LATIN (from The Latin Library): Urbs antiqua fuit, Tyrii tenuere coloni, Karthago, Italiam contra Tiberinaque longe ostia, dives opum studiisque asperrima belli; quam Iuno fertur terris magis omnibus unam
posthabita coluisse Samo; hic illius arma, hic currus fuit; hoc regnum dea gentibus esse, si qua fata sinant, iam tum tenditque fovetque.

ENGLISH (my translation): There was an ancient city (the Tyrian settlers held it) Carthage, far away facing Italy and the Tiber’s mouth, rich in resources and very fierce in the pursuits of war; the only city which Juno is said to have cherished more than all the other lands, with Samo estemmed less: here were her arms, here was her chariot; now already the goddess aimed for and cherished this city to be the ruling power for the races, if some fate would allow it.

Poetry Friday Roundup is at Becky’s Book Reviews today.

Other Vergil posts: Aeneid I.1-7 Aeneid I.8-11

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In case you haven’t seen it yet, Kidlitosphere Central is a hub of activity/resources for the society of bloggers in children’s and young adult literature. I’m honored to be listed among its members. I spent part of the day yesterday and today poking around the membership list and wanted to share just a few interesting posts I found. You can expect more posts like this from me in the future.

From 100 Scope Notes: Three Tips for a Successful Book Fair
When I was a student, the book fair was one of my favorite school events. To my knowledge, the school where I teach does not have one, which I think is typical of a high school. I don’t know if as a librarian/media coordinator I will ever get to produce one, but if I do, I will be going back to this post for help.

From the Almost Librarian: Check It Out At Your Local Library. An excellent catalog of all the resources libraries have to offer that patrons might not know about. I would love to see this turned into a handout to be distributed at schools and libraries and maybe other places, too.

From Becky’s Book Reviews: Why Keep Blogging? Becky asks many good questions about reviewer-author relationships, blog commenting etiquette, and explains her thoughts on these issues.

From Biblio File: Reading Journals On the brink of filling up her current reading journal, Jennie shares photographs and asks for suggestions on a new notebook to use.

From Bildungsroman: Interviews of Hope Little Willow is asking authors for their definition of hope and compiling links to her interviews with them at this post.

From Blue Rose Girls: libraries i have seen Grace Lin shares photographs of the various school libraries she’s toured.

From The Book Chook: What to Do Before You Drop Everything (and read) I missed DEAR day, which was April 12, but Susan’s methods for finding a new book are valuable any day of the year.

I hope you enjoy these posts. Look for more next time I go poking around Kidlitosphere Central!

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As my mind turns to my new career as a school media coordinator, I find myself even more committed to promoting literacy than I have been as a reader, a student, and a teacher. So for those of you who may not have heard of all of them, here are seven resources for literacy activists.

1. America's Literacy Directory, http://www.literacydirectory.org/ Use this directory, provided by the National Institute for Literacy, to find local literacy programs. You can search for programs for children or adults, programs for employers, Learning Disability organizations, and volunteer opportunities.
2. First Book, http://www.firstbook.org/ First Book provides access to books to children who might not otherwise have it. Local advisory boards select programs to receive book grants and then work to fulfill those grants through fund-raising and other activities. The site provides resources for individuals interested in finding or starting an advisory board. The Campus Advisory Board program provides college and university students the opportunity to directly make a difference.
3. Kids Need to Read, http://www.kidsneedtoread.org Founded by actor Nathan Fillion and author P. J. Haarsma, KNTR donates books to schools which may lack funds to develop their own libraries and to clinics which then give the books to low-income families. This organization is a favorite of pop culture and sci fi/fantasy fans, as evidenced by its recent success in auctioning a photo of the cast of the online web series, The Guild.
4. The National Center for Family Literacy, http://www.famlit.org While many organizations focus on providing support for literacy in public spaces like schools and libraries, NCFL focuses on the place where most of us gain our love of reading: the home. NCFL's site provides listings of local family literacy programs which provide training to parents on how to read with their children, as well as an action center which sends out advocacy notices and provides information about government policies affecting literacy.
5. The National Institute for Literacy, http://www.nifl.gov/ NIL is a government agency established by the National Literacy Act in 1991. The website provides information on literacy for all ages, as well as publications, grant listings, and several literacy-related online discussion lists.
6. Reading is Fundamental, http://www.rif.org/ RIF sponsors several initiatives to promote literacy and provides information for educators, parents, and kids on subjects like motivating kids to read and choosing good books. RIF also frequently emails action alerts and includes a list of volunteer opportunities. My favorite part of the site is the Generation RIF page, a place for adults who benefited from the program in their childhood to reminisce through text and photos.
   
7. Share a Story, Shape a Future, http://shareastory-shapeafuture.blogspot.com/ This kidlitosphere initiative, inspired by Jen Robinson's exploration at her blog of how we can encourage reading aloud, now has its own blog. It includes an archive of the blog tour which kicked off the program, as well as a Literacy Resource Kit, downloadable bookmarks, and promotional materials for the program.
   

Do you have any resources to add to the list? Please share them in the comments!

UPDATE! Other Resources for literacy activists include: Everybody Wins, http://www.everybodywins.org/, dedicated to building the skills and love of reading among low-income elementary school students.

Reading Rockets, http://www.readingrockets.org, a multimedia project that includes television programs, online services, and professional development opportunities.

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I’ve waited to share this with the internet at large until I told my colleagues at work.  But I’ve done that, so now I can tell you:

I’ve been accepted to (and enrolled in) the School Media Coordinator program at the School of Information and Library Science at UNC-Chapel Hill.

In case you aren’t familiar with library schools, UNC-CH is tied for #1 in the nation.

So I feel pretty special.   

