I’m going to go out on a limb and make a little assumption right now about you. Yes, you- the person sitting on the other side of the Internet from me in this post. I feel very confident in declaring you to be an avid reader, a lover of words, possibly even a person who at one point in life was labeled a bookworm. My guess is that you can relate to the feeling that occurs when the last pages of a compelling book are flipped and the desire to talk about the story takes over. Have you ever been reading and had the need to say to a person nearby, “You’ve just got to listen to this!” Have you ever tried to slyly peek at the covers of books in strangers’ hands just to see what they’re reading, on the off-chance that you have something in common? Could you, right now, call to mind a book, a poem, or a short story that affected you long after you placed it back on the shelf?
If I haven’t been too bold with my assumptions here, then trust me when I say that a new website launched by SONY called Words Move Me is right up your alley. The tagline states their mission: Connecting readers around the literary moments they love. If you think along the lines of social networking for book lovers, you’ll start to get the right idea. After registering and setting up your profile for the site, you can share the ‘literary moments’ that are meaningful to you, in 255 characters or less, tagging them with the book title and author’s name. You also have the ability to tag your entries with up to three emotions that you associate with each particular submission, giving another level of searchability to the site.
My personal experience with the Words Move Me site has been interesting and thought-provoking, from both the perspective of a submitter and a reader. I’ve searched for other users’ moments about books that I hold dear in my heart, and I’ve enjoyed seeing the very wide variety of emotions that have been used as tags. It’s eye-opening to see how so many other people out there have been affected by the power of stories. As I began to ponder what to submit myself, there were some immediate books that leaped to the forefront of my thoughts, undoubtedly the books that have made the biggest impressions on me. My submissions number a total of nine (so far, that is!), and you can see what I have to say in just a few words about some of my favorite literary moments right here in this handy-dandy widget of my Words Move Me profile. (Click on the ‘pages’ on the sides to navigate through my entries.)
Now, as with every new social media site out there, the larger the group, the richer the experience for everyone involved! So, I encourage you to check out the site and register for your own profile, so you can begin submitting the literary moments that mean the most to you.
In their effort to promote the Words Move Me site, SONY is generously offering a fantastic addition to our Gift Guide & Giveaway. In the spirit of full disclosure- for reviewing the site and sharing this promotion, I’ll tell you that I will be receiving a SONY Reader Pocket Edition (TM), valued at $199.99, but the best part is that SONY is offering an additional SONY Reader Pocket Edition (TM) for one of you lucky 5 Minutes for Books readers! (I’m so excited, so please forgive me my infomercial voice!)
Here’s the info that you need to know to enter this fabulous Gift Guide and Giveaway contest. It’s a little different for this giveaway, so please keep reading:
1. Leave a comment on this post describing a ‘literary moment’ of your own around a book that you’ve either given or received as a gift by describing what makes this book special to you.
2. One entry per person, U.S. addresses only, please.
3. No purchase necessary to enter or win. Odds of winning are not increased by a purchase.
4. All entries will be read and reviewed by Jennifer and me, and we will assemble a list of our top ten favorites based on originality and content. A winner will be randomly selected from those ten entries.
5. The giveaway will close at 9:00 pm (EST) on Friday, 12/11, with the winners announced in a special post on Monday, 12/14. Please watch your email and check the site for your name, so that we can collect your shipping information!
6. My hope is that there will be enough time to get the SONY Reader Pocket Edition (TM) shipped to the winner before the holidays, but if it’s a few days later, it can always be considered a New Year’s gift, too!
So, start thinking like the avid readers that you are, and we can’t wait to hear all about your own special literary moments! Don’t forget to visit Words Move Me to experience a new interactive book lovers community.
This giveaway is now closed. Thanks to everyone who shared their wonderful literary moments!!
Dawn loves any opportunity she can get to talk (or type) about the books that live forever in her heart and mind. Life, as she knows it, is chronicled on her blog, my thoughts exactly.
