Today we welcome Bradley Wirz, founder and CEO of GoneReading International, a non-profit organization that funds reading related charities. Since we first mentioned this wonderful organization, they have funded their first library in Ethiopia! You can support GoneReading by purchasing some of their gifts for readers such as the ones shown here. There are many more at their website and 100% of the profits go toward increasing literacy around the world. We’ll pick one commenter (anywhere in the world) who may choose up to $25 worth of merchandise from the GoneReading store!

Take Me To Your ReaderExactly what am I thankful for when it comes to reading? Now that’s a big question. I hardly know where to start.

I’m thankful for my parents, who taught me the importance of the written word before I really knew anything of books or newspapers or magazines. But watching them spend all of those hours in front of them, I knew that there must be something important on those pages.

I’m thankful for teachers who read to us each day in school, instilling passion and magic into the stories they read. They didn’t just teach me to read; they taught me that reading should be fantastically fun, and that reading could teach me anything I wanted to know.

Bamboo-Bathtub-Caddy-v2-300x300I’m thankful for my school librarians, always ready to recommend books that were just right for me. And I’m thankful for the libraries of my childhood. They overwhelmed me; how can there possibly be so much knowledge, so much story to absorb? I wanted to read them all, and I still do.

I’m thankful for every bookstore I’ve ever visited. I love them all, but my favorites are the used bookstores because you never know what you’ll find. There’s nothing quite like the joy of discovering a little bookstore you’ve never seen before.

I’m thankful for great writing. I deeply love the printed book, and I’ve grown to love my Kindle. But what really matters is the writing. I’m thankful for the countless writers who dedicate their lives to crafting the perfect phrase, sentence and story. To this non-writer, I simply can’t imagine the dedication it takes to write a book, let alone a great one. To them, I’m thankful.

It-Was-A-Dark-And-Stormy-Night-Games-About-Books-300x300I’m thankful for a warm cup of coffee and a tired dog at my feet while I read. I’m thankful for stodgy old books on ancient history, and for Charles Dickens, my newly favorite novelist.

The ancient Roman orator Cicero once said “If you have a garden and a library you have everything you need,” and I couldn’t agree more. Of course, I don’t know anything about gardening. Perhaps someone can recommend a good book about it?

Readers, what are you thankful for?

One commenter (anywhere in the world) will choose up to $25 worth of merchandise from the GoneReading store. (Which is a great place to buy Christmas gifts for your favorite readers!)

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