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Up And Coming
Volunteer Appreciation Event:
Contraption
Free tickets!
February 14
Open Books Brings StoryBus To
Schiller and Manierre Elementaries
February 13
Sit Stay Read
Best In Show Event
February 12
PACTT's
Work Of Heart Gala
February 9
Literacy Chicago's
Well-Read Ball
February 9
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Open Mic:
Open Books Interns
Nathan Kosky, Max Barry, Matt Johnson, and Dustin Walsh are new interns at Open Books. As part of their first week on the job, we asked them...
How would you spend your last 24 hours if you knew the world would end in the morning?
Nathan: I would spend it playing basketball with my closest buds and family members.
Max: If I knew the world would end in the morning, I would spend the last twenty-four hours informing everyone I knew that the will would end in the morning and tell them to call everyone they knew and tell them that the world will end in the morning and to tell those people to tell everyone they knew and so on, until a everyone in the world new the world was ending in the morning. Then I'd make another call to all my friends telling them to meet in front of my house by eight fifty-seven with some sort of musical instrument, even a pot or a pan to bang, and to call all their friends and tell them to do the same and so on and so on. Then, at eight-fifty seven we'd compose the loudest most chaotic song ever possible.
Matt: At first I would freak out, but for the sake of fantasy, I'll say that I don't freak out, and have unlimited resources. That being said, I'd probably not travel too far and waste valuable time. So I'd stick around here, and do something with my closest friends and family. What that activity or activities would be, I have no idea.
Dustin: I would probably go try to steal an airplane and attempt to fly it.
What was your dream job when you were 5?
Nathan: I wanted to work at Chuck E. Cheese. I had an application set aside in my room and everything.
Max: I wanted to be a professional soccer player.
Matt: Hopefully at 5 I didn't want a job...just kidding (kind of). I do remember something about wanting to own a hotel and live in a tropical paradise.
Dustin: Pro wrestler.
If you could have dinner with 3 people (real or fictional), who would you invite and what would you eat?
Nathan: A nice dinner of spaghetti and meatballs with Steve Jobs, Bill Gates, and Kenneth Lay.
Max: Borges, Lucy (the one whose bones are the oldest known example of a human skeleton), and the Big Friendly Giant. We would eat drumsticks of various size and rawness
Matt: Lao-Tzu, Huck Finn, and Jack Kerouac. Our dinner would be tapas of their choosing.
Dustin: Hunter S Thompson, Frank Gehry and Bobby Kennedy. We would eat oranges for Hunter of course, mashed potatoes so Frank could design his next building and crab since it's such an East Coast favorite for Bobby.
What was your favorite childhood toy or game?
Nathan: Boggle.
Max: Duck Hunt.
Matt: Baseball. Definitely baseball when I was young.
Dustin: GI Joe.
If you had one superpower, what would it be?
Nathan: The ability to fly. I am not a fan of public transportation.
Max: To be able to speak every language in the world, including dolphin, elephant, and the language of love.
Matt: Perfect memory and memory recall.
Dustin: I always wanted to be able to fly; certainly would beat the CTA.
What secret obsession do you have that no one knew about before this interview?
Nathan: I am obsessed with hand lotion (Palmer's Cocoa Butter, haha) especially when I travel, I always bring a bottle with me.
Max: Chipotle burritos.
Matt: I think I picked this up from my Grandpa, but I'm obsessed with picking up crumbs and what not around the floors of my apartment. It drives my wife crazy, but she doesn't understand that I NEED to do it!
Dustin: It would be fun to be a train conductor.
What makes you laugh uncontrollably?
Nathan: Anything even mildly humorous late at night. :)
Max: After someone falls over and it is clear that he/she has not hurt him/herself, it almost never fails to make me laugh uncontrollably. For example, a friend and I were at a stand up comedy show, and after the comedian told a really bad joke, his chair started to break, and he slowly fell onto the floor.
Matt: This may fit for the above question as well, but: America's Funniest Home Videos.
Dustin: I always die of laughter when I see those crazy pet videos on YouTube, especially the ones with cats jumping on little kids heads.
What book are you reading right now?
