Read All About It!

Last night Open Books teamed up with Chicago Reader to host an absolutely magnificent book swap.

I was fortunate enough to� be working the door and checking in books. My post� allowed me to chat with most of the guests while making sure their books weren’t falling apart at the seams (I found two that were– no big deal). I also got to see the joy on people’s faces as they left with their new used books! And I witnessed much joy!!!

One young gentleman came back about an hour or so after I checked his books. He plopped a stack of about twenty books down in front of me. He said “I want to donate these.” Then turned around and left. So, THANK YOU KIND SIR! Your generosity will take you far, and helps Open Books a bundle!

Now, here are some funky bookshelves made from the very things they are built to house:

humpty-dumpty

Artist Jim Rosenau makes his living by crafting furniture from antique books.

blue bookcase

This shelf that tells the story of Humpty Dumpty isn’t necessarily suited for a child’s play room, but its humorous none the less.

For more funky bookcases made from books visit

This Into That.

In the process of sorting thousands upon thousands of boxes of books each month, there are always a few titles that stand out. This month, our favorites are:

Your turn! Tell us about…

_

It’s An Armadillo!

Sometimes, especially with as delighted and self-evident a title as this, there is very little we can add. LOOK at that armadillo, people. Truly s/he is more than deserving of that exclamation point of surprise.

Tell us, readers all…what other things have joyously surprised you recently?

This month’s 10 questions are answered by Barbie Larimore, creator of BookBundlz.com! Be sure to check out this amazing resource to make your book club better than ever with helpful online management tools. We would like to thank Barbie for bringing awareness to Open Books and the literacy cause to all her site’s members.

The 10 Questions We Always Ask

1.    How would you spend your last 24 hours if you knew the world would end in the morning? With my extended families and closest friends, seeing as much of the world as we can in a day and telling jokes and stories that make you laugh so hard that your stomach muscles ache and your legs buckle under.
2.    What was your dream job when you were 5? I think I wanted to be a surgeon because it amazed me that you could cut a person and help them get better and save them from getting worse. And I loved the color red…I know, ewgh.

3.    If you could have dinner with 3 people (real or fictional), who would you invite and what would you eat? Zora Neale Hurston, my maternal and paternal grandmothers; we would eat a feast of fruits from across the world.

4.    What was your favorite childhood toy or game? I’d say climbing—buildings, fences, trees…etc.

5.    If you had one superpower, what would it be? To be able to fly, of course!

6.    What secret obsession do you have that no one knew about before this interview? When traveling by car (especially on long trips), I sometimes calculate how far I will have traveled in 1 minute, 2 minutes, etc. based on my MPH speed. I check my odometer to see if I was right.

7.     What makes you laugh uncontrollably? My husband.

8.    What book are you reading right now? Drown, by Junot Diaz

9.    What is your favorite ice cream flavor? Pecan Praline

10. What is playing on your iPod/record player these days? No iPod (or other MP3 player), no record player. I collect CDs and never listen to them! My most frequent go-to, however, is Louis Armstrong’s & Ella Fitzgerald’s recording of Porgy & Bess.

It might not be directly literacy related, but this video verion of “Stand By Me” is awe-inspiring. Basically, the first guy came up with the first harmony in Santa Monica, and the artists took it around the world for other street artists to add their own pieces and instruments to it. An inspirational start to your day!

We are so lucky that Camille Tucker has chosen to spend her last few months before leaving the country with the Peace Corps being an all-star volunteer with both of our flagship programs: creative writing field trips and Open Books Buddies! Thanks, Camille!

Name: Camille Tucker
Neighborhood: Edgewater
Job or school: Soon-to-be Peace Corps Volunteer (leaving in June!)
Open Books programs and events you’ve participated in: Field Trips, Kingsley Reading Buddies

The 10 Questions We Always Ask!

1.    How would you spend your last 24 hours if you knew the world would end in the morning? I would gather up my entire extended family and fly them all to Beirut. We are Lebanese by heritage, but none of us has been to Lebanon.
2.    What was your dream job when you were 5? Paleontologist
3.    If you could have dinner with 3 people (real or fictional), who would you invite and what would you eat? J. Robert Oppenheimer, Horatio (Hamlet’s buddy), and Kirsten Lodel (founder of National Student Partnerships). We’d eat my grandmother’s kibbeh.
4.    What was your favorite childhood toy or game? My parents’ old Halloween costumes and Where in the World is Carmen Sandiago? (on an actual floppy disk!).
5.    If you had one superpower, what would it be? The ability to manipulate time.
6.    What secret obsession do you have that no one knew about before this interview? Public radio podcasts. In particular, I love Wait, Wait, Don’t Tell Me, a news quiz-show. I’m embarrassed by the level of my excitement when Paula Poundstone is on the panel.
7.     What makes you laugh uncontrollably? Lurching around my parents’ kitchen table with my mom and younger brother, pretending to be a T-Rex.
8.    What book are you reading right now? The History of Love by Nicole Krauss.
9.    What is your favorite ice cream flavor? Peppermint
10.  What is playing on your iPod/record player these days? Besides an absurd number of public radio podcasts? Lisa Hannigan, The Staple Singers, and Mike Mangione.