By Leah Bowshier, Copy Editor
After over a month of voting, The Great Asbury Read came to a close on Oct. 23 when Asbury’s favorite books were announced with “The Lord of the Rings” in the No. 1 spot on the list. The on-campus event was adapted from “The Great American Read,” a PBS special highlighting America’s 100 favorite books, which was shown live with nearly 40 students and faculty and staff members in attendance.
Planning for The Great Asbury Read began when English professor Devin Brown first heard about the PBS special at the end of the spring semester and approached Suzanne Gehring, the Interim Director of Library Services at the time, about adapting the event for Asbury as a partnership between the English Department and the library. The library staff agreed, and a team worked over the summer to decide the specifics of the voting process and the event celebrating the finale.
Brown said that he admired “The Great American Read” for its promotion of good books and ideas “without becoming dull, dry and overly academic.” He appreciated that the purpose was not to find the most literary or perfect book but instead to find the public’s favorite books, which is something more people can relate to. “It seemed like the perfect English event to counter the idea that English is for academics only,” said Brown.
The planning committee also involved student workers in the library, including junior Kayla Beebout. Beebout had been involved in the process since the summer and tallied the 631 votes the library received. She was interested in the PBS special because she appreciated that it was celebrating reading across America.
“I think it is really important to talk about books that mean a lot to people and not necessarily just the kinds of books that you read in class,” she said. “I loved the fact that there were … all kinds of genres, all kinds of levels represented, and I just really wanted to help bring that to campus as well.”
Jared Porter entered the planning for The Great Asbury Read this semester when he was hired as the Director of Library Services. He explained that the library staff was excited to partner with the English faculty for an event that “focuses on books, reading and literacy.” He saw this event as an opportunity to come alongside other departments on campus and connect with students as well.
“If we can promote ourselves on campus as a place of scholarship and learning and as a hospitable environment, I think it would be beneficial for students to know that this is a place that they can come hunker down and study and have resources available,” said Porter.
