Spring Reading Thing!

Katrina at CallapidderDays is hosting the Spring Reading Thing 2007! I’m joining the challenge to finish some books that are on my nightstand and start the new ones that I have waiting in the wings.

Here is my list…

PROFESSIONAL READING:
6 Figure Freelancing (Kelly James-Inger)
Complete Idiot’s Guide to Making $ in Freelancing (Laurie Rosakis)
Reading Like A Writer (Francine Prose)

FICTION:
The Myth of You and Me (Leah Stewart)
Best Friends (Myrtle Moody)
The Next Thing On My List (Jill Smolinski)

OTHER READING:
The Price of Privilege (Madeline Levine)
Creative Correction (Lisa Whelchel)
The Power of a Praying Wife (Stormie Omartian)
The Power of a Praying Parent (Stormie Omartian)
Moneyball (Michael Lewis)
The One That Got Away (Howell Raines)
In An Instant (Bob and Lee Woodruff)
French Women Don’t Get Fat (Mireille Guiliano)
Ready or Not: What Happens When We Treat Children As Small Adults (Kay Hymowitz)
Raising Cain: Protecting the Emotional Life of Boys (Dan Kindlon/Michael Thompson)
The War Against Boys: How Misguided Feminism is Harming our Young Men (Christina Hoff Sommers)
Last Dance (John Feinstein)

About Books

Think about your books for a minute. How many books do you think you have? How many books do you think your children have? Do you have bookshelves that are overflowing and closets that are storing books you don’t use anymore? Now, think about your local libraries. Do they have enough books? What about the libraries in your children’s schools? Are they well-stocked?

Throughout my life, I have been incredibly blessed to have access to all the books that I needed to be a successful student. More than that, I have had (and still have) more books in my home than I could ever count. Consequently, my skill for reading has been developed and my love for reading has grown and been nourished. How blessed I am!

But what about people that cannot afford to purchase books for their homes? What about people that don’t need books because they cannot read? What about the people that would like to read more but cannot find enough books to read?

Yesterday, I had a chance to participate in an event that will make a difference in the lives of people that want to read and learn but lack adequate resources to do so. The Children’s Literacy Guild of Alabama distributed over 375 boxes of new and gently used books to librarians from 13 different school systems in the Black Belt of Alabama. There was no charge to the schools and their only responsibility was to pick them up!

I have no question that there are libraries, schools, and families all over this nation that want and need books…ANY books they can get their hands on! Do yourself a favor, go through your books and find some that you can live without. Then, FIND someone that can use them and give them away. If you do, you will plant seeds that will allow someone else’s love for reading to grow!

Here are a few places needing books. Start here if you don’t have someone close by …

Hurricane Katrina Library Relief
Friends of Libraries U.S.A
Gulf Coast Libraries After Katrina
DonorsChoose.org
Dolly Parton Imagination Library
Reading Is Fundamental

One more thing, send me your stories of how you share your books. I would love to know what needs are out there and how little gifts might meet them!