The Great American Read and its sweet by-products

I was mesmerized by the two-hour launch of PBS Great American Read campaign.  While I believe choosing one book is impossible and not actually the point of this celebration,  I was enchanted by one compelling little book talk after another.  And it was delightful to listen to people talk with such passion about their books.

Yesterday, I discovered When the Book is Better than the Movie.  The new video marks the launch of the new PBS Digital Studios series, It’s Lit, featuring video essayist Lindsay Ellis. More episodes are planned for every Monday.

I so wish I had my book club now! This thoughtful analysis about film adaptation and readers’ react to story in different media formats would have produced hours of conversation fodder well beyond the level of our usual arguments about this subject.  And it would have been such a wonderful introduction to the popular US History, choose a film about history and compare it to your researched understanding of the historical event assignment.

I am excited about the upcoming videos in the PBS Digital Studios It’s Lit series. In her tweet, Lindsay Ellis promises the evolution of YA, genre fiction and lots more.

The Great Read itself continues to grow with engaging goodies to use this summer, next school year and well beyond. You and your students and teachers can join the fun.

• Should you choose to vote and campaign for your own favorite titles, you can explore the list, support the voting hashtags on social media.
• Check out the resources that support both school and personal exploration
• Download and share the fabulous posters, memes and book facts (Do not miss these!)
• Share your own stories.
• Take or share the quiz.
• Join the Facebook group
• Consider joining the Facebook Book Club.
• Follow the hashtag: #GreatReadPBS
• Check out the full voting details are available here.  The full series begins on September 11, 2018, and voting closes at midnight on October 18, 2018.  Plenty of time for a couple of exciting school and library events.

Filed under: #GreatReadPBS, #PBSGreatRead, booklists, books, booktalks, reading, reading lists, video