On September 6, the San Francisco Public Library (SFPL) launched its fourth annual One City One Book effort with something different—a “book mob,” using blogs and local online arts calendars to alert people to form flash mobs. Some 60 people showed up; a clever anchor was the SFPL bookmobile, with the ile on the word bookmobile strategically covered with a One City One Book logo so that attendees could gather at an actual “bookmob.”

West of Kabul, East of New York: An Afghan American Story (Picador, 2003) by San Francisco writer Tamim Ansary is the 2008 One City One Book: San Francisco Reads selection. Some 50 free copies were given out at the book mob event and the bookmob-ile had dozens of copies for check out. The launch event was preceded by a radio interview with the author, followed by a tour to five local independent bookstores