Summer Reading: A Patriotic Booklist to Add to Your Summer Reading

The current buzz around the "presumptive" presidential nominees, Senators John McCain (R) and Barack Obama (D), holds a major portion of my much divided attention these days. As usual, my reading is driven by the topic I'm most obsessed with at the moment (I tend to topically fixate); I find myself wanting to know more about my function as a citizen in this process and how we came to be at this crossroads.

I'm also reaching for books that offer more information about how I can green my life and shrink my carbon footprint. "Reduce, reuse, recycle," I chant to myself, but I'm a city dweller with an appreciation for the natural world. I want to integrate green practices into my current setting and lifestyle, and do it in a way that makes it most likely that I'll be able to stick to it. I'll recycle, buy in bulk and break it down, I've even started toting around a QT jug for refills, but I'm not trying to mess with composting.

Finally, the Daring Books volumes are great resources filled with fun facts, games, reading suggestions and projects; Get A Hobby also offers up some great ideas. They both provide parents with a wealth of ways to keep the kids (and themselves) busy and learning over the summer break.


Summer Reading Suggestions 2008

America's Hidden History--Kenneth C. Davis
Common Sense--Thomas Paine
Founding Brothers--Joseph J. Ellis
The World is Flat--Thomas L. Friedman
Gorgeously Green--Sophie Uliano
The Dangerous Book for Boys--Conn & Hal Iggulden
The Daring Book for Girls--Andrea Buchanan & Miriam Peskowitz
Get A Hobby--Tina Barseghia

What are you reading this summer? Share your recommendations and old favorites in the comments section.

Help Save RIF!: Reading Is Fundamental (RIF) Funding Cut From Government Budget

My mother read to me from an early age. She grew up in a household of teachers; she understood the importance of introducing literacy early and reinforcing it often. She deserves most, but not all of the credit for my love of a good book. The Reading Is Fundamental (RIF) program sealed the deal.

When I was in kindergarten RIF visited my school and scattered books on, under and around a large table positioned center stage in our auditorium. I selected my book then as I do now, with great patience and consideration. I was one of the last to leave. A RIF sticker saying, "This book belongs to Desiré," was centered in the front cover of the book completing the exchange. It was the first time that I chose the story; that day, my reading life became my own, and I became a writer in the making.

Stories like mine are being jeopardized by recent budget cuts. Given the successful 42 year history of the program and the consistent lament regarding the state of literacy in the U. S., a state of decline, how can this budget cut have been supported? If you believe in RIF's Mission, write your Congress person and let them know that you want funding returned to this successful and necessary program.

Merry Christmas: Twelve Days of Books to Beg, Borrow or Buy

For some of us, the Christmas Season is just beginning. For the remainder of this week through January 5, we celebrate the birth of Jesus and look forward to the celebration of the arrival of the three kings, magi, in Bethlehem bearing gifts, which is celebrated on January 6. Many cite this tradition as the origin of a favorite Christmas carol, The Twelve Days of Christmas.

Even if you don't celebrate an extended Christmas season, it is still fun to stay in the spirit of giving as long as possible. It's why many of us loved singing the Twelve Days of Christmas as children. Here are a few gift ideas to get you started. Take advantage of the "After Christmas" sales and get something for yourself.

12. Writing Alone and With Others by Pat Schneider

11. How to Become a Famous Writer Before You're Dead by Ariel Gore

10. Writer Mama;How to Raise a Writing Career Alongside Your Kids
by Christina Katz

9. This Year You Write Your Novel by Walter Mosley

8. You Inc.; The Art of Selling Yourself by Harry Beckwith

7. Art That Pays; The Emerging Artist's Guide to Making A Living
by Adele Slaughter & Jeff Kober

6. The Dangerous Book for Boys by Conn Iggulden and Hal Iggulden

5. The Daring Book for Girls byAndrea J. Buchanan and Miriam Peskowitz

4. For the Love of Letters; A 21st-Century Guide to the Art of Letter Writing
by Samara O'Shea

3. The Well-Fed Writer;Financial Self-Sufficiency As a Freelance Writer in Six Months or Less by Peter Bowman

2. The Renegade Writer: A Totally Unconventional Guide to Freelance Writing Success (The Renegade Writer's Freelance Writing series) by Linda Formichelli and Diana Burrell

1. Cultural Amnesia: Necessary Memories from History and the Arts by Clive James

Introducing Friday Classics at A Conservatory of One

"We can forgive a man for making a useful thing as long as he does not admire it. The only excuse for making a useless thing is that one admires it intensely. All art is quite useless." Oscar Wilde from the Preface of The Picture of Dorian Gray

In honor of Halloween, I'll be reading The Picture of Dorian Gray a bit at a time for the remainder of this month via my email subscription at DailyLit.com. This website provides visitors with a section of the book selection of their choice at intervals by email or RSS feed. Read a chapter a day, every other day, or once a week. You set up your subscription to reflect your preference. If you're itching to read the next chapter, that's easy to remedy. Login to manage your subscription and request the next chapter. Registering is free and many classic works of literature are available for subscription for free as well. Some, more recent works, are available for a nominal fee.

My plan is to read, or revisit a classic a month. I started my personal read the classics campaign a while ago with Vanity Fair. I'll be honest. I haven't read that much Vanity Fair (considering its length, it probably wasn't the best first choice), so I'm making myself accountable (and picking a shorter book). I'll list my current classic reads in the right hand column of this blog and post a bit of my thoughts about the classic of the month each Friday. Feel free to take DailyLit.com for a spin and read along with me. I look forward to your comments. The ongoing book discussions will take place at my other website, We Read Big Books.

Banned Books Week Sept. 29--Oct. 6: Walk the Edge, Read a Book that Changed the World

Say it with me, "I read a banned book." Whether it's true or not, just saying it feels liberating. If you've read a book that others decried as too risque, politically incorrect or inappropriate for your age (before you were legal), it probably gave you a bit of a thrill. You were walking the edge, challenging social expectations and more importantly, challenging your intellect. Some of the classics of the western canon belonged to the banned book list at one point or another. Take some time to checkout the list of most challenged books of 2006, and visit the American Library Associataion's website to learn more about banned and challenged books. They also provide a listing of Banned Books Week events in your area.