One Book One Community Events

One Book One Community

Mount Aloysius College will participate once again in the One Book, One Community Program for Cambria County. The "One Book" concept of community-wide reading programs was initiated in 1998 by the Center for the Book, the Library of Congress, which assists in coordinating local programs across the U.S.A. and around the world. This is the third year that Mount Aloysius College has been a sponsor of this event.

The book selection for 2009 is Water for Elephant: A Novel, a New York Times Bestseller, written by Sara Gruen, the author of Riding Lessons and Flying Changes. She lives north of Chicago with her husband, her three children, four cats, two goats, two dogs, and a horse.

Stephen King writes that, "For pure story, this colorful, headlong tale of a Depression-era circus simply can't be beat. Heroes, villains, romance, a wild-animal stampede! Big fun from page 1."— (Entertainment Weekly)

Community Events
A series of community events around the themes of the book are planned and will be held at various venues throughout the county.

Monday, April 20, 2009, 7:00 p.m. Coffee Talk, Book Discussion, Perkins Restaurant, Richland.

Wednesday, April 22, 2009, 7:00 p.m. Film, “The Greatest Show on Earth” (1952), Blackington Hall, Room 131, University of Pittsburgh at Johnstown.

Tuesday, April 28, 2009, 7:00 p.m. Presentation, “Unscheduled Stop: TheTtown of Tyrone and the Wreck of the Walter L. Main Circus Train” by Paula Zitzler. Mount Aloysius College Library, Cresson.

Saturday, May 2, 2009, 1:00 p.m. Lecture, Commonwealth Speaker, Benjamin Sota, “How the Circus Helped Folks During the Great Depression”, Cambria County Library, Community Room, Johnstown.

Other sponsors of the One Book One Community program in Cambria County are the Pennsylvania Highlands Community College, Saint Francis University, the University of Pittsburgh at Johnstown, the Cambria County Library System, the Tribune Democrat, the Zepka Harley-Davidson, the Johnstown Harley Owners Group, the Rotary Club of Cambria County, and Perkins Restaurant & Bakery.

A copy of the book is available at the Mount Aloysius College Library, Circulation Desk. Contact Shamim Rajpar, srajpar@mtaloy.edu or 886-6442, or at the One Book One Community website http://www.pennhighlands.edu/library/onebook09/index.htm for additional information.