This year All Pikes Peak Reads explores the proliferation of media — from reality TV to social media and almost everything in between — and its influence on those who consume it. The communitywide effort to improve literacy and “foster dialogue across social, cultural and generational lines” has engaged more than 300,000 readers since it began in 2002 with “To Kill a Mockingbird,” according to the library.

Featured books this year include nonfiction works “The Shallows: What the Internet is Doing to Our Brains” by Nicholas Carr and “The Pioneer Photographer” by William Henry Jackson and Howard Driggs. The centerpiece, though, is Suzanne Collins’ post-apocalyptic teen novel “The Hunger Games.”

“Someone of the APPR team put forward ‘The Hunger Games,’ ” said Dee Sabol, head of Community Engagement and Outreach at the Pikes Peak Library District. The book, which has a rabid teen and young adult audience, was just taking off then.

At first, Sabol wasn’t convinced of the fit.

“Then my son, who was 13 at the time, called me and said, ‘You have to get me this book.’ He was reading it in school, and they wouldn’t let them read ahead,” she said, laughing. “He hadn’t read a book for pleasure since he was 9.”

The appeal, she says, lies in the affinity young readers feel for the characters, children and teenagers who have been forced by the government to compete in a televised death match. The message: Not even children are exempt from the Capitol’s absolute rule.

“The kids are shocked and appalled for the characters,” she said. “I know my son kept saying how unfair the (games) were.”

Adults have been interested, too, and Sabol said she believes the program will see a spike in attendance among the post-teen set.

“Even though it’s post-apocalyptic, I don’t see this as being fantasy as much,” Sabol said. Some programs planned as part of All Pikes Peak Reads show that the fictional Hunger Wars aren’t “really that far off than what is happening in reality.”

For instance, the orphan trains plucked children from their New York city homes from 1854 to 1929. At each stop along the route, the children knew they could be given away to strangers. Alison Moore will present a multimedia program on the topic Thursday.

As usual, this year’s All Pikes Peak Reads programs run the gamut: There are theater and music programs, art classes, readings and discussion groups. For Sabol, increased awareness about the effects of media is the program’s bottom line.

“Even if (participants) only thought about it in their own lives, that would be success,” she said.ALL PIKES PEAK READS EVENTSBlimp: Saturday through Oct. 22 at various library locations. Birgitta De Pree and Sara Barad of the Manitou Art Theatre bring theater magic to kids of all ages.How to Take Great Candid Pictures of Your Children: 1:30 p.m. Sept. 24, Briargate Library, and 2 p.m. Oct. 8, East Library. Photographer Stefanie Garcia teaches techniques for capturing wonderful photos of your children.3Tigers Martial Arts: 1:30 p.m. Sept. 24, Ruth Holley Library. Learn self-defense strategies and basic techniques to help you live with a courageous heart.Make a Book Day for All Pikes Peak Reads: 2 p.m. Sept. 24, Penrose Library. Use your imagination as you create your own one-of-a-kind book to celebrate All Pikes Peak Reads.An Old Time Radio Show: 1:30 to 4 p.m. Oct. 2, East Library Community Room. CRASH! Whoosh! SQUEeeeAK! Do you love to make noise and be dramatic? Help create an old-time radio drama, complete with sound effects. Children ages 9 and older and a parent or grandparent are welcome. Sign up at 531-6333, ext. 1403.The 39 Steps: Thursday-Oct. 9, $30, $15 ages 15 and younger, TheatreWorks, Dusty Loo Bon Vivant Theater, University of Colorado at Colorado Springs, 3955 Regent Circle, 255-3232, theatreworkscs.org. This adaptation of the Hitchcock classic has everything: a great hero, mystery, danger, murder, sinister villains, intriguing women, planes and trains — all set in Scotland on the eve of the Great War.Colorado Springs Cool Science Festival: Oct. 15-22, cscoolscience festival.org. A hands-on science carnival on Oct. 15 kicks off a week of science events.Poet of Motion! A One-Man Show with Peter Davison at Manitou Art Theatre. Oct. 1-2, $10, 465-6321, themat.org. This one-man show combines dance with object manipulation, poetry and comedy to illustrate the vital relationships we have with the everyday objects that surround us.|Read and Rave: Kick-off to APPR discussion of “The Hunger Games.” 7-10 p.m. Friday, Briargate Library, 260-6882, ppld.org. Dance party featuring Caliba and Mz Nedra (calibamusic.com),  break dancers and DJ Big Mike Gomez.“Hunger Games” Celebration and Food Drive: 2 p.m. Sept. 24, High Prairie Library. Represent your favorite district as you train for the games, then compete against your fellow Tributes; craft your own Mockingjay pin. Donations of canned food are welcome. Grades 6-12.APPR Writing Contest: Middle and high school students can enter Monday to Oct. 14. More at ppld.org/teens.1st Annual Indie Teen Film Fest: Make your own 10-minute film on the theme “adventure.” Films must be set in a library and incorporate the word “rosebud” and a cape that has red on it. Submit DVD to Sandy Hancock at Penrose Library by 9 p.m. Nov. 21.The Role of Social Media in Middle East Regime Change: 7 a.m.-2 p.m. Sept. 29, Armstrong Hall, Colorado College, http://csworldaffairs .org. Free symposium featuring address by Ambassador Richard Fairbanks, a debate between teams from Colorado College and the Air Force Academy, several roundtable discussion groups, a film related to the topic and a discussion of the film.Sudden Impact with David Vessey: 2 p.m. Saturday, East Library Community Room. A two-hour exploration into the history of and the impact photography by the nationally known photographer.Sharing Photos: Then and Now: 11 a.m.-1:30 p.m. Oct. 18, Centennial Campus Atrium, Pikes Peak Community College. Multimedia artist, photographer and educator Kevin Hoth talks about digital imaging and its effects on contemporary culture.Photography and the Urban Landscape: Sept. 21-Oct. 26, Bemis School of Art at Colorado Springs Fine Arts Center, 30 W. Dale St., $203 (members $188). Redefine your photography to better understand the world around you. Ages 16 and older.Screening of “The American Experience — The Orphan Trains”: 10:30 a.m. Oct. 8 at Cheyenne Mountain Library Community Room. Story of the controversial effort to rescue poor and homeless children in New York City; between 1854 and 1929, more than 100,000 children were sent, via orphan trains, to new homes in rural America.

“The Hunger Games” is a best-selling book among teens and young adults and is an integral part of the 2011 All Pikes Peak Reads program. Photo by Courtesy of Scholastic Inc.