I walked through Mount Vernon Square, peered into the many white tents set up around the square, looked in on book stalls, author readings and book signings. I noticed a board detailing the line up of events in the main authors tent and scanned it for any recognisable names. Walter Mosley was on the following day - that would've been something to see - but I was heading back to London that day, so I didn't have the time. I decided, given my busy Baltimore schedule of shopping, eating and taking photos of the police station used in filming Homicide: Life on the Street, I should just catch the next author in the lineup.
It was Ron Suskind, an author I had never heard of. He was entertaining though and very energetic, almost like an enthusiastic preacher, when speaking about his book, "A Hope in the Unseen", about a student growing up in a dangerous D.C. neighborhood who realises his ambition to make it to University. An inspiring story indeed and I immediately bought a copy. I haven't read it yet, but look forward to doing so.
The interesting aspect of this book is that it has been selected for One Maryland, One Book, a statewide community reading program; a kind of book club for the whole state. It runs for a whole year, with this one book being read and discussed across Maryland by students, teenagers, the unemployed, families, everyone. It's aimed at connecting communities across the state through the medium of one book, encouraging people to read and debate issues in the process.
As the First Lady of Maryland, Katie O'Malley, introduced Ron Suskind at the Baltimore Book Festival that very wet and rainy day, she explained the concept of the One Maryland, One Book program and it got me thinking: what book would be fitting for a similar program in England?
It would have to be a book that had something important to say, something that would resonate with all people in England, touch on the issues that are important to the communities within.
What book could entice people from all walks of life to pick it up and start reading? What book could create healthy debate and discussion among English communities about the issues relevant to them?
Any ideas?
