【推荐2】Book clubs are a great way to meet people who share a common love for reading.     1    . But it will all be worth it when your members gather for the first meeting.

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Some book clubs are mainly meant to be fun and relaxed. Members would talk about the story and feelings about the story, but it wouldn’t be a problem if the conversation got carried away from the book. Other book clubs are more serious and highly academic. They would be more focused on meaning, plot, and character.

Choose a location for your club.

Book clubs are typically held at meeting points, like homes, bookstores, or the local library. The meetings can change location sometimes.     3    . Contact the location to inquire about holding your book club there, or ask potential members if they could commit to hosting a club every now and then.

Go for an online club if you don’t have a location to meet.

If a physical meeting point isn’t an option, you might also have an online book club.     4    . An online meeting point is also a good option because it allows people from all over the world to join the club.

Find a core group of people with a passion for reading.

They could be friends, family, or people you know through various activities, but they should all love to read. Also, make sure that this group of members can commit to meetings on a regular basis. If you plan to have your book club at a physical location, invite people who live close to you. You can invite anyone to an online book club,     5    .

【推荐2】Would you sail over 12,900 kilometres across the Pacific Ocean in a boat made from plastic bottles?

In 2010, a crew of six people did. They sailed on the Plastiki, an 18.3-metre boat made from recycled materials. Everything about the Plastiki was environmentally friendly. The sails were produced from recycled plastic and the masts that held them from used aluminum pipes. Organic materials, such as glue made from nuts and sugar, were used to keep the bottles in place. To power the boat, solar panels and wind turbines were used.

During the journey, crew members lived in a plastic cabin. Their daily routine consisted of sleeping, eating and doing chores. For food, they mainly survived on fresh vegetables grown in a hanging garden as well as canned and dried food. They also ate fresh fish, but were surprised to discover that they found more plastic than fish. “From above, the oceans still look beautiful and untouched,” David said, “but just below the surface is this toxic stew that could quickly end up on our dinner plates.”

The leader, David, organised the voyage in order to draw people’s attention to the environmental dangers our oceans face and the need to recycle plastic. He planned to visit damaged coral reefs and islands in danger from rising sea levels. However, his most important objective was to see the Great Pacific Garbage Patch, a huge mass of plastic particles floating in the North Pacific. David hoped that, by sailing through the Patch, he could show the world how serious plastic pollution had become.

Unfortunately, the Plastiki was more difficult to control than expected. Therefore, the boat missed its main destination. However, the crew did make stops at islands in the mid-Pacific, where they picked up supplies and talked to local students. Along the way, they battled fierce ocean storms, torn sails and temperatures that reached up to 38°C.

When the Plastiki finally sailed into Sydney’s harbour, the crew were greeted by cheers. The Plastiki’s journey had shown that if we understand how to use waste materials efficiently, they can be transformed into valuable resources. It had also revealed that it was more important than ever to deliver a serious message: our oceans are filling up with plastic faster than we thought.

【推荐3】I had a quick short stay in Detroit Airport before heading home. Knowing my gate number, I got there with 5 minutes to spare and stood waiting for “Gate 3” to be called.

I was already very tired and had an important call scheduled for an hour after I was set to get home. But then I heard the announcement, “It seems we have overbooked the flight. Would anyone care to volunteer to stay for the later departure in 4 hours?” And the gate attendant was anxiously waiting for someone to volunteer.

I looked around and saw businessmen needing to work, moms needing to meet their kids, kids needing to see their friends. Even though I wanted to be home just as much as anyone, something inside me said that I should extend some kindness to this group of strangers.

I picked up my bag, approached the desk, and told the gate attendant my decision. Smile spread on the face of her. As she was processing my ticket, I was happy to see all the other passengers could now board their flight and I had been able to help. The attendant handed me my boarding pass for the later flight and another piece of paper, then said, “This is for your kindness.” I saw that it was a 700-dollar voucher to fly anywhere in the world during the next year!

I got to my new gate and took a seat next to a power outlet so that my laptop would make it through the extra four hours. 1 rescheduled that important call. And then I got a lot of work done, which was a wonderful silver lining.

When my flight started boarding, I was surprised to discover that my new boarding pass was for a seat in first class. I thought about how grateful I was for everything that had happened, and how it was all because of the chain effects of kindness. I gave with the intention to serve others, with no thought of reward, and that kindness was returned to me with an amazing upgrade.