Shelby County Reads announces 2024 program's book selection

Shelby County Reads kicks off its 21st year Saturday at the Farmers Market in downtown Shelbyville.

New York Times bestseller “A Fever in the Heartland” by Timothy Egan is this year’s selection for the local reading program.

“Every year we pick a selection that we hope everyone in the community will read and have something to discuss among community members,” said Barbara Rogers, a member of the Shelby County Reads selection committee.

Egan’s tenth book look at the Ku Klux Klan’s rise in Indiana in the 1920s under the direction of D.C. Stephenson.

The Shelby County Reads selection committee spends months searching for the right book to spotlight, according to Rogers.

“We want everyone on the committee to get behind the book,” she explained. “If somebody doesn’t really like it, we need to take that into consideration. We like it to be a book that is well written and has some significance that we can do programming around.”

Shelby County Reads started in 2004 with the book “Tuesdays with Morrie” by Mitch Albom.

The 2024 program will start Saturday at the Farmers Market on the Public Square with book giveaways and information on programming related to Shelby County Reads.

Here is a look at other events associated with the 2024 Shelby County Reads program:

• Sept. 10 at Grover Center, 52 W. Broadway in Shelbyville, for a discussion on the Ku Klux Klan locally
• Sept. 14 at Arts in the Park at Blue River Memorial Park, 725 Lee Boulevard in Shelbyville, for book character Duck for President from 10 a.m. to noon
• Sept. 29 at Echo Effect, 102 E. Washington St. in Shelbyville, for a taped interview showing a 2 p.m. with A Fever in the Heartland author Timothy Egan
• Oct. 28 at Shelbyville High School library at 6:30 p.m. for writing contest awards for local students
• Jan. 26 at Intelliplex Conference Center in Shelbyville to see Ball State University’s Michael Hicks discuss the effect of the Ku Klux Klan on the economy today.

The Shelby County Post is a digital newspaper producing news, sports, obituaries and more without a pay wall or subscription needed.