NH Reads To Kill a Mockingbird

The latest Big Read project from the Center for the Book at the NH State Library is The Big Read: NH Reads To Kill a Mockingbird which will be going on at 100+ venues throughout the state during March 2010.

451° Filmmaker Challenge at SNOB

This past Saturday at the SNOB Film Festival The Center for the Book had the honor of recognizing the filmmaker whose 451° Filmmaker Challenge entry "best represented the essence of the novel Fahrenheit 451 by Ray Bradbury." From the five excellent films entered into the challenge we chose The Future, made by John Herman and featuring the improv group Stranger Than Fiction was our choice.

We hope to bring you links to all of the films soon. If you are one of the filmmakers who entered the challenge and you have not talked to Kristen Harbaugh about our posting a link to your film, please get in touch with her or with me ASAP.)

Big Read - The Survey

Did you take part in The Big Read? If so, the National Endwoment for the Arts would like to hear about your Big Read experience! Feedback from readers like you will tell them what happens when communities come together to read and celebrate literature, and what the impact has been for overall reading. Completing the survey takes ten minutes or less and it is available in English or Spanish.

Events - SNOB Film Festival

The 6th annual SNOB (Somewhat North of Boston) Film Festival begins on Friday, November 9th at 7pm and wraps up with a party and awards presentation at 8:15 on Sunday, November 11th at the Red River Theater in Concord. As a partner in the Big Read: NH Reads Fahrenheit 451, The SNOB Festival has issued the 451° Filmmaker Challenge: create a film, no more than 4 minutes in length that is based on any of the themes, concepts or ideas in Fahrenheit 451 and do it in no more than 5 days. The results of this challenge will be screened on Saturday at 6:15pm in the Jaclyn Simchik Memorial Cinema at Red River Theater.

Discussion Question: Biblical Allusions

The following text is excerpted from the Big Read's Reader's Guide on Fahrenheit 451, reprinted courtesy of the National Endowment for the Arts.


Why does Montag memorize the Old Testament's Ecclesiastes and the New Testament's Revelation? How do the final two paragraphs of the novel allude to both biblical books?

Click on the comment link below (you don't need an account of any kind to leave a comment, but please include your name) and share your thoughts on this aspect of the novel.

This question is excerpted from the Big Read's Reader's Guide on Fahrenheit 451, reprinted courtesy of the National Endowment for the Arts.

Discussion Question: Does Beatty sound familiar?

The following text is excerpted from the Big Read's Reader's Guide on Fahrenheit 451, reprinted courtesy of the National Endowment for the Arts.

How does the destruction of books lead to more happiness and equality, according to Beatty? Does his lecture to Montag on the rights of man sound like any rhetoric employed today?



Click on the comment link below (you don't need an account of any kind to leave a comment, but please include your name) and share your thoughts on this aspect of the novel.


This question is excerpted from the Big Read's Reader's Guide on Fahrenheit 451, reprinted courtesy of the National Endowment for the Arts.

Events - November 8, 2007

Bill Stroup of Keene State College will lead a discussion of Fahrenheit 451 in the Library Trustees' Room of the Keene Public Library at 7pm

Pillsbury Free Library (Warner) will host "Civil Liberties Vs. Security in a post-9/11 America" beginning at 7pm
As the federal government continues to address new national security issues in the wake of September 11, 2001, the uneasy balance between security and civil liberties is receiving renewed attention. This lecture by Richard Hesse, Franklin Pierce Law Center, explores the important trade-offs and considerations facing citizens and non-citizens alike.

Profile - Tilton School

Tilton School is an independent, coeducational, college preparatory school serving students from 9th to 12th grade and post-graduates. The student body of 243 consists of 51 day students and 192 boarding students from 20 states and 16 countries.

The Lucian B. Hunt Library is located in Tilton Hall. The original name for the Town of Tilton (where the school is located) was Sanbornton Bridge. It was changed in 1869 to honor Major Charles E. Tilton , who had gone west 25 years earlier in the Gold Rush and returned a wealthy man. Major Tilton built his mansion (now Tilton Hall) and many of the buildings in town. He is responsible for numerous statues and parks as well as the famous arch, which still stands in Northfield, New Hampshire.

Tilton School chose Fahrenheit 451 as the 2007-2008 All School Book and has held a variety of Big Read events including lectures, discussions, and reading events for the Tilton School community. Tilton School has had an All School Book each year since 1999.

The Bible

I would save the Bible. It is a guide to living; full of wisdom. It explains where we came from and how it all will end. God offers us love, pleace and meaning to life. God is the one who satisfies with his love. He is the "master of the universe." It is a book that most families display proudly. It is very powerful and one of the most often read in prision. I would say it is the most read and quoted books of all time.
Chosen by Wendy Murphy, Somersworth, NH

If I could only save one book, that one book would be the Bible. The Bible is a timeless guide to meeting our creator, learning how to live a life that blesses others, and avoiding so many pitfalls of human existence. The Bible is entertaining, enlightening, revealing, and seems renewed each time I read it.
Chosen by Marty Flynn, Wolfeboro, NH
This response was contributed through NH Public Radio.

I would chose this book because it gives the answers to everything in life.
Chosen by Jessica Andersch, Concord, NH

The Bible: Moses, St. Paul, Solomon, etc...
I Want this book's history on the every day laws and ways of the people to stay alive forever. With out the bible the world would probally be miserable with out the tales of the world and the likings of religion. People wouldn't know who made this world or how this world was made.The Book tell us myths that are entertaining and makes me think.
Chosen by Tim Laliberte, student of Concord High, Laconia, NH

Most important book throughout the ages for all to have access to.
Chosen by Lisa Emery, Tilton, NH

Save The Bible please!
Chosen by J.P. Bergeron, Tilton, NH

The Holy Bible of the Catholic Church.
It is the true word of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. These words will grant us salvation.
Chosen by Cindy Harrington, Practice Manager, Nashua, NH

Events - November 7, 2007

At 6pm the Frost Free Library (Marlborough) will show the film version of this classic novel as part of their Big Read programming. The Frost Free Library will also be holding a drawing for a $25 gift certificate from Toadstool Bookshops from the titles selected by their patrons for the book they would save from the flames. Visit the Frost Free Library for more details.

