Shelby County Reads, which began in 2004, is an annual community literacy initiative started by a group of people with a passion for reading and community. The program, centered around a different theme each year, encourages residents of Shelby County to read a selected book that aligns with that year's theme, fostering a sense of shared experience and learning. In addition to the reading, the initiative organizes various events, such as book discussions, author visits, and educational experiences, all designed to engage the community in meaningful ways.

Through these activities, Shelby County Reads promotes literacy, unity, and a deper understanding of diverse topics, all while bringing together people of all ages in a celebration of reading.

Shelby County Reads promotes literacy and a sense of community in Shelby County.  The group selects books at various reading levels around a common theme and promotes reading through shared discussions and other activities in the schools as well as in the community as a whole.

Shelby County Reads, Inc. is a 501(c)3 and all contributions are tax deductible. We are not set up to take electronic payments. Checks should be made payable to Shelby County Reads, Inc. and mailed in care of Three Sisters Books & Gifts, 7 Public Square, Shelbyville, IN 46176. If you have any questions or would like a presentation about Shelby County Reads, please call Connie or Carolyn at 317-392-2270.

Shelby County Reads Past Selections

2024

• A Fever in the Heartland by Timothy Egan
• Unspeakable: The Tulsa Race Massacre by Carole Boston Weatherford

2023

• If You Lived Here, I’d Know Your Name by Heather Lende
• Firekeeper’s Daughter by Angeline Boulley
• Posted by John David Anderson
• The Vanderbeekers and the Hidden Garden by Karina Yan Glaser
• We Are Together by Britta Techentrup

2022

• The Book Woman of Troublesome Creek by Kim Michele Richardson
• Ink and Bone by Rachel Caine
• Words on Fire by Jennifer A. Nielsen
• Ban This Book by Alan Gratz
• Library Lion by Michelle Knudsen
• Do Not Bring Your Dragon to the Library by Julie Gassman
• Reading Makes You Feel Good by Todd Parr

2021

• Gods of Jade and Shadow by Silvia Moreno-Garcia
• Norse Mythology by Neil Gaiman
• The Trials of Apollo: The Dark Prophecy by Rick Riordan
• The Iliad by Gareth Hinds
• Beasts of Olympus: Beast Keeper by Lucy Coats
• Little Olympians: Athena, Goddess of Wisdom by A.J. Newton
• Brush Your Hair, Medusa! by Joan Holub & Leslie Patricelli

2020
*Programming Canceled due to COVID-19

2019

• Before We Were Yours by Lisa Wingate
• Far From the Tree by Robin Benway
• Found by Margaret Peterson Haddix
• Pictures of Hollis Woods by Patricia Reilly Giff
• Animal Rescue Center: The Unwanted Puppy by Tina Nolan
• A Mother for Choco by Keiko Kasza

2018

• The Muralist by BA Shapiro
• Eliza and Her Monsters by Francesca Zappia
• Under the Egg by Laura Marx Fitzgerald
• One and Only Ivan by Katherine Applegate
• The Legend of the Indian Paintbrush by Tomie dePaola
• Splat by Gabriel Lehman

2017

• Birds of a Feather by Jacqueline Winspear
• Alex Rider: Stormbreaker by Anthony Horowitz
• Sammy Keyes And the Hotel Thief by Wendelin Draanen
• Nate the Great by Marjorie Weinman Sharmat
• Curious George Museum Mystery by H.A. Rey

2016
Indiana Authors & Books (Bicentennial Year)

• I Love You, Miss Huddleston by Philip Gulley
• An American Tune by Barbara Shoup
• The Aviator’s Wife by Melanie Benjamin
• Made You Up by Fancesca Zappia
• Paper Towns by John Green
• All the Bright Places by Jennifer Niven
• Reversal by Eric Linne
• Whistling Past the Graveyard by Susan Crandall
• The Bears of Blue River by Charles Major
• Salt by Helen Frost
• Beatrice’s Goat by Paige McBrier
• The Notebook of Doom: Rise of the Balloon Goons by Troy Cummings
• Clifford the Big Red Dog by Norman Bridwell
• My Lucky Day by Keido Kasza

2015

• Unbroken by Laura Hillenbrand
• Into the Wild by Jon Krakauer
• Diamond WIllow by Helen Frost
• The Tale of Despereaux by Kate DiCamillo
• Wagon Wheels by Barbara Brenner
• My Brave Year of Firsts: Tries, Sighs, and High Fives by Jamie Lee Curtis

2014

• The Eighty-Dollar Champion by Elizabeth Letts
• Half Broke Horses by Jeannette Walls
• Whip Hand by Dick Francis
• The Scorpio Races by Maggie Stiefvater
• I Rode a Horse of Milk White Jade by Diane Wilson
• Justin Morgan Had a Horse by Marguerite Henry
• Bramble and Maggie: Horse Meets Girl by Jessie Haas
• Cowbilly George by FS Haltom

2013

• To Kill a Mockingbird by Harper Lee
• Out of My Mind by Sharon M. Draper
• Wonder by R.J. Palacio
• Glory Be by Augusta Scattergood
• The Berenstain Bears and the Bully by Jan & Stan Berenstain

2012

• October Sky by Homer Hickman
• Rocket Boys by Home H. Hickam Jr.
• George’s Secret Key to the Universe by Lucy & Stephen Hawking
• Floating in Space by Franklin M. Branley
• Rockets and Spaceships by Karen Wallace
• I Want to Be an Astronaut by Byron Barton

2011

• Surviving the Angel of Death by Eva Mozes Kor
• Maus I & Maus II by Art Spiegelman
• The Boy Who Dared by Susan Campbell Bartoletti
• The Devil’s Arithmetic by Jane Yolen
• The Cats in Krasinski Square by Karen Hesse
• One Candle by Eve Bunting

2010

• Follow the River by James Alexander Thom
• The Absolutely True Diary of a Part Time Indian by Sherman Alexie
• The Winter People  by Joseph Bruchac
• Trail of Tears by Joseph Bruchac
• Indian Captive by Lois Kenski
• The Mud Pony by Caron Lee Cohen
• A Boy Called Slow by Joseph Bruchac
• Grandmother’s Dreamcatcher by Becky Ray McCain

2009

• Snow Falling on Cedars by David Guterson
• Mismatch by Lensey Namioka
• Thin Wood Walls by David Patneaude
• Kira-Kira by Cynthia Kadohata
• The Time Warp Trio Series by Jon Scieszka
• Baseball Saved Us by Ken Mochizuki and Dom Lee
• Yoko by Rosemary Wells

2008

• My Sister’s Keeper by Jodi Picoult
• Deadline by Chris Crutcher
• Double Identity by Margaret Peterson Haddix
• Say What? By Margaret Peterson Haddix
• My Rotten Redheaded Older Brother by Patricia Polacco

2007

• Getting Open by Tom Graham and Rachael Graham Cody
• Hoop Kings by Charles R. Smith
• Hoop Queens by Charles R. Smith
• Let’s Play Basketball by Charles R. Smith
• Bein’ With You This Way by W. Nicola-Lisa

2006

• The Kite Runner by Khaled Hosseini
• The Breadwinner by Deborah Ellis
• The Jacket by Andrew Clements
• Whoever You Are by Mem Fox
• It's OK to be Different by Todd Parr

2005

• Pay it Forward by Catherine Ryan Hyde
• Petey by Ben Mikaelson
• Because of Winn-Dixie by Kate Di Camillo
• One Smile by Cindy McKinley
• How Kind by Mary Murphy

2004
*Inaugural Year

• Tuesdays with Morrie by Mitch Album