i read alot of history books and the one I really liked alot and learned alot from was an unfished life John F Kennedy
My favorite literary moments came from the books given to me by my grandmothers. Both of them were avid readers and read to me a lot when I was a little girl. I loved to spend the night with any of my grandparents and my grandmas would always snuggle under the covers with me to read stories. When I was older both of them gave me many of their treasured books and I was able to read my of the classics (Moby Dick, The Grapes of Wrath, Treasure Island, and more)while holding the same pages in my hands that they had. They bring back so many warm memories. I still have all those books on my shelf and someday will pass them on to my grandchildren who I now snuggle under the covers with to read stories 🙂
When we were younger my Great Aunt and Uncle would always give books to all of the kids in the extended family. As bookworms my sister and I loved this tradition. The thing that made it extra special was the thought and love that they put into each book selection. My favorite book they ever gave was The Book of Three which begins the Prydain Chronicles by Lloyd Alexander (think Black Cauldron). I had never heard of the series before, but it was such a perfect fit for my taste and interests that year. That series saw me through the second half of my 5th grade year. It was my first year at a new school and those books gave me the emotional escape I needed at the end of a difficult or even wonderful day. I had always loved to read, but that one book sparked a greater understanding of just how powerful books can be.
AWESOME giveaway!
thank-you very much 4 the entry!
Reading war & peace.. Great giveaway thank you
I remember my summers spending time in the pool and ocean but also reading every book I could find at our local library. I have always believed that books could take me places that otherwise I would never be able to go.
I fondly remember the first time that a friend gave me a hardbound book as a birthday gift. I felt so honored. I still treasure that copy of Dr. Dolittle.
I remember when I was 12-years-old, I read Pride and Prejudice by Jane Austen. I remember being so hooked as soon as I started reading the first few pages. I got so hooked that I couldn’t put it down. The love-hate relationship that Mr. Darsey and Elizabeth shared was so gripping and addicting at the same time! I was so hooked that one night I had to sneak-read the book with a flashlight in my bedroom! My mom told me that it was bed time, but I told her that I couldn’t put the book down! She did not feel sorry for me, thus ordering me to bed right away!!!! So I went to bed, waited until I couldn’t hear her roaming the halls anymore, got the flashlight, and snuck the book and flashlight under my covers….kind of like in the movies!!!!!! I was determined to get through the book and finish the emotional turmoil love story! Well….I did just that! I LOVED the story! Loved it! To this day, Pride and Prejudice remains my favorite book of all time and in my opinion is one of the greatest love stories of all time. And to this day, my mom still has no idea that I snuck the flashlight and book under my covers to finish the wonderful book! I would do it all over again too! (Just don’t tell my mom!!) 🙂
Thanks for the awesome giveaway.
There is one book that I received in High School that has meant a lot to me, Our Town. My English teacher gave it to me and told me to read it every ten years because I would get something different from it each time.
He was right, it meant one thing to me in High School, but as I have moved through the different stages of life the meaning has changed. When I have read it as a husband, then as a parent, I have gotten something different out of it each time.
If you haven’t read Our Town before, or haven’t read it in awhile, I would recommend picking up a copy and reading it again.
I’ve been wanting one of these! 🙂 Great giveaway!
I’ve always loved reading ever since I was a kid. I remember reading Gone with the Wind when I was in 8th grade and just getting so wrapped up in the story & the history, I wasn’t paying attention to anything else. We didn’t have much money growing up, so mostly I used the library, but one year I was given my own copy of Gone with the Wind and I read that thing to tatters. I still remember one time being sick and out of school for awhile, just lying on the couch reading that book. One of my best literary moments was reading the ending of I Know this Much is True by Wally Lamb; I was very moved by it.
But there are so many great and powerful books out there, it really is hard to pick just one moment!
I am a lover of reading. I attempted to pass that on to my kids…with not a great deal of success. They never seemed as thrilled with it as I. However, I knew it sunk in when my daughter recently called and was quite upset that her boyfriend had never heard of “Where the Wild Things Are.” She told him it was a “classic” and her “favorite book” when she was small!
I recall a book that caught my eye and having read previous material by the author decided to purchase it. I couldn’t put it down and I remember thinking to myself, “this would make an excellant movie.” Upon finishing the novel I gave it to a friend, who also read it and passed it along to another friend, and so forth. As it turned out, a movie based on the book was produced and it became a blockbuster hit. I never received the original copy back but have since replaced it among my personal collection favorites. It’s titled ‘Jurassic Park’ by Michael Chrichton. 😉
I can’t remember when I DIDN’T love to read. I read anything. My grandmother used to say that I would read the back of the cereal box! My greatest joy is that my granddaughter shares my love of reading too. Such a great legacy. I’ve really been wanting a Sony Bookreader and is on my wish list. Thanks for the giveaway.
