The homeless man who turned his life around by offering book reviews instead of begging

Meet Philani Dladla, a.k.a. the Pavement Bookworm.  He’s 24 and lives in Johannesburg, South Africa, and his story is quite incredible.

Philani Dladla. Photo: http://facebook.com/jacaranda942

As a child growing up in KwaZulu Natal he had always loved books. But after moving to Johannesburg to find work, he started taking drugs.

“I left my job and couldn’t afford rent anymore – I lost everything. While living on the streets I noticed how many beggars there were getting money for nothing on street corners. I thought I could be different and actually give people something worthwhile – like a book or book review – in exchange for money.”

So he started selling books on the streets – but only after he had read them and could offer passers by a detailed review.



Read more:

http://www.one.org/international/blog/the-homeless-man-who-turned-his-life-arround-by-offering-book-reviews-instead-of-begging/

Recommendations to Improve Your Reading Life

Being a reader is a life-long project, and we all want to do it well.
Sometimes, it’s easy to get caught up in the parts of a reader’s life
that feel insurmountable — the TBR list you’ll never complete; the
library hold list you’ll never catch up on; all the amazing books you’ll
never hear about, let alone find and own!




But there are little ways we can enrich our reading lives every day:
small changes we can make or ideas we can try to change up our reading
patterns and find new books to love. Here are forty places to start. Add
your own in the comments below, or try a couple first and then come
tell me how they go. Read more...