Maniac Monday: Unveiling of the New Blog

In the spirit of my blog’s title: “Margo Dill’s Read These Books and Use Them,” I have read the book Half the Sky by Nicholas D. Kristof and Sheryl WuDunn. And I’m going to use it. I’m going to use it to do something a little different with my blog. So, here’s what I am thinking. . .

Half the Sky is an amazing book that will change your life. It’s an adult book, but I think many older teens could read it, too. The subtitle is Turning Oppression into Opportunity for Women Worldwide. This book is not easy to read. It highlights some of the atrocities that are happening to women (many of these are actually girls in their tweens and teens) around the world such as sex trafficking, maternal mortality, extreme poverty, discrimination, and more. The book also gives practical ideas to help these women and highlights programs that are working in the world today. You cannot read this book without doing something whether giving money, telling other people, or well. . .doing something on your blog.

I still want to highlight authors and their books and let parents, teachers, and librarians know how to use these books, so I have decided to do two things with my blog: 1. Stick with my original intentions on Thursdays and Fridays by highlighting books, authors, and activities 2. Do something new with my blog on Mondays, Tuesdays, and Wednesdays by telling stories of women around the world, giving information about different programs to help women and children, and finding easy and practical ways for ANYONE to help–even if you don’t have any money to give.

Now, there will be a few changes in the new schedule in the next couple weeks because I will be taking part in some blog tours. I love blog tours, and so every once in a while if I can’t schedule a blog tour for a Thursday or Friday, you may find an author and his or her book on a Monday, Tuesday, or Wednesday. But hey, all the information is useful!

SO, I will leave you with this: In 2006, ABC News did a story on sex trafficking in the United States. (Yes, it is not just a foreign problem.) Here is a statistic from that story that is just overwhelming to me: “The FBI estimates that there are well over 100,000 children and teens in the United States — most of them young girls — being trafficked in the sex trade.” And that’s almost nothing compared to what is going on in other countries around the globe. However, just one teen involved in sex trafficking is TOO MANY. Education is the first step into fighting this type of abuse. I hope to fight it here.

Join me!