NASHVILLE, Tenn. (WTVF) — We’re just a few days away from 2019 and besides losing weight one the most common New Year’s resolutions is to read more. A Nashville program is aiming to get the whole city reading, while also learning about an incredible part of our history.
Andrea Fanta with the Nashville Public Library says the library's "Nashville Reads" program can help you turn more pages and connect with the community.
“If you think about the things people talk about after politics and the super bowl it’s the books that they love or the movies they love to see. So we’ve had some real success at bringing the city together to read the same book at the same time and talk about it,” said Fanta.
The library is featuring the book "Hidden Figures."
If that name sounds familiar it’s because the true story was turned into a star-studded movie about three brilliant African American women who worked behind the scenes at NASA.
Their work helped launch astronaut John Glenn into orbit during the height of our space race with the Soviet Union.
“For some people it will be a reminder of history and the ways in which Civil Rights struggles have existed behind a veil of history,” said Nashville Public Library Civil Rights Program designer Tasneem Grace Tewogbola.
Tewogbola believes everyone can learn from the book.
“We’re hoping that people also recognize that Nashville has an open door to discovering what that history is and also discovering other people who were hidden figures in local and national history,” said Tewogbola.
The library is hosting several community events and book talks into the spring connected to "Hidden Figures."
Events so far have included lunch and learn lectures, film screenings, kids club activity for younger readers, and even STEAM experiments and projects with Lipscomb University professors.
The library foundation and community partners pay for Nashville Reads and the library hopes you stop by today to checkout a book, audio copy or eBook for your tablet.
In February Lipscomb University will host a lecture and book signing with Hidden Figures author Margot Lee Shetterly as part of the Nashville Reads series.
If you would like to learn more, click here.
