📚 Stories That Shaped You | Badge of the Month | September 2025 | XM Community
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Celebrating International Literacy Day - September 8th

This September, we're honoring International Literacy Day by celebrating how reading and writing expands minds, educates communities, and connects us across cultures worldwide!

 

Task: Share a piece of literature that's made an impact on your life! We want to celebrate ALL the forms of reading and writing that have enriched your life.

 

Consider sharing:

  • A book that changed your perspective
  • A magazine or article that sparked a new interest
  • A poem that moved you
  • A comic book or graphic novel
  • Song lyrics that became meaningful to you
  • A children's book that your kids love 
  • A blog post or online piece that taught you something
  • A recipe or how-to guide that opened new possibilities
  • Academic papers or journals that expanded your thinking

Let's fill our community with literary love! 

 

During the first week of each month, we will post a new question, topic, or activity for you to connect with the community and earn a badge. All community members who join our team and contribute a thoughtful comment to this month’s discussion, between September 1 and September 30, will receive this badge worth 50 points by the end of the month. 

... and the quotidian chronicles of Patti Smith.

 

@AdamK12 Very much enjoyed all of your recommendations, but of course Patti Smith jumped out at me. Love her writing, her music, her worldviews, her artistry...everything. She is coming through Seattle in November and I can’t wait 🎸

If you have not already, you should find the music she did with Soundwalk Collective. Narrations and poetry over music. I very much enjoy this album which also features Anoushka Shankar, Charlotte Gainsbourg, and others 💜

I’m so looking forward to that listen. She’s so underrated and is one of the few polymaths we have. Every so often I pick up “A Book of Days” which is her year of photography and writing. For September 9th, she honors Leo Tolstoy,” who, in her words, “...imprinted the concept of universal love and pacifism through his towering contribution to literature.” And now I need to pick War and Peace back up.

 


... and the quotidian chronicles of Patti Smith.

 

@AdamK12 Very much enjoyed all of your recommendations, but of course Patti Smith jumped out at me. Love her writing, her music, her worldviews, her artistry...everything. She is coming through Seattle in November and I can’t wait 🎸

If you have not already, you should find the music she did with Soundwalk Collective. Narrations and poetry over music. I very much enjoy this album which also features Anoushka Shankar, Charlotte Gainsbourg, and others 💜

I’m so looking forward to that listen. She’s so underrated and is one of the few polymaths we have. Every so often I pick up “A Book of Days” which is her year of photography and writing. For September 9th, she honors Leo Tolstoy,” who, in her words, “...imprinted the concept of universal love and pacifism through his towering contribution to literature.” And now I need to pick War and Peace back up.

 

I love this, ​@AdamK12! And you’re right, she is one of the few polymaths still working and producing. She is truly an irreplaceable inspiration, but I am still hopeful more artists like her will emerge. “Book of Days” should be required reading! 📖

 


Highly recommend people read the book Die with Zero, I found it very interesting and it changed my perspective. I particularly liked the part that talked about creating and benefiting from memory dividends. 

 

DIE WITH ZERO

Briefly checked this out and I was captivated! Thanks for sharing, Carly! 

@AlonsoC can we create a list of all the recommended books, keen to pop a few on my reading list. 

Glad to see others in the community have also read this book, it’s brilliant. 

This is a great idea ​@ccarroll -- we can definitely make this happen! 📚

Potential AI text summary use case?

Yes! At the end of the month I can create a summary of members' recommendations!


I’m really enjoying everyone’s recommendations and learning more about your reading styles!

Even though I mostly read non-fiction now (especially self-help), my love of reading started with the magical world of Harry Potter! Like millions around the world, those books ignited my imagination — I  pre-ordered each one and locked myself in my room until I’d finished it! I credit Harry Potter for getting me hooked on reading and for opening my mind to new perspectives, ideas, and my love for travel!

 

 


 

 

This particular book The Road Less Travelled by M. Scott Peck brought a major change in my thinking about life. In contrast to other self-help books, it was a stark contrast, which made me realise the importance of embracing discipline, responsibility, and delayed gratification as the foundations of true growth. It challenged me to confront uncomfortable truths rather than seeking quick fixes, and helped me appreciate that personal fulfillment comes not from avoiding difficulties but from facing them with honesty and perseverance.


I’m going through one of those “life changing moments” right now where I have suffered a loss I was not prepared for, and I am having a really tough time. Chester Bennington’s last album has a song called “One More Light”, and the lyrics are really speaking to me right now. I think it’s really important to keep a sense of perspecctive on how brief our time on this earth is. Time is precious, folks. 


I’m going through one of those “life changing moments” right now where I have suffered a loss I was not prepared for, and I am having a really tough time. Chester Bennington’s last album has a song called “One More Light”, and the lyrics are really speaking to me right now. I think it’s really important to keep a sense of perspecctive on how brief our time on this earth is. Time is precious, folks. 

Hey ​@XM_JoshB,

Thank you for sharing this vulnerable moment with us. My condolences for your loss. 


I’m going through one of those “life changing moments” right now where I have suffered a loss I was not prepared for, and I am having a really tough time. Chester Bennington’s last album has a song called “One More Light”, and the lyrics are really speaking to me right now. I think it’s really important to keep a sense of perspecctive on how brief our time on this earth is. Time is precious, folks. 

@XM_JoshB I am sorry to read you are having a tough time. We are thinking about you and are always here to help in any way we can! 💜


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