tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-73428492410308660542023-11-16T09:46:49.703-08:00The Year of ReadersJodiehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11462660276240016464noreply@blogger.comBlogger26125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7342849241030866054.post-43233131940118812082010-12-31T00:17:00.000-08:002009-06-02T02:29:22.907-07:00The Year of Readers - Sticky Post<span style="font-family:arial;"><br /><strong>If you've found this blog after January 1st 2009 you can still sign up and become a part of 'The Year of Readers'. Just start your charitable reading year from when you sign up, using the Mr Linky below, and end it on December 31st.<br /></strong><br />I love to read. Countries and people open up when I start a book and a story begins. It’s easy for me to pull a new book out of my crowded bookshelves every time I want one but not everyone can just grab books by the handful and choose their next read. For someone who hates to have to wait for books it’s sad to think of someone unable to get a novel when they want to. I feel even worse when I think of people who can’t read or have never had the opportunity to learn how much fun reading can be. Books are one of the simplest luxuries in the world and should be accessible to everyone.<br /><br />In 2009 I want to spread my love of reading throughout the world. The Year of Readers aims to bring people who enjoy books together to have fun bringing literature into the lives of others. From the 1st January 2009 until 31st of December 2009 I will be running an international read-a-thon that will be open to anyone who reads. It doesn’t matter what kind of books you read or how many you read as long as you’ve got your nose in a book in 2009 you can join in.<br /><br /><strong>The Year of Readers</strong><br /><br />It’s an easy concept (which is probably why I thought of it). You pick a literary charity that you want to support in 2009. You sign up to be part of The Year of Readers, get people to sponsor you and just start reading whatever you like. If you’re going to read next year why not join and help a bookish charity at the same time?<br /><br /><strong>How to Join</strong><br /><br />Sign up to The Year of Readers using the link device below. Remember to leave your website (if you want it to be linked to in the right sidebar). Once you’re signed up <strong>leave a comment with your e-mail address</strong> and I’ll send you your sponsorship form and an invite allowing you to post at this community blog so you can tell everyone about what you’re reading throughout the year. You don’t have to post here to qualify for the read-a-thon but you can if you want to.<br /><br />After you sign up I'd love if you would also comment on this post to let me know which charity you’ll be reading for. I’ve put a list of suggested charities in the left sidebar but you can pick any charity you like as long as it has a link to reading. If you tell me which charity you'll be raising funds for I'll add them to that list.<br /><br />I’ll also send each participant an e-mail with a sponsorship form and some helpful information. You can get people to sponsor you per book read or get them to give you a big lump sum for reading in 2009, you can even make up your own system for being sponsored. If you're taking part in any reading challenges this year you could get people to sponsor you per challenge completed. If you're looking for your next challenge visit <a href="http://novelchallenges.blogspot.com/">A Novel Challenge</a>.</span><br /><span style="font-family:Arial;"></span><br /></span><br /><span style="font-family:arial;"><strong>How to Sponsor</strong></span><br /><p><span style="font-family:arial;">Simply click on the links in the right sidebar to go to the sites of readers taking part. There you'll be able to contact them about making a donation.</span></p><span style="font-family:arial;"><strong>Donating Online</strong></span><br /><span style="font-family:arial;"></span><br /><span style="font-family:arial;">If you want people to be able to sponsor you online the easiest way seems to be using <a href="http://www.justgiving.com/">JustGiving </a>(or if you want to give to a Candian charity <a href="http://www.canadahelps.org/">CanadaHelps</a>). I'll be sending out sponsorship forms to every one who signs up but these guys might give you an extra way to raise funds. Many of the charities listed on the left have accounts set up so that you can link up with them.</span><br /><p><span style="font-family:arial;"><strong>Some Quick Rules</strong><br /></span><br /><span style="font-family:arial;">You can sign up at any time but only books read from 1st January to 31st December 2009 can be counted towards your sponsored read-a-thon.<br /><br />You must sign up via the linking device at the bottom of this post to take part.<br /><br />Books of any genre or type count (including graphic novels and poetry anthologies) but magazines and newspapers do not. If you're taking part in any reading challenges next year all those books can be counted towards your sponsored read-a-thon. </span></p><p><span style="font-family:arial;">We have some great buttons for you to display on your blogs. These were designed by Mandi and you can find them at <a href="http://yearofreaders.blogspot.com/2008/10/bring-on-buttons.html">this post </a>. Isn't she great for making these! I'm going to work on putting up </span><span style="font-family:arial;">lots more charity links as well. We have a nice schedule of monthly prize draws where participants can sign up to win bookish items. Join in and let The Year of Reading be your first good deed for 2009.</span> </p><script src="http://www.blenza.com/linkies/autolink.php?owner=blinkingmouse&postid=05Aug2008" type="text/javascript"></script>Jodiehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11462660276240016464noreply@blogger.com51tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7342849241030866054.post-31646298838067562622009-12-29T01:53:00.000-08:002009-12-29T02:07:32.852-08:00End of Year Totals<span style="font-family:arial;">Hi everyone, it's 29th December which means there are just 3 official days left for 'The Year of Readers'. On 2nd of January I'll be sending out an email asking for your final book totals (1st Jan 2009 - 31st Dec 2009), total donations raised and a reminder of your charity again. I'm so excited to see how much we've all raised for charity!<br /><br />However I'm not sure if I have everyone's email address (I certainly know one address has become invalid since the start of the year). So I'm popping this announcement up here as well. If you haven't received an email by end of 2nd January 2010 please comment on this post with your total number of books read, total donations gathered (base this on what people/you have pledged if you haven't yet collected all the money together), your charity and <strong>your email address</strong>, so I can keep track of you on my own list.<br /><br />Remember that for every book read by anyone taking part I donate one British penny to Eco Libris and $1 (roughly 50p right now) plants one tree so if you all get your books totals in to me we should be able to plant quite a few trees between us.<br /><br />If you're wondering how to donate your money I suggest collecting all the donations people have made to you during 'The Year of Readers' up, depositing it in your account and then sending a cheque, Paypal or credit card doantion for the whole amount to your chosen charity. Please make your donations as soon as possible in January and at the end of the month I'll email out completition certificates to everyone who submits their totals.<br /><br />Any questions, just leave them in the comments and thanks again so, so, so much for taking part in this fund raising enterprise! Thanks also to your generous supporters and to those who self sponsored themselves. You're all brilliant people who go to the top of the nice list and I can't even begin to say how happy I've been that the internet has connected me with such generous people.