BRIDGTON – The Waterford Library, the Harrison Village Library and the North Bridgton Library have been selected by the Maine Humanities Council to offer “Let’s Talk About It,” a free reading and discussion group with copies of books available through the libraries.

The program is provided by the Maine Humanities Council’s Center for the Book in cooperation with the Maine State Library.

The series, “Detective Fiction in the 20th Century: A Notion of Evil,” an exploration of evil through the lens of mystery writers of the past 100 years, will begin at 3 p.m. Friday, Sept. 12, at the North Bridgton Library. It will continues for five sessions through Nov. 14.

The first session will meet at the North Bridgton Library, the second and third at the Waterford Library and the last two at the Harrison Village Library.

The series will provide mystery and detective fans with an opportunity to explore the evolution of the genre and the origins of some currently popular series.

Books to be read and discussed include the Inspector Barlach Mysteries, “The Judge and His Hangman and Suspicion,” by Friedrich Durrenmatt; “Hound of the Baskervilles” by Arthur Conan Doyle; “Strong Poison” by Dorothy Sayers; “The Godwulf Manuscript” by Robert B. Parker; and “A is for Alibi” by Sue Grafton.

The discussions will be facilitated by Michael Bachem, professor of humanities emeritus (Miami University, Ohio), now living in Portland. He earned a PhD in German and comparative literature from Penn State, developed interdisciplinary courses in German expressionism, European romanticism, and the European fairy tale tradition. He trained as a facilitator with the Maine Humanities Council.

Books for the program are on loan and can be picked up when registering at the participating libraries. The Harrison Village Library is open from 1 to 7 p.m. Monday and Wednesday, 11 a.m. to 5 p.m. Thursday and 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. Saturday. The Waterford Library is open 2 to 6 p.m. Monday, 3 to 8 p.m. Wednesday, 10 a.m. to noon Friday and 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. Saturday and the North Bridgton Library hours are 10 a.m. to 1 p.m. Monday, 1 to 5 p.m. Wednesday and 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. Saturday.

The program is offered to Maine libraries through the Maine Humanities Council by a grant from the Belvedere Fund of the Maine Communities Foundation.