Hi all! I have been thinking for a while about how much I love a good book--I mean the kind of book that keeps you up at night--the kind of book that as the number of pages in your left hand increases and the number of pages in your right hand decreases you feel a sadness at the thought of a story ending. I love those books. The ones that contain characters that you wish you knew in real life or that you wish you could be. The ones containing a world you wish you could visit and speeches you wish you could have given. (And let's be honest--characters you wish existed so you could date them--Mr. Darcy anyone? Atticus Finch?) Every time I finish one of these books, I find myself talking about it. I tell other people they have to read it. I want others to read it so I can talk to them about my new favorite book. I feel giddy when someone reads the book and loves it. I look at people with shock when they read it and don't fall in love with it.
And now that I am a teacher, I find that every time I read one of these books, what I really want to do is get it into the hands of my students. I want them to experience that euphoria of a good book.
There is one other experience that gives me a similar high--finding an awesome company. Not just a cute bag, but a cute bag made by a company that does good things. When I find out that my purchase of the cute bag puts money into the hands of widows in Rwanda or my purchase of a scarf for my sister gives women who are new to the country a satisfying job, I get really excited.
So, I thought I would combine these two things. I thought I would create a blog where I could share things I love.
Here is the deal I make with you:
1. I will only post about books that I think are AWESOME!!!
2. I will give you fair warning if they contain things you might find questionable. As a public school teacher, I often have a fairly high tolerance for things, but I know others don't feel the same. I will try to respect that.
3. I will do all I can to make sure the companies I tell you about are legit and respectable. I will research them as best I can.
Here's what I would ask of you:
1. If you read a book I recommend, and you are finished with your copy, consider donating it to a classroom--it would be awesome if it was mine, but if you would rather give your copy of the book to a local school, I respect that. If you would rather keep your copy, consider buying a copy for a classroom library somewhere. Teachers are always ecstatic to get great books on their bookshelves. And you never know when one good book will convince a kid that he/she doesn't hate reading after all.
2. If you fall in love with a company I tell you about, please consider spreading the word. If you find a good one, tell me about it. And if I am talking about companies you already knew about because you're cooler than me, feel free to judge me silently.
