Contact: Laura Falt, Public Relations Committee, Middletown Rotary Club

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE CONTACT: LAURA FALT, PUBLIC RELATIONS COMMITTEE, MIDDLETOWN ROTARY CLUB PHONE: 860.335.7526 E-MAIL: [email protected]

One Book, One Middletown 2015

MIDDLETOWN, CT: The Middletown Rotary Club’s Literacy Committee will again offer its One Book, One Middletown project this year to build community and literacy.

Now in its 13th year, One Book, One Middletown is supported by the Russell Library and the City of Middletown. This year’s selection by Robert Heinlein is “Stranger in a Strange Land.” It is the winner of the 1962 Hugo Award, and is the story of Valentine Michael Smith, born during, and the only survivor of, the first manned mission to Mars. Michael is raised by Martians, and he arrives on Earth as a true innocent: he has never seen a woman and has no knowledge of Earth's cultures or religions. But he brings turmoil with him, as he is the legal heir to an enormous financial empire, not to mention de facto owner of the planet Mars. With the irascible popular author Jubal Harshaw to protect him, Michael explores human morality and the meanings of love. He founds his own church, preaching free love and disseminating the psychic talents taught him by the Martians.

The One Book, One Middletown program is geared to everyone from teens to seniors and will involve a variety of events beginning March 23 through April 9. Events take place at the Russell Library in Middletown, Belden Library in Cromwell, and at Middlesex Community College. For more information on One Book community programs, please visit www.middletownrotary.org/2015.cfm.

The goal of One Book is simple...to get a lot of people in the area to read the same book at the same time and then encourage them to talk about it. By doing so, we hope that more people (especially more young people) will enjoy reading.