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Friday, August 29, 2008
Decatur Book Fest: The Big Read for “Gatsby”
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
Amidst all the hoopla of the AJC Decatur Book Festival, don’t overlook the Margaret Mitchell House’s tent on Ponce de Leon near Starbucks. They will be launching their “Big Read” program to get the community to read and discuss “The Great Gatsby.”
The Mitchell House’s Big Read is more ambitious than a lot of other cities’, says director Julie Bookman, thanks in part to a $20,000 grant from the National Endowment for the Arts. As the project unfolds through next year, high schools will be brought into the mix (it’s required reading for high school juniors, and for once the curriculum pitches a book at the right age group).
“Gatsby” is one of those unassailable icons of literature. I’ve read it 5 or 6 times, and I love it. And yet I can’t help but wish maybe the Big Read had tackled something a little more challenging. I know, make it too challenging and people won’t want to read it.
Still, I’d like some input. What book do you think would be a good canididate for a project like this?
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