Literary Charities 2016

I like to encourage everyone I know to give to charity.  It's this time of year that I like to give to literary charities, as literature is the vehicle by which we build upon our world.  Imagination pushes us forward, it changes our world.  Sharing ideas through books has been the powerful agency of progress.

Reading is Fundamental (http://www.rif.org/): the premise is simple, provide over 1,800,000 books a year to children that need them.  Through ownership and encouragement, provide the literacy skills to succeed in school and contribute to society.

First Book (https://www.firstbook.org/): has distributed over 135 million books across the US and Canada, serving low income families.  97% of proceeds go to this effort.

GlobalGiving (https://www.globalgiving.org/projects/give-books-to-children-in-the-philippines/): with 11 million functionally illiterate Filipinos, it is imperative that fellow Filipinos find ways to bring the literacy level up across the entirety of the nation.  Books are a path to ownership of knowledge, especially where internet is not as pervasive as it is in fully developed countries.

Children's Literacy Initiative (http://www.cli.org/shop-2/): outside of providing books, CLI provides workshops, coaching and institutes to 'teach the teachers' in ways to improve literacy skills with their students.

When a child receives a new book, he receives a treasury and a wealth that will serve them for all time.  Give today.

[recommended]...The Bibliofile (book journal)...

Picked up "My Bibliofile: A Reading Journal for Book Lovers" (Random House) at the Huntington Library last Friday and I'm in the pink of perfection.  Although they don't sell it on their own store site (http://www.thehuntingtonstore.org/), it is available at a variety of other spots like http://gonereading.com/product/the-my-bibliofile-book-journal/.  What makes Bibliofile superior to your run-of-the-mill (*snort) journals, is that it has a few sections to spur you on, instead of a bunch of blank pages.

It's got a long, fairly comprehensive lists to check-off - and boy will you re-think if you are well-read or not.  I guess Dragonlance didn't make Oprah's Book Club or some stuffy award.  There are activities for those that are young at heart.  There are reading trees, sections on which characters or books that influenced you the most, quotes to fill in, even a section if you've heard a writer speak.  That is one of the worst things ever!  (Not the journal, listening to a writer speak.)

Took a few pics since shopping site do a shite job on letting you look through an entire book, I suppose for obvious reasons.  I recommend this journal if you've read five books or five hundred, my God, where little makes sense these days, Bibliofile will turn an upside world, turn...right side...up.  That'll do.

 

Reading up on the Battle of Pelusium (525 BC) no doubt.