The Year of Readers

Reading and access to books and education have always been issues close to my heart. One of the first steps to creating an oppressive society and limiting freedom is to ban books and limit access to them. It stands to reason than providing books and encouraging reading and learning can have the opposite effect. Literacy and education empower people, adults and children alike.



Jodie came up with the idea of hosting a year long read-a-thon, asking readers to join her in an effort to raise money for reading and literacy based charities. She writes:

In 2009 I want to spread my love of reading throughout the world. The Year of Readers aims to bring people who enjoy books together to have fun bringing literature into the lives of others. From the 1st January 2009 until 31st of December 2009, I will be running an international read-a-thon that will be open to anyone who reads. It doesn’t matter what kind of books you read or how many you read as long as you’ve got your nose in a book in 2009 you can join in.

She goes on to say:

It’s an easy concept (which is probably why I thought of it). You pick a literary charity that you want to support in 2009. You sign up to be part of The Year of Readers, get people to sponsor you and just start reading whatever you like.

I am slow in signing up for this particular event because choosing a charity to support is not as easy as it looks. There are quite a number of great groups out there who strive to make books and reading more accessible across the globe. How do you choose just one? Do I go with a local outfit or branch out beyond the borders of my own country?

It was this description which struck me the most, however, and was what made me settle on the Book Wish Foundation:

Reading relief is a concept much broader than providing books. It encompasses all of the aid for community institutions and individuals that makes reading possible. This includes, for example, support for libraries, schools, informal literacy and language programs, and vision care. To provide relief, this aid must match the specific needs that exist, which vary according to the crisis situation, culture, language, demographics, educational history, and aspirations of the people being served. These needs form the basis of the Wish Lists on our website, and provide an opportunity for highly targeted giving.

We focus on people in long-term crisis situations because they may face problems so grave that reading relief is not a major component of the aid they receive, although reading may have a great positive impact on their lives. Refugees, internally displaced people, school-aged children not in school, the homeless, the critically ill, and the desperately poor are among the populations we aim to reach.

I am pledging $1 per book read during the year of 2009, including those I have already read so far this year. I am also going to donate an extra $1 for every challenge I am able to complete during the course of the year. I am not going to make a big deal about asking anyone to sponsor me. I've never felt comfortable soliciting donations--not even for those run and walk-o-thons I participated in while in school all those many years ago. If you are interested (whether lump sums or per book or per reading challenge, no matter the amount), please e-mail me (my e-mail address can be found on my profile page), and I will pass along the information for you to do so. Better yet, you can join The Year of Readers too.

This is just a little something I want to do. I give to other charities that support issues I feel passionate about, although never a reading/literacy based one. I just never thought to do anything like this before. It does make sense though, doesn't it? Why not share my love of reading with those who do not have the same resources and means that I do?

It isn't much, I know. It is very little actually, but it is something. In a work related training I attended yesterday the instructor talked about how sometimes all we can do is take a baby step but to remember that even those baby steps are a movement forward. And they add up.


“Education is not the filling of a pail, but the lighting of a fire.” ~ W. B. Yeats