I went to Wordstock today, got to hear some great readings, sit in on a panel on marketing (the takeaway–no one really knows what works or doesn’t or why), and ogle lots of great books. One of the highlights of the day, for me, was discovering The Uprise Books Project.

They get banned books into the hands of underprivileged teens. They try to break the cycle of poverty by instilling a passion for books. That’s a lofty goal, yeah? And one could argue it’s a stretch to think that a few free books can have that kind of impact. But if one kid gets a hold of one book they wouldn’t have otherwise had access to, and that book sets fire to something inside them… Well, how can that be a bad thing? Who knows what that could lead to for that kid, what they might consider possible that they didn’t before?

And then I think about what it was like for me as a teenager–a miserable, privileged teenager in suburban New Jersey. Books and writing saved my life. I had access to all the books I could eat. I want every miserable teen to have that.

So I donated. I hope you do too.