WHEELING –– Associate Professor of English Dr. Scott Hanna kicks off the opening night of a new community event, Wheeling Reads: One Book, One Community this week.
Oglebay Institute’s Towngate Theater and the Wheeling Arts and Cultural Commission will host the event that takes place at 7 p.m. Thursday, Feb. 6, at Towngate Theater, 2118 Market St, Wheeling, in the social room. Snacks will be available for purchase. 
The city has voted to read Tara Westover’s memoir, “Educated” over the next year. A New York Times bestseller, the 329-page book was published in 2018.
At the kick-off, Hanna will give a lecture on the impact of place in literature. His lecture will be followed by a short series of place-based readings by local writers, including alumna Christina Fisanick and Laura Jackson Roberts.
Sean Duffy, chair of the History and Literature Committee of the Arts & Cultural Commission and program coordinator at the Ohio County Public Library, hopes the 10 months will involve more than just reading the book.
He said the collaboration between the Arts & Cultural Commission and the library will “feature programs at local restaurants, coffee shops and other venues, events featuring discussions of parts of the book and many more surprises over the next year.” Similar initiatives have been carried out in cities around the country to encourage a sense of community and a love of literature.
In a city-wide vote, “Educated” was chosen from a group of five books nominated by the History and Literature Committee. To participate in Wheeling Reads, simply purchase or borrow — the Ohio County Public Library has available several copies in multiple formats including digital and audio ( visit ohiocountylibrary.org) — the book and complete it before the finale event on Nov. 7, a part of the annual Upper Ohio Valley Festival of Books. (WLU’s Elbin Library also has one copy of the book available.)
For more information, contact Duffy at 304-232-0244 or lunchwithbooks@yahoo.com.