The Year of Readers

We all know people who have participated in marathons or walks to raise money for various charities. These are great events and I admire their efforts. But I don't run. I do, however, read. The Year of Readers is a great event that combines reading with raising money for literary charities. The Year of Readers is a sponsored read-a-thon that begins January 1, 2009. Readers choose a literary charity, collect sponsors, and start reading. Books of any genre or type count (including graphic novels and poetry anthologies) but magazines and newspapers do not. Only books read from January 1st to December 31st, 2009 can be counted towards your sponsored read-a-thon. People can sponsor an amount per book or a lump sum amount. The Year of Readers suggests some literary charities, such as First Book, Book Aid International, African Library Project, and many others. But you are not limited to the charities listed on the Year of Readers website. You can pick any charity, as long as it has a link to reading. I will be reading for Room to Read, which was founded by John Wood, author of Leaving Microsoft to Change the World. If you are reading anyway, why not raise some money for a good cause at the same time?