</span>Jodiehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11462660276240016464noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7342849241030866054.post-14862993709542441862009-11-26T01:58:00.000-08:002009-11-26T02:01:49.182-08:00It's time for the last push guys! One final month of reading for charity approaches and then at the end of December I'll be asking you for your final totals so I know how much to donate to Eco Libris. I think I'm somewhere in the 60s, hoping to make 70 by the end of the year and also hope my sponsors don't freak out about that (said I'd probably read 50 - 60 books).<br /><br />I have some free bookmarks and matching bookplates to hand out (6 I think) from one of our generous sponsors. So if you'd like a bookmark please comment below and the first 6 get one :)Jodiehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11462660276240016464noreply@blogger.com5tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7342849241030866054.post-64959804759813919272009-10-15T12:20:00.000-07:002009-10-15T12:23:04.139-07:00Read-a-thon Time!<span style="font-family:arial;">Just a quick reminder that </span><a href="http://24hourreadathon.com/2009/10/01/october-2009-read-a-thon-sign-up-post/"><span style="font-family:arial;">Dewey's 24 hour read-a-thon</span></a><span style="font-family:arial;"> is coming up the weekend after next (starting at 1pm GMT 24th October). Great opportunity to increase your reading total and have super fun!</span>Jodiehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11462660276240016464noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7342849241030866054.post-42643120711891029842009-08-20T23:15:00.001-07:002009-08-20T23:23:44.460-07:00June Update (late)<span style="font-family:arial;">Gah so yes I've been a little absent, but most importantly I've been reading! Just wanted to drop you a quick update:</span><br /><span style="font-family:arial;"></span><br /><span style="font-family:arial;">I asked for totals in June and in that month I received responses that told me all active participants had read a cumulative total of 386 books (including me). I know the total's probably way bigger now (I'm up from 31 books to 51). Great going guys!</span><br /><span style="font-family:arial;"></span><br /><span style="font-family:arial;">That means alongside your own charity activities you've all helped to raise almost £4 for Eco Libris, that's just over $4 which means next year we'll be helping to plant four new trees.</span><br /><span style="font-family:arial;"></span><br /><span style="font-family:arial;">Unfortunately when I call for totals I'm getting about 12 - 15 responses. I don't know if everyone else is still reading for charity and gathering money. I hope so (give a little hey in the comments if you just haven't had time to return a total).</span><br /><span style="font-family:arial;"></span><br /><span style="font-family:arial;">The next official total call will be the final total now but I'm always happy to receive news on how you're doing!</span>Jodiehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11462660276240016464noreply@blogger.com6tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7342849241030866054.post-84267837439132141522009-07-02T12:37:00.000-07:002009-07-02T13:13:13.743-07:00Sandra's Progress at Fresh Ink Books<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEitB42V8WUwPHWIZ8VXFk_qk_sgidRd-7qWBNyDvon6u6Lybg37Cc0xFjeQrY3vXOUJbqi3JDnTt3pOuaZ-BIjtBkOVkR825G_yj3ELtHDKZZkNTss8A6Rn4fxFJ18csthzSCVh2z6sY5BN/s1600-h/camel.jpg"><img style="MARGIN: 0px 10px 10px 0px; WIDTH: 139px; FLOAT: left; HEIGHT: 200px; CURSOR: hand" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5353956743739873426" border="0" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEitB42V8WUwPHWIZ8VXFk_qk_sgidRd-7qWBNyDvon6u6Lybg37Cc0xFjeQrY3vXOUJbqi3JDnTt3pOuaZ-BIjtBkOVkR825G_yj3ELtHDKZZkNTss8A6Rn4fxFJ18csthzSCVh2z6sY5BN/s200/camel.jpg" /></a><br /><div><div><span style="font-family:arial;">The book that inspired my charity choice:</span></div><div><br /><a href="http://freshinkbooks.blogspot.com/2009/02/camel-bookmobile-by-masha-hamilton.html"><span style="font-family:arial;">The Camel Bookmobile by Masha Hamilton</span></a><span style="font-family:arial;">. </span></div><div><span style="font-family:arial;">The author was kind enough to stop by my blog and thank me.</span></div><br /><span style="font-family:arial;">Books read to date: 70<br /></span><div><br /><span style="font-family:arial;">Those reviewed:</span></div><br /><div><span style="font-family:arial;"></span></div><div><a href="http://freshinkbooks.blogspot.com/2009/07/ben-in-world-by-doris-lessing-review.html"><span style="font-family:arial;">Ben, In the World by Doris Lessing</span></a></div><div><span style="font-family:arial;color:#3333ff;"><a href="http://freshinkbooks.blogspot.com/2009/06/fifth-child-by-doris-lessing-review.html">The Fifth Child by Doris Lessing</a></span></div><div><a href="http://freshinkbooks.blogspot.com/2009/06/becoming-abigail-by-chris-abani-review.html"><span style="font-family:arial;">Becoming Abigail by Chris Abani</span></a></div><div><a href="http://freshinkbooks.blogspot.com/2009/06/ex-cottagers-in-love-by-j-m-kearns.html"><span style="font-family:arial;">Ex-Cottagers in Love by J. M. Kearns</span></a></div><div><a href="http://freshinkbooks.blogspot.com/2009/04/echo-maker-by-richard-powers.html"><span style="font-family:arial;">The Echo Maker by Richard Powers</span></a><br /><a href="http://freshinkbooks.blogspot.com/2009/04/thursday-tea_23.html"><span style="font-family:arial;">The Disappeared by Kim Echlin </span></a></div><div><a href="http://freshinkbooks.blogspot.com/2009/04/thursday-tea_09.html"><span style="font-family:arial;">The Blue Fox by Sjon</span></a></div><div><a href="http://freshinkbooks.blogspot.com/2009/04/thursday-tea.html%20woolf"><span style="font-family:arial;">Jacob's Room by Virginia Woolf</span></a></div><div><a href="http://freshinkbooks.blogspot.com/2009/03/tss-books-read-this-week.html%20gargoyle"><span style="font-family:arial;">The Gargoyle by Andrew Davidson</span></a></div><div><a href="http://freshinkbooks.blogspot.com/2009/01/you-asked-for-it-reviews.html"><span style="font-family:arial;">The Swallows of Kabul by Yasmina Khadra</span></a></div><div><a href="http://freshinkbooks.blogspot.com/2009/01/through-black-spruce-by-joseph-boyden.html"><span style="font-family:arial;">Through Black Spruce by Joseph Boyden</span></a></div><div><a href="http://freshinkbooks.blogspot.com/2009/01/you-asked-for-it-reviews.html"><span style="font-family:arial;">Hotel World by Ali Smith</span></a></div><div><a href="http://freshinkbooks.blogspot.com/2009/01/you-asked-for-it-reviews.html"><span style="font-family:arial;">Asylum by Patrick McGrath</span></a></div><div><a href="http://freshinkbooks.blogspot.com/2009/01/you-asked-for-it-reviews.html"><span style="font-family:arial;">The Virgin Suicides by Jefferey Eugenides</span></a></div><div><a href="http://freshinkbooks.blogspot.com/2009/02/lost-city-of-z-by-david-grann.html"><span style="font-family:arial;">The Lost City of Z: A Tale of Deadly Obsession in the Amazon by David Grann</span></a></div><div><a href="http://freshinkbooks.blogspot.com/2009/02/book-thief-by-markus-zusak.html"><span style="font-family:arial;">The Book Thief by Markus Zusak</span></a></div><div><a href="http://freshinkbooks.blogspot.com/2009/01/my-fathers-paradise-by-ariel-sabar.html"><span style="font-family:arial;">My Father's Paradise: A Son's Search for His Jewish Past in Kurdish Iraq by Ariel Sabar</span></a></div><div><a href="http://freshinkbooks.blogspot.com/2008/08/love-and-war.html"><span style="font-family:arial;">Coventry by Helen Humphreys</span></a></div><div><a href="http://freshinkbooks.blogspot.com/2009/01/tss-books-read-this-week_18.html"><span style="font-family:arial;">Hannah's Dream by Diane Hammond</span></a></div><div><a href="http://freshinkbooks.blogspot.com/2009/01/tss-books-read-this-week_18.html"><span style="font-family:arial;">The Rabbi's Cat 2 by Joann Sfar </span></a></div><div><a href="http://freshinkbooks.blogspot.com/2009/01/tss-books-read-this-week_18.html"><span