Chicago-based rapper/actor Common is spearheading a new effort to encourage youth to read.

The entertainer, who will soon be seen alongside Angelina Jolie and Morgan Freeman in the movie Wanted, is using his Common Ground Foundation to launch The Corner, a national online book club designed to develop critical thinking skills among participants while giving them a chance to discuss current reading selections.

The club, which is open to students age 13-18, will feature a list of recommended books that promote messages of tolerance, compassion and nonviolent expressions of achieving social justice.

In addition to reading The Corner’s book of the month, members can blog with each other about relevant topics and have a chance to participate in a live online chat with Common Ground Foundation staff.

The Corner will also feature interviews each month with celebrity artists who will talk about their favorite books and why reading is so important to them.

Book club members can participate in a national the Common Ground Challenge sponsored by the Foundation.

Winners will have their essay posted on the Common Ground Foundation website as well as a chance to meet Common.

The Corner’s launch comes amid news of Common being selected for the American Library Association (ALA) READ Campaign poster and National Young Adult Library Services Association ("YALSA") Teen Read Week initiative.

To sign up for The Corner book club, visit http://www.commongroundfoundation.org.