craigdailypress.com

Travelling with 13 dwarves and the legendary wizard Gandalf is not a bad way to start off a journey. “The Hobbit” by J.R.R Tolkien, introduces such familiar faces as Bilbo Baggins and Gandalf the Gray. Bilbo’s quiet existence is shattered when Gandolf shows up at his doorstep and convinces him to embark on a dangerous journey. A quest is begun to reclaim their treasure from the pillaging dragon, Smaug. On the way, Bilbo and his crew encounter hungry trolls, goblins, elves, giant spiders and yes, the whining little creature, Gollum.

School librarian James Neton and library technician Robin Weible recognized the release of the movie version of “The Hobbit” as an opportunity to use the novel for the second annual One Book, One MCHS.

One Book, One MCHS was originated to encourage students to read more and create a venue to talk about literature. “The idea of One Book, One MCHS is to bring students together to talk about ideas, share ideas, the big ideas in a piece of literature,” Neton said. It is a way to bring everyone together as one school to discuss one thing, literature. That is how the name One Book, One MCHS came about.

One Book, One MCHS is an event that Neton and Weible came up with last year to encourage students to read for fun, not just for school requirements.

70 students and faculty signed up to read “The Hunger Games” last year. Neton is on track for more success this year. Students and staff pay $4.00 for their own copy of the book. The books are delivered in January and members have until mid-February to finish reading the book. A book party will be in March for the students and staff to come together and discuss the the book and what they learned.

“We want to continue to promote reading and promote people talking about literature, discussing ideas and being together and talking about ideas and literature. That’s what really drives the imagination of people. They like to bounce ideas off of people,” Neton said. There will also be drawings, prizes, and pizza for people to enjoy.