One City, One Book 
What if everyone in Greensboro read the same book...and then set out to build a stronger community? Every other year, the Greensboro Public Library along with many partners, leads a city-wide reading of a selected title. Lively programs of discussion, films, theatrical productions, readings, and more are held to engage the entire community in the theme of the
chosen work.
Book selection for 2010: "The Soloist: A Lost Dream, an Unlikely Friendship, and the Redemptive Power of Music," by Los Angeles Times columnist Steve Lopez.
A moving story of the remarkable bond between a journalist in search of a story and a homeless, classically trained musician.
Summary: When Steve Lopez saw Nathaniel Ayers playing his heart out on a two-string violin on Los Angeles’ skid row, he found it impossible to walk away. More than thirty years earlier, Ayers had been a promising classical bass student at Juilliard—ambitious, charming, and also one of the few African-Americans—until he gradually lost his ability to function, overcome by schizophrenia. When Lopez finds him, Ayers is homeless, paranoid, and deeply troubled, but glimmers of that brilliance are still there. Over time, Steve Lopez and Nathaniel Ayers form a bond, and Lopez imagines that he might be able to change Ayers’s life. Lopez collects donated violins, a cello, even a stand-up bass and a piano; he takes Ayers to Walt Disney Concert Hall and helps him move indoors. For each triumph, there is a crashing disappointment, yet neither man gives up. In the process of trying to save Ayers, Lopez finds that his own life is changing, and his sense of what one man can accomplish in the lives of others begins to expand in new ways. Poignant and ultimately hopeful, The Soloist is a beautifully told story of friendship and the redeeming power of music.
Work on program development for October 2010 is underway. To be involved in the planning process, contact the project coordinator.
One City One Book is sponsored by Friends of the Greensboro Public Library.
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