For more of the books on The Big Read’s list, connect with a Bulk Bookstore specialist or visit the site to place your orders.

Be well. Read well… and read BIG!