FINAL RESULTS: Race to Read for International Literacy Day

International Literacy Day is September 8. I've decided to participate in the Greater Pittsburgh Literacy Council's fundraising event: Open Up a Book, Open Up a Life.

Here's what I have in mind:

I will read as many books as I can between now and September 8. I'll keep a record of the books I finish here in this post. If you'd like to make a donation, pick an amount to donate per book I read. After September 8, come back here to find out how many books I've read. Do the multiplication to figure out your total donation, then go to my donation page and make a secure online donation. (Or, if you'd prefer to donate through the mail, just let me know.)

(Of course, if you'd prefer to just make a single fixed donation, you can do that through the donation page, too.)

You can donate any time between now and September 30. GPLC's tax ID number is, I believe, 25-1392652, if your company can make matching donations. [h/t to Erin for reminding me to look this up!]

If you're not able to make a monetary contribution, please consider donating some time to GPLC or to your local literacy group. Or, just pass the word along to others.

Thank you!

BOOKS I'VE READ:

1. The Good That Men Do (Andy Mangels and Michael A. Martin)
2. What Einstein Told His Cook: Kitchen Science Explained (Robert L. Wolke)
3. Kobayashi Maru (Michael A. Martin and Andy Mangels)
4. Proust and the Squid: The Story and Science of the Reading Brain (Maryanne Wolf)--Recommended!
5. Holy Hullabaloos: A Road Trip to the Battlegrounds of the Church/State Wars (Jay Wexler)--Recommended!
6. Prime Directive (Judith and Garfield Reeves-Stevens)
7. Speaking Up: The Unintended Costs of Free Speech in Public Schools (Anne Proffitt Dupre)
8. Memory Prime (Gar and Judith Reeves-Stevens)
9. A Suitable Vengeance (Elizabeth George)
10. When Gay People Get Married: What Happens When Societies Legalize Same-Sex Marriage (M.V. Lee Badgett)
11. The Kobayashi Maru (Julia Ecklar)

Usage tip: everyday vs. every day

This one crops up so often, it's practically an everyday occurrence. (ha, ha, ha...sorry.)

Here's the difference between everyday and every day:

Everyday is an adjective.
Every day is an adverb.

But that doesn't really matter. You want to know how to use them correctly, right? Here's a handy rule of thumb:

If you can replace the term in your sentence with occasional or frequent or any other adjective and have the sentence still make grammatical sense, chances are you should be using everyday. If you can replace the term with Tuesdays or sometimes, you should probably be using every day.

For example:

WRONG
This shampoo is best for every day use.
Everyday, I walk my dog.
People should try to exercise everyday.
Luckily, loud street arguments are not an every day occurrence in my neighborhood.

CORRECT
You can use this shampoo every day.
Some trainers say you should run every day, but I think that's too much.
He's trying to prove that he's an everyday guy.
Let's try to make laughter an everyday event.