I have a new friend. His name is Ishmael. We talk about books and that always makes me weak in the knees. He is swoon worthy.

But the truth is my crush is not on Ishmael himself. He is actually just a voicemail. I do however have a full-fledged crush on Stephanie Kent who introduced me to Ishmael. She is the editor of Call Me, Ishmael. She has also worked for the Wall Street Journal, TED conferences and is a boxer and a bibliophile.

How it works: You call. Yes, you call a number and get a recording from Ishmael asking you to leave a message about a book you’ve read and a story you’ve lived. It is kind of like a hotline for those of us who love books—a place to go when you are in that post-book-blues or a place to remember reading a special book to someone else.

Here is the kicker: they type your message, video tape it and play it online. It is like a party on every platform celebrating your love with a story.

Here is mine. I can’t wait to do more. I have to resist flooding them.

I know, I KNOW. Call me, Ishmael is unbearably awesome. And even more awesome is that we will be doling out Ishmaels on Mamalode—so give them a call, they will flag ones Mamloders will like and we will run them right here on Mamalode.com.

Oh my heart, it is like a big old loop of Mamalode, bookish, YouTube love. Thanks Ishmael.

Here are more that we think you'll love:

'Pajama time' by Saundra Boynton (dad):

'Stranger in a strange land' by Robert A. Heinlein (mother son call in!)

Not even wrong. Adventures in Autism by Paul Collins (dad)

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About the Author

Elke

Elke Govertsen is a entrepreneur and founder of Mamalode. She has been featured in Real Simple, Forbes, Where Women Create, Ad Tech, and listed as one of Origin Magazine's "Top 100 Creatives." She has been a speaker at The Girls Lounge, Adweek, C2Montreal, HATCH, TEDx and (her favorite) in classrooms. She speaks on a variety of topics from entrepreneurship to overcoming obstacles. She loves consulting in the areas of community design, storytelling and brand building. Her special skills include extreme bootstrapping, overcoming obstacles and creating opportunities. Of the many things she has learned by doing Mamalode, her ability to work with absolute chaos/kids/mess just might be the best. She is learning that slowing down creates more impact.

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