One Book, One City

Movie companies routinely spend millions enticing the masses to watch their latest film on opening weekend. Imagine if local government, cultural, educational and corporate leaders spent even a small fraction of that money encouraging Angelenos to read.

“If All of Seattle Read the Same Book” is a brilliant social experiment started four years ago by the Seattle Public Library. It’s catching on across the country, most recently in Chicago.

The purpose of “One Book, One Chicago,” Mayor Richard M. Daley wrote, is to create a kind of citywide book club that promotes reading, literacy, fellowship and community discussion.

As the result of a highly organized campaign, thousands of Chicagoans just read “To Kill a Mockingbird,” the Pulitzer Prize-winning novel by Harper Lee about bigotry, courage and justice. City libraries were stocked with 4,000 copies of the book, including Polish and Spanish translations, and thousands more were sold in stores.

Residents of the Windy City attended lectures, discussion groups and special events, including a mock trial reenacting the dramatic courtroom scenes from the novel.

At least six public library branches participated in a marathon screening of the Academy Award-winning film based on the book, starring Gregory Peck; city officials distributed thousands of mockingbird lapel ribbons, hoping to spark discussion among passersby; and across the city, Starbucks hosted casual talks moderated by Chicago Public Library book club leaders.

The official Web site, www.chipublib.org/003cpl/onebook/mockingbird.html, is loaded with information and links about “To Kill a Mockingbird” and its historical and literary context, including additional reading materials, questions for group discussion and a link to other online sources.

The hope is that the program will promote “a culture of reading and discussion in Chicago by bringing our diverse city together around one great book,” Daley said.

With its program in the fourth year, Seattle is now reading the novel “Wild Life,” by Molly Gloss. The city’s original goal was to broaden and deepen people’s appreciation of literature, but sponsors also thought the program could help break down barriers between people and cultures.

Los Angeles could benefit immensely from this simple but inspired idea. We are a city whose peculiar geography, zoning, transportation system and diversity conspire to keep us apart.

We yearn for a sense of community, for a connection with our fellow residents built on something more meaningful than commerce and consumption. What could be better than the shared experience of great literature?

Cliches to the contrary, we are a city of readers. Southern California is the biggest book market in the U.S. We have all the ingredients to make the most of a “one book, one city” program. The question is whether we have the political will to make it happen.

Los Angeles should launch this idea now. One good book could make Los Angeles one city for the first time since the 1984 Olympics.