As a blogger I can’t help but support reading online,  it pays the bills but it also gives me access to content I may never have found before the internet got to be so popular. I do however enjoy sitting down in a comfy chair with a non-electronic book at least once a day and indulging in reading the old fashioned way. Thus, it was with great intrigue that I sat down this morning (at my computer) to read a New York Times article entitled “Literacy Debate: Online, R U Really Reading?”

The article gives some personal examples of young folks who have made the internet their preferred reading material before getting into the heart of the arguement:

As teenagers’ scores on standardized reading tests have declined or stagnated, some argue that the hours spent prowling the Internet are the enemy of reading — diminishing literacy, wrecking attention spans and destroying a precious common culture that exists only through the reading of books.

But others say the Internet has created a new kind of reading, one that schools and society should not discount. The Web inspires a teenager like Nadia, who might otherwise spend most of her leisure time watching television, to read and write. [NYTimes]

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So I found this awesome new site called Wordle - where you can create fun word maps out of text! Just enter in the text you want (something you wrote, an excerpt you love etc… ) and you’ll get a fun visual representation.

Above is a TakePart wordle that I made! takepart to make your own wordle today and spread the word on words you love!

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The TakePart Top 10 Weekly Roundup is a compilation of the week’s most notable stories from our entertainment-meets-social-action blogging network. Check out some of our most popular stories of the week, as well as a few TakePart blogger favorites!

Nicole Hughes:

U.S. Media Ignores Link Between Midwest Floods and Global Warming

Top 10 Houseplants for Removing Indoor Air Pollution

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Andy Kondrat:

Dubai to Build Rotating Positive Energy Tower

Bioethicist Peter Singer Tackles World Food Shortage

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Jon Popham:

Americacorps Workers Assist Flood Ravaged Town

Australians “Out-Fat” Americans

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Giulia Rozzi:

Progressive Book Club

Oprah Recommends “A New Earth”

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Gina Telaroli:

Human Rights Watch 2008 Film Festival Update

SilverDocs 2008 Update

Yup, I’m a sucker for Oprah recommended reading.

I just finished reading A New Earth by Eckhart Tolle. I usually take forever to finish a book, but this book captured my interest so strongly that I breezed through this book in just one week (I get very proud when I actually read a whole book).

The line “awaken to your life’s purpose” on the book’s cover led me to think this book was a guide to help me better figure out my career goals. And this book did help me with career goals, but not in a direct way. Instead the book explores our ego and how collectively our ego’s shape the world. He focuses on the notion of “being” rather than “doing” and how this presence allows to discover our true life purpose. I can’t really explain this book in one blog post. Actually I can’t really explain this book at all, all I can say is it’s calmed me down while also making my head spin (in good way). I read the final page with a smile on my face excited to incorporate Tolle’s advice into my life. That was 10 days ago and so far, so good.

Here’s how the book’s site explains things: Humanity now, perhaps more than in any previous time, has an opportunity to create a new, saner, more loving world. This will involve a radical inner leap from the current egoic

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Are you a progressive person looking for progressive reading material? Then look no further, the Progressive Book Club is here! 

The progressive movement has prided itself on its ability to get its messages out by harnessing the Internet, through organizations like MoveOn.org and blogs like Daily Kos or The Huffington Post. But now a liberal-minded group is returning to an old-fashioned model: a book club. Starting on Monday, the new Progressive Book Club is inviting readers to join and buy three books at $1 apiece in exchange for the obligation to buy four books over the next two years.

The brainchild of Elizabeth Wagley, a former fund-raiser and communications adviser for nonprofit

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If you’re anything like me, you’re pretty overwhelmed with what seems like an infinite amount of social networking sites. I mean wouldn’t it be much nicer to see all these “friends” rather than clicking through the profiles of all these “friends?” Well in the meantime social networking sites offer a way to stay connected with old friend while also providing opportunity for artists, activists and entrepreneurs to mingle. Social network sites allow users to promote their work, find people to work with, and create communities that share interests, goals, and ideas.

