Centre County Reads events to kick off

No one can accuse them of beating around the bush.

Centre County Reads is both the title bestowed upon the annual collaboration between four of the region’s libraries and an apt and admirably succinct summary of the mission statement that has been at the heart of the endeavor since 2003.

Each year, readers across Centre County unite under a common title in the vein of “To Kill a Mockingbird,” “The Maltese Falcon” or “The Book Thief.”

Think ninth-grade English if the classroom happened to span a ZIP code or two.

“Reading itself is a very solitary thing but discussing it can be very social,” Amy Madison, adult services librarian at Schlow Centre Region Library, said.

Schlow is sponsoring Centre County Reads, alongside the Centre County Library, Centre Hall Library, Holt Memorial Library, the Bookmobile, the Center for American Literary Studies, the Pennsylvania Center for the Book and the Richards Civil War Era Center.

This year, all eyes will be on author Karen Abbott’s “Liar, Temptress, Soldier, Spy: Four Women Undercover in the Civil War.”

Madison said that the books selected for Centre County Reads are usually chosen for their ability to spark a dialogue, one that in this case is concerned with the ever-evolving place of women in war.

Abbott’s book showcases a group of women who contributed to both sides of the conflict, from Emma Edmonds, who disguised herself as a man to enlist with the Union, to Rose O’Neal Greenhow, who used her feminine charms to steal secrets for the South.

“I’m really interested to hear people’s discussions on which one they identify with,” Madison said.

While Schlow already has nearly 80 copies of the book out on loan, the festivities will officially kickoff from 2 to 5 p.m. on Saturday at the Centre County Library, with “Imagining Our Civil War Past.”

There will be code breaking activities for kids, Civil War artifacts from the Centre County and Mifflin County historical societies and live music courtesy of an 1890 Steinway Grand piano.

“I think that when we can have anything that has an educational component, especially for the kids, the more people get involved,” Madison said.

Discussion groups will be held at different locations within the county throughout the rest of February and March, and Abbott herself will even pay a visit to Penn State’s HUB-Robeson Center at 7 p.m. on March 16.

Still, it all starts with words on a page. Reading, as it turns out, is far more than just fundamental.

“I think that it just fosters a sense of belonging and a lifelong education,” Madison said.

This story was originally published February 18, 2016 at 2:53 PM with the headline "Centre County Reads events to kick off."