The TurboBookSnob has had a lifelong love affair with reading, from her Trixie Belden adventure books in kindergarten, to her dalliance in high school with the wonders of Victorian literature. In dire moments, the TurboBookSnob will read cereal boxes if they constitute the only reading material at hand.

The TurboBookSnob began her obsession with modern literature one winter's afternoon in State College, Pennsylvania, as she engaged in a heated discussion about Dickens's minor characterization with a graduate student in English. This graduate student scoffed at the TurboBookSnob's crowning of Dickens as the definitive authority on minor characterization. Instead, he told her to look to Gabriel Garcia Marquez in One Hundred Years of Solitude to discover what real minor characterization is all about.

The TurboBookSnob trudged through a chilling, snowy Pennsylvania afternoon to a small bookshop, purchased One Hundred Years of Solitude, and discovered a world of dazzling modern literature. Over the next ten years, she fell in love with A.S. Byatt, Salman Rushdie, and Richard Powers (Thanks Bill from Penn State, wherever you are).

In the past few years, the TurboBookSnob has become obsessed with Booker Prize winners and finalists. In the Booker Prize, she has found a glorious source of literary inspiration and delight.

While the TurboBookSnob is a discerning reader and prefers literature of impeccable quality, she also believes being open to great novels, even if they are slightly fluffy, or by authors scorned as writing "cheesy airport novels." Sometimes novels do a great job at being simply what they are, and as much as the TurboBookSnob likes to think while she reads, she occasionally craves escape in the form of an "easy read."

The TurboBookSnob is righteously pro-woman, pro-choice, pro-labour, pro-environment, and pro-multiculturalism. Conversely, she is vehemently anti-war, anti-fascism, anti-IMF, and anti-George Bush. Beyond all else, the TurboBookSnob is a passionate lover of great literature.

Organizations and Sites Supported by the TurboBookSnob

Political and Social Organizations and Commentary
	Human rights should be a given for every person on the face of the earth, regardless of race, creed, nationality, gender, political affiliation, or sexual orientation. Amnesty International works to create a world in which every human being has the rights outlined in their Universal Declaration of Human Rights .
	We need to stop the war on drugs. The United States government spends exorbitant amounts of money on criminalizing drugs, wasting money, clogging already overcrowded prisons, and avoiding real issues by confusing drug use with drug abuse. DRCNet works for “drug policy reform from a variety of perspectives, including harm reduction, reform of sentencing and forfeiture laws, medicalization of currently schedule I drugs, and promotion of an open debate on drug prohibition.”
	It is appalling that we live in a world where people still discriminate against their fellow human beings based on whom they choose to love. GLAAD (The Gay & Lesbian Alliance Against Defamation works to eliminate homophobia and discrimination based on sexual orientation.
	The government should not legislate a woman's body. Naral is working to protect women's right to choose. In the United States , we have separation of church and state, and abortion is a personal choice that should be governed by personal ethics.
	Planned Parenthood provides low cost health care to women and children. From their web site: “ Planned Parenthood Federation of America, Inc., is the world's largest and most trusted voluntary reproductive health care organization. Founded by Margaret Sanger in 1916 as America 's first birth control clinic, Planned Parenthood believes in everyone's right to choose when or whether to have a child, that every child should be wanted and loved, and that women should be in charge of their own destinies.”
	RAINN (Rape, Abuse, and Incest National Network) helps victims of sexual abuse and assault with their national hotlines, educational programs, and work towards bringing sex offenders to justice.
Music
	The poetic, prolific troubadour. The TurboBookSnob would willingly follow Van Morrison around the globe if only he would tour more often.
	Michael Franti and Spearhead spread their message of "Power to the Peaceful" to the world through energetic and uplifting music and videos.
	Ani DiFranco founded Righteous Babe Records rather than waiting for a record label to sign her. Since then, she has produced her own work, as well as the work of dozens of artists. Always true to her self, the little folksinger encourages thousands of women to give voice to the righteous babes inside each of them.
	Mpress Records was founded by singer/songwriter Rachael Sage, who “is determined to cross barriers with her music, and to communicate empathy with reference to sexuality, spirituality and social injustice. But while songs from all four of her albums have examined sexism, ageism, racial prejudice, drug and sexual abuse, she admits her personal perspective has remained 'painfully idealistic'. "
	Mike Scott, a lyrical, manic sprite crossed with an incarnation of the god Pan, and his band the Waterboys.
Interesting Sites
	Support National Public Radio and its non-commercial, original programming that provides an alternative to typical mainstream media.
	Use your spare computer processing power to help SETI search for extraterrestrial life.
	Get the latest news from one of our last frontiers.
	The TurboBookSnob highly recommends online continuing education courses from the University of Oxford.