One book, one community

As we move into April, it's time for the annual One Book, One Community event here in Allegheny County. The committee responsible for selecting the title works hard and long on the process - I attended several of the meetings and can vouch for how seriously the members take their responsibility for selecting a title that is readable, interesting to a broad audience, yet has literary merit.

Using the 250th anniversary of Pittsburgh as a basis for considering titles, I believe the committee made a perfect selection. The title celebrates one of our finest residents, Fred Rogers. Mr. Rogers was and continues to be respected and beloved not only locally, but nationally and even internationally for the sincerity and caring he demonstrated at all times. A wonderful embodiment of what locals always reference when talking about Pittsburghers - we are friendly and good neighbors. That is one the of the first things I heard about when I moved here more than 25 years ago, and by celebrating this man, we celebrate ourselves.

So, read the book: I'm Proud of You, by Tim Madigan. It is a quick read and makes us consider the meaning of neighbor and mentor. The purpose of the One Book program is to try to get as many people in the community thinking about and discussing the same book. Being a bookmobile program, we are limited in how we can bring together you and our other users to discuss the book. I hope that many of you will go to As the Wheels Turn, our Book Discussion Forum, to do just that - talk about this book with others in your community. There will be various topics as starting points for a discussion, and you can always start your own discussion point for others to comment on. After all, it is the neighborly thing to do!

Book: Pay it forward
Movie: Pay it forward