Northville Library Participates in Community Reads Event With Other Local Libraries

From a Northville District Library press release

A shocking crime and a devastating miscarriage of justice provide the backdrop for this year’s third annual Community Reads book selection from The Neighborhood Library Association (NLA).

The book is Picking Cotton: Our Memoir of Injustice and Redemption by Jennifer Thompson- Cannino and Ronald Cotton with Erin Torneo. Five local libraries are hosting book discussions and programs related to the book, culminating in a visit by the author at Novi Public Library on November 14.

The goal of the NLA’s Community Reads is to bring community members together to read and discuss the same book, and attend related events. The NLA is comprised of Lyon Township Public Library, Northville District Library, Novi Public Library, Salem-South Lyon District Library and Wixom Public Library. Copies of the book are now available for checkout at each library. Book discussions and related programs begin October 1.

Picking Cotton is the true story of a wrongfully convicted man’s fight for the truth and the crime victim’s struggle to recover from her grief over falsely accusing the wrong man. The last part of the book is the story of the meeting and eventual friendship of the two, as Thompson-Cannino challenges our ideas of memory and judgment, and Cotton talks about his faith and forgiveness.

“What happened in this book will change what you think of the criminal justice system in this country, and challenge you to help fix it. Each of them tells an extraordinary story about crime, punishment and exoneration, but it’s their shared spiritual journey toward reconciliation and forgiveness that is even more compelling and profound,” says Barry C. Scheck, Co-Founder and Co-Director of The Innocence Project.

Jennifer Cannino-Thompson will be available for a “Meet the Co-Author” event on Wednesday, November 14 at 7 p.m. at Novi Public Library. Please contact the library to register at 248-349-0720.

“Picking Cotton was this year’s unanimous choice by librarians from our five NLA libraries,” said Julie Farkas, Novi Public Library Director. “Our first two Community Reads had excellent participation from all five communities and we hope to have the same response this year. This is a wonderful opportunity to join together by reading and sharing about one book.”

Community Reads events include: Self-Defense for Women on Saturday, October 6 at 1 p.m. at Novi Library; They Didn’t Do It!: True Stories from the Innocence Project on Wednesday, October 10 at 7 p.m. at Northville District Library; Forensics: Investigation of a Crime Scene on Monday, October 29 at 6:30 p.m. at Lyon Township Public Library; Personal Defense Mini Course on Thursday, November 8 at 6:30 p.m. at Salem- South Lyon District Library, and Meet the Co-Author: Jennifer Thompson-Cannino on Wednesday, November 14 at Novi Public Library at 7 p.m. Registration is required for the author visit and may be required for the other events. Contact each library for details.

To learn more about the book and for a schedule of Community Reads events, dates and times, please
visit: http://mynla.info.