Author: Cullen Ormond

September 8th is International Literacy Day!

“Literacy is a bridge from misery to hope…Literacy is a platform for democratization, and a vehicle for the promotion of cultural and national identity…Literacy is, finally, the road to human progress and the means through which every man, woman and child can realize his or her full potential,” said Kofi Annan.

We wanted to share this quote with you because today is International Literacy day! There are many reasons to support and promote literacy, but most importantly, because it is a fundamental right for all individuals.

To lead, one must read.

 To become a sophisticated leader, one must have the desire to continuously learn more. Reading allows a person to become enlightened on a subject that may have been foreign before. Also, reading generates conversations about foreign concepts which could lead to greater insight.

Literacy education is not offered to all individuals.

 Sadly, literacy education is not being taught in all areas of the world. According to Literacy Worldwide, 781 million people cannot read or write. On a smaller scale, the Literacy Project Foundation claims that 45 million Americans are illiterate and cannot read above a fifth grade level. These alarming statistics reveal the importance of promoting literacy so that all members of society have an equal chance of succeeding.

It is easy to get involved.

 One simple search on the Internet can provide several ways to get involved with the promotion of literacy education. An example of local scale opportunities is the Lumpkin County Literacy Coalition which encourages concerned individuals to become a tutor or volunteer at one of their events. The organization hosts several events throughout the year, one major event being the Dahlonega Literary Festival. The free festival is hosted in downtown Dahlonega and serves as a chance for readers to interact and mingle with several authors from all different genres.

The organization believes that literacy can solve a community’s issues, such as poverty, unemployment, and high school dropout rates.

Literacy is an all-inclusive concept, and if we all participated in its promotion, the world would be a happier and successful place.

What do you do to promote literacy in your community?

Today is Read a Book Day!

Envision a day, when bookworms, young and old souls, fast-paced and slow readers, mystery-junkies or passionate romantics, come together to celebrate books. Well, that day is the sixth of September, it is national Read a Book day!

We encourage all readers to not celebrate this day alone. Share the experience by reading aloud to a friend or loved one. Traipse through the aisles of your local library with a loyal confidant. Join a book club and share notes. Together, you can delight it the written word and have conversations about your feelings or opinions. Truth be told, humans learn by listening.

We wanted to share a couple of titles we publish at the University of North Georgia Press in case you were looking for something to read on this day.

Bombay in the Age of Disco by Tinaz Pavri, PhD.

 The novel Bombay in the Age of Disco serves as a personal and significant memoir of one young girl’s unremitting aspirations and experiences in a newly transformed city, Bombay. Follow her personal growth in the dazzling novel. For more information, click here.

 Travels in Greenland by Quentin Falk.

 Author, Quentin Falk examines all aspects of Graham Greene’s impact in the realm of film in this thorough novel. Delve into the mind of Greene and become immersed in two of his newest film adaptations. For more information, click here.

Over the Top by Arthur Guy Empey.

Over the Top is a compilation of Arthur Guy Empey’s experiences in World War I. The novel quickly became a best-seller after the United States declared war on Germany and the Central Powers. Follow one soldier’s enlightening and sometimes gruesome experiences in an event that most do not have to endure. For more information, click here.

If you don’t want to buy a book, rent one from your local library or borrow from a friend or relative. There are also several free books online. However, if you are interested in purchasing any of these titles or would like to browse our other novels at the UNG Press, click the link here.

However you choose to spend your day, make sure it is with a book.

What are you planning on reading? Share your personal favorites in the comments below, you never know who you could inspire!

 

August 9th is Book Lovers Day!

Good morning, readers! Do you know what today is? August ninth is Book Lovers Day! The great Oscar Wilde once said, “If one cannot enjoy reading a book over and over again, there is no use in reading it at all.”

Reading is not limited to traditional paperback books filled with words. Now, readers can choose from a wide range of platforms and genres – from e-books to paperback to even recent best-seller coloring books. Coloring books have become popular among children and adults because of their mental-health benefits.

