Balloting begins this week for Clinton County Reads 2016, the annual county-wide reading program that is entering its 11th year. Each fall, the community votes for a book for our county to read together, then in the spring the committee hosts local book discussions, related programs and a closing dinner.

Titles appearing on the 2016 ballot are “Being Mortal,” by Atul Gawande; “Black Boy,” by Richard Wright; “The Circle,” by Dave Eggers; “Everything I Never Told You,” by Celeste Ng; and “The Sixth Extinction,” by Elizabeth Kolbert. Brief descriptions of the books appear on the ballot with this article in today’s News Journal.

“The committee spent extra time reading additional suggestions to find exceptional books for Clinton County Reads 2016. The five choices on the ballot are sure to spark interesting discussions during our programming in the spring,” said Nancy Ehas, director of the Wilmington Public Library and chair of the Clinton County Reads Steering Committee. “Three of the five books have direct ties to Ohio, including two authors who have lived in our state.”

Ballots from the newspaper can be mailed or dropped off at: the Blanchester Public Library; the Sabina Public Library and its New Vienna branch; the Wilmington Public Library and its Clinton-Massie Branch; and the Watson Library at Wilmington College. Ballots are available at all of the above locations, and readers can vote by email at [email protected] or through the Clinton County Reads Facebook page at www.facebook.com/ClintonCoReads.

Balloting ends Nov. 30, and the winning book will be announced during holiday shopping season. Clinton County Reads 2016 book discussions and other activities will begin in March.