Nominations open for annual Howard County Reads program

Jan. 11—The Kokomo-Howard County Public Library is now taking nominations for this year's Howard County Reads.

The annually celebrated program, now in its 20th year, aims to bring Howard County residents together by reading the same book. It works through a partnership between the public library and Indiana University Kokomo's library.

The program has changed quite a bit over the course of two decades, Melissa Wheelock, a readers' advisory librarian at KHCPL, said in a press release.

When the program first started, there were specific requirements for nominations and a few titles landed in the list of top picks for a few consecutive years. The committee now tries to avoid repeats and has cut specific length requirements.

The program has also begun inviting the top book's author to Howard County. Last year, author Nikki Erlick visited to talk about the 2023 Howard County Reads book, "The Measure." The county has also seen Delia Owens, author of "Where the Crawdads Sing," and Sherri Smith, author of "Flygirl," among others.

The selection committee has also released a list of the top 15 picks in recent years, which includes the overall top choice. Lists from recent years can be found online at khcpl.org/hcr.

A committee of library staff and community members will choose this year's Howard County Reads book from community nominations. The committee is looking for books that are well-written, character-driven and interesting to a wide variety of readers.

Additionally, the books shouldn't be too long and the committee would prefer they're available in paperback, though that isn't a requirement.

Nominations will be open until Feb. 29 and can be submitted online at khcpl.org/hcr.