During September, National Literacy Month, Open Books will be celebrating the contributions various Chicagoans have made to the literary world as well as featuring local literary hotspots and cultural institutions.

Here’s how it will work: Beginning on September 7th, Open Books will post a photo with a trivia question on Twitter, Facebook, and our blog ReadAllAboutIt.  Anyone is welcome to submit an answer!  (Only one entry per person per day, please.) All correct entries for each day’s question will be entered into a drawing at the end of each week and each Friday, one person will be selected and awarded the weekly prize!

The prizes will include an Open Books tote bag (the color of your choice), A FREE book of your choice (valued at $10 or less) from the Open Books store, an Open Books t-shirt (over 12 colors to choose from!) and the grand prize… a $25 gift card to the Open Books store!

Feel free to brush up on your Chicago literary knowledge before we begin the fun by checking out our Chicago-themed bookshelf at the Open Books store!  Good luck to all!

Used Books

by Sarah Sloat

I like them dog-eared and lawnsoft,

and savor the character of winestain

and thumbsmudge,

the tear-warp between pages,

scrawl lolling down margins,

x’s, question and check marks

scratched out as anchors.

The kindle affinity with readers

who’ve leaved through before, house

a kinship of signatures, conjuring towns

and streets in states I’ll never visit.

They preach the economy of timber

and purses, while scribbled dates

evoke evenings spent couch-lounging

through past springs and winters.

Though they come off the press crisp

and unsullied, I like them used

for the gust of tinder and sawdust,

the waft of feathers adrift in a hayloft.

I turn the yellow hem of the pages,

a hue half neon, half tubercular,

like the wallpaper of a motel

nicotine-thick with confessions

where with the fray, I find repose

under covers well plumbed

and sepulchral.

You, our friends and supporters, know how we feel not only about the value of literacy but also of the pressing need to spread this zeal and to cultivate new generations of literate, capable, and book-loving people.  So, for National Literacy Month, a time to call attention to and ponder the value of literacy, we’ve decided to ask you, our volunteers, donors, customers, and advocates, what the ability to read and write means to YOU.

Let's cover our wall with what the POWER of reading and writing means to you!

Starting September 1^st, we will be launching our “What do Reading and Writing Mean to You?” campaign, an opportunity to contemplate and share the impact that being literate has on you.  We hope that by evaluating your literate life, you keep in mind what those with low or limited literacy skills are missing out on: a life without barriers to education or jobs, and limitless potential.

We are posting every answer we receive to this question in our store, in the office, and in our classrooms.  While you’re at Open Books, you can participate by writing your answer on a specially designed book-shaped paper.  If you don’t have a chance to stop in and visit us, you can contribute by leaving a comment on our Facebook page or blog, direct messaging us on Twitter or emailing ehawkinson@open-books.org.  (We will fill out the paper for you!) We would love to hear from the people that are helping change the literacy landscape in Chicago.  We are grateful for your help in eradicating literacy one step, one page, and one word at a time.

For more information on how Open Books is promoting literacy in Chicago and cultivating a more literate world, visit our Impact page.  For more information on the national literacy crisis, visit The National Institute for Literacy.

I love love love books! I read them without breaking their spines, I collect them, I buy too many and don’t read enough. I am from Chicago (the city, not the burbs) and my favorite time of year here is that funny time called “fall,” especially since we don’t really get one. I graduated from Loyola University Chicago in May 2009 with a BA in Creative Writing and I am currently working on my MA in Writing and Publishing at DePaul University. I hope to one day teach at the university level and work in publishing. I have two cats, Trixie and Oreo, and am terrified of bugs.

I guess that’s all the important stuff…

Oh, wait.

I love commas and overuse them. I also love to use ellipsis to the extreme, though I try to curb that one because it can get annoying.