Business participation sought in community reading program

The Washoe County Library wants businesspeople to do something that some of them haven't done since college read a novel and discuss its implications with co-workers and friends.

In Ray Bradbury's 1953 novel of censorship and defiance, "Fahrenheit 451" marks the temperature at which books burn.

The novel has been selected for a community-wide reading project, Northern Nevada Reads, part of the nationwide Big Read initiative sponsored by the National Endowment for the Arts. The event kicks off Friday and runs through October.

The library has scheduled a month of book discussions, movie viewings and other events through October. Nancy Cummings, director of the Washoe County Library Systems, asks that business and corporations join in by forming employee discussion groups to read the book.

"We really want to get the business and corporate sector involved, and we are more than happy to help," Cummings says. "We can even furnish them with reader's guides and other materials."

The Washoe County Library has several trained moderators available to lead discussion groups during lunch or other hours. The goal of the reading initiative is encouraging community-wide discussion of Bradbury's classic novel and its themes, which resonate as strongly today as when it was written 54 years ago, Cummings says.

"The theme, to paraphrase Ray Bradbury, is the negative impact the media has on reading, specifically television," she says, adding that discussions of the novel act as a springboard for critical thought about censorship, book banning and other provocative topics.

The library has already purchased and disseminated several thousand copies of the novel, Cummings says. Participating cities chose among 12 classic and though-provoking books such as "The Joy Luck Club" by Amy Tan, "The Heart is a Lonely Hunter" by Carson McCullers, "The Grapes of Wrath" by John Steinbeck and "To Kill A Mockingbird" by Harper Lee.

Part of the program includes a "Get Caught Reading" snapshot of people in the community stealing moments to enjoy a book. The library will post photos on its website.

For more information log on to northernnevadareads.org.