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Contact Us About One Maryland One Book

Aditya Desai, Program Officer

(410) 685-0095

Wandering Books

Copies of the One Maryland One Book are wandering the state.

Will you be the next to find one?

Hold on – what’s a “Wandering Book”? And how can I get my hands on one?

In late summer, Maryland Humanities and our partners release “wandering” copies of the One Maryland One Book selection. Our partners drop off books in public places around their community and we post clues to their locations via Twitter, Instagram, and Facebook.

Find a copy and share your success! Log on to Bookcrossing.com to register the book, then get to reading. Once you’re finished, leave your review on Bookcrossing then release the book back into the world for the next reader to find and enjoy.

What’s in it for me?

Wandering Books is free and fun way to read something new and take part in One Maryland One Book, and there’s a bonus prize for participation! Readers who register a wandering book on Bookcrossing.com and leave a review will be automatically entered to win a $25 Bookshop.org gift card! Winners will be notified via the email they supplied on the Bookcrossing website.

I found a Wandering Book and read it. What do I do next?
Visit Bookcrossing.com and enter the code number found inside the cover. Don’t worry – this is a FREE site and you don’t need to pay to sign up. Post your review or list your reflections on the book (feel free to let us know what you think on social media, too!) and then release it back into the world.
I didn’t find a Wandering Book, but I still want to share my thoughts.
You can send us your review via email at omob@mdhumanities.org or post a comment on the Maryland Center for the Book page on Facebook. You can find book discussions at partner and co-host sites via our events calendar. Better yet, sign up to receive our monthly E-newsletter, Opening Eyes, to receive information about what’s happening in your area.
I want to post a review on BookCrossing, but I’m not sure what to say.
The Reader’s Guide found on the How to Participate page can provide you with lots of jumping off points via discussion questions, other reviews, and more.

Find us on Facebook for Clues!

Email us and let us know your thoughts!

“[One Maryland One Book] taught me how much we need to talk and listen to one another.”

One Maryland One Book 2016 participant
“We had our best attendance, ever, for a book discussion, in the seven years I’ve been here.”

One Maryland One Book 2015 participant
“My students have been removed from their home schools. Right away, they made comments about the diction of the text, how it seemed realistic to them and they pointed out words they would have changed. We talked about word choice, slang, etc. I had 2 instances where students were excited to see me because they had events similar to the book happen to them and they needed to tell someone. They want to know how to change things. […] These kids typically failed English class or were chronic non-attenders or were removed before they came here. They are excited about reading a book! Teacher librarian win!”

One Maryland One Book 2016 teacher
“One of my students, a boy who works 35 hours a week at McDonalds, took the time to write me a letter stating the book had changed his life.”

One Maryland One Book 2015 teacher
“A sophomore on our school’s state-champ runner-up varsity football team was so taken by Joe’s story of the sophomore year on the boat that he got his dad (the coach) and several members of his team to read the book even though they weren’t assigned it in class. Another student described a discussion she got into with her math teacher after school about the relevance of the English curriculum and used her experience with Brown’s work and the field trip to convince her teacher that humanities are just as important as STEM. Great stuff!”

One Maryland One Book 2015 teacher
“One student in my book club who is in a wheelchair and has a lot of other persona/home issues, was the first to finish the book, and wheeled herself into the library more than once to ask me if I had finished the book because she wanted to talk about it. She was a huge contributor to the discussion.”

One Maryland One Book 2016 teacher
“One student who has been held back several years and suffers from emotional disorders spent several minutes asking One Maryland One Book [author Daniel James Brown] questions. He very patiently listened and answered each question. He then signed her book: ‘Write with your heart not your head.’ To watch this interaction was very touching.”

One Maryland One Book 2015 teacher
“I completed the book club with 22 students, all of them on the JV football team – so not your stereotypical group of book club attendees. On the last day of our book club experience I asked students for some feedback and also asked if they would be interested in participating in another book club. Nearly all of them said that this was the first time they had ever participated in a book club, and a few said it was the first time they had actually read an entire book. I keep hearing back from them, too, [asking] ‘When is the next book club starting up?’. The discussions we had were powerful and meaningful–this was truly one of the most moving experiences I have had as an educator.”

One Maryland One Book 2016 teacher
“I distributed copies of the book and we engaged in an afterschool discussion which included students and staff. Everyone who participated was so engaged that our 45 minute planned discussion ended up stretching into an hour and a half!”

One Maryland One Book 2016 teacher
“[One Maryland One Book taught me that] these types of book discussions that include diverse populations across the state open necessary dialogues to help solve problems. We need to have many more.”

One Maryland One Book 2016 participant
“[One Maryland One Book] is wonderful; enlightening, explorative, innovative, [and] educational.”

One Maryland One Book 2016 participant
“I had two students participate who told me they’ve never finished a book before and they finished this one and want to read more!”

One Maryland One Book 2015 teacher
“This program is a gift, literally and figuratively!”

One Maryland One Book 2015 teacher
“Left on my own, I would choose the same kind of books over and over again. Now, [participating in One Maryland One Book,] my reading experience is broader and richer and all the more enjoyable.”

One Maryland One Book 2016 participant
“The school I am reporting on is designed as an alternative center for students who are not successful in the “regular” classrooms in our district. These students are challenged by a number of factors, including emotional problems, discipline issues, etc. This particular book was one that a number of students were able to relate to and engage with. As a consequence, students who do not normally read became active participants in both reading and discussing!”

One Maryland One Book 2015 teacher

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