As we continue waking up to daily doses of bleak and dreary news, from Gaza to bankruptcies, from  foreclosures to capsized ferries, one cannot help but get excited when a few morsels of news come tinted in a shade of pink.

This week we are particularly uplifted by a couple of stories that Titlepage tends to favor as they highlight books, authors and ideas: First, that of Barack Obama's power to push book sales upwards -- challenging Oprah Winfrey's coveted territory and, second, that of the newly released National Endowment for the Arts report whose headline shouts: Reading on the Rise! 

Of course, pessimists and negativists may turn to other entries such as the announcement that November book sales had been dismal or that a 32 year-old Hedge Fun Partner was moving in to head Borders whose stock was now worth 67 cents!

But not us! As our search for sponsors or a business model that would enable to sustain Titlepage long term continues, we stand firmly in the optimists' camp. We have never doubted that people do care about books, but to read that : "Since 2002, 18-24 year olds have seen the biggest increase (nine percent) in literary reading, and the most rapid rate of increase (21 percent). This jump reversed a 20 percent rate of decline in the 2002 survey, the steepest rate of decline since the NEA survey began" simply gives us hope and yes....goose bumps.