The Maine Humanities Council has been awarded a grant by the Belvedere Fund of the Maine Community Foundation that makes possible the continuation of the council’s popular free library reading and discussion series, “Let’s Talk About It.” These facilitated book groups will be held in 35 libraries in Maine this year. The council provides the scholar-facilitator and lends the libraries the books for the five-season series.

“Let’s Talk About It” has been provided to libraries by the council for 20 years, serving thousands of Mainers in nearly 150 towns. The Maine State Library is a key partner in this program, providing book distribution and storage.

The grant from the Maine Community Foundation’s Belvedere Fund made it possible for the council to continue this program, to offer it to more libraries, to upgrade the book collection, and to create five new series for the program.

The more than 35 available series are centered on such themes as ethnic Americans in Maine, contemporary detective fiction, the Civil War, and images of romantic love, and are offered in the summer, fall and winter-spring.

The application deadline to be host to a series in the winter-spring is Sept. 15. Information is available by contacting Lizz Sinclair at 773-5051, or lizz@mainehumanities.org. or at www.mainehumanities.org