Most of the other awards, quite honestly, they're more inside the industry, ... This is meant to reach out and touch the consumers.

The difference between this award and any other is that it's a reader's choice. People holler about other awards because they are committee-selected. This is not committee-selected. There are purists in literary circles who have a different sense of what is going on here, but we think anything you can do to get people reading is a good thing.

If you look at what Tim accomplished as a true freshman, I was disappointed he didn't get any awards. He's back looking as good as ever. With a year under his belt, he should be able to match last year's level.

For this caucus to allow a rural infrastructure program to be announced in St. John's is, quite frankly, ridiculous,

It's an opportunity to create something over time that would potentially make a big difference to books, literacy, and reading.

For the record, this is a poor decision.