Read ME 2025: Discussion of American Breakdown by Jennifer Lunden

Read ME is a statewide summer reading program offered by the Maine Humanities Council and the Maine State Library that gets Maine's adults all reading the same books.  Each year, a well-known Maine author recommends two titles by lesser-known Maine authors with libraries and their patrons participating in a summer of reading and discussing the featured books.

The 2025 recommendations for adults have been selected by Maine Poet Laureate Julia Bouwsma.  The nonfiction title is American breakdown: our ailing nation, my body's revolt, and the nineteenth-century woman who brought me back to life by Jennifer Lunden.  The fiction title chosen is The great transition: a novel by Nick Fuller Googins.  The Auburn Public Library will be reading and discussing both titles this summer.

On Friday, June 13, from 11:00 a.m. to 12:00 noon, Maine Calling will host the 2025 Program Kickoff on Maine Public Radio.

APL will host a discussion of the book American Breakdown, on Tuesday, July 8.  This discussion will take place in the Conference Room on the ground floor from 4:00-5:00 p.m.  (Please note this is a discussion only; the author will not be present.)  For those planning to participate in the discussion of this book, we have a limited number of copies available.  To register, complete the form below, or you may call the Reference Desk at ext. 4.  Books will be available for pick up at the Reference Desk on or after June 10.

An online conversation with the author, Jennifer Lunden, will be held on Tuesday, July 15 at 7:00 p.m.  For more information about this, go to https://www.mainehumanities.org/programs-grants/read-me/.

The Maine Humanities Council is a statewide non-profit that uses books, poetry, and big ideas to bring people together to discuss issues of importance.  MHC programs and grants encourage critical thinking and conversations across social, economic, and cultural boundaries.