Monday, September 12, 2005

A Festival at my Old Stomping Ground


Burlington, Vermont will be hosting the first Burlington Literary Festival on September 23 through 25. None of the links to the Festival's website are working. However, according to Chicken Spaghetti, Steven Kellogg and Julius Lester will both be there, as well as adult writers.

Burlington is, of course, the home of The University of Vermont, which can lay claim to having provided me with a higher education. It can lay claim to having educated me, though I don't think it often does.

buyafriendabook.com

The next Buy a Friend a Book Week is coming up the first week of October. It comes four times a year--the first weeks of January, April, July, and October. I just missed one of the earlier ones and am delighted to have another chance to take part. All you have to do is buy a friend a book for no reason. This is not a time to get started on your Christmas shopping! Just buy!

One of the things I like about Buy a Friend a Book Week is that it gives us readers an opportunity to take a stand against all the doom-and-gloom sayers who insist no one is reading, bookselling is going to hell in a handbasket, the sky is falling, and civilization is on its way out. How can things be that bad when you can't spit without hitting a literary festival like the one I just wrote about above? People are interested in reading and books. Buy a Friend a Book Week is a chance to prove it.

Oh, my gosh! I can't believe it! I inserted an image, and it worked! This could be the start of fantastic things to come!

Or not.

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