March is Reading Month

January 18, 2010 - April 22, 2010

"The Soloist" by Steve Lopez is the 2010 selection for Battle Creek Reads.

The book is the story of how Lopez, a Los Angeles Times columnist and novelist, met Nathaniel Ayers, a homeless African American man, on the streets of LA. Thirty years earlier, Ayers had been at Juilliard studying classical bass when he experienced the first in a series of schizophrenic episodes that turned his musical dreams into a nightmare and left him homeless.

Lopez becomes an important part of Ayers’ life, helping him get new instruments and shelter. But there is no fairy-tale ending.

As part of Battle Creek Reads, Lopez will speak at Lakeview Middle School at 7 p.m. Thursday, April 22.