Index of University Press Releases

Sept. 8, 2008

The Big Read has begun

MITCHELL — The Big Read events at Dakota Wesleyan University have begun.

The goal of The Big Read is to promote literary reading by encouraging communities to come together and read one book. The book selected this year is “Fahrenheit 451” by Ray Bradbury.

Book club bags are available at the McGovern Library on the DWU campus for groups who wish to borrow multiple copies of “Fahrenheit 451.” The book club bag includes reader’s guides and bookmarks for all club members. The library also has free reader’s guides and bookmarks available to the public during regular business hours.

This week’s events include fireside chats with DWU professors and the opportunity to meet Tiger football players.

Fireside chats include: “Suffocating the Self: Fanning the Flames of Self-initiated Conformity in ‘Fahrenheit 451’” presented by psychology professor Anne Kelly; “On Fire for God: An Exploration of Bible-burning” by campus pastor Brandon Vetter; and “Fireproof Your Family Legacy” by university archivist Laurie Langland. All fireside chats will be offered lecture-style at noon in the Java City section of the McGovern Library. Participants are welcome to bring their lunch, or purchase lunch at Java City.

DWU football coaches and players will wash windows and pump fuel for motorists on Sept. 10 from 6:30 p.m. to 8 p.m. at County Fair Food and Fuel. They will distribute copies of “Fahrenheit 451” and reader’s guides. The team will also hand out free passes to the season’s home-opener football game that will be played at 1 p.m. on Saturday versus Nebraska Wesleyan University.

Future events that require preregistration include a bookmaking class and two cooking classes.

The Dakota Discovery Museum will host a two-session bookmaking class for adults on Sept. 15 and 16. The cost of the class is $35, and preregistration is required by calling the museum at 996-2122.

Mitchell Technical Institute will hold its first cooking class, “Hot, Hot, Hot! Soups, Stocks and Stews,” on Sept. 23. The second cooking class, “Where There’s Smoke, There’s Supper: Smoked Entrees,” will be on Sept. 30. Both classes will run from 6 p.m. until about 9:30 p.m. Call 995-3056 to register; the fee for each class is $20, and attendees will receive a copy of “Fahrenheit 451.”

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.