Different social networking sites are geared toward different goals, from sharing good books to sharing plans to save the world to simply just making new friends. Here are just 10 of the hundreds of social networking sites available:

1) MySpace: Probably the most popular of the networking sites, MySpace offers an interactive, user-submitted network of friends, personal profiles, blogs, groups, photos, music and videos for teenagers and adults internationally. MySpace has greatly helped promote new bands, comedians, and social issues. The site is so popular it’s even become a verb aka “hey totally MySpace me!”

2) Facebook: Facebook is a social utility that connects people with friends and

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The TakePart Top 10 Weekly Roundup is a compilation of the week’s most notable stories from our entertainment-meets-social-action blogging network. This week we celebrated some of our own favorite top 10 bloggers who work night and day to provide us up-to-date info on films, literature, and feminist news. Don’t miss these exciting and informative blogs, as well as some of our most popular stories of the week.

Katie:

“La Misma Luna Under the Same Moon,” Not the Same Old Movie

Top 5 Eco-Friendly Gadgets for Under $50

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Nicole:

Top 10 Literary and Book Blogs

NBC11 First Wind Powered TV Station

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Giulia:

Top 10 Feminist Blogs

Horton: The New Mascot for Pro-Life

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Gina:

Top 10 Film Blogs

Top 10 Films I Would See If I Was At SXSW

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Kerry:

Our Pharmaceutically Fouled Water Supply

Top 7 New Sins Against God’s Green Earth

These top 10 literary and book blogs will help you find your pearl in an ocean of potential reading. With so many excellent books out there, it’s hard to know which ones are the perfect fit for your literary longings. Below you’ll find some of the best and brightest reviewers pounding out original write-ups of some of the most outstanding works available that cover a variety of genres ““ from literary fiction to biographies to poetry to political non-fiction.

Did I forget your favorite book blog? Leave a comment below and I’ll add it to the list!

1) Bookslut : http://www.bookslut.com
One of the biggest, wittiest, and most comprehensive lit blogs around. Literary mistress Jessa Crispin and her cohort Michael Schaub keep their web readers abreast of the national book scene with quirky reviews and author interviews, which are updated daily.

2) KGB Bar Lit : http://www.kgbbar.com/lit
The KGB bar, an iconic dive on the Lower East Side, features one of New York City’s most diverse literary reading series. Their blog is a reflection of this exciting literary venue, with reviews and previews by some of the best authors around. Don’t forget to check out their KGB Radio Hour with Mark Jacobson!

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Okay, if you’re going to write a book and it’s going to a made up story, oh why sell it as non-fiction?

Margaret Seltzer author the memoir, Love and Consequences about growing up as a foster child in gang-ridden South-Central Los Angeles confessed the book is untrue. Not only did Seltzer lie about her life story but she also fabricated a foundation called International Brother/SisterHood which she listed in the back flap of her book and for which set up the web site, brothersisterhood.com to help promote her book.

The fake International Brother/SisterHood’s mission was “to help reduce gang violence and mentor urban teens.”

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The TakePart Top 10 Weekly Roundup is a compilation of the week’s most notable stories from our entertainment-meets-social-action blogging network. Don’t miss these excellent posts on some very engaging and thoughtful topics - from going green at the office to Julian Beever to dystopian film telling us to take action now. Check out our most popular articles of the week on a variety of subjects, as well as a few TakePart blogger favorites.

Katie:

Katoucha’s Body Found: Model Helped African Women Escape Mutiliation

Julian Beever Brings Art to New Orleans Sidewalks

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Nicole:

Heath Ledger Nick Drake Video for “Black Eyed Dog” Hits Web

Top 10 Ways to Go Green in the Office

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Giulia:

Crate & Barrel Goes Green

The Black Comedy Project

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Gina:

Top 10 Dystopian Future Films Telling Us to Take Action Now

Going to “The Edge of Heaven” with Fatih Akin

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Kerry:

Sustainable Songstrees Sue West’s Rural Revival

No Impact Home A Hit At Ecobuild Exhibition