Book Beginnings on Friday:Traveling Sprinkler by Nicholson Baker August 23, 2013

"Roz called to ask me what I wanted for my fifty-fifth birthday.  One of her many good qualities is that she remembers people's birthdays." Traveling Sprinkler: A Novel by Nicholson Baker

Summary Courtesy of Goodreads:

A new novel by bestselling author Nicholson Baker reintroduces feckless but hopeful hero Paul Chowder, whose struggle to get his life together is reflected in his steadfast desire to write a pop song, or a protest song, or both at once.

How about that first and second line?  As I work on my back log of ARCs 

Traveling Sprinkler: A Novel by Nicholson Baker is up next.  I look forward to starting this one.

Thanks to Rose City Reader for hosting this event every Friday allowing bloggers to share the first sentence of a book that they are  reading and offer some impression of said book!

Does Traveling Sprinkler: A Novel by Nicholson Baker 
grab your attention?  Is it a novel you'd be interested in reading?  Have you read any of Nicholson Baker's other books?  Let us know here at The Things You Can Read!

Happy reading to all! ☮ 

Happy Reading☮

The Things You Can Read!

Believe In Truth, Beauty, Freedom, Love, and the Power of Books!

Penguin's Summer Reads

 

Looking for something to take to the beach...checkout these great reading suggestions from Penguin.  Let us know if any of these suggestions work for your summer reading pleasure.

 

Happy Reading!

The Things You Can Read!

Believe In Truth, Beauty, Freedom, Love, and the Power of Books!

 



National Poetry Month Continues with @PenguinUSA

Follow Penguin on Twitter for National Poetry Month 

The team behind @PenguinUSA on Twitter has put together a grand campaign to celebrate National Poetry Month 2013. Follow us on Twitter beginning April 1st to join in sharing daily poetic verse culled from Penguin's wealth of poetry collections spanning the ages...from ancient times to modern times. There’ll be daily giveaways, too! 

Browse our new Pinterest board of Penguin poetry titles.

Check out the Poetry Month app Poems By Heart from Penguin Classics and watch the video 

Think you can read a poem with the best of them? Prove it! Email us your recitation of William Blake's "Eternity" or William Shakespeare's "Shall I compare thee to a summer's day?" and you'll be entered for a chance to win over five hundred dollars' worth of Penguin poetry titles!

Let us know what you plan to do to celebrate National Poetry Month!

Happy Reading!
The Things You Can Read

Believe In Truth, Beauty, Freedom, Love, and the Power of Books!

 

Holiday Season in Full Swing: Book Lover Gift Giving Tip # Five

Tarcher/Penguin

As we all look for unique ways to share our love of books this holiday season we, here at The Things You Can Read, have been scouring the Internet to locate unusual gifts for book lovers to give children and adults of all ages.  Here is one smaller gift that is perfect for the stocking.  Check out these inspirational card decks that are inspired by three Tarcher/Penguin books:  The Artists Way, Think and Grow Rich, and The Science of the Mind.  Check out the Tarcher/Penguin site and view samples of the cards.  

Happy Reading and Gift Buying!
The Things You Can Read

Believe In Truth, Beauty, Freedom, Love, and the Power of Books!

Update on Publishing World in Flux: Random House and Penguin to Merge!

Last week, we shared the Huffington Post article that illuminated some rather important information with regard to two of the world's largest publishing houses.  According to last weeks post on Huffington: 

"British publishing and education company Pearson PLC says it is in talks with German media group Bertelsmann SE over merging the firms' Penguin and Random House publishing operations."

However things have now changed, according to Shelf Awarness, which posted the following:

"Four days after officially confirming that Pearson and Bertelsmann were in discussions about combining their book publishing operations, the companies announced this morning that they are creating a joint venture named Penguin Random House. Bertelsmann will own 53% of the joint venture, and Pearson will own 47%."

Additional Resources:

NPR Report from Last Week

Again, what do you think about the news? For the full article checkout Huffington Post and Shelf Awareness. Let us know your thoughts about the publishing world. Do you expect big changes in the publishing world in the coming year?

Happy Reading!
The Things You Can Read

Believe In Truth, Beauty, Freedom, Love, and the Power of Books!

Publishing World in Flux: Random House and Penguin to Merge?

Huffington Post shared some rather important information today.  According to the post: 

"British publishing and education company Pearson PLC says it is in talks with German media group Bertelsmann SE over merging the firms' Penguin and Random House publishing operations."

