More time on your hands
Read a Book
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This may seem like a simple task, but chances are, you haven't read a book in a long time. Carve out an hour or so and make yourself smarter by reading something someone else wrote. You'll be a great conversation starter at parties. Did you know that 80% of all families did not buy or read a book within the past year? Such a fact seems staggering given how many books are published each day around the world. But, many folks choose not to read for a variety of reasons: they're too busy, books are boring, books are expensive, there are not enough pictures, they're allergic to paper…you get the picture. But the fact remains that a lot of smart people are putting out a lot of smart books. And, by reading these books, you'll learn something, and can pass on this knowledge to others. Books, as you well know, come in a variety of shapes and sizes and cover a wide array of topics. Maybe sports are your thing. Maybe you enjoy military history. Perhaps you're curious about gardening. Maybe current events pique your interest. Whatever it is you like, there's a book for that. So, on your next trip out, grab a book. Actually, you may even have one lying around the house that you bought that one time Oprah told you to, but you never really got around to reading it like you had planned. That's okay – it's not out of date. You can still read it. Set aside some time to just read. If you wait until you do everything else you want to, you'll never get around to it. So, make reading part of the routine. Start with 15 minutes a day. If you have trouble finding this time, set your alarm clock to wake you up a little earlier tomorrow and pencil in some earlier morning time with a book. Or, turn off the TV for half an hour and read something instead. Opportunities truly abound for you to plan to enjoy the written word. When you're done with the book, tell someone about it. Pretend you're a world-class book critic and offer your two cents on what you just read. Recommend it or pan it. If it's good enough to pass to a friend, give it away or find a way to swap it for your next read. Regardless of what you read, just make sure that you do. We, of course, recommend books that raise awareness about things that need caring about. But, we won't hold you to that just yet. We just want to make sure you don't fall into that group of 1/3 of high school graduates who never read another book after graduating.
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Elaine commented, on June 8, 2007 at 8:36 a.m.:
I would suggest ON THE MOVE by Bono. U2 lead singer Bono's keynote address to the National Prayer Breakfast was recently published as a book, complete with striking photographs from Africa, many taken by Bono in Ethiopia on his first trip to the continent in 1985. ON THE MOVE is a call to action against AIDS and extreme poverty in Sub-Saharan Africa. All royalties earned from the sale of On the Move are being donated to ONE: The Campaign to Make Poverty History. (www.one.org)
"The one thing, on which we can all agree, is that God is with the vulnerable and poor. God is in the slums and in the cardboard boxes where the poor play house. God is in the debris of wasted opportunity and lives, and God is with us if we are with them. 6,500 Africans are still dying every day of a preventable, treatable disease, for lack of drugs we can buy at any drug store. This is not about charity, this is about Justice and Equality." --Bono
From Amazon.com review: Here, in Bono's own words, is a reflection on his own faith and a challenge to people of all faiths to reach across boundaries and come together on behalf of what the Scriptures call "the least of these."