One Book, One Community is an annual event held by William & Mary Libraries and the Williamsburg Regional Library to encourage our community to come together and have a shared reading experience.
2024
The Displacements, Bruce Holsinger
The 2024 One Book features The Displacements by Bruce Holsinger. When Hurricane Luna, the first category 6 storm, hits land, it leaves devastating destruction - homes destroyed, family members missing, and finances abruptly cut off. Told primarily from the eyes of one family, many stories are represented as evacuees from across the American South are transported hundreds of miles to a FEMA megashelter where their new community's resilience is tested.
2023
The New American, Micheline Marcom
The selection for the 2023 One Book, One Community program is Micheline Aharonian Marcom’s book, The New American. This “harrowing, heartbreaking story” (Kirkus Reviews) depicts the epic journey of a young Guatemalan American college student, a “dreamer,” who gets deported and decides to make his way back home to California.
2022
Palaces for the People, Eric Klinenberg
The 2022 One Book, One Community program focused on Eric Klinenberg's book, Palaces for the People, which explores how shared spaces can positively impact society. In his book, Klinenberg reminds us that democracy is fortified by people coexisting together in public and that public spaces can produce community, belonging, and unity.
2021
Stamped: Racism, Antiracism, and You, Jason Reynolds
The selection for 2021's program is national bestseller Stamped: Racism, Antiracism, and You by Jason Reynolds and Ibram X. Kendi. The book shines a light on the many insidious forms of racist ideas--and on ways readers can identify and stamp out racist thoughts in their daily lives. Swem Library and Williamsburg Regional Library have multiple copies of the book available for check-out, as well as the e-book.
2020
There There, Tommy Orange
The inaugural selection for One Book, One Community was Tommy Orange's There There, which was a breakout bestseller and finalist for the 2019 Pulitzer Prize. The book explores themes of native people living in spaces and the challenges they face from depression to unemployment to struggles with identity.