October is National a course in miracles Month, according to the National Book Foundation. For me it’s a book celebration all twelve months. As you may already know or can tell, I love books! I also love to honor and celebrate authors and help aspiring authors. It’s a good time to honor and celebrate the authors in your life. What ways are you going to celebrate? I’ve come up with a few you might consider:
1. Join a book club. It’s a great way to celebrate books and your literary inclined friends. Inside a book club, you can meet new friends and fellow readers of your favorite books. Most clubs choose a new book to read and discuss each month. If you want to ramp your reading up, join a book club and read a new book each month.
2. Read as a family. Use this month as the perfect month to encourage the whole family to read. Choose one to two chapters to read aloud, even three if you’re ambitious. Our family did this for many years. We came to love and treasure the special moments our reading together created for us. Reading books together as a family will ignite the imagination tuner inside each of us. Even after our kids are gone, my husband and I still read together. In recent years, we now write together. Which I believe all started with us reading together as a family.
3. Swap your books. As a group, especially a writers group or book club you can meet and swap books. Gather the books you love but haven’t read in years. When you meet, swap them with each other. You can organize your book swapping with a sign-in and sign out list. Or you can use the honor system. A group of friends on a low budget decided to do this with my books for sale at a writers conference. They each purchased the main book they wanted to read. Then later they swapped with each other to read the other books in the collection.
4. Have a book party. Everyone loves an excuse to party. Have a book party! This event is good for not just authors but book clubs, writer groups and even indie publishers. Invite your book loving friends and even your (not so much) book loving friends. Most people love a good party and you never know who has a secret passion for books. Be sure to prepare tasty treats and refreshments. Have lots of books on hand for your guest to browse. Consider hosting the party at a local bookstore or library. Offer support to a local author and invite them to give a talk about their work and the value of reading. Whatever you decide about your book party; relax and have fun.
5. Buy a book for yourself. Support the literary community. This month, go purchase the book you’ve been planning to pick up but never got around to it. Take the time to relax and read your favorite classic. I’m reading the Jane Austen classics. O.k., I am an unashamed girly-girl. Treat yourself and buy an eReader. This month is a good time to purchase the latest iPad, Nook or Kindle. A couple of years ago, when I purchased my Kindle I read more books in one month than I used to read in a year. I now think of what book I will read this month instead of this year. When I see a book I’m interested in reading, I immediately check to see if it’s on the Kindle or available in a PDF format. I’ve found that some of my older PDF books that haven’t been specifically formatted for the eReader, read just fine on my Kindle.
6. Buy a book for a friend. I still get excited when I receive a good book as a gift. Don’t you enjoy getting a good book for Christmas? Although, these days I may have read it already. Since technology has changed the accessibility of books. It seems every book I think I want to read I go get it because of the eReader technology. I mean why not if I can access it so fast and easy. Even so, consider adding a book gift for a friend to your celebration.
7. Help an aspiring author. Do you know an aspiring author friend? Encourage them in their book writing quest. Buy the book of their favorite author and gift it to them. Give the gift of the now popular eReader or an upgrade to their existing device. You can show your support by investing in their training or computer system. Purchase their seat in a writing course, online or offline.