style="font-family:arial;">The Whirlpool by Jane Urquhart </span></a></div><div><a href="http://freshinkbooks.blogspot.com/2009/01/tss-books-read-this-week_25.html"><span style="font-family:arial;">We Need to Talk About Kevin by Lionel Shriver</span></a></div><div><a href="http://freshinkbooks.blogspot.com/2009/01/tss-books-read-this-week_25.html"><span style="font-family:arial;">The Seamstress by Frances de Pontes Peebles</span></a></div><div><a href="http://freshinkbooks.blogspot.com/2009/01/tss-books-read-this-week_25.html"><span style="font-family:arial;">The Bird of Night by Susan Hill</span></a></div><div><a href="http://freshinkbooks.blogspot.com/2009/01/tss-books-read-this-week.html"><span style="font-family:arial;">The Madonnas of Leningrad by Debra Dean</span></a></div><div><a href="http://freshinkbooks.blogspot.com/2009/01/tss-books-read-this-week.html"><span style="font-family:arial;">The Gravedigger's Daughter by Joyce Carol Oates </span></a></div><div><a href="http://freshinkbooks.blogspot.com/2009/01/tss-books-read-this-week.html"><span style="font-family:arial;">The Museum Guard by Howard Norman</span></a></div><div><a href="http://freshinkbooks.blogspot.com/2009/01/letters-between-us-by-linda-rader.html"><span style="font-family:arial;">Letters Between Us by Linda Rader Overman</span></a></div><div><a href="http://freshinkbooks.blogspot.com/2009/01/gate-house-by-nelson-demille.html"><span style="font-family:arial;">The Gate House by Nelson DeMille</span></a></div><div><a href="http://freshinkbooks.blogspot.com/2009/01/what-we-all-long-for-by-dionne-brand.html"><span style="font-family:arial;">What We All Long For by Dionne Brand </span></a></div><div><a href="http://freshinkbooks.blogspot.com/2009/01/tomato-girl-by-jayne-pupek.html"><span style="font-family:arial;">Tomato Girl by Jayne Pupek</span></a></div><div><a href="http://freshinkbooks.blogspot.com/2009/01/mighty-queens-of-freeville-by-amy.html"><span style="font-family:arial;">The Mighty Queens of Freeville by Amy Dickinson</span></a></div><div> </div><div><span style="font-family:arial;">Sponsors: none yet</span></div><br /><div><span style="font-family:arial;"></span></div><div><span style="font-family:arial;">Comments, questions, reading recommendations, or links to reviews of any of these book are always welcomed at </span><a href="http://freshinkbooks.blogspot.com/"><span style="font-family:arial;">Fresh Ink Books</span></a><span style="font-family:arial;">.</span></div></div>Sandrahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06265301061583417768noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7342849241030866054.post-25280813209328371842009-06-02T04:03:00.000-07:002009-06-02T12:44:59.479-07:00Year of Readers - Fundraising Drive<span style="font-family:arial;">We’re entering the sixth month of ‘The Year of Readers’, our year long sponsored read-a-thon that’s designed to raising money for literacy charities around the world. If you haven’t heard about the event before<br />please read our </span><a href="http://yearofreaders.blogspot.com/2008/08/year-of-readers-sticky-post.html"><span style="font-family:arial;">introductory post</span></a><span style="font-family:arial;"> introductory post, which is full of information about what we’re doing and how we hope to benefit charities by reading in 2009.<br /><br />Our readers are doing really well flipping pages and raising money offline, but as the sixth month of the year begins I think we could all use a little online fundraising boost. So if you’re passionate about reading please consider donating to one of our readers so they can advance the cause of reading related charities.<br /><br />There’s a variety of causes for you to pledge your money to:<br /><br />I’m reading for Room to Read. You can send me a flat rate donation at my </span><a href="http://www.justgiving.com/yearofreaders"><span style="font-family:arial;">Justgiving page</span></a><span style="font-family:arial;">.<br /><br />Peta is raising cash for Book Aid International which benefits all kind of literacy organizations. Why not contribute a few pounds to her cause at her </span><a href="http://www.justgiving.com/thebookling"><span style="font-family:arial;">fundraising page</span></a>.<span style="font-family:arial;"><br /><br />Sylvia is reading for a couple of Canadian charities CODE and World Literacy of Canada which work to get children and adults in developing countries literacy training and a supply of useful books. Sylvia’s customized the challenge and you can read all about what she’s doing at her </span><a href="http://www.canadahelps.org/GivingPages/GivingPage.aspx?gpID=2619"><span style="font-family:arial;">Canada Helps fundraising page</span></a>.<br /><br /><span style="font-family:arial;">Melanie is reading for a travelling charity - The Public Library on Wheels. If you want to fund their travels pop by her </span><a href="http://www.canadahelps.org/GivingPages/GivingPage.aspx?gpID=2805"><span style="font-family:arial;">Canada Gives page</span></a><span style="font-family:arial;">.</span><span style="font-family:arial;"> </span><br /><p><span style="font-family:arial;">JC is one of several readers collecting money for First Book, which asks you to remember the joy you felt when you read your own first book. Her <a href="https://www.kintera.org/faf/donorReg/donorPledge.asp?ievent=284989&lis=1&kntae284989=FB99F1F4111B44D4AC42323E4DC10720&supId=246153540">fundraising page</a> could use some love.</p></span>You can also click through any of the links in the right hand side bar to leave a comment for one of our readers about sponsoring them.<br /><br />You can help by donating money to one of our readers or by passing on information about ‘The Year of Readers’ to anyone who might be interested in donating. Tweet it, Facebook it or Blog it – however you choose to pass on the message it would be much appreciated.<br /><br />Finally I’m looking to run a series of silent auctions to increase fundraising. If you have any really cool good quality book related things and would be willing to see them auctioned off for charity please contact me with a comment here. It could be signed copies, ARCs, boxed sets or fancy book paraphernalia. Also if you know anyone who might be interested in donating items please tell them to get in contact here.<br /></span>Jodiehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11462660276240016464noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7342849241030866054.post-16976352018007784702009-04-16T05:05:00.000-07:002009-04-16T05:09:11.619-07:00April Prize Draw<span style="font-family:arial;">The winner of our March prize draw was J C Montgomery who will receive the Softskull book package as well as a few crafty goodies from our craft sponsors (see the sidebar).<br /><br />I’m going to start up our April competition a little early because I want to tie it in with the <a href="http://24hourreadathon.com/history-of-deweys-24-hour-read-a-thon/">24 hour read-a-thon</a>. If you’re participating as a reader in the 24 hour read-a-thon this year <strong>leave a comment on this post (saying you’re a reader)</strong>and you will be entered once into the prize draw. At the end of the read-a-thon return here and let me know how many books you read during the 24 hours and you will get an extra entry for each book you read. You must officially sign up as a participant at the 24 hour read-a-thon’s blog to be eligible to enter.<br /><br />Each book read by participants of The Year of Readers during the 24 hour read-a-thon will also earn quadruple the amount that a regular book read for The Year of Readers usually earns for EcoLibris (so any book read during 24 hour read-a-thon will earn 4p for Eco-Libris).<br /><br />The prize up for grabs this time is 30 Bookmooch points from my own vast stash. 