“Coloring also allows us to switch off our brains from other thoughts and focus only on the moment, helping to alleviate free-floating anxiety,” said Kelly Fitzpatrick of CNN.

Regardless of what kind of book you are choosing to enjoy, at the University of North Georgia Press, this holiday is one of our all-time favorites. To commemorate this magical day, we wanted to share with you some fun, fast facts about books!

The first book ever written was The Epic of Gilgamesh. The tale describes the evolution of the barbaric leader of Uruk, Gilgamesh, who is changed through acts of kindness.

Abibliophobia is the fear of running out of reading material. Luckily, at the UNG Press we will always have an enticing novel for you to read!

It took Charles Dickens about six weeks to write A Christmas Carol, a novel that has remained popular since 1843.

According to Google, there are around 130 million books in existence all over the world. With that amount of books, you should always have something interesting to read!

The UNG Press has several titles for any reader to choose from.

Celebrate today by curling up with your favorite book, whether it be an e-book, paperback or coloring book, and take time to be grateful to all of the authors who help take us to new places and learn new things. Let us know what book you are currently reading and your thoughts about it. We always love learning about new books!

 

My Experience at the Press

Hi, all! This summer, I had the pleasure of interning at the University of North Georgia Press (UNGP). Throughout my time here, I was tasked to create marketing campaigns, conduct research and manage social media accounts. It was a whirlwind and an adventure (the good kind). I spent the majority of my summer in the quiet, sleepy and wonderful town of Dahlonega, I began my academic trek as a foreigner and left as a native. Along the way, I made several forever friends and learned a great deal of literary as well as life lessons.

As my time at the press is coming to an end, I feel confident and wiser. However, months ago, when the elevator doors opened to the gleaming world of the press, I was a different person.

The distance from my house to the office was approximately seven minutes. As I started the drive, feelings of insecurity overwhelmed me. I feared that I would not have the adequate skills required to complete their requests. Comparisons of my abilities versus my classmates served as brash red stoplights at intersections. Was I prepared for this internship? I could feel the palms of my hands begin to dampen. I started to worry about that, who wanted to shake sweaty hands? It was truly a nervous cycle.

I breathed a deep sigh as the cool metal doors of the elevator shut in front of me, I clicked the worn plastic button to transport me to my future. As the elevator door opened, I came face-to-face with one of my supervisors. Her warm smile and cheery attitude set the tone for the rest of the semester. As the days went by (and got hotter) I was reminded over and over again that I did have the abilities to succeed.

If you’re ever faced with a new situation or embark on an adventure into the unknown (which we all do), it is important to never doubt yourself. Along the way, you’ll be forced to take on situations that may be scary, but if you remain confident and trust in others around you – it will be a lot easier. Richie Norton, author of Make Dreams Happen, said “To escape fear you have to go through it, not around.”

How-To Make Summer Last Forever

As the sun-kissed days of summer begin to dwindle and you embark on the last lap of summer courses, it can feel a bit melancholy. It could feel as though you’ve spent your entire summer in a textbook and ambivalence could set in – you’re happy that the rigorous work of the course is ending, but that means summer is over too.

Well, summer doesn’t have to be (that is, until the bitter chill of winter sets in). Summer is not a time or a place, it’s a feeling and all of us can capture and hold onto it forever with a couple of tweaks to our lifestyle.

Summer creates the great notion that we’re all allowed a pass. A pass from our mundane work responsibilities, a pass from cleaning after work and a pass from things that generate negative energy. One way to hold onto summer forever is allowing yourself a pass throughout the year. Even though the weather may be colder than it was a couple of months ago, if you’re feeling stressed, you can still take a break and dance in your office, eat a chocolate bar (or two) and blast your music. Giving yourself a break throughout the entirety of the year allows you to possess the whimsical feel of summer.

Another way to feel the bright rays of summer all year long is to enjoy your mornings. During the summer months, mornings seem to last an eternity, the morning seemingly fades into the afternoon and only when it is dark does it feel different. Whether it’s summer, spring, fall or winter, enjoy your mornings. Give yourself the quiet time to self-reflect, cook yourself a large breakfast, read. Taking time for yourself in the morning will provide a positive outlook on the day, even when it’s raining or snowing. You will feel warm inside.