I remember how proud I was when I was young and had earned money babysitting. The very first thing I bought with the hard-earned money was a Nancy Drew mystery book. That was fifty-some years ago and I still get a great feeling when I buy a new book that I have been wanting to read.
“Gone With the Wind” is my favorite novel – it was the first adult novel I had ever read.
I love the Stand, it is such a great book of good vs. evil.
I’m an English teacher, so that is a pretty loaded question. I have so many favorite books and so many favorite literary moments. I am lucky to be able to teach an college level course in my high school, and those kids love to read, they love books as much as I do, and they love to learn how to analyze literature. It’s become a tradition that I scour tag sales for some of my favorite books. I pick up great hardcovers and trade paperbacks for a quarter and then I pass them out to my students. I’m not from a rich district, so this is a pretty big deal for some of them, and I just love sharing books with kids.
I don’t blog, so I can’t post your button, but I tweeted
http://twitter.com/fairydancer35/status/6505412220
Nelson DeMille’s book Charm School really got me thinking about how it could have really happened. Basic story Russians captured American soldiers are made them teach Russian soldiers how to be Americans.
The book “Marley & Me” was special because I’m a yellow lab owner & I could identify with the owner’s crazy lab’s antics. It’s one of the few books that moved me to tears.
It’s even more moving now that I know my dog is dying of a tumor.
My mother died when I was four. I knew she wasn’t there anymore but I really didn’t understand. A few years late I read the book Little Women and when Beth died I think I finally understood what I had lost but also that we can go on. I still love that book and whenever someone asks me my favorite book of all time Little Women is my answer.
One of my special books is kind of a weird one…it’s The Night. It’s a book about the holocaust and it was the first book that really got through to me in high school.
My best literary moment was in the 6th grade. My teacher read the class “The Giver” outloud. There were parts where the entire class (and the teacher) were moved to tears. I adore that book to this day and recommend it to everyone I can.
I gave the book Oh The Places You’ll Go by Dr. Seuss to both of my children when they graduated high school. It was to express to them that no matter what path you choose you truly can do anything you want. I wanted them to remember what it was like to have the innocence of a child with Dr. Seuss but also the endless possibilities of a future spread out before them.
When I read ‘American Psycho’ by Bret Easton Ellis I was shocked by how much better than the movie it is. And I love the movie. It inspired me to read another book of his that was made into a movie that I like, ‘Less Than Zero.’ I’ve since gone back and read the books for which most movies I like are based on and I have enjoyed it immensely. I rediscovered the joy of reading so much that I went back and started re-reading some humanities books that were mandatory in college and I feel more productive and that I am increasing my vocabulary while enjoying myself at the same time.
A book titled “The Poppy Seed Cakes” has a number of Eastern European fairy tales, with every page having distinctive woodcut artwork. The tales gave me, the first of my family born in the US, a profound sense of the rhythm and expectations of life “in the old country”. It’s a feeling that linked me to my grandparents and further back.
Please enter me in the giveaway.
When I was probably about 13 my aunt gave me a book for my birthday. I had always been an avid reader and read anything I could get my hands on. This book was a copy of Anne of Green Gables by L. M. Montgomery. I have cherished this book for many years. My aunt had Lymphoma and she was very ill a lot of the time. We shared a great love for reading after she gave me that book and even as her health declined I would go and sit by her bed and read to her. I hope when I am old and feeble that someone will realize how much that would mean to me and remember that books are sometimes the essence of life.
One of my moments was reading “The Red Tent” by Anita Diamante – a book that is now well-loved and well-circulated among my friends and family. Reading this fictional book that revolves around the Biblical Naomi, Ruth and their kinswomen brought to live the stories we heard in Sunday School. Bringing these women into full view and making them well-rounded characters, I found myself mentally juxtaposing the Biblical verses with the story as I read it, and developing a much more complete understanding of the lives, the troubles, the sacrifices and joys that these women actually lived. For me, the enjoyment of the story itself was well-accentuated by my sketchy recollection of the Biblical story. After I finally turned the last page of this book, I ended up going to my Bible and reading these chapters with a deeper understanding. Of all the books I have read (and I have read MANY), THIS book struck the kind of spark in me that makes me want to share it with all women. The commonalities of our experiences then and now are striking.
When I was little, I first read “Trumpet of the Swan” by E.B. White. I loved that book read it again and again. The story was so sweet and encouraging and that message has stayed with my all through the years. It’s the power of a good book.
