Editor’s Note: May 2017
“So many books, so little time,” Frank Zappa once said.
True and so it follows that we must curate wisely. To help with that, Frontdoors Media is launching Bookmarked, our version of a books page. This month, Bookmarked features responses from notable Valley residents and people passing through on tour to the straightforward question: What are you reading?
To this we will add in future editions other features, including, of course, reviews, profiles of local authors and new works, book events and signings, visiting and local author interviews and a children’s books section. Some of the content will be appear in the digital magazine and some on the FrontdoorsMedia.com website.
A books page fits well with our mission to cover nonprofits and the act of giving. In my brief tenure so far at Frontdoors Media I have been impressed and encouraged by nonprofits that are on the front lines of promoting childhood literacy. Solid efforts are being made to increase literacy. The winner of two nonprofit pitch contests – Read Better Be Better – is one shining example. Another is Southwest Human Development, which is expanding its literacy efforts with Read On Phoenix as a partner. Those kinds of efforts, from a books vantage point, will be prominent on these pages.
The share of Americans who have read a book in the last 12 months (73%) has remained largely unchanged since 2012. That statistic, from a Pew Research Center survey, is heartening, especially when you take into account our dwindling attention spans.
With our new Bookmarked section, we hope to do our part to stoke even more interest in books. Publishers, booksellers, book event planners and authors: let us know what you’re up to. Readers, you too. We’re reachable here: editor@frontdoorsmedia. com. Happy reading!
