jynne martin is with riverhead books. ms. martin, what is national read-a-thon day? >> guest: so national read-a-thon day is a day in january, in fact, it's coming up january 24th where all across america we're inviting readers to commit to spend the afternoon reading any book that they like, and you can do it at home or in any of the many venues participating across the country which include libraries and bookstores and schools. >> host: and why are you promoting this? >> guest: well, that's a wonderful large and complicated question. but essentially, our hope is to find different ways in the coming years to really foster a culture of reading in america and remind people of what the experience is like to sit and really dedicate a nice, long swath of time to reading. i think we hear feedback all the time that people read books less now because they feel they don't have time, or they do it in little snippets here and there. but there's a real pleasure that comes from really getting lost in the world of a book that's different than if you're, you know, checking your ph

the web site once again jynne martin? >> guest: penguin random house.com/read-a-thon, or just search national read-a-thon day. >> host: thank you very much. >> guest: thank you. >> here's a look at upcoming book fairs and festivals happening around the country. the satisfy van that book philosophy from the 12th to 15th of anybody savannah georgia. march 14th and 15th booktv will be at the university of arizona with live coverage of the seventh annual tucson festival of books. the following week virginia festival of the book in virginia, then march 25th 25th through the 29th the city of new orleans will host the tennessee williams literary festival. let us know about book fairs and festivals in your area. e-mail us at booktv@chance c-span.org. >> up next marin katusa argues that putin's dream is to dominate the world's energy supply. mr. cattouse a says if putin achieves the goal the u.s. and other countries will find them playing second fiddle to countries like russia, brazil india, and chynna. this is an hour and ten min

. >> jynne martin, are the groups participating in that? >> we have a lot of different groups but everything from book clubs to localize for his in schools and on the read-a-thon website there is a list state by state of different venues by cities that are participating. you can go there to see if a place near you is are producing and you can go join from noon to four states if someone wants to do this at home, how can they stay in contact with the larger group? is there besides the website, is there a hash that? >> yes, absolutely. we're using the #timetoread remind people about why we make time to read important. you can search time to read on a negative of platforms you all receive budget of the people participating talking about what it is they plan to be reading to a saturday and you can share yourself using what you'll be reading why you're excited about. maybe with your cat snuggled up on your lap and participate in the larger virtual community that way. >> it is a money aspect to this as well. what is that? >> there is. sort of summ

the web site once begun jynne martin? >> guest: pepping winrandomhouse.com or just surgery national read a than day. the thirst thing that comes up. >> host: thank you very much. >> guest: thank you. >> booktv is on twitter. follow us to get publishing news scheduling updates, author information and to talk directly with authors during our live programs. twitter.com/booktv. >> host: well, joining us now on our outdoor set is harvarddoo professor randall kennedy. he's been a frequent guest on booktv and on c-span and his most recent book which came out last year which he's talking about could be here in miami "poor discrimination." race, affirmative action, and the law" professor kennedy, has a affirmative action been successful in this country? >> i think it's been very successful over the past several decades. it has helped with the desegregation of american life, particularly in higher education and in employment. and i think that it has done a very good job in a variety of ways. it is help to rectify past injustice. it

the web site once begun jynne martin? >> guest: pepping winrandomhouse.com or just surgery national read a than day. the thirst thing that comes up. >> host: thank you very much. >> guest: thank you. >> booktv is on twitter. follow us to get publishing news scheduling updates, author information and to talk directly with authors during our live