“I read the first book I ever read while I was in Juvenile Hall. And then I just kept on reading!"

We need Booktalkers!
Become a community booktalker! We are looking for people over the age of 21 who enjoy reading, writing and performing. We want a diverse group of booktalkers and especially encourage people of color to apply. Three daytime hours a month is required. Please contact Amy Cheney for more information.

Visit The Beat Within to read book recommendations. Click on "Write to Read" on the middle column (under Categories) to read our column featured in this award winning magazine.


Sample booktalks

Mistakes That Worked Have you ever made a mistake? Have you ever wanted to make a million dollars, or become famous? This book is filled with people who made mistakes—that worked. For example, did you know that the Post-It Note was a mistake? How about the potato chip? Coca-Cola? All of them were

Mistakes That Worked,
by Charlotte Foltz Jones.



Sword of the Samurai Dohaku's Head is a true story. It is a story about a samurai who was attacked. Before he could draw his sword, the attackers cut off his head. A lesser man would have died on the spot. But Dohaku was unwilling to admit defeat, even though his head was gone. He drew his sword and attacked the attackers until they fled. Then he got down on his hands and knees to find his head "I'm over here! Further to the left!" his head cried out. Dohaku finally found his head and carried it home. His wife screamed when she saw her husband walk through the door holding his head in his hands. "Don't make so much noise!" Dohaku's head said, "Run for the doctor!" Run she did and the doctor devised a cure. He painted Dohaku's neck with special glue made from pine resin, garlic oil, and healing herbs, put his head back on, wrapped a silk cord around the neck to hold the head in place and buried him in rice. Do you think the cure worked?

Read Sword of the Samurai to find out.



Write Where You Are This is from the introduction by the writer: "My first poem, not surprisingly, was about how cruel people could be. So was the second. And the third. But in the process of holding a pen and guiding it back and forth over each line, I began to feel a sense of hope. I started to feel a little less scared, a little less alone. I liked the feeling, so I kept writing. Writing has saved my life. I believe writing down my thoughts, poems, and stories, sometimes for hours each day, kept me from thinking too much about suicide during a difficult and desperate time.

"As a teen, I wondered if I truly deserved to live, and writing helped me make sense of my pain. When I wrote, I could gather on the page my fear and other overwhelming emotions, creating a kind of mirror. This mirror showed me why I felt the way I did, where I was, where I'd been, and even where I might go next. Writing also saved my life for something.... the chance to keep writing. As I filled up journals I felt my life had meaning. I felt I belonged and was welcome on the page. No one could ever take that away from me.

Writing can save your life too. Your life is made up of stories and understandings, circling around the center of who you are like the rings of the heartwood of a tree. Through writing, you'll discover your ideas, your stories, who you are and who you may become. You'll also come to understand the power of language, of finding the right words, of speaking in your own true voice. This book will show you how."

Write Where You Are,
by Caryn Mirriam-Goldberg.