Nathan: How to Change the World: Social Entrepreneurs and the Power of New Ideas, by David Bornstein.
Max: Robert Pinsky's new book of poetry, Gulf Music.
Matt: What is the What by Dave Eggers.
Dustin: F. Scott Fitzgerald, The Beautiful and Damned.
What is your favorite ice cream flavor?
Nathan: Pistachio.
Max: Rainbow sherbet.
Matt: Chocolate with anything. As long as chocolate is the ice cream, I'm cool.
Dustin: Chocolate Chip Cookie Dough.
What is playing on your iPod/record player these days?
Nathan: Everything from Rufus Wainwright, Jack Johnson, and Bird York to Cupid, Flo Rider, and Chris Brown.
Max: Lupe Fiasco on my iPod and Wayne Shorter on my boombox.
Matt: Right now it's either the new Radiohead album or Aeroplane Over the Sea by Neutral Milk Hotel.
Dustin: Explosions In The Sky.
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The Language Of Love
For the month of February, we would like to open our Read All About It blog to our volunteers, donors, and supporters. Write to us and share a favorite love story, letter or poem...one that you've received (or maybe one you wish you'd received), or a love sonnet by your favorite poet, or a sweet story or Valentine from your kids. Just submit your lovely entries to bkeaty@open-books.org.
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In the spirit of the month of February -- steamy romances read in bubble baths, love poems shared with loved ones, snickers over candy conversation hearts, and Valentines created, sent, and received -- we bring you a newsletter FULL of lovely volunteer perks, literacy programming expansions and updates galore.
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We LOVE Our Volunteers!
Were you at the Big Move? Have you come with us to Schiller? Did you give us your time, your energy, and your love at a book pickup, a Chicago HOPES tutoring session, a Neighborhood Writing Alliance meeting, a StoryBus visit, or any of the other programs our volunteers make happen each and every day across Chicago? Then you are close to our hearts, and we want to thank you this Valentine's Day with an awesome Volunteer Appreciation theater event.
On February 14, the Neo-Futurists present Contraption. Want to join us for the show? Open Books volunteers are welcome to TWO FREE TICKETS, and there are still a few left! To RSVP, email Erin (ewalter@open-books.org) by noon on February 13. Please specify whether you want one ticket or two and whether you'll be joining us for drinks and appetizers before the show. See you Thursday!
February 14, 2008
6:15pm
Drinks and appetizers at Olé Olé
5413 N. Clark
8pm
Contraption
5153 N. Ashland
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Open Your Heart -- Reach For The Stars!
Starting this month, Open Books partner Literature for All of Us will be hosting its first-ever Read-a-thon to support its award-winning book group program. They are asking individuals and community groups to support its Reach for the Stars! campaign, held February 1 through March 31.
Participants can register online for the event ANY time during February and March. Each participant creates their own personal fundraising page announcing their pledge to read a certain number of books during the Read-a-thon. They then ask their family, friends and associates to sponsor them. All donations can be made online. It's quick, simple and safe.
To get started, register as an individual or a team at: www.firstgiving.com/literatureforallofus.
According to Executive Director, Karen Thomson, "Our Reach for the Stars! Read-a-thon is our first foray into online fundraising. We are excited about being able to share with more people our message about the important work we do and it's a wonderful way for participants to share their love of reading with others."
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Spread The Love With Open Books!
More buddies means more fun!
The Open Books Buddies
program is expanding this month, and we need your help! We're adding an
additional group at Schiller, two groups in Bucktown, and possibly locations in Evanston, Irving Park, and beyond. If you or someone you know
has daytime availability, please sign up and spread the word!
Volunteer role:
Be a one-on-one reading buddy to an elementary school student.
Times/Location:
Site #1:
Schiller Elementary School
Near North neighborhood
640 W. Scott
Days/times:
Thursdays 12:15-12:45 pm
Fridays 8:15 - 9 am
Fridays 12:30-1 pm
Site #2:
Chicago International Charter School
Bucktown Campus
2235 N. Hamilton
Days/times:
Tuesdays 4-5 pm
(beginning Feb. 12)
Wednesdays 12:15-12:45 pm (beginning Feb. 13)
Site #3:
Details coming soon!
