Hmmm ... don't know what to think about this. Could be interesting ...

'The Silent History' invites readers to become active participants: http://www.bostonglobe.com/lifestyle/2012/10/12/new-book-the-silent-history-invites-readers-become-active-participants-story/lwuPuibzJe7wQSA7P2wGZN/story.html

“The man who does not read has no advantage over the man who cannot read.” - Mark Twain

Enough said. Use this site to discover something new to read. Includes YA reviews, news and interviews:

http://www.books4teens.co.uk/ 

The People's Library

Interesting and disturbing article on the People's Library of Occupy Wall Street. Check it out:

http://www.thenation.com/article/164766/peoples-library-occupy-wall-street-lives

A taste: " I love books—reading them, writing in them, arranging them, holding them, even smelling them. I also love having access to books for free. I love libraries and everything they represent. To see an entire collection of donated books, including many titles I would have liked to read, thoughtlessly ransacked and destroyed by the forces of law and order was one of the most disturbing experiences of my life."

My Ideal Bookshelf

Take a peek at the dream bookshelves of great musicians, writers, designers ... yeah, guess what? They ALL read:

http://www.brainpickings.org/index.php/2012/11/13/my-ideal-bookshelf-jane-mount-thessaly-la-force/

And some quotations to further inspire you ...

From Pico Iyer: "What more could one ask of a companion? To be forever new and yet forever steady. To be strange and familiar all at once, with enough change to quicken my mind, enough steadiness to give sanctuary to my heart. The books on my shelf never asked to come together, and they would not trust or want to listen to one another; but each is a piece of a stained-glass whole without which I couldn’t make sense to myself, or to the world outside."

And Patti Smith: "I longed to read everything I possibly could, and the things I read in turn produced new yearnings."

And finally, an ode to public libraries by Maira Kalman: "I love the architecture of public libraries, the very large windows. Inside it’s polished, it’s quiet; during the day, the sun is usually streaming through one room or another. And all the people are sitting there together, but they’re all going to completely different places through the books they’re reading."

Listen up!

Here's a link to one of my favorite short stories, "The Swimmer" by John Cheever. It's a strange and heartbreaking story, and guess what? You can just sit back and listen: http://www.newyorker.com/online/2011/02/14/110214on_audio_enright


Enjoy listening? Each month the New Yorker fiction podcast features a story from the magazine's archives chosen and read by a contributor. Check it out: http://www.newyorker.com/online/podcasts/fiction

Eyes on the Prize

The websites below will lead you to award-winning writing. Check them out! Buy or borrow a book and read already!!:

The Man Booker Prizes: http://www.themanbookerprize.com/

The Pulitzer Prizes: http://www.pulitzer.org/

The Nobel Prize in Literature: http://www.nobelprize.org/nobel_prizes/literature/