All the planning in the world can’t prevent the unexpected from happening, and sometimes the unexpected throws up a detour. . . or several. While some good things have happened, I’ve had to face some incredibly difficult challenges in 2014. As a result, this past year has felt as though I’ve been running on a treadmill… no matter how fast I ran, I never seemed to get anywhere.
But in the immortal words of Scarlett O’Hara,
“Tomorrow is another day.”
And the beginning of a new year. š
Although I did accomplish some of the things I set out to do, I have not managed to reach many of the goals I set out for myself. Still, it has certainly been a learning experience.
One thing I can promise you is that 2015 will finally see the publication of “The Girl In The Blue Flame Cafe.” Ā With luck, Libreleft Books will also manage to publish a non-fiction title or two. Ā Fingers crossed (and nose to the grindstone.)
February 14th isn’t just Valentine’s Day, it’s also the International Book Giving Day, a wonderful initiative to promote literacy. The idea is to get new, used and borrowed books in the hands of as many children as possible. They have many suggestions of things to do on their website.
I only learned about this today (thanks for sharing Petra!) so I’ve been caught unprepared. Next year I’ll be sure to have something planned for February 14th, but this year I’ll have to pursue my own initiatives on another day.
Next time my adult child is home from college, we’ll go through the picture books and decide on some that we can donate to a local nursing home for the benefit of the seniors losing their language skills as part of ailments such as Alzheimer’s Disease etc.
I will also make a point of donating some young adult books to a fifth grade teacher I know. She has her class hold an annual “Reading Auction.” The kids keep track of the books they read through the school year, and earn points for each book they discuss with a parent volunteer as a kind of verbal book report. The students also approach local businesses and artisans to get donations of prizes. At the end of the school year, there is an in-class auction where the kids bid on the prizes they want.
Another friend runs an increasingly popular book club for adults with literacy issues. She has trouble finding suitable books written at the right reading skill level. Maybe for next year I could look into writing a short novel for adults seeking to improve their literacy levels.
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