A statewide summer reading experience
Read ME is the MHC’s statewide community read offered in partnership with Maine State Library and Maine Writers & Publishers Alliance. Every summer, the program gets Maine adults all reading two books recommended by a well-known Maine author.
Hosted by public libraries all across the state, Read ME connects Maine’s adult reading community through shared experiences, supports Maine libraries in their work to provide quality adult summer reading initiatives, and elevates the work of upcoming Maine authors.
Announcing Jaed Coffin
2024 Recommending Author
Jaed Coffin is the author of the memoirs A Chant to Soothe Wild Elephants and Roughhouse Friday. His essays and stories have been featured in the New York Times, The Sun Magazine, Snap Judgment, Moth Radio Hour, Best American Travel Writing, and TED Channel. A contributing editor at Down East magazine, he teaches journalism and creative writing at the University of New Hampshire and has spoken at over twenty colleges and universities. He lives in his hometown of Brunswick with his wife and two daughters.
Coffin’s selections for our 2024 statewide summer read will be announced in January with library registration opening in February.
2023 Books
Lungfish
This debut novel from Meghan Gilliss is a brilliant and heartbreaking story about addiction, doubt, marriage, motherhood, and learning to see in the dark.
Night of the Living Rez
Set in a Native community in Maine, Night of the Living Rez is a riveting debut collection from Morgan Talty about what it means to be Penobscot in the twenty-first century and what it means to live, to survive, and to persevere after tragedy.
Bring Read Me to your library
Over 60 libraries participated in Read ME 2022. Join us again this summer.
Read ME is structured to enable even the smallest, most rural libraries to participate. All that’s required is a commitment to making each of the featured titles available to their patrons.
Past SUmmer
Author Talks
A Conversation with Morgan Talty
Morgan Talty discusses his debut book Night of the Living Rez with Gibson Fay-LeBlanc of Maine Writers & Publishers Alliance
A Conversation with Meghan Gilliss
Meghan Gilliss discusses her debut book Lungfish with Gibson Fay-LeBlanc of Maine Writers & Publishers Alliance
2022: Phuc Tran Author Talk
Phuc Tran, author of the memoir Sigh, Gone, answers questions about writing, his book, family, and so much more.
2022: Meredith Hall Author Talk
Meredith Hall, author of Beneficence, answers questions from readers across the state of Maine.
2021: Kerry Arsenault Author Talk
Kerri Arsenault discusses her book Mill Town, a narrative nonfiction, investigative memoir, and cultural criticism that illuminates the rise and collapse of the working-class, the hazards of loving and leaving home, and the ambiguous nature of toxics and disease.
Attend an Event
No Events scheduled for Read ME
TOOLKIT
Toolkit for Read ME
Everything you need to convene your community for Read Me.
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