Big Library Read: American Sniper

Earlier this month I told you about the Big Library Read and the opportunity to vote on the next selection. The book has been chosen the the Big Library Read will take place March 17 - 31. The book chosen is American Sniper by Chris Kyle. Here is a bit about the book.

The #1 New York Times bestselling memoir of U.S. Navy Seal Chris Kyle, and the source for Clint Eastwood’s blockbuster movie which was nominated for six academy awards, including best picture.

From 1999 to 2009, U.S. Navy SEAL Chris Kyle recorded the most career sniper kills in United States military history. His fellow American warriors, whom he protected with deadly precision from rooftops and stealth positions during the Iraq War, called him “The Legend”; meanwhile, the enemy feared him so much they named him al-Shaitan (“the devil”) and placed a bounty on his head. Kyle, who was tragically killed in 2013, writes honestly about the pain of war—including the deaths of two close SEAL teammates—and in moving first-person passages throughout, his wife, Taya, speaks openly about the strains of war on their family, as well as on Chris. Gripping and unforgettable, Kyle’s masterful account of his extraordinary battlefield experiences ranks as one of the great war memoirs of all time.

If your library uses Overdrive as a source of ebooks there will be unlimited copies of the book available. You will have access to the book without holds. If you are interested in participating in the Big Library Read, be sure to visit the web site to learn more!

(I will probably not be participating this time. I have a lot of books I want to get through this month, and to be honest, memoirs are not my thing. But it is nice to know the opportunity is that, should I change my mind!)

Big Library Read: Vote Now!

Have you heard of Big Library Read? Chances are if your library uses Overdrive as a source of ebooks, you have. This is a ‘book club’ of sorts, sponsored by Overdrive, that attempts to enable the ‘whole’ world to read the same book at the same time. Several times each year, Overdrive chooses a book and makes unlimited copies available for two weeks through participating library systems. During this time, you can check out the ebook as usual with NO wait list. And all your friends can do the same, so you can all read it at the same time and discuss it.

Though I’ve thought of participating each time, I’ve only actually done so once, and that was last October. The book chosen was In The Shadow of Blackbirds by Cat Winters. Truthfully I didn’t expect to read it, but it was sitting there waiting for me to check out, so when I found I had a little extra reading time on my hands [the Cardinals were eliminated from the postseason early :( ] I picked it up. And I enjoyed it very much. My only disappointment was that, even though ‘everybody’ was reading this book, I didn’t see anyway to discuss it with the world, but perhaps there were programs available through the library that I’m not aware of.

What I am leading up to is this — there is another Big Library Read event coming up next month, March 17-31. And this time, YOU can help choose the book that is offered. (I really don’t know if voting was done in the past, but this is the first time I’ve voted.) There are about two dozen books to choose from, all from the memoir/biography genre. Why don’t you take a look and see if anything interests you? If enough bloggers are interested in the final choice, maybe we can figure out a way to do a read-along and discussion together.