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UPDATE #3: As of 6:45 am on Wednesday, 318 books (over $3000 worth!) have been purchased from the teachers’ registries! There are still plenty of books left to be purchased though – over 50 – so if you haven’t had a chance to participate yet or if you were waiting to see what registries needed a last push to be fulfilled, now is the time to act. In addition to books to gift each of their students, teachers have also added books to their registries that they’d like for their classroom lending libraries, as well as supplies and products to make their classrooms more functional and comfortable. Let’s make this a special…

After this morning’s column, how about something a little more cheerful and heartwarming, huh? Today I received emails from two of the teachers who participated in our annual holiday book drive late last month. This week they passed along the books to their students, and I thought you’d enjoy reading what the teachers had to say about that: From Amy: “We had our high school holiday party this afternoon. The kids were all so thankful and appreciative of the gifts. Thank you for helping us give these students a good Christmas. Most of the kids opened the books right away. It was SO exciting to see kids who do not consider themselves…

Update: All the books have now been purchased and the registries are 100% fulfilled! Thank you so much for your generosity, everyone! Update #3: As of 5:30 AM, Wednesday, all by 12 books have been purchased from the teachers’ registries. Please check Alison’s and Ogo’s registries and help reach our goal of every book being purchased by the end of the day. Thanks so much for your generosity! UPDATE #2: As of 12:30 AM (four hours after this post went up), over 160 books have been purchased from the teachers’ registries! We are over 65% to our goal of 240! UPDATE: As of 10:30 AM (two hours after this post went up),…

Guess what today is?! It’s Lurker Introduction Day (Take 5), a day when lurkers on this website are invited to come out of hiding and show themselves. It’s also a day I totally made up. But, look, I know what it’s like. I’ve been before, and am, a lurker on different sites. You read along for weeks or maybe months (maybe even years??) without ever having an intention to NOT participate — it just sort of happens that way. You might have things to say in the comments, but they’ve already been said a dozen or so other ways by other people — people who comment all the time. Or, maybe you’re…

Our fourth annual holiday book drive earlier this month, our biggest one yet, resulted in 200 books being sent to students at four different schools around the country. Those students have been receiving their books over the last week or so before they leave for winter break, and I wanted to share some photos and words their teachers and schools have sent. Above is a photo from teacher, Ogo A., who says: “Thanks so much to you and your readers for the awesome books. My students were really excited and began reading them straight away.” And if this doesn’t warm your heart, then it must be made of ice:

A quick post to let you know that all four teachers’ holiday book drive registries have been fulfilled!! That’s about $1700 worth of books donated to 200 kids in less than 36 hours thanks to you and your generosity and your help spreading the word. Good job and warm fuzzies all around. And happy holidays!

UPDATE, 8 AM 12/1: We’re almost halfway to our goal of 200 books. Thank you for your contributions! UPDATE, 5:30 PM EST (11/30): After about 4 1/2 hours and with some website issues on Amazon due to high traffic on Cyber Monday, close to 75 books (out of 200) have been purchased and sent to the participating teachers for their students. We’re about 35% to our goal! Thanks to all who have contributed so far. Even if you aren’t able to purchase a book, you can help by sharing this link with friends and family or anyone you think might be interested. If you’re having trouble accessing the registries through their direct…