LEWISTON – Area residents will have five opportunities to join in book discussions of the classic novel “Fahrenheit 451” as part of the community wide reading program, The Big Read L-A.

The Auburn Public Library will host a discussion at noon Tuesday, April 15. “We’re asking people to bring their comments and lunch, and we’ll provide the coffee, tea and desserts,” said APL Director Rosemary Waltos.

The Lewiston Public Library will host a discussion at 6:30 p.m. that same day – also featuring sweets and beverages – facilitated by LPL Director Rick Speer.

On the following Tuesday, April 22, LPL will sponsor a brown-bag discussion at noon while APL holds a 6:30 discussion.

In addition, the Auburn library will host a “Pizza and Pages” book discussion designed specifically for teens at 3:30 that afternoon.

“‘Fahrenheit 451’ does what fiction does best,” said Waltos, “by helping us to explore the issues that resonate for us personally and as members of a broader community.”

The Big Read is an initiative of the National Endowment for the Arts in partnership with the Institute of Museum and Library Services and Arts Midwest. It is designed to revitalize the role of literature in American culture by encouraging residents to read, discuss and celebrate a single book in their communities through a series of special events.

“Fahrenheit 451” is the focus of Lewiston-Auburn’s 2008 Big Read L-A program. The evocative 1953 novel by Ray Bradbury tells of a futuristic society in which books and the knowledge that they contain are seen as a threat by the government, and firefighters are sent into citizens’ homes to find and burn any books which may be hidden there.

The Big Read L-A is co-sponsored by the Auburn and Lewiston public libraries in collaboration with the local school departments and several other community partners.

More information on the Big Read L-A program series, including a full schedule of events, is available by contacting the Lewiston Public Library at 513-3135 or www.LPLonline.org, or the Auburn Public Library at 333-6640 or www.auburnpubliclibrary.org.