I'm a Guest Blogger!

I'm so excited to say that I am a guest blogger over on Michelle's fabulous blog, When I Grow Up! It's all about self-help books, why they're great, and which ones you might love! Please check it out!

Calling All Readers! I need your help!

I've been thinking a lot recently about what I want this blog to be and how I can make it more interactive. I have also been thinking about what it means to be well-read, and how ones gets to be well-read. Then it came to me. I want to feature "well-read" people on this blog and share their tips and insights.

I consider myself to be on my way to being well-read but I still have long way to go. I am always looking for more information, more stories, and more tips to get to where I want to be. So I want to learn from you all and with you all.

Here's where I need your help. Are you an avid reader? Have you made changes in your life that have helped you read more? Who/what inspires you to keep reading? Do you consider yourself to be well-read? Do you know someone who is well-read? What does that even mean? If you have answers or thoughts to any of these questions please leave a comment or contact me via e-mail (caitlindonohuegmailcom). And if you want, I'd love to feature some of you (or those you recommend) to help inspire others to read more. Let me know if you are interested!

Also, I'm interested in well-read historical figures (or current well-known people). Does anyone come to mind? Have you read any biographies about someone who had a great reading habit? I've started a list and am looking to add to it.

Thanks in advance for any help or input on this little project. I can't wait to hear what you all have to say!

A Book

"A book is like a garden carried in the pocket." -Chinese Proverb

I love this!

Book a Brighter Future

Well, friends, it's that time of year again. Macy's and RIF (Reading is Fundamental) have teamed up for another summer for Book a Brighter Future. Supporting RIF and getting books into the hands of kids that need them could not be easier. Here's the scoop:

Starting TODAY (June 30) and through the end of July (July 31) go to a Macy's store and donate $3 to RIF. The nice people at Macy's, in turn, will give you a $10 gift certificate to be used for a Macy's purchase of $50 or more. Let's review. You give $3 and you get a $10 gift certificate. That's 7 FREE dollars! 100% of the $3 you donate goes to RIF. And $1 will stay in your community to help kids locally. Another $1 will go to RIF's national program and the last $1 will support their multicultural literacy campaign.

RIF provides free books and literacy resources to children all across the country and has special outreach programs for those kids who are particularly at risk for developing reading difficulties. Their federal funding is currently in jeopardy, so this fundraising endeavor is especially important this year.

So please, shop to show you care. Go to Macy's and donate $3 to RIF. We all have summer shopping to do! Or get your back-to-school shopping done early!

And spread the word. Go to the Book a Brighter Future page for links, banners, etc. Tweet about it. Become a RIF fan on facebook and spread the word there. Tell your friends and family.

Review: Sixpence House

I'm still playing catch up to write about all of the books I've read over the past few months. So, here's another one for you.

I finished this book a month or so ago. It's a memoir by Paul Collins called Sixpence House: Lost in a Town of Books. I picked it up years ago because it a) it's about books and b) it primarily takes place in Wales. My mother's mother grew up in Wales and my grandparents met and married, but I didn't know much about it when I bought the book. My grandmother died when my mom was young, and we didn't have much contact with her family there. I started the book right away, but never got past a few chapters. Since then, I actually visited my grandmother's hometown of Tenby, Wales and stayed with my mom's first cousin and met a few members of her family. It was fantastic! But I did not get to visit the setting of this book. But I so want to go back and see it.

Hay-on-Wye. Sixpence House takes place in Hay-on-Wye, Wales and it sounds like a magical place. According to the author, there are 40 bookstores in Hay, but only 1,500 residents. Most of the bookstores are used and rare books. His family decide to move there and the book tells the tale of their journey and adventures along to way. Collins introduces his readers to a variety of interesting characters (residents) from Hay along the way. We also meet quite a few houses that the family thinks of buying. And finally, Collins introduces us to many near-forgotten authors and books.

To be honest, at times the book was a little slow, but overall, I did enjoy it. It makes for an interesting partial history of the book industry, and painted a lovely picture of a beautiful Welsh town. My favorite aspect of the whole book was the chapter titles. I didn't notice them until the fourth or fifth chapter, but they are very clever. You'll have to check out the book to see what I mean.

This volume is just one in my rather large collection of books about books. Do you have any favorites in that category?

Poem: Summer Stars

It's been a while since I've posted a poem, and I'm in a summery mood, so here's a great one from Carl Sandberg.

Summer Stars

BEND low again, night of summer stars.

So near you are, sky of summer stars,

So near, a long arm man can pick off stars,

Pick off what he wants in the sky bowl,

So near you are, summer stars,

So near, strumming, strumming,

So lazy and hum-strumming.

Star gazing in the summer is the best, don't you think? Are there any poems that evoke special summer memories or feelings for you? Do share!

What's on your summer reading list?

So technically, it's only a week into summer, but I feel like summer's been here for almost 2 months! The Texas heat is already oppressive, but all the extra time in the air conditioning makes for some great reading!

I don't think I'm going to make it to 25 books by the end of June (the half-way mark of my 50 books for the year goal), but I'm making great progress! And there's so much left to read.

I have a lot of books on my summer reading list. Here's a sampling:

Currently reading: I'm in the middle of 3 books right now (2 regular and 1 audio).

Marriage, A History (which reminds me of Hogwarts, A History every time I look at the cover!) by Stephanie Coontz. It's fascinating from an historical and sociological perspective. I love it!

Writing Down the Bones by Natalie Goldberg. Awesome for inspiring writing.

My Life in France by Julia Child. So fun! Made me watch part of Julie and Julia yesterday.

And coming up:

The Girl With the Dragon Tattoo-I've heard so much about it. It's time.

A Tree Grows in Brooklyn-It's been sitting on my shelf for ages.

Blue Like Jazz-I've heard so many great things AND it's been sitting on my shelf forever.

There are still so many more I want to read. But I think this will be a good start for the summer. The marriage book is long and dense so I think it will take me awhile.

What's on your summer reading list? If you need more inspiration, here's a list from NPR.org.

Happy reading!

Eat, Pray, Love- August 2010!!

Who's excited??