One Book, One Oak Park is returning for a second summer as the Oak Park Public Library’s community reading program for adults and teens. The program is aimed at bringing our village together and exploring a theme that Oak Parkers have told us matters most to them and to our community’s future.
This year’s title, which was selected through online and in-person voting at all library locations, will hit especially close to home. What We’ve Lost Is Nothing, by Rachel Louise Snyder, is set in Oak Park and explores the value of diversity and integration. In this debut novel published last year, a series of home invasions shakes residents into examining hidden prejudices, the power of tolerance, and the evolving relationship between American cities and their suburbs.
“It’s really interesting to be reading a novel that takes place in the town you live in,” said Reference Librarian Alexandra Skinner. “Little details like teens hanging out at Tasty Dog. That brings a whole different aspect to the story when you can picture places from the novel not just from the description in the writing, but because you walk by it all the time.”
The library will host several book group discussions in June and July, and also will provide book discussion kits for groups who’d like to meet on their own. For more information, visit oppl.org/summer-reading.
“I want to encourage the community to read the book because it provides an opportunity for us all to connect,” Skinner said. “Not only with an interesting book, but with each other. It gives us the opportunity to say, ‘I read that book too. What did you think?’ to our neighbors, to the person next to us on the El. And since the book takes place in our own town, it’s a chance to ask what the novel gets right about Oak Park, what we think of our hometown, and how we want it to be.”
Participate in a library-led book discussion
- Thursday, June 25, 7 pm, Maze Branch
- Friday, July 10, 1 pm, Dole Branch
- Wednesday, July 15, 1 pm, Main Library
- Monday, July 20, 10:30 am, Main Library
(A special library-led discussion for caregivers with young children. Toys and books will be provided for babies’ and toddlers’ entertainment while grown-ups discuss the book.)
