No two persons ever read the same book.
The cover and the words may be the same, but each reader meets the story on different terms. He or she brings his or her own thoughts and feelings to the encounter. Each has a different current life situation and past experiences that influences his or her interpretation of the text.
It all leads to a personalized understanding and view of the book.
That premise is partly what the greater Alliance area’s One Book One Community program is all about.
With that in mind, the OBOC selection committee chose a book that embodies the idea that each individual reader engages with a particular book in a way that is unique to them.
As the program marks its 21st year in 2025, the community is encouraged to read No Two Persons by New York Times bestselling author Erica Bauermeister, which has been hailed as “a gloriously original celebration of fiction, and the ways it deepens our lives.”
No Two Persons is about one book, nine readers, and ten changed lives.
Alice always wanted to be a writer, but her talent was innate and her stories remained safe and detached until a devastating event broke her heart and she created a stunning debut novel.
Her words, in turn, find their way to readers, from a teenager hiding her homelessness, to a free diver pushing himself beyond endurance, an artist furious at the world around her, a bookseller in search of love, a widower devastated by grief, and a couple others.
Each reader is drawn into Alice’s novel and each one discovers something different that alters their perspective, and presents new pathways forward for their lives.
Together, their stories reveal how books can affect us in unexpected ways ― and how we are all more closely connected to one another than we might think.
Books are on sale at Rodman Public Library and at the Rodman Branch Library for $15, which includes tax.
Bauermeister will visit Alliance on Thursday, March 27 and will address readers at 7 p.m. inside Brush Hall at the Giese Center for the Performing Arts on the campus of the University of Mount Union. The event is free and open to the public.
As in past years, a series of programs will be held at Rodman Public Library ahead of the author’s visit. Details about those programs will be forthcoming.
One Book One Community is sponsored by Friends of Rodman Public Library, the Greater Alliance Foundation, and the University of Mount Union.
For more information about One Book One Community, call 330-821-2665.