1 person will win 30 points, 15 of which I will add to your account and 15 of which will go to the Bookmooch charity of your choice. If you don’t have a Bookmooch account you can either start one up and start collecting points (15 points will get you 15 books if they are posted from your own country or 7 from international senders) or donate the whole 30 points to charities (I’m happy to split the charity points between different organisations if you would like). <strong>Please note this part of the prize is only for those participating in the 24 hour read-a-thon as readers.</strong><br /><br /><strong>Anyone cheerleading at the 24 hour read-a-thon just needs to comment on this post (saying they are a cheerleader) to be entered to win a copy of ‘Captivity’ by Debbie Lee Wesselman, a handmade bookmark and matching bookplate, handmade bracelet and handmade card.</strong><br /><br />You can leave your comments any time until noon GMT on April 30th 2009. This competition is open to all official participants of The Year of Readers, taking part in the 24 hour read-a-thon. All winners will be chosen using a random number generator.</span><br /><span style="font-family:Arial;"></span><br /><span style="font-family:Arial;">Happy Read-a-thon!</span>Jodiehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11462660276240016464noreply@blogger.com10tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7342849241030866054.post-71385339471581964722009-03-19T05:00:00.000-07:002009-03-19T05:26:30.829-07:00Prize Draw - March<span style="font-family:arial;">This months giveway is extra-super specialicious. Richard Nash who was until just recently running <a href="http://www.softskull.com/">Softskull Press </a>generously donated 5 books for us to pass on to you lucky, lucky readers. He let me pick the titles and even replaced one when the book I picked wasn't availabe. Fabulous guy, really friendly and nice. (You can also buy Softskull titles at <a href="http://www.turnaround-uk.com/">Turnaround</a>.)</span><br /><span style="font-family:Arial;"></span><br /><span style="font-family:Arial;">Books to be won are:</span><br /><span style="font-family:Arial;"></span><br /><span style="font-family:Arial;">Candy in Action - Matthue Roth</span><br /><span style="font-family:Arial;">Gone and Back Again - Jonathan Scott</span><br /><span style="font-family:Arial;">Cool for You - Eileen Myles</span><br /><span style="font-family:Arial;">Lonely Werewolf Girl - Martin Millar</span><br /><span style="font-family:Arial;">Branwell - Douglas A Martin</span><br /><span style="font-family:arial;"></span><br /><span style="font-family:arial;">I've decided to make them into one big prize package, but such a big freebie means I'm going to ask you guys to put a little more effort in to win this draw. Don't worry I'm not going to make you joust or anything:) </span><br /><span style="font-family:arial;"></span><br /><span style="font-family:arial;">Recently I've been thinking about where all the books we read in 2009 might end up. The books that leave my house often go in charity bags, some get traded at Bookmooch, sold on Amazon and occassionally I post a book to a campaign that is collecting books to stock libraries, pass on to people who don't have books or raise money for worthy causes.</span><br /><span style="font-family:Arial;"></span><br /><span style="font-family:Arial;">So to be in with a chance of winning the Softskull book bonanza all you have to do is donate a book to a worthy cause (it's a nice honour system giveway). </span><br /><span style="font-family:Arial;"></span><br /><span style="font-family:Arial;">For every book you put in the post (or donate locally) before midnight 31st March GMT you get an entry into the draw. Please comment to let me know which organisation you've sent to and how many books you've sent. </span><br /><span style="font-family:Arial;"></span><br /><span style="font-family:Arial;">You get one extra entry if you write about the cause/s that you're sending books to somewhere (make sure you leave a link to your post in the comments below). </span><br /><span style="font-family:Arial;"></span><br /><span style="font-family:Arial;">You can get an other entry if someone tells you they were influenced by your post and sent books to a charitable organisation/needful library (think libraries abroad or those destroyed by natural disasters). </span><br /><br /><span style="font-family:arial;">To add to the prize giving goodness I'm almost certain that I'll be including a mystery book in with this package so go nuts donating!</span>Jodiehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11462660276240016464noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7342849241030866054.post-68262721836140519842009-03-18T12:09:00.000-07:002009-03-18T12:16:38.037-07:00January Favourites<span style="font-family:arial;">I'm finally putting up the books people picked as the best books they read in January. If you're looking for a book recommended by excellent readers try one of these titles:</span><br /><span style="font-family:arial;"></span><br /><span style="font-family:arial;">The Hunger Games by Suzanne Collins<br />March by Geraldine Brooks<br />Light on Snow by Anita Shreve<br />Sarah's Key by Tatiana de Rosnay<br />Watchmen by Alan Moore<br />The Man in the Picture by Susan Hill<br />Through Black Spruce by Joseph Boyden<br />Ender's Game<br />Who By Fire by Diana Splecher<br />The Book of Evidence, John Banville<br />SEALed With A Kiss by Mary Margaret Daughtridge<br />house by Josh Simmons<br />These Happy Golden Years - Laura Ingalls Wilder<br />Stefan Zweig's "The Post Office Girl"<br />Miss Smilla's Feeling for Snow by Peter Høeg<br />The Reader by Bernhard Schlink</span><br /><span style="font-family:Arial;"></span><br /><span style="font-family:Arial;">Mandi Moore (no not that one but I bet the google hits start pouring in now) had an exciting announcement:</span><br /><br /><em><span style="font-family:arial;">'I want to make the announcement that I am expecting a baby! The little one is due July 13th. We have our ultrasound scheduled for Feb 19th to find out the gender.'</span></em><br /><span style="font-family:Arial;"></span><br /><span style="font-family:Arial;">Hope that went well :)</span><br /><span style="font-family:Arial;"></span><br /><span style="font-family:Arial;">People were looking forward to some new releases:</span><br /><br /><em><span style="font-family:arial;">'In February, I'm excited for the new Maeve Binchy novel, although I really didn't like her last one.'<br /><br />'Scott Pilgrim Vol. 5 by Bryan Lee O'Malley is comes out this week. The Demi God Files by Rick Riordan comes out next week. I am stoked about both of these. One is my favorite indie comic, and the other is a companion book to one of my favorite fantasy series.'<br /><br />'I'm really looking forward to Evermore by Alyson Noel, which gets released tomorrow (February 3).'</span></em><br /><em><span style="font-family:Arial;"></span></em><br /><span style="font-family:Arial;">I've only had a few book totals through for February so if you haven't sent yours through please leave it here. I'm thinking I might not ask for any more totals until the middle of the year, I don't want you all to feel the pressure - this is all about fun.</span><br /><span style="font-family:Arial;"></span><br /><span style="font-family:Arial;">Speaking of fun I'll be announcing the titles in our very special book bonanza giveaway tomorrow. Lots of goodies.