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MUSIC PLAYS
Well, my grandmother, since in early ages always taught all of her grandkids the importance
of literacy. Not just to get ahead in life, but to be able to communicate, to be able
to participate in our wonderful country and our wonderful society.
Nearly a third of all adults in our country do not have the ability to read at an 8th
grade level. And I know that dating back to her time when she was First Lady of the U.S.,
and after her time leaving the White House, she devoted herself to be the first lady of
literacy.
Former First Lady Barbara Bush hosts the Dallas Fort Worth celebration of reading. If you
haven’t been to this event before, this year’s event promises to be a diverse and
fun evening. Starting out through the day, we have a casual afternoon with the authors
and really get to know them. And they open up and share insights into their lives, their
books, and the background for writing their books that they might not otherwise share.
This year we’ll have Ben Mezrich who is the author of The Accidental Billionaires:
The story of Facebook.
Even my grandmother Barbara Bush who I refer to as granny has a Facebook page and she has
over 10,000 fans. So I know that she is excited also to hear from Ben.
And from there we’ll actually introduce someone who used to be illiterate and has
overcome that challenge typically for the first time in their life, they read publicly
in front of 1300 - 1500 people. It’s wonderful to see the actual product in person live where
you are seeing somebody overcome illiteracy for the first time. It’s really a celebration
of literacy and the beauty behind literature and the beauty that authors throughout the
world have contributed to this cause.