‘Animal, Vegetable, Miracle’ chosen for community read

‘One Book/One Community’ initiative will kick off Feb. 26 with a farmers market, music at the Auburn Public Library.
AUBURN — Award-winning author Barbara Kingsolver and her family chose to eat food produced solely on or around their family homestead in rural Virginia — for one year.

“Animal, Vegetable, Miracle” is a firsthand account of that experience. And, it is the book that has been selected for Lewiston-Auburn’s biannual communitywide reading program, “One Book/One Community.”

Part memoir, part journalistic investigation, the book takes an earnest and entertaining look at the family’s struggle to limit its diet to locally grown foods, as well as the system of food distribution in the United States and around the globe.

Kingsolver shares a wealth of information on food and nutrition in America.

Winner of multiple literary honors, “Animal, Vegetable, Miracle” has been described as “making a passionate case for putting the kitchen back at the center of family life and diversified farms at the center of the American diet.”

According to Lewiston Public Library Director Rick Speer, this nonfiction work is a departure for Kingsolver, who is known primarily for best-selling novels revolving around themes of family, community and cultural differences.

“This title is a lively and fascinating read which everyone agrees is a great fit for our community this year, what with so many local organizations currently working on issues surrounding gardening, nutrition and food security,” said Speer.

As a result of this growing interest, the number of collaborators for this year’s “One Book” program has expanded to include groups such as Healthy Androscoggin and Lots to Gardens as well as area colleges.

“Animal, Vegetable, Miracle” may be borrowed from the Lewiston or Auburn Public Library; it may be reserved by calling either library. Copies are available for purchase, at a 20 percent discount, at Mr. Paperback in Lewiston and at Percy’s Burrow and WaldenBooks in Auburn.

Kickoff event
A kickoff for this year’s “One Book/One Community” program is planned for 4:30 p.m. on Friday, Feb. 26, at the Auburn Public Library. The free event will feature live folk music, a farmers market offering locally produced foods, craft and food items, and a variety of Maine heirloom garden seeds.

More than a dozen other activities will take place locally as part of the “OneBook/One Community” initiative: book discussions, a screening of the documentary “Food, Inc.,” workshops in organic gardening and cooking, a talk by MOFGA Director Russell Libby, and a sustainable foods conference. A full schedule will be available at the APL on Feb. 26.

The “One Book/One Community” initiative is a collaboration between the two libraries, Lewiston Adult Education, Bates College, Central Maine Community College, L-A College, the Downtown Education Collaborative, Healthy Androscoggin, St. Mary’s Nutrition Center, Encompass Marketing, Phoenix Farm and participating bookstores.

For more information, call the APL at 333-6640, ext. 5; or the LPL at 513-3135.