Lastly, read a summer themed book even in the dead of winter. Read of remote islands with beaches full of warm, white sand. Allow yourself to bask in the rays from the words of your book and escape the cold weather. Some titles we love are The Vacationers by Emma Straub and Tender is the Night by F. Scott Fitzgerald.

As we said before, summer is a feeling that can be felt during any season. However, we suggest to soak up the sun on these last summer days.

Please tell us, what are your personal summer joys that repeat all year long?

How to Choose the Right Book for You

There is an abundance of book genres to choose from, and recently there has been an increase in the ways a person can read a book, whether its Kindle, Audible or an e-text. Nick Morgan, a contributing writer of Forbes, stated that in 2013 there were “between 600,000 and 1,000,000 books published every year in the US alone.” With the vast amount of books, the task of choosing one to read can become daunting.

Never fear, here are some helpful suggestions to combat against the overwhelming feelings associated with picking a book in order for you to start reading.

Figure out what kind of reader you are. Patrick Betdavid, an entrepreneur, states that all readers fall in one of two categories, either you’re an accidental reader or an intentional reader. An accidental reader will stumble upon a book and read it, regardless of the genre or will be easily swayed to read a book based on another person’s opinion. An intentional reader will be strategic about choosing a book. Identifying the type of reader you are will minimalize the stress you may feel, instead of worrying, you’ll begin to go with the flow.

Set goals. It is helpful to set personal goals for book reading. Plan to read a new book each month, or if you’re fast, every two weeks. Change the genre of the book for some additional pizazz. Not only will you become a seasoned reader, you’ll be able to determine what kind of books motivate and excited you enough to meet the deadline.

Don’t stress. If the task of finding a book seems too engulfing to bear, let a friend or family member take a little bit of the burden off of your shoulders and recommend a book. Sometimes, it’s about choosing to let someone help. If you wanted a book suggestion outside your immediate circle, check out Book Riot, a blog devoted to sharing the newest book titles.

We hope these simple steps will help you in your quest to choosing a great book. Comment below and let us know what you’re currently reading or any of your enlightening or difficult experiences choosing books.

The Basics of American Government

In August, the University of North Georgia Press will publish the 3rd edition of the textbook The Basics of American Government edited by Carl D. Cavalli. The textbook, or BAG, as we like to call it, comprises work from eight current members and one retired member of the UNG faculty. The authors created BAG because of their  shared concern with “the rising cost and lack of academic rigor among American government texts on the market.”

The textbook is thorough yet cost-efficient. It provides a “no-frills” examination of the American political system, while also providing original academic pieces that emphasize the content discussed in each chapter. The textbook also poses questions to the reader to force them to think about the content discussed, and it furthers their involvement with the content through a civic engagement exercise.

The book includes fifteen chapters discussing topics ranging from the U.S. Constitution, to the presidency, and even U.S. foreign policy. The reader will gain an in-depth understanding of American government after immersing themselves in this textbook. For example, in the fourth chapter, Political Socialization and the Media, the importance of understanding government is proved: “Political socialization is a lifelong process” (Maria J. Albo & Barry D. Friedman, 50). It is important to be well-versed in politics as it is an undying aspect of society. The book has been updated to include recent and relevant events in American politics, such as the 2016 election and its aftermath. Carl Cavalli, PhD, explains how another significant addition is the update of the Georgia Public Policy supplement which includes a discussion about the controversial campus carry bill. All of this information is available for only $23.66. E-textbook options are available, as are used versions for a cheaper price. The textbook can be found online using the ISBN: 978-0-9792324-6-6.

The breadth of information concerning American government can be easily understood within the pages of this textbook. The jargon is easy to understand, and the layout of the textbook is neat. This textbook is perfect for anyone taking a course in political science or criminal justice or for someone who simply wants clarification on America’s government.