Day to Read: January 8 2009

Soccer Mom in Denial is at it again. She wants us to take a day and sit on our heinies. Well, it is for a good cause.

What she'd really like is for us to turn OFF the computers and the other idiot boxes for the day and read. Really read. From a book. You remember those? They have many words on actual paper, and they're usually placed between two pieces of either paper-thin or thicker cardboard, sometimes or sometimes not covered in cloth. (And if you're having luck on January 8th, you won't read ANY sentences like my last one).

Despite my joking around, this is a serious issue. From SMID's launch blog post:

"...according to a report released last year reading books is linked to civic engagement. This National Endowment for the Arts reports that young folks aren't reading like they used to. Get this:

* only 30% of 13-year-olds read almost every day

* the number of 17-year-olds who never read for pleasure increased from 9 percent in 1984 to 19 percent in 2004 - that is 1 in 5 kids don't read for fun

* Almost half of Americans between ages 18 and 24 never read books for pleasure

* The average person between ages 15 and 24 spends 2 to 2 1/2 hours a day watching TV and 7 minutes reading


According to Dana Gioia, the Chair of the NEA,

'The poorest Americans who read did twice as much volunteering and charity work as the richest who did not read. The habit of regular reading awakens something inside a person that makes him or her take their own life more seriously and at the same time develops the sense that other people's lives are real.'"

So those are all the good and civic reasons to do this, but I also want to hit on the FUN factor. To get the party started, I want to issue a bookworm challenge and also give you some suggestions for those books for Day to Read.

First, the bookworm challenge:



I found this fun challenge at anno's place:

THE CHALLENGE: Pass this on to five other bloggers, and tell them to open the nearest book to page 46. Write out the fifth sentence on that page, and also the next two to five sentences. The closest book, not the coolest, or the one you think will sound the best. THE CLOSEST.

The book closest to me is, believe it or not, BOOK OF POISONS: A GUIDE FOR WRITERS.

"A white crystalline solid, napthalene will usually be ingested."


er.... hmmm. I'm sure you all needed that information today. CYRANO is also nearby, but BOOK OF POISONS was closer. Darn. At least I get the very cool button.

I'm not passing this on to five more bloggers - I'm going to tag anyone who wants to play and NEEDS this very cool button on their site.

The Books

So, recently, there have been some great book launches around the blogosphere. One you read about on this very blog - SHOT GIRL by Karen E. Olson. Again, I'd recommend reading her entire Annie Seymour series first, but SHOT GIRL stands alone and it's just a fabulous ride. I think tying up a series can be difficult as hell, and Karen E. Olson does it beautifully. For anyone who knows her character, Annie, they know that Annie has more than her share of flaws and attachment issues. She has to face those in this final book, and Ms. Olson carries it off with aplomb and not a speck of melodrama. I just loved this book. From Karen's site:

New Haven police reporter Annie Seymour has a talent for running into trouble. So it should come as no shock when her co-worker's bachelorette party at a local club turns into a crime scene. What is surprising is that the dead bar manager on the sidewalk outside happens to be Annie's ex-husband - and the bullet shells around his body match the gun she has in her car.

Coming face-to-face with her past, Annie delves into a conspiracy involving everyone from a male stripper to a shot girl. If she wants to get the story, she'll have to escape a killer . . . before she becomes the next headline.

A book I read last spring via download, is about to be out in paper. For those of you who love romance - ENJOY!!! Marianne Arkins is a funny, warm-hearted writer and her many stories and this novel show her flair for comedy and her penchant for absolutely, melt-in-your-knees happy endings. (And there's often a cute dog, too). From Marianne's site:

Olivia "Liv" Leigh, wealthy socialite and spa owner, suspects her fiancé of cheating on her, so she takes drastic steps to discover whether appearances are deceiving. And if those steps require a bit of stalking, a change of appearance, a hippo-sized dog named Spike, and sacrificing her manicure to clean house for a sexy but sloppy man whose neighbor is determined to break several of the strangest Guinness Book of World Records, why should that be a problem?

Mike, a happily single auto mechanic, is more than content sharing his bachelor pad with piles of laundry, dirty dishes, and a sneaky ferret. But when a half-crazed woman in a bad wig shows up on his doorstep, what's a nice guy to do? Why, invite her in, unknowingly help her in her search for the truth and, in the process, fall head over heels for a woman who's never been less his type.

There is also this cool give away contest, so hurry over to Marianne's site right now!

Michelle, of Bleeding Espresso, recently had this post interviewing Diana Sprechler, author of Who By Fire. There is also a giveaway involved with Michelle's post, so by all means hurry over there. The interview with Diana was fascinating, and I believe Diana will be a guest here in the next few weeks, as well. From the Harper Collins site:

Bits and Ash were children when the kidnapping of their younger sister, Alena—an incident for which Ash blames himself—caused an irreparable family rift. Thirteen years later, Ash is living as an Orthodox Jew in Israel, cutting himself off from his mother, Ellie, and his wild-child sister, Bits. But soon he may have to face them again; Alena's remains have finally been uncovered. Now Bits is traveling across the world in a bold and desperate attempt to bring her brother home and salvage what's left of their family.

Sharp and captivating, Who by Fire deftly explores what happens when people try to rescue one another.

So let's all read a good book. And write about our reading. Wander over to Soccer Mom in Denial and find out how to get more involved.