It's such a great idea, one that many cities have embraced for years. And now it's Minneapolis' turn. One Minneapolis, One Read is a loosely structured program in which everyone is encouraged to read the same book. (Though strictly speaking, there is more than one Minneapolis.)

The concept started in the late 1990s with librarian Nancy Pearl, who created If All of Seattle Read the Same Book. Other cities followed, as did some states. (Utah called its program Common Literature Experience, which makes you pretty sure they weren't reading poetry.)

For its community read book, Minneapolis has selected "The Grace of Silence," a memoir by National Public Radio star Michele Norris, who grew up here, attending Washburn High School and the University of Minnesota.

She will be in conversation with MPR's Kerri Miller on Oct. 3 at the Guthrie Theater. (For more information, check out www.minneapolismn.gov/ncr/oneminneapolisoneread.asp )

Norris will also be at Turtle Bread, 4762 Chicago Av. S., Mpls, at 7 p.m. Oct. 4., sponsored by Building Bridges.

ALSO...

• "Swirl by Swirl: Spirals in Nature," by Joyce Sidman, has been published by Houghton Mifflin. Sidman lives in Wayzata and has written many books of poetry for children. Her 2010 book, "Dark Emperor and Other Poems of the Night," illustrated by Duluth's Rick Allen, was a Newbery Honor Book. "Swirl by Swirl" is illustrated by Beth Krommes, who won the Caldecott Medal for "The House in the Night," written by another Minnesota author, Susan Marie Swanson.

• Kevin Sorbo, who some remember as the guy who played Hercules on TV and who others remember as the boy who grew up in Mound, has written a memoir. "True Strength," which will be published in October by Da Capo Press, tells of how Sorbo suffered a series of strokes and a near-deadly aneurysm in 1997. Sorbo will be at the Twin Cities Book Festival at 1:30 p.m. Oct. 15 at Minneapolis Community and Technical College.

• Oops! We announced that you can go hear Peter Smith read from his new memoir, "A Cavalcade of Lesser Horrors," in October at the Ridgedale Library. That appearance, as it turns out, is a private event. But don't despair; you can catch Smith at 7 p.m. Oct. 3 at Brother Willie's Pub in Collegeville.