IPL 2024 NEA Big Read Selection

Infinite Country is a novel by Patricia Engel about a teenage daughter who tries to make her way from Bogotá, Colombia to the U.S., and her mother and siblings who seek safety and opportunity in New Jersey amidst fears that they will be deported like her father. All members of the family hold on to hope, their culture, each other, and the dream of a better life. 

Programming for Infinite Country may include: Storytelling class and performance, family history recordings, programs about the immigrant experience, bilingual storytimes, cooking classes and demonstrations, book discussions, and more!

Sitting Pretty: The View from my Ordinary Resilient Disabled Body is a memoir-in-essays by Rebekah Taussig that shares personal stories from her Kansas childhood to the present day. Taussig reflects on living both independently and dependently, the complex issues around charity and acts of kindness, the presentation of disability in the media, and how disability affects us all. 

Programming for Sitting Pretty may include: Panels on disability and ableism, celebrating acts of kindness, teal pumpkin painting, awareness ribbons program, disability mentoring day, book discussions, and more!

The Bear is a post-apocalyptic fable by New England author Andrew Krivak about a father and daughter, the last two people on Earth, who live off the land at the foot of a mountain. When the daughter finds herself lost and alone, a bear appears to lead her back home. 

Programming for The Bear may include: survivalist programs, astronomy programs, canning/preserving instruction, nature and animal programs, celebration of thanksgiving, scavenger hunt, story walk, obstacle course and fun run, gardening class, book discussions, and more!

The Round House is a novel by Louise Erdrich, who hails from North Dakota and is a member of the Turtle Mountain Band of Chippewa Indians. Seeking revenge, a 13-year-old boy investigates a brutal attack on his mother that leaves his father, a tribal judge, helpless in his pursuit to bring the perpetrator to justice. 

Programming for The Round House may include: Programs about Native Americans in North Texas, storytelling class and performance, programs about crime and police investigation, Indigenous arts and crafts, frybread cooking demonstration, book discussions, and more!

The Namesake is a novel by Jhumpa Lahiri about two generations of a Bengali American family in Massachusetts that struggles between new and old, assimilation and cultural preservation, and striving toward the future while longing for the past. 

Programming for The Namesake may include: South Asian textiles program and display, henna artists, history and celebration of South Asians in our community, The Namesake movie night, Indian food events, programs about the immigrant experience, and more!