Galveston Reads has picked its next book: “The Curious Incident Of The Dog In The Night-Time” by Mark Haddon.
The murder mystery features the oddest kind of protagonist, a mentally challenged Sherlock Holmes wannabe, navigating through life’s complexities.
His observations on marital infidelity, anger management and differences in people make this book worthy of community thought and discussion, members of the community reading program said.
“I liked the book mainly because of the language,” said Tim Thompson of Midsummer Books. “The protagonist, a young teenage boy who has autism, sees the world in a very different way from the rest of us and the way he describes things, what he filters out as important is just fresh and new.”
Galveston Reads has urged everyone in town to read and discuss the same book.
This year, the concept has been expanded to include all of Galveston County.
The project will kick off with a public reading of excerpts of the book in January, and culminate in March with a panel discussion on autism.
County libraries, local businesses, churches, coffee houses and schools will sponsor book discussions throughout the three-month period.
“We are excited and pleased the county has joined in the reading fun,” said Karen Stanley of Rosenberg Library. “I hope that readers throughout the county will be curious enough to read the story and engage in discussion.”
Last year, more than 500 people attended events associated with the book “Friday Night Lights,” and more than 700 copies of the book were sold through local bookstores, checked out of the Rosenberg Library and donated by the publisher.
Classes at Ball High School, Galveston College and Texas A&M Galveston read the book as part of their coursework.
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Want to join in?
Community organizations sponsoring events are asked to provide information to Karen Stanley at (409) 763-8854, Ext. 119, or kstanley(at)rosenberg-library.org by Dec. 2 to be included in the publicity promoting events.
To have a volunteer discussion leader to facilitate an event, call the same number.
