Blog with a purpose – Anthony Nolan/Open Links

   

If I have a flaw, and the truth is … I have many, it’s that I’m loyal to a fault. I’m either on your team or I’m not. I either root hard for you or ignore that you are in fact on this planet with me. I tend to have tunnel vision about things as well, but when I become a fan I am usually all in until … well I’m not. As is the case with one Tom Holland. I have posted on here before on my love of Spiderman (all of them are unique in their own way but I especially love Tom’s version of Peter Parker), my love of the Crowded Room, the enjoyment I get watching Spies in Disguise or Onward after a long week, and my obsession with the movie Cherry … all of which star … one Tom Holland. I even enjoyed In the Heart of the Sea (which also starred Chris Helmsworth) and Pilgrimage, Chaos Walking, and of course the one that started it all The Impossible. The more I learn about this kid the more I love him. I can call him a kid cause he’s younger than me. The young man carries himself very well in both his personal and professional life and he just seems like an all-around nice guy that makes you want to cheer for him to succeed.

One of my favorite things about him is the charity he and the family set up, The Brothers Trust, in order to make positive use of his "fame". I have previously talked about this on this blog and will likely do so many more times moving forward. I love that it exists to shine a light on charities that might not get the limelight it deserves but what I really love is that the entire family is involved. I love that what they are doing is really making a difference. I gladly support it with charitable donations and proudly wear my t-shirt and hoodie when the weather allows it. A few weeks ago I had a cold (not covid) and couldn’t get warm so I wore that hoodie for 2 days straight. It was the only way I could get warm.  That’s how I found out about the subject of my 2^nd Blog with a Purpose post which focused on DEBRA one of the charities supported by the Brothers Trust to help fight Epidermolysis Bullosa (EB).

HOWEVER ……. Like my previous blog … this one isn’t really about Tom Holland …. or frankly the Brother’s Trust ….. well … not really, but they are all connected.

While learning more about this young man, I stumbled upon the fact that his father is an author in addition to a successful comedian in the UK. As a self-diagnosed “Bibliophile” (A person who collects or has a great love of books) I was intrigued. While clicking around on the Brother’s Trust site one day to see what all they had to offer, I saw one of his books on sale called “Open Links” oh a Golf Book I thought …. then read some more and realized all proceeds for the book go to the charity called “The Anthony Nolan Trust” which saves lives by matching people with blood cancer. Oh that’s interesting I thought … and bought the book. 

   

It sat on my shelf for a while cause again it was a “golf book” not something I’m particularly interested in. Golf I mean. My company has a “internal” golf tournament every year that I go to in order to take pictures and I like putt putt when ever I’m on vacation but that’s so not the same thing. Then one day I am looking around for something new to read and at the top of my to be read pile was Mr. Holland’s book, Open Links. It was a short read. I was in the mood for something different so I dove in. It took me longer to not read it than it did to read it. I couldn’t put it down. This “golf book” sucked me in like no other book had in a very long time. Open Links follows the story of Ricky Randall a journeyman professional golfer playing in the final round of the Open Championship at Muirfield. The book starts with Ricky in the middle of what I would call a panic attack at the idea of the day ahead of him. In this final Round Ricky finds himself at the bottom of the standings with nowhere to go but up. It takes Ricky a bit to pull his arse out of his hindquarters and get on with it, which makes the reader want to grab him by the shoulders and shake him. At least I wanted to. The novel takes place over a single round of golf, 18 holes, 18 chapters and even non golf fans can feel the build up and understand the drama unfolding in front of them.  The Anthony Nolan Trust features heavily throughout the book and upon learning more about them you quickly understand why Mr. Holland gave the proceeds to the charity.  

In 1974 Shirly Nolan founded the Anthony Nolan Trust after her son was diagnosed with blood cancer. In 1971 Anthony was born with Wiskott-Aldrich Syndrome. The cure … a bone marrow transplant. In 1974 the Anthony Nolan Bone Marrow Register was established to make searching for unrelated donors easier. Mrs. Nolan wanted to give other blood cancer patients and those suffering from other forms of blood disorders a second chance at life. Finding donors was much harder back then than it is today. In 1979 Anthony died at the age of 7. That’s also the year I was born. Today the Anthony Nolan Trust has helped over 22K people receive a lifesaving transplant.  As the Trust celebrates 50 years I'm excited to help support them through a book that I really enjoyed. 

