DOVER (WJER) - The Tuscarawas County Literacy Coalition is kicking off their 12th  One Book One Community installment. 

The program is meant to encourage literacy by giving readers a book to read and create discussions around that topic. This year’s book is “How to Break Up With Your Phone” by Catherine Price, which explores her own struggles with technology addiction and how she managed to keep her screen time in check. Gill says it’s a problem nearly everyone can relate to.  

“We’ve all been to our kids’ Little League games and they’re not watching the games. They’re on their phones, the parents. You go out to eat and you look over and the booth next to you there’s four people and they’re looking at their phones. They’re not even talking to each other. So we’re just trying to bring awareness to that situation,” he says.

Gill says the books are available at any of the public libraries in the county. He says they’ll also have group discussions and other activities leading up to a visit from the author in November.

“The thing about reading the same book is we all come from different backgrounds. We have different faiths and different economic situations but if we all read the same book, we can find some common ground, and we can find something to talk about through the focus of the book to build a bridge of understanding with other people,” he says.

Gill says they will also be giving away what they are calling passports. He says they encourage people to do one thing every week without their phones leading up to the author visit. Completing eight activities enters them into a drawing for prizes including a chance to have dinner with Catherine Price.

WJER RADIO