In Margaret Atwood’s dystopian masterwork, America has collapsed, the Republic of Gilead has risen, and women’s rights have been dismantled. In our latest Winter Reading Video, Waldo Branch Manager Alicia Ahlvers tells how The Handmaid’s Tale, her selection for the 2011 Winter Reading Program, influenced her life as a reader and thinker.

The annual Adult Winter Reading Program runs from January 10 – March 13, 2011, at all Kansas City Public Library locations. The 2011 program offers a chance to win a Nook e-reader as well as the opportunity to see Winter Reading featured author Jasper Fforde in person on March 17 at the Plaza Branch, where he will discuss his new book, One of Our Thursdays Is Missing.

The theme for Winter Reading, Altered States, features masterful writers from a wide spectrum of genres to provide unique perspectives on what our lives might look like if humanity took a different turn – or takes a dive in the future. Find out how you can participate in the program, which includes book discussions and film screenings – in addition to a lot of great reading.