I won’t tell you how Rickys’ round ended or the insane circumstances surrounding the round. For that you’ll need to pick up the book and read it on your own. You will not be disappointed in having taken the ride. If it gets you to learn more about the Anthony Nolan Trust even better. 

Purchase your own copy of the book here via Amazon .... https://a.co/d/1l3q328

To learn more about the Anthony Nolan Trust go here ….   https://www.anthonynolan.org/

Check out The Brothers’ Trust here ……     https://www.thebrotherstrust.org/

I have since bought many of Mr. Holland’s books and highly suggest I Gabriel, the Fruitbowl, and if you are a Tom Holland fan Eclipsed which is a diary of sorts about a son eclipsing his father which takes place during the filming of The Impossible and I often think that one day Tom might be writing a similar one about his brothers one day. Mr. Hollands latest books “Takes on Life Vol 1” and “Takes on Life Vol 2” evolved into a Podcast that can be found on Spotify and is a GREAT listen as well as excellent reads. The Margaret Mizen episode really stood out for me, as did the Omid Djalili one and the Graeme Souness episodes.

To learn more about Dominic Holland  go here …….      https://www.dominichollandbooks.com/

To join his Patreon for exclusive content  go here …….    https://www.patreon.com/dominicholland/posts

(tell him Marcy sent you) 😊

As with the rest of my Blog with a Purpose posts the goal is to teach you something, and make you think about or become aware of a cause that I think is worthy of your time. People dealing with blood cancers and unseen diseases, of which my partner in crime @theonlygolden can attest to, is harder to deal with than those that people can see. People tend to dismiss the battle inside cause they can’t really see it making the effects worse for the patient.

I am proud to support the Brothers Trust, proud to support Open Links and am very proud to support the Anthony Nolan Trust as they fight to save lives. With the exposure from this book and the recognition that comes from it may they go from saving three lives a day to many, many more.

Marcy

(@beaslma)

 

Books for all

Over the life of this blog we have talked a lot about books and what they mean to both Golden and I … and this post will be no different. For those that follow me on Twitter, and why wouldn’t you with gems like this …..

….  you might have seen that I have been chosen as the Mighty Little Library’s honorary librarian of September. Now the Mighty Little Library is a free book loan and exchange box that’s been up since say July in Oneonta, Alabama. 

The little library even has a light on the inside for you nighttime readers who need your fix but wanna do so in your jammies. All the library asks is that if you borrow a book and love it keep it or return it to find your next love. If you decide to keep it bring back another one that someone else might get to enjoy. 

   

It has children books, adult themed books, mysteries, science fiction and even some comic books and magazines. It’s awesome and fantastic and a great way to try out a new book without spending extra monies at the store. There's even a notebook where you can request specific kind of books guys! I mean honestly! How cool is that! 

So when I was named Honorary Librarian of September I started thinking about the kind of books I’d stock it with. But the key to a library like this is it can’t just be books that you love or books that you grew up with. Sure those have their place but one really has to stop and think about the area that the library is in, the people who would be frequenting the library and books that would appeal to them. Like Oneonta is a very Hispanic heavy community. Many languages are going on in that town at any given moment in any store. So my first donation to the Mighty Little Library was some Spanish language books that I thought would be interesting. Cause that was lacking in the library and the people that stock it were asking for some. 

I chose the following books: 

Spanish Short Stories for Beginners: 20 Captivating Short Stories to Learn Spanish & Grow Your Vocabulary the Fun Way! Which I picked cause it sounded like a good book with a few different stories that those just learning the language might enjoy as well as those who speak it well. I mean it’s 20 short stories what’s not to love about that?! That’s 20 books in a single book guys .  . . . I mean no brainer right!?

Yo no soy tu perfecta hija Mexicana by Erika Sanchez (translation “I am not your perfect Mexican daughter”) which I got after reading a review about how compelling the story was and how it captivated them. I also thought it might be a story a little girl in the town of Oneonta might need to read right now. Heck a parent of that little girl might need to read it to.

