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One Book One Community

Program Overview  

The One Book One Community initiative aims to use a common and compelling reading experience to:

1. inspire thought-provoking dialogue among readers                  

2. to increase visibility of issues relevant to the community

3. to raise awareness of literacy issues within our area.

The One Book One Community program is a partnership of several non-profit agencies within the Baton Rouge area. Along with Forum 35, OBOC partners include: LSU, Baton Rouge Community College, East Baton Rouge Parish Library, Redstick Internet Services, Barnes & Noble, and the Greater Baton Rouge Literacy Coalition. Greater Baton Rouge area residents interested in participating in OBOC are encouraged to visit www.readonebook.org for more information contact Sean McDonald, VP of Projects.

Details for 2013's program coming soon!  

2012 OBOC Program

The 2012 One Book One Community Summer Program launched on Saturday, June 2nd at the Red Stick Farmer's Market and Arts Market. Mayor-President Kip Holden announced the title of this year's program to be Karen Spears Zacharias’ "A Silence of Mockingbirds: The Memoir of a Murder”

Ms. Zacharias will visit Baton Rouge on for a FREE public event at 7 p.m. on Thursday, July 26, at LSU’s Cox Communications Academic Center for Student Athletes. The Cox Center is located on the corner of Fieldhouse and N. Stadium Drives on the LSU Campus.

About the Book

Zacharias’ compelling memoir, recalls the true story of 3-year-old Karly Sheehan, daughter of divorced parents Sarah and David Sheehan. On June 3, 2005, Karly Sheehan was beaten to death by Sarah’s live-in boyfriend, Shawn Field. Zacharias watched Sarah Sheehan grow up as a child and even allowed Sarah to live with her and her family for a period of time. Compelled to consider her own culpability in this tragic case, Zacharias pieces together the tragic events through court documents, investigators’ interviews, and interviews with friends, family, law enforcement officials and key witnesses. As the terrible story unfolds, the hard question emerges for everyone involved, "Why was no cry raised to protect Karly?”

For more information, schedule of events, and a free discussion guide for book clubs, visit www.ReadOneBook.org.

Previous summer selections include:

2011 – Crazy: A Father's Search Through America's Mental Health Madness by Pete Earley

2010 – In the Sanctuary of Outcasts by Neil White

2009 – Poor Man's Provence: Finding Myself in Cajun Louisiana by Rheta Grimsley Johnson

2008 – Left to Tell: Discovering God Amidst the Rwandan Holocaust by Immaculee Ilibagiza

2007 – Breach of Faith: Hurricane Katrina and the Near Death of a Great American City by Jed Horne

2006 – Life on the Color Line: The True Story of a White Boy who Discovered He was Black by Gregory Howard Williams