One Book One BART: BART launches fall ‘23 book club with acclaimed new novel by Oakland author

On Monday, Sept. 18, BART is pleased to announce the official start of the One Book One BART Fall ‘23 Book Club. The novel strategy for rider and employee engagement follows on the heels of our first book club, which debuted last Spring with Hua Hsu’s Pulitzer-winning Stay True. 

Join us this Wednesday, Sept. 20, 4pm to 6pm, at Downtown Berkeley BART Plaza for our our free club kickoff event. Win exclusive merch on our prize wheel, make buttons with BART staff, play games with Half Price Books, and learn more about BART's book club and other programs. More info below. 

This fall – from September 18 to early November – we’ll be reading On the Rooftop (Ecco) by Oakland-based author Margaret Wilkerson Sexton. On the Rooftop is a novel about a mother whose dream of musical stardom for her three daughters collides with their own aspirations, set against a backdrop of a gentrifying 1950s Fillmore District in San Francisco.  

Reading while you ride has long been one of the great benefits of taking BART. And at BARTable, we know that the Bay Area is home to an amazing legion of readers, writers, libraries, independent bookstores, and publishers – many of which are accessible by BART. With One Book One BART, we want to celebrate this region’s vibrant literary culture and encourage our reading riders to get on BART and get to know one another.  

For the fall club, we are also further engaging BART employees with exclusive employee-only programming, including roadshows to stations and BART shops/yards and events at BART Headquarters. 

ALL THINGS ONE BOOK ONE BART: bart.gov/bookclub 

QUESTIONS? COMMENTS? IDEAS? Email [email protected]    

Event Schedule 

The Fall club will feature a series of exciting events that are free and open to the public (for detailed event information, including what to expect and registration, visit bart.gov/bookclub): 

Mon, Sept. 18: The One Book One BART Fall ‘23 Club officially starts 

Wed, Sept. 20, 4pm-6pm: One Book One BART Kickoff Event at Downtown Berkeley Station Plaza  

• Meet BART staff and Half Price Books at Downtown Berkeley BART Plaza (free and open to the public, whether you’re entering the BART station or not) 
• What to expect:  
  • Exclusive BART and book club merch giveaways when you spin our prize wheel – including the coveted One Book One BART t-shirt and free copies of On the Rooftop  
  • Family-friendly activities with BART and HPB, including button making and games! 
  • Information about the book club and other BART programs

Sat. Oct 21, 1pm-3pm: Train Read-In from Richmond Station to Daly City Station (55 min) 

• Join BART staff for this season’s Train Read-In – a 55-minute ride starting at Richmond Station and ending at Daly City Station. Feel free to hop on along the way! Check back for full schedule. 
• What to expect: 
  • Book club-style small group discussions 
  • Trivia (with exclusive prizes!)  
  • Raffle 
  • More! 

Wed, Nov. 1, noon to 130pm: Author Talk with Margaret Wilkerson Sexton at BART Headquarters in Downtown Oakland (2150 Webster St, Oakland)

• On the Rooftop author Margaret Wilkerson Sexton stops by BART HQ for a moderated author talk and Q&A.  
• Event will be livestreamed – check bart.gov/bookclub for link and registration. 

Where to Find the Book 

BARTable will be running a sweepstakes for the One Book One BART grand prize on our Contests and Deals page. We'll also be running social media contests on our Instagram. Keep up with One Book One BART contest announcements by signing up for the book club mailing list and the BARTable This Week newsletter. 

We encourage riders to purchase the book from our independent bookstore partners below or check out a copy from local libraries, including One Book One BART partner the San Francisco Public Library. On the Rooftop is also available on the free Libby app and hoopla through your local library. For the audiobook, visit your local library’s online catalogue or purchase the book on Audible or audiobooks.com.     

Purchase On the Rooftop from a One Book One BART partner for a 20% discount: We've partnered with the following BARTable bookstores, all located within a mile of a BART station, to offer a 20% discount on the title when you show your Clipper card (Clipper on your phone works, too!): 

• Moe’s Books – Downtown Berkeley Station  

• Banter Bookshop – Fremont Station 

• Folio Books – 24th St/Mission Station  

On the Rooftop is available at many additional local bookstores and on Bookshop.org (Purchases from Bookshop.org support independent bookstores). 

BART’s new book club is just one of our recent literary-themed rider engagement efforts. Last year, we hosted our first writing contest for riders, BART Lines, and shared the winning stories in our four Short Edition story dispensers. Late winter, we’ll be announcing the BART Lines: Youth Poetry Contest for local youth poets, ages 13 to 19.  

Discover more BARTable activities and contests by visiting bart.gov/bartable and signing up for the BARTable This Week newsletter. Thank you for riding – and reading – with BART.   

Read about the first One Book One BART book club, which we launched in Spring 2023 with Hua Hsu’s Stay True, at this link.