The 5H Community Read was a partnership between the 5 Healthy Towns Foundation Wellness Foundation, the Chelsea District Library, the Dexter District Library, the Grass Lake District Library and the Capital Area District Library in Stockbridge.
The first 5H Community Read took place in 2011. The featured book was the The Blue Zones: Lessons for Living Longer from the People Who’ve Lived the Longest by Dan Buettner. The 2012 book was Michael Pollan’s In Defense of Food. Copies of both books can still be found around the 5 Healthy Towns and at the libraries. In 2013, the coalitions focused on Bill Bryson’s A Walk in the Woods. Year four of the Community Read finished in November, 2014. The coalitions decided to reach out to a different demographic and chose John Green’s ‘The Fault in Our Stars.” 2015 focused on Avoiding Unhealthy Substances with the primary title focused on ‘A Hole in My Life’ by Jack Gantos.