</span>Jodiehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11462660276240016464noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7342849241030866054.post-29566937434879900612009-03-01T15:31:00.000-08:002009-03-27T23:55:45.404-07:00J.C. Montgomery's Progress<a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_EMgEKFlFUA0/SZSxtsKMaVI/AAAAAAAAB64/aQ10iRF_yYI/s1600-h/YoR1.jpg"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5302058059828062546" style="DISPLAY: block; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 182px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 121px; TEXT-ALIGN: center" alt="" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_EMgEKFlFUA0/SZSxtsKMaVI/AAAAAAAAB64/aQ10iRF_yYI/s400/YoR1.jpg" border="0" /></a><br /><ol><br /><li><a href="http://thebibliobrat.blogspot.com/2009/01/uncommon-reader-by-alan-bennett-2007.html"><em>The Uncommon Reader</em></a> by Alan Bennett</li><li><a href="http://thebibliobrat.blogspot.com/2009/01/review-march-by-geraldine-brooks.html"><em>March</em></a> by Geraldine Brooks</li><li><em><strong><span style="color:#cc0000;">Sexing the Cherry</span></strong></em> by Jeannette Winterson</li><li><em><a href="http://thebibliobrat.blogspot.com/2009/02/review-odd-thomas-by-dean-koontz.html">Odd Thomas</a></em> by Dean Koontz<br /></li><li><em><a href="http://thebibliobrat.blogspot.com/2009/03/review-peony-in-love-by-lisa-see.html">Peony In Love</a></em> by Lisa See<br /></li><li><em><a href="http://thebibliobrat.blogspot.com/2009/03/year-of-wonders-by-geraldine-brooks.html">Year of Wonders</a></em> by Geraldine Brooks</li><li><em><a href="http://thebibliobrat.blogspot.com/2009/03/review-lucky-child-by-thomas.html">A Lucky Child</a></em> by Thomas Buergenthal</li><li><em><a href="http://thebibliobrat.blogspot.com/2009/03/review-house-of-spirits-by-isabel.html">The House of the Spirits</a></em> by Isabel Allende</li></ol><p>Comments and questions regarding the above list, please visit my <a href="http://thebibliobrat.blogspot.com/">blog</a>. My contact information is on the sidebar.</p><br /><p></p>Unknownnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7342849241030866054.post-86099009546628503662009-03-01T08:06:00.000-08:002009-03-01T08:08:10.426-08:00February Prize Draw Winner<p><span style="font-family:arial;">The winner of our February prize draw is N Vasillis - congratulations! I'll be posting out your book and selection of crafty goodies next week.</span></p><p><span style="font-family:arial;">Thanks to everyone who entered and make sure to check the blog for an extra big giveaway next month :)</span></p>Jodiehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11462660276240016464noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7342849241030866054.post-37789825099599515832009-02-27T05:32:00.000-08:002009-02-27T05:42:51.944-08:00January Totals<span style="font-family:arial;">I was going to pop up the list of everyone's favourite books and announcements for January, but I seem to have left my copy at work so that will have to wait until Monday. </span><br /><span style="font-family:arial;"></span><br /><span style="font-family:arial;">However I can announce the total number fo books we all read in January. I'm still waiting for 12 totals to be returned to me but at the moment our January total stands at 257 books.Amazingly this means we have so far raised over $1440 (£1,019.69) between us! I'm so grateful to everyone for getting involved, keep up the good work :)</span>Jodiehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11462660276240016464noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7342849241030866054.post-83691135036954658462009-02-23T10:40:00.000-08:002009-02-23T10:41:32.804-08:00February - Prize Draw<span style="font-family:arial;">This month's fabulous prize draw item comes from </span><a href="http://store.mcsweeneys.net/"><span style="font-family:arial;">McSweeney's </span></a><span style="font-family:arial;">. They generously donated a new, hardback copy of Michael Chabon's 'Maps and Legends'. Darren Franich, from McSweeney's sent me this blurb of Chabon's newest non-fiction work:</span><br /><span style="font-family:arial;"></span><br /><strong><span style="font-family:arial;">'Michael Chabon's sparkling first book of nonfiction is a love song in sixteen parts — a series of linked essays in praise of reading and writing, with subjects running from ghost stories to comic books, Sherlock Holmes to Cormac McCarthy. Throughout, Chabon energetically argues for a return to the thrilling, chilling origins of storytelling, rejecting the false walls around "serious" literature in favor of an wide-ranging affection. His own fiction, meanwhile, is explored from the perspective of personal history: post-collegiate desperation sparks his debut, The Mysteries of Pittsburgh; procrastination and doubt reveal the way toward Wonder Boys; a love of comics and a basement golem combine to create the Pulitzer Prize-winning The Amazing Adventures of Kavalier & Clay; and an enigmatic Yiddish phrasebook unfurls into The Yiddish Policeman's Union.'</span></strong><br /><span style="font-family:arial;"></span><br /><span style="font-family:arial;">To enter to win this book and increase your reading total just leave me a comment telling me what your favourite myth or legend is by 13:00 GMT March 1st. The myth you choose can be from any culture and you can include a brief plot summary if you like, I'm fascinated with myths.Only official members of 'The Year of Readers' (those who have signed up via the site's Mr Linky) are eligible to enter this contest. This contest is open to official participants from all countries and continents. The winner will be decided using a random number generator and the book will be posted to the winner at no cost, regardless of where they live in the world (although I can't legislate for any customs charges that might be made by your country).</span>Jodiehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11462660276240016464noreply@blogger.com7tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7342849241030866054.post-2856254880586150452009-02-03T08:28:00.000-08:002009-02-03T08:37:34.799-08:00New: Amazon Associates<span style="font-family:arial;">I realised I was missing a really easy trick to earn some more money for charity so we now have an Amazon Associates account. Every time any one buys a book from Amazon, through the search box in the left hand column the account earns a referral fee. Every time the account reaches $10 I'll get that amount sent to my bank account and I'll draw the amount earned out every time I receive a payment. This cash will go into a tin for charity (I'm going to draw it out as I go along so I don't have to make a massive withdrawal at the end of the year).<br /><br />However I'm not sure how the select a charity to send this money to. I think I want to donate it to a charity no one here is already supporting, but which one? Any thoughts?<br /><br />So the next time you think about buying a book from Amazon please take a minute to drop by the blog and find it via the search engine. Make sure all your friends, family and book blog readers know about it as well.<br /><br />I'm still collecting totals and questionnaires but I'll be back soon with a post about the books you loved reading in January. Remember to keep dropping links and reviews here (if you ahven't received an invite letting you post here please let me know).</span>Jodiehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11462660276240016464noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7342849241030866054.post-30523904889391732662009-02-03T07:27:00.000-08:002009-02-03T07:32:54.489-08:00January Totals<p><span style="font-family:arial;">Hi everyone, January just flew by didn't it?</span></p><p><span style="font-family:arial;">So many people seem to have their birthdays in January, which means plenty of nights out, then a serious focus on the New Years resolutions to balance out all the good times. I think I'll have to try to master the art of reading on the exercise bike!<br /></span></p><p><span style="font-family:arial;">It's time to collect in your reading totals for January. I hope you've all found plenty of time to read and have had good book experiences. I've already received a few totals which have just blown me away, your reading is going to put books into so many new places. BTW if you have already sent your total no need to send it again. </span></p><p><span style="font-family:arial;">Below is a short questionnaire for you to fill in. You can just tell me how many books you've completed in January if you like or you can provide some extra information. I don't have e-mail addresses for about seven participants so if you didn't receive this message by e-mail as well please let me have your e-mail address. </span></p><p><span style="font-family:arial;"><strong>Copy and paste the questionnaire into an e-mail, title it 'January Totals' and return in to me as soon as possible: </strong></span></p><p><span style="font-family:arial;"><strong>Book Total – January: </strong></span></p><p><span style="font-family:arial;"><strong>Money Raised – January: </strong></span></p><p><span style="font-family:arial;"><strong>Best Book: </strong></span></p><p><span style="font-family:arial;"><strong>Worst Book: </strong></span></p><p><span style="font-family:arial;"><strong>So what else did you do in January? </strong></span></p><p><span style="font-family:arial;"><strong>Has it been easy encouraging people to sponsor you?