Popular book picks have been Harper Lee's To Kill a Mockingbird, Ernest Gaines's A Lesson Before Dying, Ray Bradbury's Fahrenheit 451, and Rudolfo Anaya's Bless Me, Ultima.
The American Library Association (ALA) puts out a guide[5] on organizing a local program, including picking the book.
The program gives grants to national communities each year for a book selected from The Big Read's library.
The essayist Phillip Lopate fears a promotion of groupthink, saying, "It is a little like a science fiction plot -- Invasion of the Body Snatchers or something.
"[9] In 2002, the effort gained controversy in New York City when two groups of selectors each chose Chang-Rae Lee's Native Speaker and James McBride's The Color of Water, respectively.
There was much criticism of the choice from the Mayor and Council of Friendswood, who objected to obscenity in the novel, and said that it contained ideas that should not be promoted to children.
They also believed that taxpayer money should not be used to promote and purchase a book the community would not approve of.