Last Monday, we noted that James McBride's Song Yet Sung was picked for the 2009 One Maryland One Book program. The selection came after about a dozen people (including librarians, academics and me) met at the Maryland Humanities Council on a January day to debate 10 books, including The Namesake, The Kite Runner and Digging to America.

To meet One Book's goals, the book had to address race and identity, appeal to readers from different backgrounds, and connect to high schoolers. Other considerations: Was the author alive? From Maryland? Willing to participate in the program? The three finalists also included The Color of Water by McBride, and Dreams from My Father by Barack Obama.

The One Book program drew more than 6,500 Marylanders to discussions, films and writing contests in 2008. This year's program begins in earnest in September, focusing on Song Yet Sung's tale of Maryland Eastern Shore slave traders, runaways and a prophet who foresees the racial challenges of modern America.  

On a more irreverent note, I think we should suggest books for other programs.

For example, residents of Phoenix, Ariz., read To Kill a Mockingbird a couple of years ago. My pick for the city: Hot, Flat and Crowded.

Honolulu residents read The Joy Luck Club; why not Outliers? 

What are your suggestions for other states and cities? Leave a comment; the best one wins a book.