</strong> </span></p><p><span style="font-family:arial;">Want to comment on anything else book related (announcements, books you're looking forward to, challenge progress)? </span></p><p><span style="font-family:arial;">The winner of our first monthly prize draw is 'The Medical Librarian'. The prize, a new copy of 'Captivity' by Deborah Lee Wesselman, generously donated by John F Blair Publishing(</span><a href="http://www.blairpub.com/"><span style="font-family:arial;">www.blairpub.com/</span></a><span style="font-family:arial;">), a handmade bookmark and matching bookplate from Hindrance Crafts (</span><a href="http://www.etsy.com/shop.php?user_id=5774337"><span style="font-family:arial;">http://www.etsy.com/shop.php?user_id=5774337</span></a><span style="font-family:arial;">),a cute as heck handmade card from Gingerwinks (</span><a href="http://www.etsy.com/shop.php?user_id=6345294"><span style="font-family:arial;">http://www.etsy.com/shop.php?user_id=6345294</span></a><span style="font-family:arial;">) and a handmade bracelet made by me (</span><a href="http://www.blinkingmouse.etsy.com/"><span style="font-family:arial;">http://www.blinkingmouse.etsy.com</span></a><span style="font-family:arial;">) will be sent on as soon as you send me your address.</span></p>Jodiehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11462660276240016464noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7342849241030866054.post-75583383230841609432009-01-24T16:04:00.000-08:002009-01-26T02:42:11.586-08:00January Prize Draw - Captivity: Debbie Lee Wesselmann<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiZUEDVjgdKvj17xVHH4VbfS-PUv1S6Z0d18uQ4LlWBZwCSUNMfgUdJgVIGVyQ2d_xduvgIEds_Yz2M-h5TX13NJ3imt1o4zznQh7Oq5wSPhA_kCpiHils2XEnXzgZrb7PJEGciDbu6zUM/s1600-h/captivity.jpg"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5295255629502073650" style="DISPLAY: block; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 120px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 178px; TEXT-ALIGN: center" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiZUEDVjgdKvj17xVHH4VbfS-PUv1S6Z0d18uQ4LlWBZwCSUNMfgUdJgVIGVyQ2d_xduvgIEds_Yz2M-h5TX13NJ3imt1o4zznQh7Oq5wSPhA_kCpiHils2XEnXzgZrb7PJEGciDbu6zUM/s320/captivity.jpg" border="0" /></a><br /><p><span style="font-family:arial;"></span></p><p><span style="font-family:arial;">It's time for our first prize draw here at 'The Year of Readers', yehaw. I decided to hold monthly draws with prizes that will encourage all participants in their reading. <a href="http://www.blairpub.com/aboutblair.htm">John F Blair</a> is the first publisher who has generously donated a free book to give one lucky participant something new to read. Check out short blurb of 'Captivity' by Debbie Lee Wessemann below:</span></p><p><span style="font-family:arial;"><em></em></span></p><p><span style="font-family:arial;"><strong><br />"Dana Armstrong is no ordinary primatologist. In the 1970s, she was the little blond girl with a chimpanzee for a sister, a participant in her father's psychology experiment that sought to narrow the divide between species. Now, decades later, the black-and-white clips of Dana bathing, learning sign language, and throwing tantrums with her "sister" still flicker in classrooms across the country. Dana wants nothing more than to forget about them, but as director of a chimpanzee sanctuary in the woods of South Carolina, she cannot escape.</strong></span></p><p><span style="font-family:arial;"><strong><br />Dana arrives at work one morning to discover that the worst has happened: someone has vandalized the buildings and opened the cages, setting loose a group of particularly dangerous chimpanzees. She mobilizes her staff to capture the missing chimps before they can injure local citizens or be killed themselves. The sanctuary is already on precarious ground, and if it fails, the chimps--some infected with HIV, some survivors of experimental surgeries, some rescued from roadside zoos--have nowhere to go. The sanctuary is all they--and Dana--have left."</strong></span></p><span style="font-family:arial;"><p><br />If you would like to win this book and a small assortment of craft goodies from various Etsy sponsors just comment on this post telling me what your favourite book about nature is by January 31st. (PS you will also receive an e-mail detailing the terms and conditions of this giveaway once I get back to my work computer- only official participants of this challenge who have signed up using Mr Linky are eligible to enter for this prize).</span></p>Jodiehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11462660276240016464noreply@blogger.com5tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7342849241030866054.post-53322895802439632972009-01-21T13:22:00.001-08:002009-01-21T13:57:01.871-08:00What I'm Reading<span style="font-family:arial;">I'm a bit strapped for time so I thought I'd just do some quick twitterish reviews of read the books I've read so far here. You'll be able to see full reviews later at a variety of locations and I'll be back with links soon. For now:</span><br /><span style="font-family:Arial;"></span><br /><span style="font-family:Arial;"><em>Dooley Takes the Fall - Norah McClintock</em></span><br /><em><span style="font-family:Arial;"></span></em><br /><span style="font-family:Arial;">An interesting variation n the YA genre with a noir/crime theme. Dooley is just trying to keep out of trouble, on schedule and away from temptation but he finds himself at the scene of a classmates death at the begining of this book. With a criminal record, a bad reputation and a known altercation with the deceased boy Dooley needs to clear his name fast. </span><br /><span style="font-family:Arial;"></span><br /><span style="font-family:Arial;">I loved that Dooley had such a well crafted, genuine voice. The book had a fast pace and held my attention through nights filled with 'just one more chapter' before bed. The ending was a little confusing, I couldn't quite work out how two things combined to result in murder for a while. I would like to see some of the long term secondary characters like Dooley's uncle develop more in the next book in the trilogy (which I am super excited about reading) but overall a really satisfying book.</span><br /><span style="font-family:Arial;"></span><br /><span style="font-family:Arial;"><em>Temeraire - Naomi Novik</em></span><br /><em><span style="font-family:Arial;"></span></em><br /><span style="font-family:Arial;">Dragons, battles, slash fiction elements, history, unrespectable behaviour and deceit...what's not to love! Captain Laurence and his crew capture a French frigate only to find a dragon egg aboard. The egg is about to hatch so a handler must be found to imprint the dragon before it goes feral and becomes useless to the British AirCorps (the air force but with dragons instead of planes). The dragon rejects the handler chosen and responds to Laurence forcing him into a life away from the navy and respectable society. He and his dragon Temeraire begin to train for a life defending the country from Napoleon.</span><br /><span style="font-family:Arial;"></span><br /><span style="font-family:Arial;">I love alternate history. Chuck in talking dragons that bond with humans and I am sold. To understand a lot of exactly what I loved about it check out <a href"http://evesalexandria.typepad.com/eves_alexandria/2008/10/his-majestys-dr.html">this review</a> by Nic at Eve's Alexandria.