Reading

September 2008: You are what you read

You are what you  eat  read...

As the food we eat builds our bodies, so our reading builds our minds and identities - and so our families, communities and culture.

This September, the National Year of Reading is focusing on personal, local and cultural identities.
Big words - what do they mean?

Have a think about how your past has shaped you, and explore your family tree by using these family history websites. You can start to make links with relations you may not have come across before - just how far can you take it?

Share a story about where you live by making a video and posting it on YouTube, or you could start your own blog about this or anything else that lights your fire. Barnaby Bear tells 4-11 year olds about his travels and shares his holiday snaps online, while the adults can travel alongside 6 Penguin writers in We Tell Stories.

Other ways to build family reading are shown in Reading Ideas, while Richard Hammond recommends books for boys (and we're sure everyone else is allowed to read them too). If you join in with One Book for Westminster, you can read alongside many others in the local area, and share your thoughts on the book. And of course we run many face-to-face Book Groups so you can share your reading experiences throughout the year!

The web - especially the so-called 'Web 2.0 sites' - offer lots of opportunities to find like-minded people and build online communities: take a look at the National Year of Reading groups on Facebook, Flickr, YouTube and Pizco. Have you caught the library bug? LibraryThing and Shelfari let you keep virtual lists of all your books, while networking with other readers who share or challenge your tastes.

Take a look at the monthly theme pages for earlier in the year:
August (Read the game)
July (Rhythm & rhyme)
June (Escape with a good book).