Balloting begins today for Clinton County Reads 2023, the annual county-wide reading program entering its 18th year.

Between now and Jan. 14, the community can vote for a book for our country to read together. The winner will be announced the third week in January, and the CCReads steering committee will host local book discussions and related programs in the spring.

Titles appearing on the 2023 ballot are “The Sentence,” by Louise Erdrich; “We Are All Completely Beside Ourselves,” by Karen Joy Fowler; “The Anthropocene Reviewed,” by John Green; “Kitchens of the Great Midwest,” by J. Ryan Stradal; and “Sitting Pretty,” by Rebekah Taussig.

Participants are encouraged to vote based solely on interest in the book. It is not necessary to read the books before voting.

Blanchester Public Library director Chris Owens, chairman of the Clinton County Reads Steering Committee, said, “Thanks to the diligent work of the committee, we once again have a ballot of well-written books we believe cover a variety of topics of interest to readers across the county. Each of the titles would lend itself to interesting programs and engaging discussions.”

Ballots can be mailed to 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 Wilmington College’s S. Arthur Watson Library.

Paper ballots are available at the public libraries, and electronic voting is available on the libraries’ websites and on the Clinton County Reads Facebook page. The link to the electronic ballot is http://wilmington.libwizard.com/f/clinton_county_reads .

Serving with Owens on the Clinton County Reads Steering Committee are Eileen Brady, Joy Brubaker, Sabina Public Library director Peggy Dunn, Wilmington Public Library director Joe Knueven, Bonnie Starcher, Marla Stewart, Mary Thomas Watts, and Watson Memorial Library director Mike Wells.