News & Events

Let the Great World Spin announced as the One Book, One Bloomington and Beyond Selection for 2011

Bloomington, Ind. -  Each fall, members of the community are invited to nominate titles for One Book One Bloomington and Beyond, and then to make their selection from a short list of finalists. This year’s community selection is Colum McCann’s Let the Great World Spin: A Novel, which won the 2009 National Book Award for fiction. It also was the 2009 Book-of-the-Year on Amazon.com and Oprah Winfrey’s top recommended read in summer 2009.

The novel hinges on Philippe Petit’s 1974 tightrope walk a quarter of a mile above the streets of Manhattan between the uncompleted World Trade Towers. Below, the lives of ordinary people become entwined in extraordinary ways. The novel captures the spirit of America in a time of transition, promise, and soon-to-be-ended innocence.

Five public discussions of Let the Great World Spin are scheduled from February through April at venues around the community. Local book clubs are encouraged to read and discuss the novel. Starting March 22, Monroe County Public Library will present a free film series featuring some of the incredible events of 1974—President Nixon’s resignation , Patty Hearst’s kidnapping, the illicit high wire walk of Philippe Petit, and Evel Knievel’s jump across the Snake River Canyon in a steam-powered rocket.

The One Book One Bloomington and Beyond website, www.mcpl.info/onebook, will include a calendar of events and resources related to this year’s community read. Monroe County Public Library has multiple print copies in its collection as well audiobook versions. Copies also are available for purchase through local booksellers.

One Book, One Bloomington and Beyond is a partnership of the City of Bloomington Parks and Recreation Department, Indiana University Libraries, Monroe County Public Library, and Monroe County Community School Corporation. Through the discussion of a single book and the issues therein, the One Book initiative seeks to encourage literary reading and to build community by encouraging conversation and the sharing of ideas by members of the community.