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Program hopes to put readers on same page
By LISA BUIE, Times Staff Writer Information about One Book, One Pasco is now only a mouse click away. Organizers launched a Web site Tuesday that includes details about the first countywide book club. The program began four years ago in Seattle and has become all the rage in communities across the country. The site includes information about John Steinbeck's Of Mice and Men, the novel that was chosen for the project partly because of its brevity and because this year marks the 100th anniversary of Steinbeck's birth. One Book, One Pasco works like this: Residents are encouraged to read a selected book in hopes that it will promote literacy and civic unity. Organizations are sponsoring discussion groups and lectures that tie into the book. The book is required reading for all first-year students at Saint Leo University and all high school juniors in the Pasco public school system. The hope is that grass roots discussion groups will spring up spontaneously. The Web site was built by Christopher Cieszynski, a 22-year-old Hudson High graduate who is majoring in English writing/literature at Saint Leo University. The site features a photo of Steinbeck, the One Book, One Pasco logo, a schedule of events tying into Of Mice and Men, and links to study guides and other background on Steinbeck and his works. "I was leaning toward something fun," Cieszynski said Monday. "I really wanted a way to get people reading on the Internet." Visitors to the site also can link to the home pages of the program's sponsors: Saint Leo University, Pasco-Hernando Community College, the Pasco County School District, the Pasco County Library System and the St. Petersburg Times. They also will be able to access an archives and see reports of previous One Book, One Pasco events once they are held. Already, interest is being shown in the program days after it was unveiled in the Times on Sunday. Amy Cobb, a One Book, One Pasco committee member and employee at the Hudson library branch, said Monday that at least one person had stopped in and asked about the program. Anna Telak, manager of Waldenbooks in Gulf View Square mall, said the store had already sold six copies of Of Mice and Men as of Tuesday, primarily to retirees. "That's unusual unless a class is reading it," she said. The county library system has stocked extra copies of the book at all branches. Copies also will be made available to low-income readers who call the school district at one of the following numbers: (813) 794-2370, (727) 774-2370 or (352) 524-2370. To participateFor information about One Book, One Pasco and the schedule of events, visit www.saintleo.edu/1b1p. The Times is encouraging anyone who reads Of Mice and Men to share their experience for possible inclusion in a feature story about the program. Readers may call east/central Pasco Times editor Lisa Buie at (813) 909-4604 or toll-free 1-800-333-7505, ext. 4604. E-mail may be sent to buie@sptimes.com. Send letters to One Book, One Pasco, St. Petersburg Times, 24038 State Road 54, Lutz, FL 33559.
 © 2006 • All Rights Reserved • St. Petersburg Times
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From today's Pasco Times Letters |