Watch the site for more information.
It's Field Trip Time!
Open
Books is thrilled to announce that in March we will launch creative
writing field trips at our colorful River North headquarters! This will
require several volunteers per field trip. If you are available between
approximately 9:30 a.m. and noon on weekdays
and would be interested in helping the Open Books staff provide
unforgettable experiences for classes around Chicagoland, please e-mail
fieldtrips@open-books.org for more information. It's going to be a blast!
Volunteers Needed on the South Side!
Open
Books friends, you have been a huge help in the hunt for male
volunteers -- thank you! (And keep sending 'em our way!) As you know,
we do our best to welcome and include volunteers from all over
Chicagoland, and that won't change. But lately we've also noticed that
we need more people who live, work, or are willing to volunteer on the
South Side. So, this is just a note to ask that you to help us spread
the word about Open Books far and wide -- and especially on the South
Side.
Volunteer Opportunities Updated!
The
Open Books site is now updated with the latest training dates,
volunteer information, and sites and times for programs including
Chicago HOPES, StoryBus, Literature For All Of Us, and (new!) Blue
Gargoyle in Hyde Park. Check it out and share the link!
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Out Of The Box: Three Fabulous Finds
In the process of sorting thousands upon thousands of books, there are always a few that stand out. Here are our three favorites for the month.
1. Condensed Milk And Milk Powder
 Opposites, it is said, attract. Great art benefits from shocking contrast. And so, in setting out to pen what must surely be the definitive work on the topic of Condensed Milk And Milk Powder, the wise author did not condense a thing. Could you, if pressed, produce 649 packed pages of facts, tables, learned discussion, and market data on condensed milk and milk powder? Were you even aware that there was such a dizzying amount to know about it? "No effort has been spared," declares the preface, "in this earnest endeavor to digest this information and to present it in a manner readily assimilable by those seeking knowledge or who are in need of assistance in the solution of their daily problems." What more could one possibly desire?
2. Don't Go Shopping For Hair Care Products Without Me
 Like the Vest Pocket volumes of previous newsletter features, this book cheerily assumes that its utility will outweigh its rather outlandish proportions: at a full 6" x 9" x 1.5", it may not be the absolutely vital shopping companion it aspires to. But once the forbidding cover is breached, the reader is dazzled by a simply encyclopedic listing of shampoos, conditioners, colors, mousses, sprays, gels, and more. Take heed, erstwhile shoppers. Adventure bookless down the fobidding aisles of hair care products at your own risk.
3. Freezer Cookery
 Yes, yes, we know. "Another month, another old cookbook," you are muttering. "Why?" Everyone has a weakness, wonderful readers. Ours are the legions of cookbooks with nausea-inducing photography, cheery chapter titles ("Mostly Beef!"), and helpful advice on sad and esoteric dilemmas ("Generally speaking, sandwiches taken directly from the freezer will thaw at room temperature in two hours, longer if your room is a construction site in the dead of winter.") And if they happen to have marvelously oxymoronic titles like Freezer Cookery (cooking! in your -- freezer!)...well.
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Help Chicago HOPES Move!
Got
a little time on Saturday, February 16th? Join Open Books partner
Chicago HOPES as they paint their tutoring room in Pilsen and move
supplies and furniture to Tabb South (87th and Paulina) and Great Hope
(Cermak and California)! Chicago HOPES is an initiative of the Chicago
Public Schools Homeless Education
Program that empowers homeless students to succeed academically and
collaborates with schools, shelters, and
communities to establish shelter-based, after-school tutoring and
cultural enrichment opportunities. To sign up for the painting and
moving, just contact Jeannine at JFChester@cps.k12.il.us.
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A BIG Thank You!
A larger than life thank you goes out to all of the wonderful people who helped make our BIG MOVE
event a HUGE success. Never in our wildest dreams did we think 100,000
+ books could be moved in one day -- but, thanks to each and every one
of you, we did it! (There are photos on Flickr to prove it! Send us yours if you took pics, too.) Thank you also to all of the people who were fired
up and ready to help on Sunday. Please stay in touch with us and we
hope to see you at the next Open Books event! |
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