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.
My literary moment is The Velveteen Rabbit. My Mom read it to me as a child and when my girls were mere babies is when I began to read it to them annually. Thanks for the chance!
Every time my sister and I see each other we run to each other and call each others name. It always reminds me of when Celie and Nettie see each other in the color purple and yell each others names. Makes me tear up just thinking about it.
My literary moment is a little simpler, since my kids are just learning to read I’ve given them Level 1 reading books and they are very excited to able to read along with me.
I remember when I was a teen and nothing interested me when it came to reading. One day my brother introduced me to funny sci-fi books such as the hitchhiker’s guide to the galaxy and the stainless steel rat. I guess it took reading things with a sense of humor that got me hooked on reading LOL.
my love for reading started whn i was but a young girl and read the nancy drew series…been an avid reader ever since
When I was a small child I was introduced to the books of Edgar Rice Burroughs. This caused me to have my lifelong enjoyment of Sci Fi. books.
From the time I knew what love was, I have loved Pride and Prejudice. I’m sure Mr. Darcy lives in the house with me. 🙂
In a high school English course we were assigned the book Catcher in the Rye. Perhaps it is cliched but when I read it, at that age, it put my entire life in perspective. It is so well written from Holden’s perspective that I was instantly able to connect with him, because essentially I was just like him. I felt that when I read the book, I was going through all the things Holden was, and when we came out the other side, we had both grown as people in the same way.
I re-read it every once in a while, but now it doesn’t have the same effect on me. I recommend giving it to any teenager to read.
Yes, you were speaking directly to me in your opening paragraphs. There is one phrase that still stays with me 45 years after reading the book ‘Dr. Zhivago’. “You in others. That is your soul.” Thanks for the contest.
I am not a huge book reader but average. I had a literary moment when I read “God Delusion” by Richard Dawkins.
The book was a real eye opener for me.
Would be nice to win!
I purchased “I love you forever” for my daughter when he was just 2. She’s now 17 and will often text me quotes from that book =)