 

Juliet Respira Profundo by Gabby Rivera (translation: “Juliet takes a breath”) which I bought after watching a video with the writer talking about the book. It just sounded like a fun read and well if that’s not what this library is about then I don’t wanna know.

My second set of donations were brand new copies of my all time favorite book series “My Teacher Is an Alien” a 4 part books series that frankly made me want to write as a child. God Bless Bruce Coville and his amazing brain. Each book in the series is told from the point of view of one of the “main” characters, and while the stories pick up exactly where the last book left off they are all stand alone stories but to read only one is a disservice to you as the reader.  These books were imaginative, funny, and really made me think as a kid that A. we weren’t alone and B. it’s embarrassing what we are doing if we think about others who may be watching. It’s a fantastic book series that tackles bullies, kids needing to use their voice, adults needing to listed to their voice, and just how amazing this planet could be in the hands of people that aren’t humans. I re read this series often, usually when I’m in a funk and need to be reminded that the world could be a better place or when I just need an escape in to this world with Peter, Susan and Duncan. It always amazes me that no matter when I read it it seems to fit the time period that I’m living in and that my friends is what “timeless” is all about.

 I love thinking about the things that I’d put in this library and donating to it. I also love that it’s a thing. I can’t tell you how much I would have loved having a library like this as a child that I could walk up to browse and return to often with no need for a card or a ride to the actual library. The Mightly Little Library was born during the Covid Shutdown which incidentally resulted in the shutting down of schools and thus cutting kids off from their books sources (let’s face it not everyone has several bookshelf's full of books to browse). I would encourage you to follow the library and support them in anyway you can by donating books or just RT their posts as they try to provide a little inspiration, encouragement and love into the world.

Here’s to you Mighty’s Little Library may your pages never get dog eared! Next time I'll talk about more adult themed books that meant something to me cause let's face it this blog is nothing else but a depository of book lists for the young and young at heart! 

Marcy

  

Other posts that might interest ya about reading from this Blog ..... 

 https://saywhatmg.blogspot.com/2020/03/aitah.html

 https://saywhatmg.blogspot.com/2019/11/thankfulness-challenge-favorite.html

 https://saywhatmg.blogspot.com/2014/09/ill-read-what-i-want-to.html

 https://saywhatmg.blogspot.com/2014/11/thankfulness-challenge-day-10.html

  

 

 

Thankfulness Challenge – Favorite Childhood Books

As a kid, I loved being read to, I loved reading on my own, I loved everything about reading. From the smell of a freshly opened book, going to the book store or library and browsing the shelves looking for that perfect book, and finishing one just to start another. My favorite day of the year was the Scholastic Book Fair I would get so excited when they’d pass out the order forms and when my mom and I would sit down to fill it out. I would save my money all year long for that one order form. No matter what I did or how much I saved it was never enough but mom would always come through. 

My nephew came out of the womb wanting to read. He’d sit on the couch book in his lap flipping the pages and making up the best stories that never existed. I only wish I had pulled out a camera and recorded them. A lot of times I couldn’t understand what he was saying but he was so enthusiastic about it I loved every second of it. One year he was determined to read the most books in his class and get as many AR reader points (or some jazz like that) in a single year. That was a fun year. See they had to read a book, tell their teacher they read it and then take a test on what he read. His score would result in points. I loved suggesting books, helping him find others, reading them with him so he’d have someone to talk to about it before taking the tests.

So just like with the video games post I thought I’d share some of the books that he and I bonded over when he was a child incase you are looking for some Christmas ideas prior to Black Friday shopping. 

 

http://www.littlegoldenbooks.com/

Little Golden Books. I love the Little Golden Books series, I have a ton of Little Golden Books on my shelves. I like the original books like Tootle, The Little Red Caboose, The Shy Little Kitten, The Fire Engine Book and also love the Sesame Street, Disney versions that came out. Like the Monster and the End of this Book featuring Grover, and a few years ago they released “Everything I need to know I learned from a Little Golden Book” which I got for Christmas from several family members. For the record don't bring me some weak ass Little Golden Book without the gold foil spine all that will do is piss me off. 

