‘Maid: Hard Work, Low Pay, and a Mother’s Will to Survive’ this year’s book for Quincy Community Read

QUINCY — Quincy Public Library recently announced a favorite reading event will return this fall in partnership with Quanada.

Beginning Thursday, Oct. 26, Quincy Community Read will be giving away 1,000 copies of Stephanie Land’s book, “Maid: Hard Work, Low Pay, and a Mother’s Will to Survive.” The library will be giving away 500 copies of “Dear Librarian” by Lydia M. Sigwarth to younger readers.

Quincy Community is an initiative that hopes to broaden readers’ understanding of the world, our community and ourselves through the power of a shared reading experience. The goal is to cultivate meaningful conversations and bring the community together.

This year’s Quincy Community Read is designed to challenge and encourage everyone to participate. The challenge offers reading opportunities and also opportunities to engage in your community and make it a better place for all. Throughout the challenge, participants will have the opportunity to earn badges by completing activities. Those earning all four badges will have a chance to win a $250 VISA gift card.

Quincy Public Library’s programming will commence with a kickoff event on Oct. 26. The following five weeks will provide opportunities for the community to further participate in programs, book clubs and events hosted by QPL and community partners to further conversations around the books’ themes.

Quincy Community Read programming:

• Oct. 26: Community Read Kick Off
• Nov. 2: Community Read Panel Discussion
• Nov. 16: Stephanie Land Author Talk
• No. 30: Community Book Discussion
• Oct. 23-Dec. 31: Quincy Community Read Challenge

In a press release, QPL executive director Kathleen Helsabeck said, “The Quincy Public Library is once again excited to be putting on a community read event It is an extra special year because of our partnership with Quanada. Our goal is to enrich our community by giving away free books and creating programs to aid us in uniting and understanding the themes of the book that are also themes in the Quincy community.”

Land, a New York Times bestselling author, will be in Quincy for an author talk and book signing on Thursday, Nov. 16. Her writing focuses on social and economic justice, as well as parenting under the poverty line. Her debut book was a New York Times bestseller and adapted into a limited series on Netflix.

The book details Land’s personal experience with poverty, relying on government assistance programs to support herself and her daughter. It received critical acclaim and was included on Barack Obama’s “Summer Reading List” of 2019. The Netflix series adaptation reached 67 million households in its first four weeks and became the streaming service’s fourth most-watched show in 2021. The National Domestic Violence Hotline was mentioned after each episode of “Maid” and received more calls in the month of its premiere than any other month in its entire 25-year history.

Land’s work has been featured in numerous outlets, and she is a frequent speaker at colleges and national advocacy organizations. Her second book, “Class: A Memoir of Motherhood, Hunger, and Higher Education,” is set to be published in November.

For more information, visit Quincy Public Library’s website www.quincylibrary.org or contact the Reference Department at 217-223-1309.