In Reference to Murder

Help Kids Read

Reading is Fundamental's promotion "Book a Brighter Future" ends tomorrow, August 31st, so there's still time to participate. If you donate $3 at Macy's stores, you'll receive a coupon for $10 off merchandise, but better still, Macy's gives 100% of those donations to RIF and their literacy campaigns for children.

Through September 11, RIF is also sponsoring "Read for Change." As part of United We Serve, a national community service effort launched by President Obama, RIF is encouraging folks to volunteer time reading with kids then logging those minutes on the web site. The goal is 3 million minutes, and they're still a bit under that, but getting close. The campaign hopes to raise awareness about the impact of children's literacy on the long-term economic health of the country, and I might add, its cultural and social health, as well.

Macy's Thinks Reading is Fundamental

The literacy organization Reading Is Fundamental (RIF) and Macy's teamed up to launch Book A Brighter Future, which has become an annual promotion held at Macy's stores during the back-to-school season. The campaign raises money for local RIF programs, providing reading resources to children who need them most. From July 1 through August 31, if you give $3 for RIF at a Macy's store, Macy's will donate 100 percent of that contribution to RIF, and you will receive a coupon for $10 off a $50 in-store purchase. Last year, Book a Brighter Future raised more than $3 million for children who lack access to books. RIF programs operate in all 50 states, the District of Columbia, Puerto Rico, the U.S. Virgin Islands, and Guam. 

Read Across America

Today is Read Across America day, sponsored by the NEA. Now in its 12th year, the program focuses on motivating children to read, in addition to helping them master basic skills. Why today? It's also the birthday of Theodore Geisel, a/k/a Dr. Seuss. All across the country, thousands of schools, libraries, and community centers will be bringing books and kids together. So if you have little ones in your family or circle of friends and co-workers, sit down together with them to read a book, or at least pass along some great book titles to get them started.

If you need some ideas, try out these lists of mysteries for kids and young adults, from First Clues (with an addendum here), and this listing of the nominees and winners from the annual Edgar Awards in the Juvenile category.

Reader-in-Chief

As Barack Obama takes his oath today as the 44th President of the United States, the burden of all the monumental expectations placed squarely on his shoulders will be heavy indeed. But he has already started a small change, and hopefully a lasting one, by virtue of his well-publicized love of books and the resulting interest it's generated in some titles already. Although he isn't the first President to have an effect on reading and book sales, the New York Times was impressed enough to ask if Obama was the new Oprah, a sentiment shared by NPR, which called him a "new force in publishing."

The Rap Sheet also took up the discussion, pointing out that some presidents have done more to promote reading than others, although Obama might want to consider grabbing a crime novel for "some lighter relief" after all the heavy reading he's been doing. The Hawaiian Eye blog offered up a few suggestions, titles like Hard Revolution by George Pelecanos and Mystic River by Dennis Lehane. And if the new President wants to sit down with mysteries featuring U.S. Presidents or presidential candidates, he can always check out this list offered up by Janet Reid at Mystery Fanfare.

It appears that President Obama has taken to heart the words of Oklahoma Governor Brad Henry, that "Reading builds the educated and informed electorate so vital to our democracy." Otherwise, we may wind up as Ray Bradbury foresaw, that "You don't have to burn books to destroy a culture. Just get people to stop reading them."