My all time favorite Little Golden Book was and will always be The Poky Little Puppy, which by the way was the on billionth LGB printed in 1986. It’s my all time favorite book from my childhood. As a matter of fact whenever a friend has a baby I give them this book as part of my baby gift. That book is all kinds of brilliant. It’s five little puppies who dig a whole under the fence and explore the world around them only to get in trouble when they get home. They do this several times throughout the book and the way they see the world and things around them was brilliantly done. A great way to talk to kids about consequences of actions that kind of thing.

https://www.berenstainbears.com/
The Berenstain Bears. There is a Berenstain Bear Book for literally every occasion. God Bless Stan and Jan Berenstain. The hours of enjoyment that the books have given me are too high to count. From having a Messy Room, to Bad Habits, to telling the Truth, to having a new Baby, table manners, trouble at school, going to a doctor for the first time, dealing with bullys,  learning how to deal with strangers, and mom getting a new job, and moving and going to the dentist, going to school for the first time. Literally every single thing has a Berenstain Book to give to a kid to make their situation a little easier to deal with.

Literally anything by Dr. Seuss. I loved the play on words, the fact that he could make up this world in his head and it all worked at the end of the day. I love that there is a book that people have started giving for graduation gifts, Oh The Places You go. So many fantastic stories, and of course I love me some How the Grinch Stole Christmas. Horton Hears a Who, There’s a Wocket in my Pocket, Oh The Thinks you can Think, and I wish That I had Duck Feet. So many great options you can’t go wrong with any of this books. 

Pierre – or as we called it, “I don’t care, my names Pierre” My mom gave me this book cause I had gotten into a habit of saying I don’t care. The book is all about a little boy who answers everything by saying I don’t Care and the consequences of it from it. At one point he is asked if a Lion could eat his mom (or something like that) and he says I don’t care and the Lion eats his mom. It was quite traumatic at the time. I love that book.

You can’t go wrong with any book on this list much less any other book on the planet. Reading is important no matter the book just the aspect of giving an actual book and even better reading the actual book with the recipient.

Marcy

@beaslma

I'll read what I want to!

It amazes me how different my brother and I are I mean let’s check the facts…. We have the same parents; We were raised in the same house; We went to the same schools; We had a lot of the same teachers; Being only 3 years apart we even hung around the same circles of people.

However with all those facts we are still polar opposites; if I were to list all our differences it would take to the end of eternity. Well ok not that fucking long, but still you get the point, the list would be quite impressive in size. With all our differences, the easiest way to separate us is that he is the type of person who has more movies than books, and I am the type that has more books than movies.

This doesn't mean that I don't like movies. Absolutely untrue, I LOVE movies! They are my means of escape, my way of checking out of reality. But books. I'm IN love with books! I admit it…I’m a Bibliophile. There I said it. Books have been my life-long companion. My magic carpet. My professors. They have supported my soul when there was nothing else to lean on. I am an insatiable book slut! I even love the smell of them.

So next week is a holiday of sorts at least for people like me. It combines books, for the nerd inside me, and rebellion, for the my gooey badass center. It's Banned Books Week! In case you, like Marcy didn’t know, Banned Books Week is a national celebration of the freedom to read. It creates awareness to the fact that even in these modern times, books are still actively censored, challenged and banned in the United States with most people not getting a say in which books are banned or allowed.

This year, Banned Books Week will focus on the freedom to read comics and graphic novels! Banned books, check! Comics, check! Graphic Novels, check! How can it get any better?!

I will be spending my week reading books off the ALA banned books list and encouraging others to rebel against the man and do the same! Check with your local libraries and see if they have a book challenge list or a censored/banned list. Support the freedom to read. Support the art form. If you have a comic shop, a book store or even the world's smallest library, make a display, plan an event. Explain to your wee ones why we should have the right to decide for ourselves what we choose to read. Then make sure they understand exactly why that freedom is important and that there are some countries and people who don’t have that freedom!

I hope you all celebrate this literary holiday and enjoy your freedom to stand up! So have fun you rebellious book whores and read on!

-golden @theonlygolden

How creepy is this .... but yeah that's how reading feels!

Helpful links (non endorsed or even approved by us:

http://cbldf.org/librarian-tools/cbldf-banned-books-week-handbook/

http://www.ala.org/bbooks/frequentlychallengedbooks