Join In

Written by Jennifer (5 Minutes for Books)

One of our goals from the beginning was to create a community here at 5 Minutes for Books, and we are so glad to see it come together, because it's one thing that's out of our hands and into yours — we can't do it without you.

You can get involved in a number of ways:

Submit a guest post. We are currently accepting guest posts in two areas:

On Reading runs every Sunday. These are essays on reading. You can share about why you love a certain genre, a fun family reading experience, tips for squeezing in reading time for yourself or encouraging your children to read, or reflections on the magic of reading. Anything goes. Posts should be between 400 - 800 words long.
Books on Screen runs every Thursday. This column looks at a movie adaptation of a book (from the big or small screen). Do you have a great adaptation of a book that you'd like to recommend? Or perhaps warn against? Did a recent blockbuster movie make you pick up and read the book it was based on? These posts should also be under 800 words.

If you have an idea for either of these columns, send me a note at 5minutesforbooks (at) gmail {dot} com. We welcome contributions from bloggers and non-bloggers alike.

We invite you to give your own thoughts and opinions and reviews of good books each Tuesday in one of our regular Tuesday community events. On the day mentioned, we will have a post up with a Mr. Linky set up for you to add your own post so that others can visit and read your thoughts.

After you write up your own post, I hope you'll take some time to visit the others as well. You can also expect a visit from at least one of us here on staff at 5 Minutes for Books (even though we'll probably be signed into the accounts tied to our personal blogs).

You can get codes for all of our buttons (for the site and for each of our weekly features) on our Link to Us page (found right under our header on the main page). Feel free to display them in your sidebar on your blog, or in the post that you write up.

If you aren't a blogger, you are still invited to contribute in the comments section.

We've changed things up for the FIRST Tuesday of each month. We will be alternating the Classics Bookclub with some contemporary novels as well. We will only be doing a bookclub every other month to allow you more time to read.
You don't have to sign up or declare your intent. Simply read along with us, and then post your thoughts on your blog on the first Tuesday. We will usually provide some questions as food for thought, but you don't have to adhere to them. You can answer one of them or all of them, or simply post your own thoughts. The titles are linked to the discussions that have already occurred.

September 2 — Pride and Prejudice by Jane Austen
October 7 — Jane Eyre by Charlotte Bronte
November 4 — A Tree Grows in Brooklyn by Betty Smith
December 2 — A Christmas Carol by Charles Dickens
January 6 — Hamlet by William Shakespeare
February 3 — I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings by Maya Angelou
March 3 — Les Miserables by Victor Hugo
April 7 — Around the World in Eighty Days by Jules Verne
May 5 — The Great Gatsby by F. Scott Fitzgerald
June 2 — Everyone is Beautiful (linked to Dawn's gushing review)
July 7 — Off-month
August 4 — Rebecca by Daphne Du Maurier

The SECOND Tuesday of each month is Children's Classics. In this carnival, you will have the opportunity to share your thoughts on a favorite children's classic. We have suggested topics for each month:

August 12 — a favorite chapter book
September 9 — a favorite picture book
October 14 — a Newbery Medal book
November 11 — a Caldecott Medal book
December 9 — a Christmas themed book or a book set at Christmas
January 13 — Any Children's Classic
February 10 — A.A. Milne– Share your favorite work (or read one for the first time)
March 10 — Beatrix Potter
April 14 — Dog Stories (i.e., Where the Red Fern Grows, Old Yeller, etc.)
May 12 — Future Children's Classics (i.e., books you think will become classics in the future)
June 9 — Poetry (individual poems or anthologies)
July 14 — Book Trips (i.e. any books that have inspired a family 'field trip' of sorts– maybe to a children's museum or a museum affiliated with an author, or a visit to the city of a beloved author, or even to something like a local pet store)
August 11 — Adventure!

The THIRD Tuesday of each month is Kids' Picks. This allows us to showcase what our children have enjoyed from that month. Hearing what other children love to read often gives me great suggestions for my kids, so beyond what you think that they should be reading, or what you've told them they have to read, what have they chosen to read (or if they are pre-readers, they want you to read over and over again).

The FOURTH Tuesday of each month is by far our most popular monthly happening. What's on Your Nightstand? invites you to share what you plan to read that month, and/or short reviews of what you did read the month before. You can show a picture, you can give backstory on why you decided to read a certain book, or just write a list. It's up to you.

Each month that there is a FIFTH Tuesday, you can participate in our quarterly I Read It! carnival (September, December, and March). In addition to commenting on our review posts, this is a great way to encourage the reviewers by letting them know which of their recommendations that you actually read. You can tell us if you agreed or disagreed with our review of the book.