ONLINE ONLY: Alabama Reading Resources
If July's Summer Reading didn't provide all you bookworms out there with enough reading resources, here are some more that are unique to Alabama and the region.
Rewards for Reading
I have fond memories of reading programs in elementary school. I’ve always been a big reader, and rewarding me for reading just made it that much more enticing. The Book It! program offered certificates for Pizza Hut personal pan pizzas after certain goals were reached, and as a result I probably ate more pizza than any kids in my class.
Now adults can get in on the prize-winning fun, too. Through Aug. 15, participating Birmingham Public libraries will offer weekly prizes in their adult summer reading programs. Adults may register books they’ve read and keep a log of books read throughout the summer. At the end of the summer, Central Library will hold a drawing for additional prizes.
Participating libraries are Avondale, Central, East Ensley, Five Points West, Inglenook, North Avondale, North Birmingham, Pratt City, Smithfield, Southside, Springville Road, Titusville, West End and Wylam. Visit bplonline.org for more information.
A Year of Alabama Books
Our annual summer reading section highlights Alabama books published over the course of the previous year, but we haven’t forgotten about Alabama classics old and new. And neither have the folks at This Goodly Land, a project from Alabama Center for the Book in Auburn. They’ve compiled A Year of Alabama Books bookmarks, distributed to schools around the state last fall and available for download at the center’s website.
The bookmarks feature two reading lists: one for children and another for adults, with teen-appropriate selections on both. Each month highlights an often seasonally-appropriate book by an author with Alabama ties. For example, the children’s recommendation for October is 13 Alabama Ghosts and Jeffrey, by Kathryn Tucker Windham and Margaret Gillis Figh. A June pick for adults and older teens is Big Fish by Daniel Wallace.
Find these recommendations and more at alabamaliterarymap.org.
Southern Literary Trail
A variety of trails stretch throughout our state, highlighting everything from Alabama wine to history. And if you’re traveling through the state this summer, you can pair your summer reading with the history of great Alabama writers on the Southern Literary Trail.
The trail encompasses three states and highlights classic authors in each. In Alabama, the trail reaches from Mobile to Tuskegee, including stops for Lillian Hellman (Demopolis), Zelda Sayre Fitzgerald (Montgomery), Truman Capote and Harper Lee (both Monroeville) and others. Visit homes of the writers as well as places that inspired them. The trail also includes Mississippi and Georgia. Go to southernliterarytrail.org for more information, as well as links to other literary resources in each state.
Take a second look
We’ve written about The 2ndhand before (Smart Living: Birmingham on the Web, August 2008), but it bears repeating.
“You may have spotted The 2ndhand in coffee shops, bars and bookstores throughout Birmingham, but if you haven’t visited the quarterly broadsheet’s companion website, you’re missing out on a lot of writing. The print version features one writer per issue, and the online magazine is updated weekly with additional work. The print version, published by Birmingham’s Todd Dills, is primarily distributed throughout Birmingham and Chicago, with additional distribution in several of the nation’s largest cities.” Visit the2ndhand.com for more writing and to order The 2ndhand’s own soap, made by Tuscaloosa-based The Left Hand.