The Plaistow Public Library's Adult Book Club will discuss Fahrenheit 451 beginning at 7:15pm

Profile - Portsmouth Public Library

The Portsmouth Public Library serves the informational, educational and entertainment needs of the citizens of Portsmouth, New Hampshire. Their new building -- which was dedicated in January 2007 -- was the first municipal building in New Hampshire to receive LEED (Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design) certification

Tonight at 7pm the library will be hosting a Big Read panel discussion, Media and the Soul of the Citizen. Please join us!

Discussion Question: The Role of Firemen

The following text is excerpted from the Big Read's Reader's Guide on Fahrenheit 451, reprinted courtesy of the National Endowment for the Arts.


Beatty justifies the new role of firemen by claiming to be "custodians of [society's] peace of mind, the focus of [the] understandable and right dread of being inferior." What does he mean by this, and is there any sense that he might be right?

Click on the comment link below (you don't need an account of any kind to leave a comment, but please include your name) and share your thoughts on this aspect of the novel.

This question is excerpted from the Big Read's Reader's Guide on Fahrenheit 451, reprinted courtesy of the National Endowment for the Arts.

Profile - Aaron Cutler Memorial Library

Aaron Cutler Memorial Library serves the town of Litchfield, New Hampshire. "All Booked Up” is a library sponsored book group, started in June 2002. Adult Services Librarian Ann McKillop, who has led the group since July 2005, explained "Our discussion group varies from about 6 to 12 people, but we usually have about 15 people check out the book each month. We wanted to get involved with the Big Read because we thought it would be interesting to take part in a state wide read. Litchfield is a small town and we don’t have much opportunity to be part of something this big."

Events - November 1, 2007

As part of their Big Read: NH Reads Fahrenheit 451 programming the Plaistow Public Library will be showing the film version of this classic novel at the Vic Geary Senior Center with an intermission for a short discussion and another short discussion at the end. The film will begin at 9am. The Vic Geary Drop-in Center is located on Greenough Road in Plaistow.

Events - October 31, 2007

The Peterborough Town Library will host a discussion of Fahrenheit 451 beginning at 7pm

Events - October 30, 2007

As part of their Big Read programming the Kelley Library (Salem) will host a screening of the film version of this classic novel beginning at 6pm with a discussion to follow

Free Speech in a Free Society at Sandown Public Library at 6:30pm

Media and the Soul of the Citizen begins at 7pm at the Portsmouth Public Library

Discussion Question: Montag's Choice

The following text is excerpted from the Big Read's Reader's Guide on Fahrenheit 451, reprinted courtesy of the National Endowment for the Arts.


Unlike Mrs. Hudson, Montag chooses not to die in his house with his books. Instead he burns them, asserting even that "it was good to burn" and that "fire was best for everything!" Are you surprised that he fails to follow in her footsteps?



Click on the comment link below (you don't need an account of any kind to leave a comment, but please include your name) and share your thoughts on this aspect of the novel.



This question is excerpted from the Big Read's Reader's Guide on Fahrenheit 451, reprinted courtesy of the National Endowment for the Arts.

Profile - Richards Free Library

Founded in 1888, the Richards Free Library serves as the public library for the Town of Newport, New Hampshire. The library is located in a 1899 house that is listed on the National Historic Register and sits across the street from the town common. The library provides public library services to the Town of Newport and the surrounding area, and meeting spaces on its second and third floors; one of them a restored ballroom. The entire facility has free wireless internet access.

In 1955 the library established the Sarah Josepha Hale Award which is given annually to honor writers with a connection to New England. Recipients have included Robert Frost, Arthur Miller, Jill Ker Conway and Ellen Goodman. The 2007 winner is New Hampshire’s own Tomie dePaola.

In 1967 the trustees established the Newport Library Arts Center as a gallery and studio space for the visual and performing arts in the former carriage house. Changing art exhibits, lectures and performances take place in the two galleries on the main floor and a basement studio equipped with kiln, pottery wheels, dark room and easels houses space for art classes.

Events - October 29, 2007

Hampton Falls Free Library will host a discussion of Fahrenheit 451 beginning at 7pm

Surveillance in the Post 9-11 World at 7pm at Madbury Library

"Civil Liberties in a Fahrenheit 451 World" at Philp Read Memorial Library (Plainfield) at 7pm

Ray Bradbury's remarkable account of life in a thoroughly repressive society was written in the midst of the "McCarthy Era" in the late 1940's and early 1950's. Many government officials and agents regarded communism as a sufficient threat to justify the suspension of civil liberties. To
accomplish that objective society had to be persuaded to suppress those who spoke and acted to protect those liberties. Bradbury's account relies on that pattern to construct a society which accepts the destruction of books (and one assumes, all other forms of art and literature) as an appropriate and necessary means of assuring "happiness." Those who do not accept that formula suffer a cruel fate. Are we living through a contemporary version of Fahrenheit 451 or have we insulated ourselves from that form of oppression? We will examine the trends in our society following 9/11 to take our temperature and determine how close we are to Fahrenheit 451.

Events - October 26, 2007

The Peterborough Town Library will host a discussion of Fahrenheit 451 beginning at 11am