Reading should not be a privilege

Blogger extroardinaire Margot Kinberg has given the 'Literacy Builder Blog Award' to me.  Wow!  Thank you, Margot!  As I wrote on her post, it's been a bit since an award has come my way.  And I was ok with that.  There were so  many, so close together for a while there, that it was beginning to feel forced.  This one, though, is a bit different.  This one really means something.

As writers, how can we not push for literacy?  According to UNESCO, 1 in 5 adults is not literate.  UNESCO and the international community have a goal of "increasing literacy rates by 50% by 2015" (Literacy Decade).  One push to meet this goal is LIFE.  "LIFE targets the 35 countries that have a literacy rate of less than 50 percent or a population of more than 10 million people who cannot read nor write. Eighty-five percent of the world’s non-literate population resides in these countries, and two-thirds are women and girls" (LIFE).

Want to help?  Here is a link to programs supported by the UN Literacy program.  There are probably many more in your area, and there are always companies giving to such organizations with some purchase or action.  Watch for them.  Ask your library what you can do.  Head to your community center and start a reading time.  Volunteer to read stories at a local school or even to neighborhood children.  Give money.  Give books.  Give.

Think about where you would be without books.

And now back to me.  :P

Here are the rules for this award:
1. Thank and link back to the person who gave you this award.

2. Display the award logo on your blog site.
3. Tell us five of your favorite words and why you like them, (add as many as you like).
4. Pass the award on to three bloggers you feel are excellent literacy builders, and link to their sites.
5. Contact the bloggers you’ve chosen and let them know about the award.

Words

1. Tiffany's- my husband came up with this one for me!  (and he's so right...so why doesn't he shop there more often?)
2. Abstract expressionism- okay, so it's a phrase, but it evokes such imagery and feeling of art and passion and modernism
3.  Perspicacious- "having keen mental perception and understanding; discerning" (dictionary.com)
4.  Discombobulation- "to confuse or disconcert; upset; frustrate"

Achilles defeating Hector,
1630-32


5.  Baroque- (Jan Morrison's list made me think of this one, but who doesn't love a word with 'q' in it?) "an artistic style prevalent from the late 16th century to the early 18th century in Europe" (wikipedia)

Who gets it?  Who has encouraged literacy?  Aww, guys...this is the tough part!  Can't I just give it back to Margot?

1.  The Rose City Reader.  If you haven't visited this blog, you should.  A wide array of book reviews, links to reading challenges, and intelligent takes on the world of the bibliophile.
2.  Steph the Bookworm.  While we don't always read the same genres or sub-genres, I highly respect Steph as a reviewer.  And I think she encourages reading through her fun and interesting blog!

3.  Mary of Giggles and Guns.  This woman burst onto the blogging scene and hasn't stopped commenting since.  She says in her profile she has wanted to write all her life and has notebooks and journals full of the stuff.  Now she is fully engrossed in the writing community we have here and what could be more inspirational than that?  (Oh, and she also has a great list of banned books on her blog; go read it!)

4.  Debbie Cowans.  She is a fantastic writer and a great blogger.  I sadly miss a lot of her posts because I'm not hopping around much this Fall, but I am resolutely stating I will get back to Debbie's blog!  See?  She inspired me.

5.  Mason Canyon of Thoughts in Progress.  Really, is there a blogger among us who does more to promote literature?  Mason covers everything from self-help to thrillers and the authors who write them, too.  She is fantastic, a guaranteed stop for any reader or writer.

That's it!  Go forth and read...to yourself and to others.