James V. Brown Library cardholders of all ages can experience Big Library Read, the world’s largest digital book club, with a National Book Award Finalist novel.
From May 3-17, booklovers with a valid Brown Library card join thousands of others around the globe in borrowing Grace M. Cho’s evocative memoir, Tastes Like War, from their public library.
Library card holders may read the ebook and audiobook for free without waiting on the Libby app or by visiting https://libbyapp.com/library/ebranch2go.
Readers can then discuss online at https://biglibraryread.com/join-the-discussion/.
This Big Library Read novel is available in more than 21,000 libraries around the world, including approximately 90 percent of public libraries in North America, along with thousands of schools. During the program, readers participate in engaging online discussions about the title. The program is facilitated by OverDrive, the leading digital reading platform for popular ebooks, audiobooks and magazines and creator of the Libby app.
Tastes Like War tells the story of Grace M. Cho who grew up as the daughter of a white American merchant marine and the Korean bar hostess he met abroad. They were one of few immigrants in a xenophobic small town during the Cold War, where identity was politicized by everyday details – language, cultural references, memories, and food.
When Grace was fifteen, her dynamic mother experienced the onset of schizophrenia, a condition that would continue and evolve for the rest of her life. Part food memoir, part sociological investigation, Tastes Like War is a hybrid text about a daughter’s search through intimate and global history for the roots of her mother’s schizophrenia.
Big Library Read is an international reading program that connects millions of readers around the world with an ebook through public libraries. Tastes Like War is the 30th selection of this program, which began in 2013 and takes place three times per year.
Tastes Like War was published as an ebook by The Feminist Press and as an audiobook by Dreamscape Media. The title can be read on all major computers and devices through Libby or libbyapp.com, including iPhone®, iPad®, Android™ phones and tablets and Chromebook™ without waitlists or holds. Through Libby, readers can also “send to Kindle®”. The title will automatically expire at the end of the lending period, and there are no late fees.
This is one of the many ways the library supports the PA Forward Initiative through providing information literacy opportunities for learning. When Pennsylvania residents know how to use current technology to improve their education and enhance their skills, they can fully participate in a digital society.
OverDrive strives to create “a world enlightened by reading.” Serving a growing network of 76,000 libraries and schools in 94 countries, OverDrive delivers the industry’s largest digital catalog of ebooks, audiobooks, magazines and other content through award-winning apps. The Libby reading app for libraries is one of Popular Mechanics’ 20 Best Apps of the Decade.
The James V. Brown Library is open for browsing and holds pick up from 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. Monday through Friday; and 9 a.m. to 2 p.m. Saturday. To place a hold, visit http://www.jvbrown.edu or call 570-326-0536 during the library’s operating hours. The library also is open for public computer usage and for services such as printing, faxing, copying and scanning. Walk-in passport services are available from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. Monday through Friday and from 9:30 a.m. to 1 p.m. on Saturdays.
The James V. Brown Library, 19 E. Fourth St., Williamsport, Pa., is the place to go to learn, connect and grow. Founded in June 1907, the library champions the love of reading, opens new doors to lifelong learning, provides a haven to those who seek and ensures the preservation of public library services for future generations. The library has more than 225,000 visitors in a year and circulates a half-million items annually. A member of the Lycoming County Library System, the James V. Brown Library participates in PA Forward, a statewide initiative to promote literacies in our communities to power a better future for everyone.
