The program One Book, One City- Malibu kicks off its seventh annual community-reading program this Saturday at the Malibu Public Library with local students, city officials, Malibu Librarian Stuart Goldman and Pepperdine Dean of Library Services Mark Russo.
The chosen book for this year’s month-long community reading program, which began April 20, is Greg Mortenson and David Oliver Relin’s “Three Cups of Tea: One Man’s Mission to Promote Peace… One School at a Time.”
Mortenson is a Nobel Peace Prize candidate and founder of “Pennies for Peace,” which has built more than 60 schools for girls in Afghanistan and Pakistan. This year’s community reading program has expanded to include local students who have actively participated in the “Pennies for Peace” program, as well as Pepperdine University and Diesel, A Bookstore.
On Saturday, a student representative from each school will make a presentation, and local artwork by the students will be displayed. Refreshments will be served and a continuous loop DVD about Greg Mortenson’s work in Pakistan and Afghanistan will play. Books and tickets to Mortenson’s presentation at Smothers Theatre on May 1 will also be sold.
One Book, One City-Malibu and Pepperdine University will host Mortenson, who will share his true-life experiences that came to shape “Three Cups of Tea” and which eventually led to “Pennies for Peace” and the Central Asia Institute, which has contributed to the progress of education in Pakistan and Afghanistan. Later in the month a panel of Pepperdine faculty will discuss issues raised by Mortenson and Relin and will invite questions from the audience.
Diesel, A Bookstore will sponsor the One Book, One City-Malibu Essay Contest for Malibuites of all ages.
No. 1 on the New York Times Best Seller list since 2007, “Three Cups of Tea: One Man’s Mission to Promote Peace … One School at a Time” is the spellbinding true story of an individual who turns a personal failure into a personal triumph that literally changes the world. Filled with high adventure, inspired love and romance, and the kind of personal odyssey that reminds one of the great classics, “Three Cups of Tea” is more than a worthwhile read, it is a necessary read if you want to better understand the critical issues that surround Central Asia today, and to view global humanity at its best.
In the story, Mortenson tells about how he lost his way on a perilous climb up K2 in Pakistan, the second tallest peak in the world. Though he nearly died from exposure and starvation, a local villager and his family nurtured Mortenson back to life.
“The first time you share tea with a Balti, you are a stranger,” a man from Korphe tells Mortenson. “The second time, you are an honored guest. The third time you become family.”
As Mortenson regained his health he came to understand that his new family, and the family of villagers of which he was now a part, needed one thing above all: a school. Thus Mortenson realized his new goal and dream: to build a school for this impoverished Pakistani village, a staggering goal and far more challenging than climbing the great K2. By the time Mortenson traveled between the U.S. and Central Asia to raise money, several years had elapsed. The newly established Central Asia Institute’s “Pennies for Peace” became the primary funding source for the construction of a school. Withstanding cultural, political and religious differences, Mortenson finally finished the first school in Korphe and, along with “Pennies for Peace,” oversaw the construction of schools for girls across rural Afghanistan and Pakistan.
Month-long events include the Official One Book, One City -Malibu Kickoff on Saturday at 3 p.m., at Malibu Public Library, featuring local students, city officials, City Librarian and Pepperdine Library officials; a speech by Greg Mortenson at Pepperdine University’s Smothers Theatre on May 1 at 7 p.m. 310.506.4522; a Pepperdine faculty panel discussion of topics addressed in “Three Cups of Tea” on May 21 at 6 p.m. at Pepperdine University,; and an event announcing winner of the essay contest on May 23 at Malibu Library. More information about the essay contest can be obtained by calling 310.456.6438.