Wells Community Library librarian Betsy Bushlack holds a copy of the Faribault County Reads Program book for this year, ‘Carolina Moonset’ by author Matt Goldman.

For years, the BEA Reads Program – now the Faribault County Reads Program – has been a popular unifying force for bibliophiles across Blue Earth and Winnebago.

“The idea of a ‘community reads’ program is that people in the community read the same book, talk about it and get other people to read it,” explains Blue Earth Community Library and Fossil Discovery Center director Heidi Schutt. “I think that’s a cool connection.”

“It’s a great way to reach a variety of people,” agrees Nicole Krienke, director at the Muir Library in Winnebago.

This year, exciting changes to the Faribault County Reads Program mean that the entirety of Faribault County is invited to read, discuss and share the same book this spring.

Krienke first suggested the idea of expanding the program’s reach.

“I thought, ‘Why are we just limiting this to a few cities when we’re trying to do more things and coordinate as a county-wide system?'” Krienke recalls. “I asked if Wells would like to join, because they have a great library and wonderful patrons.”

Betsy Bushlack, director of the Wells Public Library, gladly accepted the invitation.

“We are thrilled to be in the program,” she says. “Each of our libraries are a little different, so it’s fun to have something we are all doing together.”

With the introduction of Faribault County Reads’ county-wide initiative, programming for this year’s selection – ‘Carolina Moonset’ by Matt Goldman – will be available not only in Blue Earth and at the Muir Library, but also at the Wells Public Library. ‘Floating’ copies of the book will circulate even further, to Elmore, Kiester, Bricelyn, Delavan, Easton, Minnesota Lake and Walters.

Excitement abounds about ‘Carolina Moonset’ among the county’s librarians.

“I read it in a weekend,” Schutt shares. “This definitely has some mystery to it, which a lot of people gravitate towards.”

Bushlack, a mystery fan, was one of those readers.

“There were a lot of twists and turns in this book – you never really knew how it was going to end or who did what,” she says. “It was very suspenseful.”

Meanwhile, Krienke observes, “It’s a great family story, between the father and the son and their relationship, and the difficulties as your parents get older.”

‘Carolina Moonset,’ described as “an engrossing novel about family, memories both golden and terrible, and secrets too dangerous to stay hidden forever,” tells the story of South Carolina native Joey Green. Green returns to his hometown to look after his ailing father, who is suffering from dementia. As his father becomes entrenched in past memories, he begins to reveal long-lost secrets from the past to his son.

The book’s author, Matt Goldman, is from the Twin Cities area, and he is both a playwright and Emmy Award-winning television writer. He will be visiting Faribault County to discuss ‘Carolina Moonset’ in person on Monday, April 24, with presentations at the Muir Library at 3 p.m. and at the Wells Public Library at 7 p.m.

Discussions about ‘Carolina Moonset’ are scheduled at all three libraries, as well. A discussion will be held at the Blue Earth Community Library and Fossil Discovery Center on Thursday, April 6, at 10 a.m. and 7 p.m., while discussions will be held at the Muir Library on April 24 at 6:30 p.m. and at the Wells Public Library on April 12 at 10 a.m. and on April 17 at 6 p.m.

Other book-related activities abound throughout the span of this spring’s Faribault County Reads Program.

One offering is a Dementia Friends Workshop presented by Interfaith Caregivers, where attendees can learn strategies for supporting family, friends, neighbors and community members who live with dementia. The workshop will occur at the Blue Earth library on Tuesday, April 18, at 6:30 p.m., at the Winnebago library on Monday, April 10, at 10 a.m. and at the Wells library on Thursday, April 20, at 6 p.m.

Pickleball also makes a very brief appearance in ‘Carolina Moonset.’ As such, several pickleball-related activities have been organized throughout the county.

Blue Earth will host a Pickleball Demo at the Faribault County Fitness Center on Thursday, April 13, at 9 a.m. and 6:30 p.m. Wells will also jump on the pickleball bandwagon with a demonstration at United South Central High School in April, with the exact date yet to be determined.

Apart from attending these fun events, county residents are – of course – encouraged to read the book itself. Schutt notes that the Blue Earth Community Library and Fossil Discovery Center has audiobook and ebook copies of the book available as alternatives to physical copies. The library will also receive large-print copies of the book in March. Additionally, ‘floater,’ or ‘pass-around’ copies of the book have been planted around Blue Earth.

“When you’re done reading them, you can hand them off to someone else, or bring them back to where you found them or to the library,” Schutt explains.

In Winnebago and Wells, meanwhile, copies of ‘Carolina Moonset’ have been flying off the shelves. Krienke says that as of Feb. 21, the Muir Library had no physical copies of the book left, but it does have an audiobook and ebook available. Physical copies are also completely checked out at the Wells Public Library, However, the digital book and audiobook are available on the library’s Libby app. Bushlack also shares there are 20 copies of the book circulating as ‘floaters’ around the Wells area, with one in Walters, one in Minnesota Lake and the remaining 18 in Wells.

The Faribault County Reads Program is facilitated through many community partners, including the Friends of the Blue Earth Community Library, the Friends of the Muir Library and the Wells Library Foundation. The program is also made possible with funds from Minnesota’s Arts and Cultural Heritage Fund and the people of Minnesota for Library Legacy activities.

And, the librarians involved are undoubtedly grateful for the support.

As Schutt concludes, “This is one of my favorite parts of my whole year.”