If you've been waiting for someone to tell you to Go Read, it's time to start Ernest J. Gaines' "A Lesson Before Dying."
Not that you have to do what I say.
My colleague Ray McAllister, who floated the one-book, one-city idea in his column, is reading the book.
So are area schools, book clubs, church groups, families, neighbors, car pools and, I'm guessing, a lot more loosely organized groups of people who want to talk about the book.
I'm reading it, too.
We're all participating in Go Read, Richmond's version of the popular shared-experience program launched in 1998 with "If All of Seattle Read the Same Book."
Since then, other cities and states borrowed the idea and the name (just substitute Rochester, Syracuse, Kentucky and Arkansas for Seattle). Still more came up with their own catchy titles: "One Book, One Chicago," "Missouri: Read More," "One City, One Story" in Gainesville, Fla., and "Read It - Share It" in Madison, Wis.
Our own name evolved from the popular Go Fish! program, which put fish art along local sidewalks. If the book generates as much talk as the fish, then Go Read, a three-year project, will succeed swimmingly.
The idea is to build community, to get everyone the Richmond metro area on the same page. Ideally, that's a metaphor for something much bigger than the same page of the same book.
But the same page of the same book is a good place to start.
This particular book tells the story of a young black man who was an unintentional party to a liquor store robbery and shootout. He is convicted of murder and sentenced to die. His godmother persuades a teacher to visit the man in jail and teach him "A Lesson Before Dying."
The Go Read organizers believe Gaines' book is suitable for adult and high-school readers. Younger readers who want to participate will find recommendations for their age level on Go Read's Web site.
Area libraries and bookstores have stocked up on copies of the book. You also may pick one up with your groceries at Ukrop's. The book is available in paperback for $12.95; some stores are offering discounts.
Librarians in the metro area also have Toolkits, a free resource guide for book-group leaders. Each Toolkit contains one copy of "A Lesson Before Dying," a reading guide, 10 lapel buttons and a "read it, sign it and pass it on" bookplate to stick inside the book.
Go Read organizers hope you'll read the book, add your name to the bookplate and share the book with someone else.
Richmond is not the first city to choose "A Lesson Before Dying," which won the National Book Critics Circle Award for fiction. Seattle, Buffalo, Rochester and Syracuse picked it. Oprah Winfrey also chose it for her book club.
"A Lesson Before Dying" was also the choice of a schoolwide reading and discussion project last year at James River High School in Chesterfield County.
"The community building was the most important part of the project," said Nancy Parrish, who teaches English at James River. "And a big part of that was being able to discuss the racism. The kids were amazed by that more than the adults. Their hearts were touched because of that."
Reading is such a solitary thing, it may seem strange to make it a community activity. But, when you think about it, that's how we find out about the best books, when we hear "everybody's reading them."
With Go Read, here's a chance to read a good book, to talk about it and, in the process, find some common ground.
Finding common ground is the idea behind gathering groups to talk about the book. Discussions are already under way - they're listed on the Go Read Web site - and will continue through December, building up to a Richmond appearance on Dec. 12 by Gaines.
"It's a very good book for discussion," said Veronica Cooper, who facilitates book groups that have read Gaines' book.
"The godmother who raised the young man who's going to the electric chair understands that it's inevitable. She wants him to face it like a man.
"To me, it's a lesson in facing the reality of the situation and insisting this young man can have some dignity, no matter what they do to him.
"I don't think it's a lesson in dying. It's a lesson in living with integrity."
Jann's column appears on Sundays and Wednesdays. Write her at The
Times-Dispatch, Box 85333, Richmond VA 23293, call (804) 649-6820,
fax (804) 649-6836, or e-mail jmalone@timesdispatch.com.
