Welp. I’m speechless.
In our final installment of the 8th Annual Century Century Club, we tally up the mind-boggling numbers and final stats.
For anyone just tuning in: We’ve spent the last string of Sundays highlighting SouthCoast readers who took up my Century Club Challenge in 2020.
For eight years now, I’ve challenged SouthCoasters to read 100 books to make my BookLovers Century Club reading 25-49 books qualifies you for the Quarter-Century tier; 50-99, the Half-Century.
We’ve grown each year by leaps and bounds, in both heart and number.
You can catch up on all your literary neighbors and what they’re recommending by checking past columns on my Twitter and Facebook. (Print readers: both links are listed at the end of this column.)
March 25, 1996
The women of Alpha Rho, one of USC’s early sororities, in the 1898 El Rodeo yearbook. (Photo/Courtesy of USC University Archives)
Women were always considered an important part of the educational configuration on campus, according to
Southern California and Its University, a 1969 history written by Manuel P. Servín and Iris Higbie Wilson. The charter that created the university spelled out that it would be “open in every respect for the equal education of both sexes.”
This was a fairly progressive statement for the 1880s. Some universities feared “feminization,” believing that donors would shun institutions that admitted too many women.
» Black, Latino, and Native American residents of Los Angeles county over age 65 are being vaccinated at a far lower rate than their white peers. “We’re alarmed by the disproportionality we’re seeing in who has received the vaccine,” Dr. Barbara Ferrer said Monday. [Los Angeles Times]
» The land where East L.A.’s ‘El Pino’ pine tree grows has been purchased. A developer is now proposing plans to build around the landmark tree, but some community members don’t like the idea. [ABC Los Angeles]
» An LAPD officer has been charged with stealing a car off a dealership lot, and then using a fellow cop’s ID to report the vehicle as recovered. Matthew Calleros allegedly forged a license plate, created falsified DMV documents, and continued to drive the Chevy Silverado for more than a year, including using it to drive to his job. He was arrested in the employee parking lot outside the LAPD Hollenbeck Division. [KTLA]
This is what local journalism is all about.
Each year, I challenge SouthCoasters to read 100 books in a year to make my BookLovers Century Club. Reading 25-49 books would qualify you for the Quarter-Century Club, and 50-99 books, the Half-Century Club.
Each year, our Club grows. I am one lucky columnist.
Remember: this isn’t a competition. It’s not about the numbers.
This is about the act of reading every day. Of losing yourself in good books and expanding your mind.
If you’re reading every day, it doesn’t matter if you get 25 books or 300…Yes, we have Triple Century Club Members. No, I’m not one. Nowhere near. I read 70 books this year, and am a proud Half Century Club member.