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Up And Coming: December
Rock For Reading 10k Sortathon
Saturday, December 8
Hot Chocolate Happy Hour
Monday, December 17
4:30 - 6:30 pm
Poetry Reading 5:30 pm
Holiday Bazaar
December 17-20
9am - 8pm
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On December 10-12, you can help make a contribution to Sit Stay Read...just by buying groceries! Print this coupon and take it with you to any Jewel Osco, then give it to the cashier when you check out. A portion of your purchase will go directly to benefit Sit Stay Read. Woof! |
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Open Mic:
Karen Thomson
Karen Thomson is the Executive Director at Literature For All Of Us in Evanston. We caught up with her and found out that...
Childhood Ambition: to be a teacher
First Job: waitressing at Round-The-Clock restaurant
Sign: Aries
Favorite Husband: the one and only Doug Thomson
Retreat: walking in the woods
Favorite Book: "The Waves" by Virginia Woolf
Favorite Movie: "Antonia's Line"
Favorite Rock Band: The Beatles
Favorite Song : "Imagine" by John Lennon
Favorite Dance Music: "in-a-ga-da-vida" and "I Heard It Through the Grapevine"
Proudest Moments: giving birth to my four children at home
Biggest Challenge: founding and shepherding Literature for All of Us
Inspiration: my mother's poetry about her 50 foster children and my father's daily journal
What Moves Me: people's generosity
How I Make Decisions: gathering facts, then trusting my heart
My Wildest Dream: to take my whole family on a trip to Costa Rica
Alarm Clock: my little dog Bonnie
Perfect day playing with my grandchild Aidan
Indulgence: buying poetry books
Occasional Pleasure: playing Chopin etudes on the piano
My Hope : book groups for all young people who need them
My Life: blessed
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Want to join Open Books as more than just a volunteer? We're now posting openings on our new Jobs Page, starting with two fabulous internships. Bookmark it and check back often to see if there's a place for you!
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NaNoWriMo ended with a bang at Open Books, with write-in participants finishing their novels right up until 11:58pm on November 30 and producing a staggering 13,070 words in one memorable 30-minute blitz during the 29-Hour Extravaganza. We had a wonderful (if sleep-deprived) time and can't wait to be the official Most Supportive Organization again next year.
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Warm winter greetings, friends of Open Books! The holiday season is a busy one and we have really enjoyed meeting so many of you in the past few weeks. We feel incredibly fortunate to be working with so many giving and dedicated people, and we look forward to 2008 and all the work and good we will do together.
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All We Want For Christmas...
We are all set with our two front teeth, but there are some things we do need to make Open Books run as smoothly and productively as possible. Do you have any of these things collecting dust in your garage? Know of someone else that might? Here is our holiday wish list -- please pass it on to your list of friends and family!
- Bookshelves for our office and warehouse. Any shape! Any size!
- A Desk for the warehouse, ideally with drawers
- Folding Chairs
- Folding Tables for the warehouse. Any shape! Any size!
- A Couch for the warehouse
- Handcarts and Dollies for warehouse. Any kind! Any size!
Don't have any of these things, but want to support us and our literacy programming for 2008? A financial (and tax-deductible!) donation is always welcome!
To make our wishlist come true, contact Becca and tell her what you have. We can't wait to hear from you.
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Hot Chocolate And The Holidays
This holiday season, Open Books will be turning our colorful office into a mini-bazaar selling books, t-shirts, and other great gifts. Here is your chance to get a sneak peek at some of the amazing books we have to offer! And by purchasing a special gift for someone you love, you will help us fund great literacy programs for adults and children.
Open Books
Holiday Bazaar
December 17 - 20
213 W. Institute Place
Sutite 305
9 a.m. to 8 p.m.
Cash or Checks only
Gift wrapping will also be available! To kick off the Bazaar, we will be hosting a
HOT CHOCOLATE HAPPY HOURMonday, December 17 4:30-6:30 p.m. 
Be sure to be there by 5:30 to hear poetry readings by our friends from Literature for All of Us, buy books, have your gifts wrapped, decorate (and eat) book-shaped cookies, and learn more about us and our partners in the literacy community.
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A Capitol Time
A few weeks ago, we attended the ProLiteracy Worldwide Conference in Washington D.C. We attended some great workshops, listened to panels of literacy experts and attended an awards and recognition banquet featuring...Nora Roberts! She is very supportive of ProLiteracy and gave a wonderful and moving speech.
We met a host of incredible people and were especially inspired by the programs at Yuva Parivartan in India, The Community Powerhouse in South Carolina, Read To Succeed's Jailhouse Rocks in California, and Patrick Gaston of the Verizon Foundation, which has designated us a beneficiary of Verizon's holiday book drive. Hooray! And to top it all off, our very own Erin had the proud-yet-surreal opportunity to introduce herself as "Erin from Open Books" to Tom Cruise, Katie Holmes, Linda Carter, and Madeleine Albright. (Who knows, maybe TomKat and Wonderwoman will roll up their sleeves at a sort-a-thon in 2008!)
Open Books ladies and Nora Roberts, who won our hearts forever when she told the packed ballroom that "Every book picked up and read for pleasure is a treasure, a triumph!"
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Viva Volunteers!
We were absolutely delighted to meet more than 60 Open Books volunteers at our two orientation sessions in November. The talent, energy, and enthusiasm in the room as everyone signed up for programs, got to know each other, and participated in the signature Mad Lib Event was fantastic, and program visitors from Chicago HOPES, Schiller Elementary School and the StoryBus told us all what a difference a few hours a week can make. If you'd like to volunteer but missed the events, no problem! The very latest info on Open Books' volunteer options and literacy programs, including dates, times, locations, training and background check details, and much more, is online and waiting for you.
We know the holidays are a hectic time. We understand completely. But many programs only need one or two people per time or location, so we encourage you to take the leap and claim a volunteer spot TODAY to get the one that's right for you. We'll work around your holiday travel (and shopping) schedule so you can kick off the new year knowing at least some of your time will be very well spent in 2008! Just contact Erin with any questions.
Also, volunteers: be brave and open your junk mail folder! Erin has been responding to your inquiries and interest from the meetings, but hasn't heard back from most of you. Several volunteers have said her e-mails have landed in the dreaded junk folder. Volunteering for literacy is nobody's junk! Please take a peek and make sure you're connecting. We wouldn't want you to miss out on the fun because of some technical glitch!
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Out Of The Box: Two Fabulous Finds
In the process of sorting thousands upon thousands of books, there are always a few that stand out. Here are our two favorites for the month.
1. Household Possessions Register
 "If you are typical," begins the assertive bold type on the first page of this gem, "you have no accurate inventory of your personal possessions." True! We do not! But what joy to know that our behavior, though irresponsible, is at least typical, and that this handsome faux-leather book can solve our problems. There are convenient pages for recording everything from luggage and furs to rare carpets and hand tools, elegant gold imprinting on the front, and pages and pages of detailed information on every type of insurance available (in 1980, admittedly, but still!). "The ideal place to safeguard this inventory is in a bank safe-deposit box," adds the book. But if you are truly its target customer and have conscientiously filled out the 3 blank pages left to detail your firearms, you may well feel you have all the safeguarding you need.
2. Weird & Gross Bible Stuff
 Sometimes the cover says it all.
KING PUKES UP WORMS AND DIES
ROTTING FROGS CAUSE STENCH IN EGYPT
MAN'S DIET INCLUDES HONEY-DIPPED LOCUST
A classic, ladies and gentlemen. Truly.
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