Word Shakers Needed Some Revamping

It has been a long time since we have had a read-a-long here. Mainly, 2011 has been extremely busy and I was swept along with it. But not only that…. Word Shakers needed some revamping that I just had not taken the time to really think about how I wanted to move forward.
Thanks to the occasional comments and emails inquiring about Word Shakers, I have finally put together what I envision this read-a-long to be like and now am finally (FINALLY) ready to unveil what I have in store.
First things first… why is it called Word Shakers?
Word Shakers came to my attention when I read The Book Thief by Marcus Zusak. I loved the book… but what caught my heart most was the story within the story called Word Shakers…
THE BEST word shakers were the ones who understood the true power of words. They were the ones who could climb the highest . One such word shaker was a small, skinny girl. She was renowned as the best word shaker of her region because she knew how powerless a person could be without words.
If you have read this book you know that the story goes on with the girl climbing the tree of words and shaking them down so all could reach them and use them. I love the analogy, and seriously… if I had read this book before I had started blogging, this blog would be called Word Shakers.
Word Shakers is open to anyone who would care to join in on the read-a-long. The more the merrier! To participate:
1. Fill out the form below so I know you are planning to read with us.
2. Read the book or listen to the audio during the time frame that is announced
3. A few days prior to the review time I will send out a list of five questions to ponder. You may cover one or more to discuss in your post.
4. Grab the word shaker widget (above) and feel free to use it on your sidebars and/or on your review posts.
5. Be sure to comment on my post here and let me know that your Word Shaker post is up as well so I may link to it.
6. If you do not have a blog but wish to participate, still fill out the form below and at the time of my posting add your thoughts here in the comments.
Ok.. now for the book….

In the summer of 1953, two eleven-year-old boys—best friends—are playing in a Little League baseball game in Gravesend, New Hampshire. One of the boys hits a foul ball that kills the other boy’s mother. The boy who hits the ball doesn’t believe in accidents; Owen Meany believes he is God’s instrument. What happens to Owen, after that 1953 foul ball, is extraordinary and terrifying.
Why this book?
For one I have never read this and have always wanted to. This book is the story behind the movie Simon Birch which I enjoyed watching. Secondly, this is a Banned Book and Banned Book week is coming up at the end of this month so I thought the timing was…. appropriate.
I invite you, and would love you, to join my on this read.
If interested – please fill out the form below. Live review date would be the first week of October, I am aiming for October first for my review as that is the final day of Banned Books Week.