County librarians announce 2nd annual 'Carroll County on the Same Page'
Comet staff report

Following up on last summer's successful "Carroll County on the Same Page" program, the librarians from the Camden-Jackson Township Public Library, the Flora- Monroe Township Public Library, and the Delphi Public Library are offering another book suggestion to include on summer reading lists.

Carroll County on the Same Page, modeled after the One Book, One Community programs that have been duplicated around the country, is an effort to encourage the entire community to read the same book and to build a better community through reading and the sharing of ideas. During last summer's inaugural Same Page program, nearly 150 people borrowed the selected title, Crow Lake, from one of the three county public libraries, and more than 200 people attended book discussions and other related programs scheduled at all three libraries.

The Glass Castle, by Jeannette Walls, is the 2007 selection for Carroll County on the Same Page. This memoir was written by an MSNBC.com columnist who had an unusual upbringing. Walls's parents, Rex and Rose Mary Walls, were unconventional, nonconformist parents. Their choices involved living like nomads, teaching their four children to embrace life fearlessly, and seek excitement wherever possible, regardless of their family responsibilities. They were creative, highly intelligent people who were ill equipped to be parents. Walls writes candidly of the difficulties of growing up in such a complex, dysfunctional family but also of the deep affection she still feels for her parents. As one reviewer put it, Rex and Rose Mary "were no Ozzie and Harriet." Critics have called the book "riveting," "shocking," and "excellent."

Beginning June 1, copies of The Glass Castle will be available for checkout at all three libraries to any county resident. A series of programs will be offered throughout the summer and fall to encourage discussion of the book and to complement different aspects of the story.

Stop by any of the three public libraries to get your copy of The Glass Castle and help get all of Carroll County on the Same Page!