From the Editor

Oh, the Places I've Been

by Rebecca Taylor, Product Marketing Manager, Hewlett-Packard

Without words, without
writing and without books
there would be no history,
there could be no concept
of humanity.
Hermann Hesse

Most parents have to nag their kids to turn off the TV or put down the video game controller so the kids can do chores or homework. My parents? They had to nag me about putting down the book long enough to do chores and homework. I suspect they even resorted to hiding a few books!

But, oh the places I've been!

I've visited countless worlds and cultures, both fictional and true. I have witnessed the hatching of a dragon and the death of an empire. I've seen sunsets over the Sahara and sunrises over the distant moons of another planet. I've wept with close friends as they have mourned the loss of the family dog or a husband. I've cheered when a young boy's team wins its first sports championship.

I have loved books all my life. Love of literature was possibly the greatest gift my parents gave me (even if they had to temper my enthusiasm!). I cannot imagine a world where I could not read the book of my choice. I cannot imagine a world where my children could not read a book of their choice. But it happens—more frequently than I wish to think.

September 20-27 is Banned Books Week (BBW). BBW is an annual event meant to raise awareness about the many books that are challenged and banned. Banned Books Week is sponsored by the American Booksellers Association, the American Booksellers Foundation for Free Expression, the American Library Association (ALA), the Association of American Publishers, the American Society of Journalists and Authors and the National Association of College Stores. You can learn more about Banned Books Week at www.ala.org/bbooks/.

Happy reading!