</span><br /><span style="font-family:Arial;"></span><br /><span style="font-family:Arial;"><em>Jazz - Toni Morrisson</em></span><br /><span style="font-family:Arial;"></span><br /><span style="font-family:Arial;">Toni Morrisson's earlier work is stunning. She takes a strange occurence and winds a story that makes it effortless to fall into the lives of the characters. I loved the forward to this book where the author said she wanted to write a book that felt and sounded like the launguage and music of the jazz age not a book peppered with historical facts that where static parts of the book. </span><br /><span style="font-family:Arial;"></span><br /><span style="font-family:Arial;">Violet's husband shoots his sweetheart Dorcas and at the funeral Violet tries to difigure the corpse with a knife. The book is full of the characters histories which entwine with the history of the black civil rights movement and the issue of gradiations in skin colour.</span><br /><span style="font-family:Arial;"></span><br /><span style="font-family:Arial;"><em>The Sugar Queen - Sarah Addison Allen</em></span><br /><em><span style="font-family:Arial;"></span></em><br /><span style="font-family:Arial;">A lovely romance novel mixed with some magical realism. You can see some of my quick thoughts at <a hef="http://boutiqueflair.ning.com/profiles/blogs/the-sugar-queen-sarah-addison">Beautiful and Fabulous</a> this week.</span><br /><span style="font-family:Arial;"></span><br /><span style="font-family:Arial;">So what have you read, what are you reading? How are the challenges going (I know you're all doing them, don't try and hide it)?</span>Jodiehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11462660276240016464noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7342849241030866054.post-69453580739511499512009-01-16T15:29:00.000-08:002009-01-16T15:35:32.381-08:00Mr LinkyOk so I'm not paniced quite yet as the Mr Linky device has disappeared and come back before. However I did just see someone at another blog say their Mr Linky has disappeared for good. It's not a big deal for readers as if you signed up with a blog your name is listed in the sidebar, but it's a bit annoying for anyone new who wants to sign up.<br /><br />So if you're arriving here eager to sign up and start raising funds please just leave a comment with your e-mail address/active website or blog either on this post or on the original post at the top. That way I can get in contact with you.<br /><br />Hope everyone is finding some great books. I haven't found a bad one so far this year which I think comes from listening to closely to blog recommendations. Remember to link us to your reviews or repost them here.<br /><br />(Edited to say yes it did pop right up after I posted this just to make me look like a fool but I'm still very glad it's back).Jodiehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11462660276240016464noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7342849241030866054.post-90749680536605280852009-01-01T10:25:00.000-08:002009-01-01T10:30:38.975-08:00Start Your Reading<span style="font-family:arial;">'The Year of Readers' officially begins today. Today we've begun to help some charities and by the end of the year we will all have contributed to making the world just a little better. I'm so excited that over thirty people felt passionately about taking part in this challenge. I hope we get even more people joining up throughout the year.</span><br /><span style="font-family:arial;"></span><br /><span style="font-family:arial;">Feel free to post/cross post from your own blog about great books you read here so others can find great book recommendations. If you have any questions you can contact me at bakerjodie at googlemail dot com . </span><br /><span style="font-family:Arial;"></span><br /><span style="font-family:Arial;">Happy reading!</span>Jodiehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11462660276240016464noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7342849241030866054.post-28486607446122392562008-12-30T12:36:00.000-08:002008-12-30T12:38:48.036-08:00Last Minute DetailsI'm just reposting this for those participants who didn't leave an e-mail address. Everyone else should have received this by e-mail:<br /><br />Thanks so much for your help with publicising the event, it always make me smile to see a new blog post about our charity efforts. I just need your help with a little housekeeping before we start, and I also want to pass on some last minute information.<br /><br />Housekeeping<br /><br />If you know which charity you'll be supporting in 2009, but haven't declared it yet can you please send me an e-mail. If you could just include the name that you signed up with, the charity/ies you will be raising money for, and a link to their website that would be great.<br /><br />I plan to send out three short newsletters throughout the year for you to pass on to your sponsors just so that they don't forget about what's going on. If you don't want to send newsletters on then please send an e-mail saying NO NEWSLETTER.<br /><br />If anyone has not received an invite to contribute to the blog or has not received their sponsorship form please let me know by e-mail.<br /><br />Extra Info<br /><br />Each month I'll be holding a motivational prize draw with prizes designed to inspire you to read more. At the moment I've collected prizes like new books donated by publishing houses, signed copies, crafty items and Bookmooch points. I hope the chance to win goodies will make 'The Year of Reading' fun! If anyone wants to donate an extra prize just e-mail me.<br /><br />I don't want to bug you guys too much throughout the year but every month I will be sending you a short e-mail letting you know when the monthly prize draw (see above) has opened. This e-mail will also ask for your book total for the month, and I'd really appreciate if you could send in your totals each month.<br /><br />Some people have asked if they should collect all their sponsors money in to send it to their charity or if sponsors can send individual checks. Either way is fine but if your sponsors send their money individually please make sure you keep track of what they send so you can send me an accurate total of all the money you've raised at the end of 2009.<br /><br />If you know of any other worth reading challenges/events to raise money for reading charities taking place next year (I know there are some people reading for The American Heart Association in Feb) let me know about them. I'm hoping to add a list of events to the blog.<br /><br />That's about it. I hope you find some fantastic books (and feel free to talk about them at the blog) and raise lots of money for your worthy charities.Jodiehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11462660276240016464noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7342849241030866054.post-79989778158998073262008-12-28T08:36:00.000-08:002008-12-28T08:49:29.461-08:00First Book of the Year?Hi there,<br /><br />I'm Rob, aka Trebro, the person behind <a href="http://thebookstew.blogspot.com/">The Book Stew</a> (for books) and <a href="http://panelpatter.blogspot.com/">Panel Patter</a> (for comics). I will be personally hitting myself up for 10 cents for every book and trade I finish this year, which should work out to about 100 books and 200 or so comics, based on past years of reading.<br /><br />I've always loved books from a very young age, and am looking forward to helping others share in the fun I've always had by helping out <a href="http://www.readertoreader.org/">Reader to Reader</a>.<br /><br />So now that we're approaching January First, I thought I'd ask what other people are planning to read for their first book of the new year. In my case, I've selected "Lincoln's Youth" by Louis Austin Warren. 2009 is Lincoln's birth year bicentennial, so I am going to try and read 1 Lincoln book every moth this year. I got this book a few years ago when vacationing in Indianapolis, where their historical center has a Lincoln wing. It's about, well, I guess you can figure that from the title! I figured that's a great place to start my Lincoln reading.