Last year it was Go Fish.

This year, it's Go Read.

That's the campaign aimed at getting the entire Richmond community to read and discuss the same thought-provoking book: "A Lesson before Dying," by Ernest J. Gaines.

Libraries have stocked up on the title.

Tool kits to help run book clubs have been created and circulated.

Campaign buttons have been distributed, asking the question, "What page are you on?"

Now all Richmond has to do is Go Read.

"We want people to feel that they are part of a community discussion," said Robert Rieffel, Richmond's city librarian and an organizer of Go Read.

Local business and civic leaders are encouraging the entire community to pick up the novel, read it cover to cover, and erupt into discussion with neighbors, friends and strangers about the award-winning book.

"Why wouldn't the world want to do this?" said Sandy Stoddart, executive director of the Circuit City Foundation and another organizer of Go Read.

"A Lesson Before Dying" explores issues of race, inequity and capital punishment. The 1993 novel tells the story of a young black man in the Deep South in the 1940s. The central character, Jefferson, finds himself in the wrong place at the wrong time.

He ends up convicted of murder and sentenced to death. A disillusioned teacher struggles to help him face his execution with dignity.

"There's something in this book to offend everybody," Ms. Stoddart said. While discussing the book's themes may be "very painful in some communities," it makes for a "wonderful starting point for discussion."

Go Read has a fundamental reason: "To reinforce the fact that literacy is important," Mr. Rieffel said. He held his first Go Read discussion this week at St. Luke's Lutheran Church. Discussions by others will follow.

Modeled after programs in cities including Seattle, Chicago, and Rochester, N.Y., Go Read aims to promoted reading, discussion and a sense of community throughout the Richmond area. Readers are encouraged to attend formal discussions as well as hold talks on their own.

Organizers want to reach parents and kids alike. There's even a reading list for kids from kindergarten through eighth grade with books that deal with subjects related to Go Read's selection.

The program here has drawn support in corners ranging from the city manager's office to public schools, local libraries, university halls and corporate suites.

"It's an opportunity for people to share in a common experience," said Ms. Stoddart. Public library branches in Richmond, Chesterfield and Henrico, and the Go Read Web site (www.goreadrichmond.com) will give information on Go Read events in the coming weeks.

Local libraries have loaded up on the title in hopes of attracting readers to borrow the book. Organizations that want their members to participate can get a limited number of free tool kits from public libraries.

The kits have books, promotional materials, information about the author and pointers to generate discussion. Among the questions to spur thinking: "What does the first sentence of the book mean, when Grant Wiggins says, "I was not there, yet I was there'?"

Go Read organizers are planning to close this year's campaign with a visit from Mr. Gaines in December. Committee members have invited the author to give a public reading as a capstone event.

Used by permission of the Richmond Free Press.

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