From Booking Through Thursday:

What is the best book you’ve never read?

This is hard for me to decide.  The Time Traveler’s Wife immediately came to mind.  I can’t think of any others right now, but that might be the sleep deprivation talking.  I’m sure there are tons, but that’s the only one I keep thinking, "Oh, so-and-so recommends that highly.  I should read it."  ("So-and-so" is more than one person.)

What about you?

Over at Read Roger, The Horn Book editor Roger Sutton wants to know:

I’m curious to know what rules other people out there might have for Giving Up. (And Fessing Up: how much of a book do you have to have read in order to say that you read it?)

How long do you wait to stop reading a book?  Do you slog on through anyway?

I used to give a book 100 pages, but now I usually give it 50.  I figure if after 50 pages I don’t care what happens, I won’t care after 100 either.  But then there are books where I kind of don’t care but they are interesting enough that I will go on and finish them.  I recently read Queen Victoria’s Bomb, which falls into this category.

I usually don’t say that I’ve read a book unless I completely consumed the narrative.  Sometimes this does involve the kind of dual-level reading though, where while you are sort of taking in the words on the page, you’re really thinking about something else.  I’m never sure how to determine if I’ve fully read a non-fiction book.  Do I need to read all the appendices to claim I’ve read it?  What if it’s got recipes sprinkled throughout?  If I don’t read "Preheat oven to 400 degrees," does that mean I haven’t really read the book?

What do you think?

Clear Your Clutter With Feng Shui, by Karen Kingston, is both an organization book and a spiritual text.  The book is divided into three parts: Understanding Clutter, Identifying Clutter, and Clearing Clutter.  In Part 1, Kingston introduces Feng Shui and her method of Space Clearing.  She explains what things are clutter and how it affects you.  She discusses why we keep clutter and how we can begin to let go of it.  In Part 2, she explains the Feng Shui Bagua, "a grid that reveals how the different areas of any building you occupy are connected to specific aspects of your life," in great detail.  She identifies common clutter zones within the home and types of clutter we may find there.  Finally, Part 3 explains how to clear clutter from your home, body, mind, emotions, and spirit.

Clear Your Clutter is a great book for readers who want a quick introduction to Feng Shui and are ready to make a change in their lives.  The chapters are short, and Kingston’s voice is both no-nonsense and encouraging.  I read this book more than a year ago; I have since removed much clutter from my life, though much remains.  Perhaps it is time for a re-read.

I recommend this book to anyone who wants to get her or his home and heart in order or who is looking for a quick, simple introduction to the principles of Feng Shui.

Book: Clear Your Clutter With Feng Shui [affiliate link]
Author: Karen Kingston
Publisher: Broadway Books
Original Publication Date: 1999
Pages: 192
Source of Book: Borrowed
Related Links: FlyLady, UnClutterer

From Seven Impossible Things Before Breakfast:

As a reminder, these Sunday posts are our weekly meeting ground for taking some time to reflect on Seven(ish) Exceptionally Fabulous, Beautiful, Interesting, Hilarious, or Otherwise Positive Noteworthy Things from the past week, whether book-related or not, that happened to you. Absolutely anyone, of course, is welcome to list kicks — even if, or especially if, you’ve never done so before.

This Week’s Kicks:

1. Today I bought this amazing crown, which I may or may not wear in my wedding: www.etsy.com/view_tran…

2. Yesterday the Mr.Me-to-Be and I headed down to the beach to visit possible wedding sites and explore. While it was kinda rainy and gross, and the first place we looked at disappointed a bit, it led to some productive thought and research.

3. Friday I received some very good news that I’m not quite ready to share with the world yet, but I will as soon as I can.

4. Thursday was a rather restful day for me.

5. Wednesday, one of my colleagues who accidentally broke the driver’s side mirror on my car paid to have it fixed. It was very good of her to take care of this promptly, when she could easily have just driven off and never told me she was the one who’d done it.

6. Tuesday I went to dinner with my sister and her fiance.

7. Monday I didn’t have a meeting (because my colleague and I scheduled ours for Tuesday instead) which meant I had time to prepare, which made my Tuesday much less hectic.

I do a lot of blog reading, in topics including blogging, craft, educational technology, fashion, video games, children’s and young adult literature, organization, personal branding, personal development, personal finance, productivity, and writing. Via a post on the Personal Branding Blog, I found this excellent post: You don’t need a blog topic. Just start writing.

I’m forever starting new blogs on niche topics. Currently I have them on the topics of craft/design, personal development, reading, and theatre. But I’ve felt a new project coming on, and Monica’s post inspired me. Her advice:

Write about what you’re learning.

I’m learning all the time. It is my favorite thing to do. So here at kimberlyhirsh.com, that’s what I’m going to do: write about what I’m learning. This may fall under any of the categories about which I read.  Learning is always bringing in something new, and will always give me plenty about which to write.

So welcome. I hope you learn from my learning!

Over at Just One More Book, Andrea and Mark are celebrating their wedding anniversary with a meme. Here’s the question:

Which children’s book best represents your marriage? your life?

I’m not married (yet! July 22!), but I’ve been with Will (that’s his name) long enough to know exactly the book for this:

Cinderella Skeleton (The link takes you to my earlier post about the book.) A little bit morbid, very sweet. Not at all serious. And that’s us.

(It was that or the one from Scary Stories to Tell in the Dark where the girl wears the green ribbon around her neck and if she takes it off, her head will fall off. For my 18th birthday, Will gave me a necklace that I take off so rarely that I do tell people that if I take it off my head will just roll right to the ground.)

As for my life, I have to go with Confessions of a Teenage Drama Queen. Lola Cepp is excessively dramatic, wears really strange but carefully calculated outfits, and is a flamingo in a flock of pigeons. That’s me.