Mansfield Reads! selects 'We Were the Lucky Ones'

By Amanda Rogers

Mansfield Record

Mansfield Reads! is back.

After taking a breather for a year, the community program that enlists everyone in the city to read the same book is re-launching with “We Were the Lucky Ones” by Georgia Hunter.

The New York Times best-selling novel, which was adapted into a Hulu miniseries in 2024, explores World War II and the Holocaust through the eyes of a Jewish family in Poland.

Mansfield Reads! One City, One Book was adopted by the Friends of the Mansfield Library in 2004, based on a nationwide program. The yearly event has brought in a wide range of authors, including Sandra Brown, H.G. “Buzz” Bissinger, Fannie Flagg and Lisa Wingate.

The event is now being presented by the Mansfield Public Library, which followed the Friends process of selecting a book.

“They always go through four, five, six books,” said Bobby Quinten, president of the Library Advisory Board. “Some of (the selection process) had to do with that it had been adapted (into a miniseries). It was something that a cross section of our readers would be interested in. It seemed appropriate and timely, and it’s very well written.

“(Georgia Hunter) comes from a family of Holocaust survivors,” Quinten said. “She found out when she was 15 years old that her grandfather was Polish and they were Holocaust survivors.”

The library will kick off the Mansfield Reads! at 6 p.m. March 6 at Taphouse 16 at Market Street, 3145 E. Broad St., with the chance to buy books, register for the event, a silent auction and food catered by Market Street. The kickoff is free and open to the public.

An Evening with Georgia Hunter will be at 7 p.m. May 2 at library, 104 S. Wisteria St. The event is free and open to the public, but participants are asked to RSVP. Reservations will open March 6.

The Friends of the Library will sell the book, and proceeds will go to the library.

“Mansfield Reads!  celebrates the literary arts,” Quinten said. “Mansfield loves the arts of all kinds. The idea of an entire community reading one book together has a special meaning for readers of all ages. I think that’s why it has lasted 21 years.”

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