Janece Moment

This is an example of a painting by a friend of mine. This painting is for sale at: http://janecemoment.etsy.com.

I love Janece's work. I'm sure you will, too.

Her blog is: http://www.noordinarymoment.com/

Collecting Dust

It is more than a year since I was tutoring at Cliveden Park House. The books we collected together are sitting, neatly shelved, collecting dust. Only one person runs a program of any kind at the house now, and he doesn't use the books to my knowledge.

I'd like to split up the collection and donate its parts to local area schools. At least then the kids would get the chance to look at and handle the books. They might even learn to read using them. Where they are currently located, the kids can't go unless someone unlocks the building.

A friend told me about http://www.donorschoose.org back in December. Our family ended up donating parts of gifts to two of the programs there - one in Chicago, one in Philadelphia. I am so happy to be able to give resources to teachers who can really use them. So many of the teachers are looking for copies of the sorts of books we collected - you and I. So I hope you'll forgive me if I do this, and put our books in to the hands of children who want to learn to read well.

When I know more about what will happen, I'll be sure to let you know. I can't thank you enough for all your support, all the money you spent, all the books you sought for my little reading program. There are so many "ifs", but the truth is that there aren't enough people giving of their time to run the house the way it could be run. If grown-ups don't seek to take the problem of illiteracy seriously, how can the children be expected to?

Readerville Journal 2.0

Readerville.com - a site for everyone who loves to read (dubbed The Social Life of the Mind), brought out a print magazine a few years ago. Although The Readerville Journal was a thing of exquisite beauty, it ran out of money before really taking off in the world.

Here's the good news: The Readerville Journal is back, better than ever. You can check it out today at:
http://journal.readerville.com, where it resides in digital form.

Its content changes daily and includes original articles, themes, interviews, links and more excellent book recommendations than you can shake a stick at, if stick shaking is your thing.

The Journal is free. The site also incorporates a vast discussion forum for which members pay minimal fee ($8/mth). I've been a member of the Forum for many years and can honestly say that I have gotten my money's worth. It's worth a look, I guarantee.

Please feel free to make note of this on your own FB site or blog, & spread the word - thank you!