However the announcement did contain the cautionary note that these are just talks and there is always the possibility that these talks will not lead to a transaction.  What do you thingk?  For the full article checkout Huffington Post article.  Let us know your thoughts about the publishing world.  Do you expect big changes in the coming year?

Happy Reading!
The Things You Can Read

Believe In Truth, Beauty, Freedom, Love, and the Power of Books!

The Penguin English Library

Again, classics, classics, classics and when it comes to classic the Penguin Group has it going on.  Their site offers all kinds of extras.  Take a peek at their cutting edge video below, which has been created in celebration of The Penguin English Library.  Here is how Penguin describes the video...

To celebrate the launch of the Penguin English Library, we commissioned this animation from award-winning director Woof Wan-Bau, of a peculiar journey for one particular Penguin.

The Penguin English Library opens its doors from Penguin English Library on Vimeo.

Visit the Penguin English Library where you can find 100 of the best novels in the English language.


In addition, check out the Video Radio Network at Penguin, this is a collection of video and radio shows dating from 2009-2011.  Take a listen to this one about the Bronte sisters.

Let us, here at The Things You Can Read,  know your favorite classics, and don't forget to visit our Classics Challenge page on The Things You Can Read.

Have a Classic Weekend!
Things You Can Read

Believe In Truth, Beauty, Freedom, Love, and the Power of Books!

We Give Books Summer Program Comes to an End

We Give books

We, at The Things You Can Read, hate to see summer end, but as everyone gets ready for the new school year, we know that fall is just around the corner!   With summer's end, we also see all those wonderful summer reading programs wind down too, so we wanted to make everyone aware of the last of the We Give Books Summer Program selections.  Let us know, here at The Things You Can Read, how many you read.  The complete list can be found at the bottom of this post.  Enjoy those last vestiges of summer, as we all move toward fall.  

Happy reading! 

From: The Things You Can Read!

Excerpt from the We Give Books Website:

Ladybug Girl and the Bug Squad

Finish the Read for My Summer program with a second installment of Ladybug Girl – and get ready for We Give Books’ next big campaign: Jumpstart’s Read for the Record. This week’s book is Ladybug Girl and the Bug Squad. In this story about playing well with others, Lulu is excited for the Bug Squad to come over for a play date. But when things don’t go just the way Lulu planned, feelings are hurt and apologies are necessary. Sounds like a job for Ladybug Girl, who knows how to be brave and say she’s sorry, even when it isn’t easy. 

Read Ladybug Girl and the Bug Squad this week, and pledge to read it again to help set the World Record on Read for the Record day – October 4!

Reading guide

Read online at We Give Books now!

In case you missed any of the We Give Books here is a complete list of books for the 2012 Summer We Give Books Program:

• June 11: Llama Llama Red Pajama
• June 18: You Can’t Go To School Naked
• June 25: Big Red Lollipop
• July 2: The Snowy Day
• July 9: One Cool Friend
• July 16: Why Elephant Has a Trunk
• July 23: Skippyjon Jones
• July 30: The Little Engine That Could
• August 6: Ladybug Girl and Bumblebee Boy
• August 13: Ladybug Girl and the Bug Squad

We Give Books-Book of the Week-The Little Engine that Could

Reading guide

Book website and activities

Reading extension activity

Read online at We Give Books now!

Read and Give All Summer with Read for My Summer

I know we are well into the summer break, but I wanted to share a resource I found this week for children ages 5 to 8.  "Reading begets Reading"...reading with or to your child is the best thing you can do over the summer.  Check this out...

We Give Books’ Read for My Summer is your chance to share books – and share giving – with young readers in your life. Designed specifically for children ages 5 through 8, Read for My Summer highlights a special book for you and your child to read online from the We Give Bookslibrary every week, along with fun activities and reading tips to make each book come to life. This free 10-week program helps parents, schools and libraries offer children an exciting online reading experience, filled with classic children’s books.

Reading online with your child this summer at We Give Books will help you to prepare forJumpstart’s Read for the Record event on October 4! Each year, millions of adults and children gather on a single day to set a new reading record and to show their support for early literacy by joining Jumpstart’s Read for the Record. By reading Ladybug Girl and the Bug Squad by Jacky Davis and David Soman on October 4, you’ll help to set a new world record for the greatest number of people reading the same book on the same day. Learn more!

Read and Give All Summer with Read for My Summer