One-Book Programs Sweep the United States

The Kite Runner, set in Afghanistan, one of the most popular choices

In Portland, Oregon, thousands of residents are reading The Kite Runner, by Khaled Hosseini. In Brownsburg, Indiana, the book of choice is Tuesdays with Morrie, by Mitch Albom. In Westport, Connecticut, they are reading The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-Time, by Mark Haddon. In the metropolis of Los Angeles, the book is Walter Mosley's Little Scarlet, while in the tiny nearby community of Malibu, home of movie stars and surfers, they are reading Gidget, the story of a girl's discovery of surfing and love.

Each of these cities and towns have adopted a single book. They are among hundreds of communities in the United States that have welcomed One-Book initiatives. Participating towns, counties or even entire states choose one book and encourage everyone to read and discuss it.

Most One-Book programs generally schedule a variety of other activities that support the selected book, such as public lectures, interviews with the author, newspaper articles and group discussions. The intent is to build cultural communities within broader communities.

Who chooses the books that help build these new communities? The titles for One-Book programs usually are selected by a local library, often working through a committee of advisers. Nancy Pearl, a former librarian and book seller, who has become a minor celebrity by promoting books on television, radio and in speeches, generally is acknowledged as the founder of One-Book programs.

"We deliberately choose not-particularly-well-known books that lend themselves to good discussions - books that raise important questions about moral choices or ethical behavior or the meaning of life, but that did so without hitting people over the head with their message," she said.

The selections cover a wide variety of books. Most communities choose novels, but many take history or sociology or biography. Some read the classics, while others pick recent best seller. Some choose books set in their community. The idea is to involve as many people as possible.

The history of this popular idea is surprisingly short. It began in Seattle in 1998, when Pearl, who at the time was head of the Washington State Center for the Book, launched a project called "What if All Seattle Read the Same Book?"

"I hoped that by getting people to come together in a public place, like a library or a community center, to talk about the same book, it would help grow a community out of a group of diverse individuals," Pearl said.

Chris Higashi, who worked with Pearl on this project, admits that the two of them were a little nervous about the reception of the idea.

"We weren't sure if anyone would show up. We were afraid we'd look pretty silly," she said.

But Pearl and Higashi had tapped an unmet desire for discussion of serious literature. People did show up, and the idea quickly spread to other communities. Many of these programs are associated with the Centers for the Book that exist in each state and are affiliated with the Library of Congress, which keeps records of participating communities and selected books. The American Library Association also has weighed in, promoting the Big Read, which encourages communities to read classics of American literature.

The Multnomah County Library in Portland, Oregon, has chosen The Kite Runner by Khaled Hosseini, a novel of friendship, betrayal and redemption set in Afghanistan and the United States, as the title for the local One-Book program. A best seller, The Kite Runner has been described as the first Afghan novel written in English.

The Multnomah County Library has scheduled almost 40 discussion groups in the Portland area - in branch libraries, in bookstores and even in coffee shops. The county library purchased 6,000 copies of the book to meet patron demand. Many of the city's numerous semiformal reading groups, usually organized among friends, also read the book. But this was only the beginning of the program.

SPONSORS USE PARTNERSHIPS TO EXPAND ACVITIVITIES

Sponsors organized lectures on Afghanistan by local academics, kite-making workshops, Afghan food-tasting parties, concerts of Afghan music, photography exhibits, films and even a play presented by a theater group from New York City. The library gathered co-sponsors from the business community to help defray costs and to assist in organization. It also persuaded local newspapers to provide publicity and run interviews with the author. Terrilyn Chun of the Multnomah County Library said almost 13,000 people participated in the 2006 program.

"These projects are much fuller and richer when you involve other partners," she said. She added that the local Afghan community has expressed its great appreciation for these events.

Though designed to promote reading in general, it is the desire for community that lies at the heart of the One-Book programs.

"There is a lot of disconnect in today's society," Chun said. She said the One-Book program can help strengthen ties among neighbors.

"Reading and discussing the same book seemed to me to be a perfect way to overcome our superficial differences and understand our common humanity," Pearl said.

As One-Book programs grow, Americans from regional, ethnic, religious and social communities will find themselves with one more community to tie them closer together, the community of literature.

Source: U.S. Department of State

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