• A philosophical dog who loves racing in the rain

• A Japanese boy and a Chinese girl who fall in love during WWII

• Nine people who are trapped in a collapsed building after an earthquake

• Four undocumented Mexican American students and two great teachers who enter a robot building contest

• A Texas ranger who tries to solve two racial homicides

• A clever octopus who brings family members together

Hopefully, you’ve guessed it—they are all characters from a Richardson Reads One Book selection—a program that is now in its nineteenth year.

Through an engaging author lecture, Richardson Reads One Book aims to:

• Stimulate an interest in the pleasure and the importance of reading

• Encourage citizens of the richly diverse Richardson community to come together to openly discuss a selected book and the issues it raises.

The Richardson Public Library joined with various other organizations in Richardson to hold the first annual Richardson Reads One Book author lecture in September 2004 and it repeats in September every year because it is National Literacy Month This year’s selection, Remarkably Bright Creatures, is a delightful return to the tradition.

If you haven’t read the book, here’s a taste from the author’s website:

“After Tova Sullivan’s husband died, she began working the night shift at the Sowell Bay Aquarium, mopping floors and tidying up. Keeping busy has always helped her cope, which she’s been doing since her eighteen-yearold son, Erik, mysteriously vanished on a boat in Puget Sound more than thirty years ago.

Tova becomes acquainted with curmudgeonly Marcellus, a giant Pacific octopus living at the aquarium. Marcellus knows more than anyone can imagine but wouldn’t dream of lifting one of his eight arms for his human captors—until he forms a remarkable friendship with Tova.

Ever the detective, Marcellus deduces what happened the night Tova’s son disappeared. And now Marcellus must use every trick his old invertebrate body can muster to unearth the truth for her before it’s too late. Shelby Van Pelt’s debut novel is a gentle reminder that sometimes taking a hard look at the past can help uncover a future that once felt impossible.”

Shelby Van Pelt grew up in Tacoma, Washington, and loved the aquarium at the Point Defiance Zoo & Aquarium from an early age. She lives in the Midwest with her husband and children now, but her debut novel is still set in the Pacific Northwest where Van Pelt grew up.

As a literary program that attracts national and international best-selling authors to our city, Richardson Reads One Book is a singular, successful program in our community. Perhaps our 2012 One Book author, Chitra Divakaruni, said it best: “I believe strongly in the power of story in creating community. It is when we learn about the core of the lives of strangers that they become family to us.”

Please join us at this year’s Richardson Reads One Book event at First United Methodist Church Richardson on Tuesday, September 26 at 7:30 pm. Free tickets will be available at Heights and Huffhines Recreation Centers and the Richardson Senior Center beginning Tuesday, September 5. Check out our website at http://cor.net/onebook, like us on Facebook @RROBTX, or follow us on Instagram @richardsonreadsonebook.

RROB Shadow box event