I had big plans last night. Crawl into bed early and read, read, read. But the weather got in the way. We had a severe thunderstorm roll through that just fifty miles away had produced a couple of tornadoes. Instead of reading I spent the evening glued to the TV waiting for them to tell me I had to herd the cats (yeah right!) and carry the dog (he can’t walk down the stairs) to the basement. My bookman was working and blessedly I didn’t end up having to herd cats or carry a 45 pound dog downstairs. So much for my quiet night of reading in bed.
Today then I offer a quickie with links (depending on how you interpret that it could be really interesting).
I know you have always been wondering how those READ posters get made. Wonder no more. You can even email in a celebrity suggestion. Who do you want on your READ poster? I’ll take the Patrick Stewart one from a number of years ago (sadly his poster appears to be out of print). Maybe I will suggest a Jim Sturges one 
The Scholastic 2008 Kids and Family Reading Report is up. Some notes of interest. 62% of kids said they prefer reading a printed book over reading a book online or on a handheld device. But at the same time 2 in 3 children think that within the next 10 years most books that are read for fun will be digital.
And now something really fun: a book list! The New York Public Library’s 25 Books to Remember for 2008. The list consists of books published in 2007 and chosen by NYPL librarians. Who doesn’t love a book list?
No rain forecast for tonight, and reading is back on the agenda!
I remember lots of tornado alerts from growing up in the Texas panhandle. Tense! Glad you made it through safely.
I’m glad you and your pets were safe. Scary stuff, those tornadoes. Before living here in Okinawa, we lived outside of Memphis, TN. I didn’t sleep well in the spring and early summer there. Growing up in the D.C. area there wasn’t a constant fear of tornadoes.
I loved this post though and I’m about to check out all the links you supplied.
Happy Friday!
Elvis was on the 1994 READ poster??? I guess he is still with us!
Tornadoes are really scary! We’ve even had a few in southern Colorado lately. Thank goodness they missed you.
In my library at home we have really outdated versions of the Read posters. I’m pretty sure there’s an Oprah one there…
As is everyone else, glad you made it through the tornado okay!
How scary! So glad to hear that you didn’t get swept up in the storm. And thank you, I think, for that list of books. I made the mistake of listing the ones that sounded interesting, and now I have to keep repeating to myself, I must NOT buy five more books from America… I must NOT…. etc.
I’m glad everything worked out w/ the weather. Boo to reading plans gone askew!
Glad you’re OK - next door in Wisconsin I had to herd 5 cats, two of the dogs and carry the 3rd (50 lbs) down to the basement.
I once gave a tour of the UW-Madison library where I work to a group of psychologists in town for a conference. When one from California saw a sign telling where to find shelter in case of a tornado, he got very pale and asked in a trembling voice “do you have tornadoes here?”. When I said “oh yes!” he looked like he was about to faint.
Glad to hear you made it through the storms unscathed. We had a night like that on Tuesday. I’ve always loved those READ posters, so thanks for the link. And I read that report about kids and reading yesterday. I agree that within ten years, most new reading material being published will be digital. What I want to know is how to we keep from losing those kids who are reading when they become teenagers.
We have more bad weather predicted here this afternoon
Interesting Books to Remember list, I’ve only read a few of them though, think I’ll print it out and hang on to it!
Thanks for posting the NYC book list. Of all the ones they’d recommended, I’ve only read Let The Northern Lights Erase Your Name. It was quite a good book.
We’ve had the same tornado-ish weather. I ask myself, “How can it be hot, humid and WINDY at the same time?” Bizarre. i’m glad you’re safe. It’s always a miracle for me because I never go into the basement as one ought.
I’m glad you didn’t have a tornado! That list of 25 books is interesting, although I don’t recognize half of them. I’m just not one to follow recent books that carefully I guess.
I’m glad you are ok. Tornadoes terrify me. They aren’t usually something we have to worry about much here in NC, but the weather has been rather freaky here lately.
I’m a professor, and on my office door I have a sign, in red, saying “READ!” Above it, I have an item I change about weekly: sometimes a poem about reading, sometimes a painting or illustration of someone reading, sometimes a cartoon about reading. Right now it’s a Calvin and Hobbes cartoon. I ought to get ahold of some of those library posters. The Literary Imperative.
Thanks for all your good wishes.
Wil, they are tense but at least for the most part there are warnings. I grew up in southern CA and there are no warnings for earthquakes.
Planet Books, we are lucky that tornadoes are not a constant threat here either but the weather is getting more wild and tornadoes are starting to become more frequent. I think you have earthquakes and typhoons to worry about in Okinawa which have their own scare factor.
Sylvia, Elvis may have left the building but he will always be with us
chartroose, I’ve heard about the Colorado tornadoes. That seems to me an unusual occurrence. Stay safe.
kelskels, thanks. I wish I had a few of the older READ posters. None of the current celebrities are that interesting and some I’ve never heard of!
Litlove, thank you. As long as you still have space on your new bookshelves, it’s ok to send away for more books
Eva, thanks. Sometimes the best laid plans and all that.
Bonnie, that’s a funny story. Glad to hear you and your pets are ok. We’ve been hearing about the horrible flooding in southern WI, I hope all is safe with you and those you know.
Emily, glad you are safe too. That’s a good question, how do we keep the kids who are reading now reading when they get older? I think encouragement from parents and other family members works well. Letting kids read what they want outside of school. I wish there was some general cultural reinforcement too, like kids who read are cooler than kids who sit and play video games all day. Or adults who read are cooler than ones who only ever watch TV. We can hope.
bookbabie, hope your bad weather passed without damage! I have only read one book on the list but have a couple of the others. It’s hard to keep up with them all!
bellezza, the weather has been very active this year. Let The Northern Lights Erase Your Name has also got to be one of the coolest titles. I will have to look for it sometime at my library.
Dorothy, thanks. I recognize a number of the titles but it helps having a husband who sells books. Still there are a good number I have not heard of that look interesting and seem worth investigating further.
bibliophylia, glad you don’t get tornadoes in NC. I’ve never been in one thanks goodness, only ever been under the threat. I won’t mind if it stays that way. The weather all over has been freaky. At the moment it sounds as though Iowa is going to float away.
Jenny, you must have the coolest door in your department! I think you do need to get some of those posters
Yeah, I spent that night in my tent, and was very glad to not learn about the tornado warnings until several days - dryer days later - .
Thanks for the info on the posters.
A
I love those Read posters. Cool link.
I hope the weather is much nicer for you guys this weekend Stefanie. Tornadoes are so scary. I swear in Dallas it seemed like all Spring we had tornado watches/warnings.
Last week’s storms were terrible. We got water in our basement and water in our dining room that leaked in from a window. Hopefully it will stay dry for a while.