Tompkins County Public Library Announces ‘07 Community Read Selection

The Tompkins County Public Library, in partnership with Cornell University’s New Student Reading Project, announced the selection of Nadine Gordimer’s The Pickup as the subject of its sixth annual Community Read.

Nominated for the Man Booker Prize for Fiction, The Pickup chronicles the complex relationship of a wealthy South African woman and an illegal Muslim immigrant. Themes of home and belonging, class-structure, ethnicity and morality encourage readers to question their own identities.

“The Pickup is a timely book with intricate messages about immigration, self-reflection and inter-cultural love,” explained Sarah Glogowski, adult services librarian and Community Read coordinator at TCPL. “We are excited to offer it to the community as this year’s title.”

The Community Read began in 2002 with the reading of Frankenstein. In subsequent years, the community was encouraged to read Antigone, The Trial, Things Fall Apart and The Great Gatsby. The library and Cornell work cooperatively to offer an assortment of programs related to each Community Read. TCPL will announce information related to this year’s events as they become available.

The Community Read is one of only a handful in the country that involves a partnership between a university and community members. That partnership is one of the key components to the success of the Community Read according to Glogowski.

“Reading together creates an opportunity to reach across barriers, to connect with new people and ideas, and to talk with others about things that matter in life. When people read great literature, the experience stimulates them to think about themselves, their relationships, and their surroundings,” Glogowski said.

Through the generosity of Cornell, TCPL has 350 copies of The Pickup in circulation, and free copies are available for book groups by contacting Glogowski at (607) 272-4557 extension 255.