For one day out of the year, a group in Albert Lea is trying to get everyone on the same page &045; or at least in the same book.

A new initiative called &uot;Albert Lea Reads&uot; is going on this month. It is sponsored by the Albert Lea Public Library, Albert Lea Community Education, the Friends of the Library, The Constant Reader and the Albert Lea Civic Theatre.

The group has as its mission &uot;to bring our community together by reading and discussing one book. It will give us a new way to talk to each other about issues that matter and build a stronger community.&uot;

Albert Lea Reads Committee members Lori Barkema of the library and Heidi Cunningham of community education originally talked about ways for their two agencies to cooperate while at a Blandin Leadership Conference last winter.

&uot;We did talk about a community reads program,&uot; Cunningham said. &uot;But we wanted to find a way to unify around a positive theme in the community.&uot;

The idea of a whole community reading the same book was actually started in Seattle, said committee member Sarah Clendineng. Many communities with such an initiative have read fictional books, including &uot;The Grapes of Wrath&uot; and &uot;To Kill a Mockingbird,&uot; but Rochester had chosen a book called &uot;Nickel and Dimed.&uot;

The Albert Lea Reads Committee decided to read &uot;The Joy Diet,&uot; a self-help book by Martha Beck. The book was chosen because of the new trend in psychology to help people who are not dealing with mental health issues deal with daily life.

&uot;The idea is that if you have joy in your life and are a positive person, it will spill over to others,&uot; Barkema said, adding the author is a contributing writer to the &uot;Oprah&uot; magazine.

&uot;It’s the domino effect,&uot; added committee member Theresa Schmidt.

Committee member David Larson said this is one period in history that people have the time and resources to work on their quality of life more. &uot;They have more access to books, and have the opportunity to see how good we can make our lives,&uot; he said.

What’s more, the Albert Lea Reads initiative is a way to promote literacy, said Grace Haukoos of The Constant Reader. &uot;It’s already had some great outcomes,&uot; she said. &uot;I’m working with people I might not otherwise. It’s a way to pull together. We’re hoping people will say, ‘I’m going to read what my neighbor’s reading and then talk with them about it.’&uot;

Since announcing the initiative, Schmidt said the community has been very supportive. Many service clubs have donated money so the library can purchase additional copies of the book, which have been checked out. The Constant Reader sponsored a bookmark contest for children to generate interest in the book as well.

People can check out a copy of the book from the library or purchase one at The Constant Reader. Then, they can attend presentations by Larson, a certified professional coach, at the Albert Lea Civic Theatre. The presentations begin at 10:30 a.m. Saturday, Nov. 8, and at 2 p.m. Sunday, Nov. 16. Refreshments and discussion will follow.

The Fountain Lake Readers, a book club which meets at the library, will discuss the book as well. Sessions are at 2 and 7 p.m. Wednesday, Nov. 12, and at 10 a.m. Friday, Nov. 14. People should choose the session which works best for them.

Cunningham said the goal is to make Albert Lea Reads an annual event. People should also think about what book they’d like to read next year, and bring those ideas to one of the sessions.

For more information on Albert Lea Reads, call the library at 377-4350 or community education at 379-4835.

(Contact Geri McShane at lifestyles@albertleatribune.com, or call 379-3436.)