Sponsored by the Stairway to Wisdom

Hey everyone!

No book notes today. We’ll get back into those on Monday, when we dive into Hyperfocus, by Chris Bailey!

Today though, I want to invite you to take part in the very first monthly Charity Reading Challenge!

This is a monthly, ongoing event where we will be raising money for the children's educational charity, First Book, and tackling our To Be Read lists (TBRs) all at the same time!

I’m going to be keeping things super informal for right now, and the way I’ll keep everyone updated on the Challenge is through the “Book-ish News” section in the Wednesday newsletter.

So you don’t have to do anything extra or sign up for anything to take part in the Challenge. More details on the Challenge itself are below.

I AM, however, raising money here, and I’ve made the first $50 donation to First Book to kick things off!

You also don’t NEED to donate any money in order to take part.

Obviously, I ENCOURAGE it, but there’s no pressure either way. You can just read. Or you can donate AND read. It’s completely up to you.

How it works is super simple:

Basically, you set the terms of your own Reading Challenge, and publicly (or privately) commit to reaching your reading goals for the month!

For example, in Month One I'm planning on finishing Sapiens, by Yuval Noah Harari, finishing You Owe You, by Eric Thomas (an audiobook), and finishing at least 8 other books on top of those.

For me, reading is literally a full-time job, but your goal for the month could be anything!

You could commit to reading 1 book a week, finishing a particularly challenging book that's been sitting on your shelf, staring and laughing at you seemingly forever...or you could simply pledge to read 1 page a day!

It's completely up to you, and it ALL counts.

The idea is to inspire people to hit their reading goals and to help out a phenomenal charity at the exact same time. And usually, the best way to achieve something BIG is to travel together.

In life, who you surround yourself with is supremely important, and so you're MUCH more likely to reach your goals when you're part of an active, supportive group headed in the same direction!

That's what this Challenge is all about.

So Let's Read!

For someone who reads as much as I do, I can't even put into words what reading has done for me and has made possible for me.

It defies description.

Professional success, personal fulfillment, the ignition of boundless curiosity...it's all there. The benefits of reading are nothing less than astonishing.

So I couldn't imagine doing any less than I was capable of to help get as many books into children's hands as there are children to read them!

That's where the Charity Reading Challenge comes in!

Technically, it starts on June 1st, but no one will know if you start reading now!

But hey, I'm extremely happy to have you join us, and I look forward to helping you accomplish your reading goals!

All the best,

Matt Karamazov