Last week, a new community reading initiative, One Book Nova Scotia, was launched.

What is a community reading initiative? One Book Nova Scotia aims to get as many Nova Scotians reading the same book and sharing the same story by encouraging everyone to read a selected book and providing opportunities for people to connect around that book. Opportunities to connect include author readings (the author of the selected book kicks off a provincewide tour in Sydney on Oct. 2), public book club meetings and social media interaction via Twitter and Facebook.

The One Book movement, as these initiatives are called, began in Seattle in 1998 with the statement: “If all Seattle read the same book.” Since then, cities across North America have adopted the idea. Last year, Prince Edward Island launched their One Book One Island on a provincewide basis. This year, Nova Scotia is following suit.

When One Book Nova Scotia launched last Friday, they announced their inaugural book choice as Twenty-Six by Leo McKay Jr. A fictionalized account of the Westray Mine disaster originally published in 1993, the book met all of the criteria of the selection committee:

• must be written by a living Canadian author
• must be able to generate discussion and exchange of ideas
• must be appealing to a broad range of adult readers of varying ages, literacy levels, and life experience
• must be in print and available for purchase in paperback
• must be strongly written with a compelling story, characters and setting that will generate excitement among readers

The Dalhousie Connections

On Tuesday, Dal Reads, our on-campus reading initiative, announced they are going to read the One Book Nova Scotia selection for their program this year. “We created the Dal Reads program a few years ago to encourage a shared reading experience across all our Dal communities, and what better way to continue Dal Reads than joining up with the new One Book Nova Scotia program,” says Bonnie Neuman, vice-president Student Services. “This book is a super read, with lots of resonance for anyone studying in Nova Scotia.”

Another Dal connection One Book Nova Scotia is that two Dalhousie Library staff members were part of the provincial steering committee, Ian Colford and Marlo MacKay.

“With his novel Twenty-Six, Leo McKay has written a tense and suspenseful story that reflects Nova Scotia back to itself in ways that, while not particularly flattering, are always compelling. The book demands our attention for the lessons it teaches and for showing us the human drama behind a tragic episode in our recent history,” says Ian Colford.

Leo McKay Jr. will be doing a reading at Dalhousie on Fri., Oct. 12 at the University Club Pub at 7 p.m. Everyone is welcome. He will also be reading at the Truro branch of the Colchester-East Hants Public Library on Thurs., Oct. 25 at 7 p.m.

Copies of Twenty-Six are available at the Killam and MacRae Libraries, and at the Dal Bookstore.

The Dal Libraries are sponsoring a contest to win a copy of the book. If you visit the Killam, check out the display table by the library administration office and fill in a ballot, explaining in twenty-six words why you love the Dal Libraries. If you can’t get to the Killam Library, send your twenty-six words to marlo.mackay@dal.ca by 11:59 p.m. on Tues., Oct. 9. Entries will be judged on originality and quality of writing. Winners will be notified by email on Oct. 10 and the decision of the judge is final.