GREAT AMERICAN READ MOVIES AT THE LIBRARY: The Help

September 17, 2018
6:00pm - 6:00pm

Celebrate "The Great American Read," help PBS choose American's Favorite Book, and watch the movie The Help.

Between May 22 and October 18, 2018, PBS is asking you to help narrow a list of 100 books down to the "The Great American Read" and we will be screening movies based on the novels on that list. 

On Monday, September 17, we will be screening The Help in the Library Auditorium at 6 pm.

Adapted from Kathryn Stockett's 2009 novel, the film recounts the story of young white woman and aspiring journalist Eugenia "Skeeter" Phelan. The story focuses on her relationship with two black maids, Aibileen Clark and Minny Jackson, during the Civil Rights Movement in 1963 Jackson, Mississippi. In an attempt to become a legitimate journalist and writer, Skeeter decides to write a book from the point of view of the maids—referred to as "the help"— exposing the racism they are faced with as they work for white families.

Full Schedule of Great American Read Movies at the Library:

• Monday, August 20 at 6 pm: Charlotte's Web
• Monday, September 10 at 6 pm: Jurassic Park
• Monday, September 17 at 6 pm: The Help
• Monday, October 1 at 6 pm: To Kill a Mockingbird
• Monday, October 15 at 6 pm: The Hunt for Red October

Is your favorite book on this list? Then it's time to vote!

This summer PBS is trying to decide which novel is The Great American Read. They've chosen 100 books—novels only, no nonfiction (sorry)—and now it's our turn to pick our favorites. Visit The Great American Read home page to see how many of the 100 books you've read. 

America's Best-Loved Books

The list is interactive and you get to vote for your favorite. You get to vote for our favorite novel once a day and you can change it up and vote for a different novel every day, or you can just vote for the same one over and over again. We'll find out which book wins this fall. It's time to vote for your old favorites and read some new winners! And in the meantime, join us to watch some great films based on the 100 books on the list. 

Happy Great American Reading!

ABOUT THE GREAT AMERICAN READ

THE GREAT AMERICAN READ is an eight-part series that explores and celebrates the power of reading, told through the prism of America’s 100 best-loved novels (as chosen in a national survey)*.  It investigates how and why writers create their fictional worlds, how we as readers are affected by these stories, and what these 100 different books have to say about our diverse nation and our shared human experience.  

The television series features entertaining and informative documentary segments, with compelling testimonials from celebrities, authors, notable Americans and book lovers across the country. It is comprised of a two-hour launch episode in which the list of 100 books is revealed, five one-hour theme episodes that examine concepts common to groups of books on the list, and a finale, in which the results are announced of a nationwide vote to choose America’s best-loved book.  

The series is the centerpiece of an ambitious multi-platform digital, educational and community outreach campaign, designed to get the country reading and passionately talking about books.

*PBS does not endorse any titles on the top 100 list. For more information on how these titles were selected, please see.

Schedule

• "Launch Special" (Premiered Tuesday, May 22, 2018) Watch Now
• "Fall Kick-off" (Premieres Tuesday, September 11, 2018 8/7c)
• "Who Am I?" (Premieres Tuesday, September 18, 2018 8/7c)
• "Heroes" (Premieres Tuesday, September 25, 2018 8/7c)
• "Villains and Monsters" (Premieres Tuesday, October 2, 2018 8/7c)
• "What We Do For Love" (Premieres Tuesday, October 9, 2018 8/7c)
• "Other Worlds" (Premieres Tuesday, October 16, 2018 8/7c)
• "Grand Finale" (Premieres Tuesday, October 23, 2018 8/7c)