<br /><br />What are you planning for your first book of the year?Unknownnoreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7342849241030866054.post-2896036147682644582008-12-15T04:29:00.000-08:002008-12-15T04:48:09.367-08:00The Campaign for the Book<span style="font-family:arial;">Vulpes Libris (the book foxes) have a recent <a href="http://vulpeslibris.wordpress.com/2008/12/13/talking-about-the-campaign-for-the-book/"> post introducing</a> <a href="http://alangibbons.net/?p=91#comment-2940"> 'The Campaign for the Book'. </a> This is a campaign organised by Alan Gibbons, a childrens author, who beliefs libraries are of extreme importance to our culture.</span><br /><br /><span style="font-family:arial;">The campaign</span> <span style="font-family:arial;">has a charter which outlines what those involved have deicated themselve to:</span><br /><span style="font-family:Arial;"></span><br /><strong><span style="font-family:arial;">We, the signatories of this Charter commit ourselves to campaigning for the following:</span></strong><br /><span style="font-family:arial;"><br /><strong>1. The central place of reading for pleasure in society.</strong><br /><br /><strong>2. A proper balance of book provision and Information Technology in public and school libraries. We welcome the integration of new technologies but believe that they must not erode the key place of books and the need for a healthy and expanding book stock.</strong><br /><br /><strong>3. The defence of public libraries and librarians from attempts to cut spending in a ‘soft’ area.</strong><br /><br /><strong>4. An extension of the role of the school librarian and a recognition of the school library as a key engine of learning. All staff employed in school libraries to have access to appropriate and adequate support and training.</strong><br /><br /><strong>5. The recruitment of more school librarians. It is a national scandal that less than a third of secondary schools has a trained librarian.</strong><br /><br /><strong>6. The defence of the professional status of the public and school librarian. We oppose downgrading. In some places this has reduced librarians’ salaries by up to half.</strong><br /><br /><strong>7. A higher profile for reading for pleasure in schools, including shadowing book awards, inviting authors and illustrators to visit, developing school creative writing magazines.</strong><br /><br /><strong>8. To support the sustainability and future development of Schools Library Service provision nationally.</strong><br /><br /><strong>9. To promote a more positive reading culture in school, in which the reading of whole books is preferred to studying extracts alone</strong><br /><br />All of this is pretty important stuff. If you love reading chances are you've had a positive encounter with a library. One of my favourite childhood memories is finding the hardback copy of Philip Pullman's 'Northern Lights' in Dudley library. It was the first cover design edition, the one featuring the detailed version of the altheiometer and I loved it. I read it three times before buying my own copy but I never found a copy with that exact cover. This was just one of many wonderful encounters I have had with books in my local libraries.<br /><br />In my area (West Midlands UK) there are several libraries which are well run but which would certainly benefit from increased funding. If you haven't yet picked your reading charity for next year I urge you to think about reading for your local library in 2009.</span><br /></span>Jodiehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11462660276240016464noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7342849241030866054.post-42535813747091433832008-11-14T07:41:00.000-08:002008-11-14T08:12:19.623-08:00New Developments<span style="font-family:arial;">Just a quick post to give you a short inspirational update. The Year of Readers has now been mentioned at quite a few great places like <a href="http://novelchallenges.blogspot.com/">A Novel Challenge</a>, <a href="http://estellabooks.blogspot.com/">Estellas Revenge</a> and <a href="http://www.bookslut.com/blog/">Blog of a Bookslut </a>, as well as at many independent reader blogs. Checking my site results today I see we've had a few mentions on French blogs so Bonjour! I'm in the process of getting some more exposure for the event at the moment as well as submitting the blog address to search engines and trying to get small presses involved.</span><br /><span style="font-family:arial;"></span><br /><span style="font-family:arial;">I've heard from three of my favourite book bloggers that they will be selecting charities and joining up to raise funds in 2009. Those e-mails were really exciting because I love their blogs and I know big readers means lots of money for worthy causes.</span><br /><span style="font-family:Arial;"></span><br /><span style="font-family:Arial;">I've picked my charity! I'll be reading for <a href="http://www.roomtoread.org/">Room to Read</a>, which works on two continents and believes reading is key to breaking the cycle of poverty. I've also started getting my friends to sponsor me and the pennies are rolling in. </span><br /><span style="font-family:Arial;"></span><br /><span style="font-family:Arial;">Speaking of pennies I've made a (possibly financially ruinous) decision that for every book read by a Year of Reading participant I will personally donate a penny to EcoLibris (donation to be made January 2010). I know environmental 'offsetting' can be a bit tenuous. Readers should focus their efforts on reading secondhand books, borrowed books etc but there's just no use pretending that the trade in virgin paper books is going to disappear. Surely it's better to help plant new trees than to sit around and tut. As the EcoLibris website says:</span><br /><span style="font-family:Arial;"></span><br /><span style="font-family:Arial;">'Eventually (and hopefully sooner then later), books will be made from recycled paper or other eco-friendly materials. But till then, we can still do something to make the world greener.'</span><br /><span style="font-family:Arial;"></span><br /><span style="font-family:Arial;">So I'll be asking for book totals at the end of 2009 and each book read will earn an extra penny for <a href="http://www.ecolibris.net/index.asp">EcoLibris</a>, which go towards planting trees. Whatever total we reach I'll round it up to a tree planting amount of dollars.</span><br /><span style="font-family:Arial;"></span><br /><span style="font-family:Arial;">Finally I'm happy to announce that every month in 2009 I'll be holding a little motivational prize draw for readers here at the blog. All prizes will be designed to enable your reading obsession. Look out for some cool reading paraphenalia.</span><br /><span style="font-family:Arial;"></span><br /><span style="font-family:Arial;">That's it for now. I hope everyone who has signed up so far has received their sposnorship form (contact me at bakerjodie at googlemail dot com if you haven't). Thanks for spreading the word.</span>Jodiehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11462660276240016464noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7342849241030866054.post-68243732776562834392008-10-26T08:10:00.000-07:002008-10-26T08:16:20.079-07:00Bring on the Buttons!Hey everyone. This is Mandi from <a style="color: rgb(153, 102, 51);" href="http://bookworm8787.blogspot.com/">Total Bookworm</a>. I've made a few buttons for us and I'll be making a couple of banners either today or tomorrow. Please just right click & save these to your computer to use them.<br /><br /><br /><a href="http://tinypic.com/" target="_blank"><img src="http://i33.tinypic.com/24nju2p.jpg" alt="Image and video hosting by TinyPic" border="0" /></a><br /><br /><a href="http://tinypic.com/" target="_blank"><img src="http://i34.tinypic.com/ieig0l.jpg" alt="Image and video hosting by TinyPic" border="0" /></a><br /><br /><a href="http://tinypic.com/" target="_blank"><img src="http://i36.tinypic.com/11gpz83.jpg" alt="Image and video hosting by TinyPic" border="0" /></a>Ms. Bookwormhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04128045807954853173noreply@blogger.com3