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Trumbull County Reads takes flight this month with two books about the Wright Brothers -- and their sister -- and for the first time every library in the county will be on board.
"To Slip the Bonds of Earth," a novel by Amanda Flower with Katharine Wright as its mystery solving sleuth, and "The Wright Brothers," David McCullough's best seller about Ohio aviation pioneer inventors Wilbur and Orville Wright, are this year's selections.
The Warren-Trumbull County Public Library and its branches in Howland, Cortland, Liberty, Brookfield and Eastwood Mall in Niles, as well as Bristolville Public Library, Girard Free Library, Hubbard Public Library, Kinsman Free Public Library, McKinley Memorial Library (Niles) and Newton Falls Public Library are inviting their patrons to read either or both books and participate in discussions and special programming throughout the month.
Cheryl Bush, marketing and public relations manager for Warren-Trumbull, said representatives from the different libraries met in spring and considered various criteria, including the quality of the work, its reader appeal and regional significance.
"Amanda Flower, the author of 'To Slip the Bonds of Earth' is a Northeast Ohio resident, and she's a best-selling author of over 50 books," Bush said. "We know that a lot of readers in Trumbull County enjoy reading mysteries. And with the themes that are brought up in the book, history and aviation, we thought that would really appeal to a lot of our readers.
"Then, because this featured book highlights the Wright brothers and their sister Katharine Wright, we wanted to also include more about the real story of the Wright brothers and their entire family. That's how we also selected the book by David McCullough."
Flower will speak at the Warren library at 6 p.m. Oct. 20, and her talk will be livestreamed to the Cortland, Liberty and Kinsman libraries. Flower also will take part in a meet and greet before the program that is open to members of the "friends of the library" groups at the participating institutions.
In many cases, bringing in the chosen author hasn't been an option for Trumbull County Reads (or its earlier incarnation as One Book, One Community). Some authors, such as Warren native and Charlie Chan creator Earl Derr Biggers, "Shoeless Joe" author W.P. Kinsella and McCullough, were deceased. Others lived far away, making it more cost prohibitive.
"It's a wonderful opportunity to be able to bring Amanda Flower to the Warren Library," Bush said. "In addition to historical mysteries, she also writes contemporary (ones), so I think her books are just very charming and intriguing for a lot of readers."
The aviation themes in both books created plenty of programming opportunities. The Bristolville library will have a program with Carol Starre-Kmiecik portraying aviator Amelia Earhart on Oct. 26. The Girard library will give adults an opportunity to build a model of the Wright brothers 1903 aircraft. Children can learn the science of flight at Hubbard library on Oct. 10 or test their skills on several flight-themed stations for "So You Want to Be a Pilot?" at five different locations this month.
The Ernie Hall Aviation Museum in Howland will have a special library day on Oct. 24 when visitors can get half-off the admission price with a library card.
"That's a way to see real flight (history) and find out more with a local connection," Bush said.