Home  Common Read Events

Common Read Events

Calhoun Community College, in partnership with The University of Alabama in Huntsville and the Huntsville-Madison County Public Library, is excited to be involved in several Common Read events across its three locations and the community throughout the fall semester.

Please find below the Common Read’s current list of public events.

Common Read Kick-Off

Join us under the Apollo South Dome at The Orion Amphitheater on Sunday, August 18, from 5-8pm for a free, family-friendly event focused on community building and disability awareness. We are excited to kick off our annual Common Read event. This year’s theme is built around selections from Alice Wong’s Disability Visibility and James McBride’s The Heaven & Earth Grocery Store.
Calhoun’s Common Read program is a community reading collaboration with the goal of building bridges within the community through sharing the same stories. This annual effort, akin to a community-wide book club, features events throughout the city that highlight a selected book, story, author, and theme.
This year’s festivities will include a diverse range of creative and literary performances, live music, and workshops to help inspire community building and disability awareness!

August 18 (5:00 PM – 8:00 PM): Apollo South at The Orion Amphitheater

Sip the Story

Get free tea from Piper & LEAF and chat with other Calhoun students, faculty, and staff while also getting information about the year’s Common Read and learning about upcoming events and programs at our local libraries.

September 04 (10:30 am -12:30 pm): HSV Courtyard between Sparkman and MSCSI

September 05 (10:30 am – 12:30 pm): DEC Library

Dining in the Dark

Students will have an interactive experience of dining as a blind person.

September 18 (11:30 am – 12:30 pm): Library, Huntsville Sparkman Building

September 19 (11:30 am – 12:30 pm): Brewer Library, Decatur Campus

Neurodiversity Awareness and SPA Day (A Neurodiversity Club Event)

A “pop up” event to collectively engage mental health activities: read, write, color, craft, sew, play music, etc. Students, faculty, and staff are invited to attend a student-led panel discussion about neurodiversity, moderated by Neurodiversity Club sponsors.

October 08 (9:00 AM – 1:00 PM with panel discussion from 11-12 PM): Huntsville-Research Park Site, Main Foyer and Library

October 09 (9:00 AM – 1:00 PM with panel discussion from 11-12 PM): Decatur Campus, Brewer Library

 

“Let’s Dish!”: A Campus-Wide Book Discussion Presented by Common Read, the Library, and STAR Institute

Students, faculty, and staff are invited to attend a discussion of editor Alice Wong’s Disability Visibility: First-Person Stories From The Twenty-First Century. In addition to taking part in an exciting literary conversation, attendees will receive lunch. Janelle Brown, the owner of Brown Books & More, will moderate this engaging discussion. Door prizes will be awarded by the moderator.

November 13 (11:00 AM – 1:00 PM): Library, Huntsville Sparkman Building

November 14 (11:00 AM – 1:00 PM): Decatur Brewer Library

Virtual Book Discussions:

Join community members in live, virtual book discussions hosted by the Huntsville – Madison County Public Library!

October 09, 2024 (10:00 AM – 11:00 AM): Virtual Librarian Book Club: Disability Visibility Discussion (Off-Campus)

October 16, 2024 (10:00 AM – 11:00 AM): Virtual Librarian Book Club: Disability Visibility Discussion (Off-Campus)

February 05, 2025 (10:00 AM – 11:00 AM): Virtual Librarian Book Club: The Heaven & Earth Grocery Store Discussion (Off-Campus)

February 12, 2025 (10:00 AM – 11:00 AM): Virtual Librarian Book Club: The Heaven & Earth Grocery Store Discussion (Off-Campus)

 

 

For further information about UAH’s Common Read programming, please check out UAH’s Common Read webpage. 
For further information about the Huntsville-Madison County Public Library’s (HMCPL) Common Read programming, please check out the HMCPL’s Common Read webpage.