My favorite literary moment is a bit unusual. I still love the big old family bible that was passed down. The memories that book can tell. I am queenesperfect at yahoo.com
i won this book motor mouth by janet evanovich. i decided to give it a read! having 4 kids, it had been a while since i had read a book. after reading that book, i fell back in love with reading!! i had forgotten how much i love to read!!
When I was a child, my mom would give me several editions of Nancy Drew mystery books for birthdays and Christmas until I had the whole set. I read them over and over and developed a taste for mysteries that has endured.
From Nancy Drew, I moved on to my mom’s books, classic mystery writers like Agatha Christie, Rex Stout and Mary Roberts Rinehart. I can never thank my Mom enough for giving me a love of books.
A teacher in grade school read the book Mrs Frisbee And The Rats Of NIMH – a friend gave me a copy of it a couple of years ago.
I was given a book called “My real life in the cartoon world of pro wrestling” by Bret Hart. I enjoyed this read from behind the curtain.
When I went into ninth grade, my mom gave me Nine Stories by J.D. Salinger. It’s a great collection of nine short stories. It’s been my favorite ever since.
I was given the total money makeover and it made me want to start to pay my debt off faster.
In college I was taking a Psychotherapy class, and we had to read this book that I dreaded reading: The Road Less Traveled by Scott Peck. Well, about 3 chapters into it I couldn’t put it down, and it changed my life for the better. I began interning at a Juvenile Corrections Program and I used to buy that book for the young men who “graduated” from the program, in hopes that it would change their life also.
Last summer, I fell in love with David Wroblewski’s wonderful, heartbreaking novel THE STORY OF EDGAR SAWTELLE, and gave copies to every book lover I know. Everyone loved it, and I like to think I started a ‘literary moment’ that we all shared! Thanks
my sisters keeper was a book that moved me in many ways , it inspired to volunteer at our local cancer center. wonderful book
I love books. In fact when I was young and ran out of books to read I would steal my big sisters school reading list books and read them. Once I got to college my Eng Lit professor couldn’t believe all the books I had read.
However, there was one book when I was younger than I loved to read. In fact, I read it so much that the cover fell off all the time so I made it a new one. I don’t remember the name but it was a childern prose and poetry book. It was giving to me by my grandfather that passed away when I was only six. Poetry was a favorite of his and ooo that book inroduced me to words that flowed and made me think. My mom said that I use to look at the pictures in the book before I could read… It’s my favorite book still (although it is at my parents house)because it is the only thing I still have of my grandfather and it is the book that introduced me to a love of reading..
When I was first dating my now husband, I was struggling to become a published author while still going to college to get a degree. Upon graduating, as his gift to me, he had one of my manuscripts published, bound, and illustrated (complete with fake jacket quotes and everything). I love books and when I opened that present, it took me a second to realize that it was MY book. I cried for probably half an hour. It was the best gift I had ever received. I still haven’t been published but that time, but I ‘m still working hard at it.
I love how you can meet a fellow harry potter fan at anywhere – standing in line at the store, at a friend’s party – and instantly have enough to talk about to last at least an hour! I am starting to see the same thing with Twilight, but maybe only a 30 min convo.
I read Consuelo by George Sand when I was really young and all I can remember is that it was a great book (series). I’ve actually been afraid to re-read it as an adult because of I’m afraid I might be disappointed, it might be that the book has become greater in my memory than it really is.
I remember the first time I read “Roots” by Alex Haley…I was amazed at all the research he went into and all the experiences of the slaves I’d never thought about before.
One book that has greatly affected me is “To Kill A Mockingbird”. There are so many wonderful passages in it and I feel uplifted every time I read it. One line that truly moved me the first time I read it is “I wanted you to see what real courage is, instead of getting the idea that courage is a man with a gun in his hand. It’s when you know you’re licked before you begin but you begin anyway and you see it through no matter what. You rarely win, but sometimes you do.” To me, it pretty much sums up life and encourages me to always try. I love it.
I guess my literary moment would be the first novel my husband and I read together. It was in the car over many painstaking hours but we both enjoyed and discussed Ender’s Game by Orson Scott Card until we finished!
My first literary moment was when my mom gave me the Anne of Green Gables book. The book was huge and included the whole series in it. I spent hours each day reading and not being able to hardly put the book down.
I was a very lonely child, my parents moved every few months – giving me little opportunity to make friends. For whatever reason, the book Heidi, changed my life. It gave me comfort and took me to another place. I can’t tell you how many times I reread it, and still do today.