Category Archives: reading

Apr25

transported.

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walking into the very old west side book shop you never know quite what category will draw you in. this time, I was inspired by the outlaws, lawmen, gunslingers shelf. probably harkens back to my days of watching all the old westerns on Saturday afternoons with my dad.

‘the books transported her into new worlds and introduced her to amazing people who lived exciting lives. she went on olden-day sailing ships with joseph conrad, she went to africa with ernest hemingway, and to india with rudyard kipling. she traveled all over the word while sitting in her little room in an english village.

-roald dahl, matilda

Mar27

let us read.

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reasons why that reader is frowning:

1.they just read the book they put off for 393,348  years and it’s excellent, why didn’t they read it sooner?

2. they are in a fight with their to be read pile and it is winning.

3. someone just said, “why don’t you read the books you have before getting more?”

4. all of the above.

5, ?

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“let us read, and let us dance; these two amusements will never do any harm to the world.”

~  voltaire, born in 1694.

 

 

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credits: good living, paper fury

 

Mar4

the whole world gets bigger.

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“oh how I love to read, she thought. ihe whole world gets bigger.”

— Louise Fitzhugh, Harriet The Spy (1964)

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i always was interested in detectives and spies, and books were a way for me to feel a part of it.

without any real danger, but just enough suspense…

on international book day

Feb7

read aloud.

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*celebrating  world read aloud day

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“we have an obligation to read aloud to our children. to read them things they enjoy. to read to them stories we are already tired of. to do the voices, to make it interesting, and not to stop reading to them just because they learn to read to themselves. use reading-aloud time as bonding time, as time when no phones are being checked, when the distractions of the world are put aside.”

-neil gaiman, english author of short fiction, novels, comic books, graphic novels, audio theatre, and screenplays

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*World Read Aloud Day is celebrated on the first Wednesday in February.  This is a day dedicated not just to reading, but to the art and practice of reading aloud. Stories were passed down from generation to generation even before writing was invented. Oral forms of storytelling were the earliest way of preserving human knowledge, insight, and creativity. This day helps us bring this tradition back to reading while promoting literacy.

 

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art credit: ‘gnome’ by rien poortvliet, illustrator

Jan10

word nerd.

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artist: graham gillmore, ploy. 

now this is a holiday made for me! i love words of all kinds and am a proud word nerd.

We celebrate National Word Nerd Day on January 9, (missed it by one day),  by enthusing about our favorite words and the importance of language in our culture. Whether you always know what to say, or you often end up with your foot in your mouth, words are essential to our success and progress. National Word Nerd Day gives us the chance to learn some new words, use some old ones, and maybe even borrow them from someone else!

HISTORY OF NATIONAL WORD NERD DAY

Humans have communicated since we first walked on Earth, though our early language was nowhere near as complex as the systems of words we use today. Once, our basic vocabulary range was no different from that of great apes, but as we advanced, so did our language.

With developments in our lifestyle, we needed to be able to name things, communicate ideas, and express ourselves to aid our advancement. Words and language became increasingly important, yet it took many centuries until they were considered important enough to document.

During the medieval period, the written word was considered a luxury, with only the rich or the anointed able to read and write in a sophisticated way. As such, the majority was only able to enjoy words through oral storytelling. Shakespeare and other great wordsmiths used their love of words to delight audiences in the theatres, even inventing words for use in their work.

But by the mid-18th century, reading and writing were more widely taught and accessible to a greater range of people. It became necessary to produce a comprehensive list of words and their meanings in the English language, a task embarked upon by Dr. Samuel Johnson, who was paid the sum of 1,500 guineas (approximately $325,000 in today’s money) for its completion. After seven years of toil, his dictionary was published in 1755 and is still widely regarded as one of the most influential texts of the English language.

Today, we celebrate National Word Nerd Day to mark the importance of words in our history and civilization, giving us an excuse to geek out on our favorites!

Nov17

one for the books.

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There are now Little Free Libraries on all seven continents. The first Little Free Library in Antarctica was established a few years ago at the South Pole by Russell Schnell. Schnell—an atmospheric scientist for the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration and co-recipient of the 2007 Nobel Peace Prize for his work on the International Panel on Climate Change—built the Little Free Library at his home in Boulder, Colorado, in November then shipped it to the South Pole, where he had previously traveled for work.

what book would you want to add to this little library?

 

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“without reading, we are all without light in the dark, without fire in the cold.”

-tamora pierce, american fantasy fiction author

 

 

 

 

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source credits: littlefree ibrary.org

Jul7

in gear.

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what i imagine it looks like inside of our heads –

along with

the scientific explanation for how this all works.

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“it usually helps me write by reading – somehow the reading gear in your head turns the writing gear.”

-steven wright

 

 

 

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image credit: milton bradley game company

Jan8

read when right.

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if like me

you find yourself

 collecting  more and more books to be read

never catching up

it’s time for a change in perspective

 relax and let your book guilt go. 

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“think not of the books you’ve bought as a ‘to be read’ pile.

instead, think of your bookcase as a wine cellar.

you collect books to be read at the right time, the right place, and the right mood.”

-luc van donkersgoed

 

 

 

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photo credit: food and wine magazine

Dec11

not small things.

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what a wonderful 90 minutes

spent (online) with one of my all-time favorite authors

*fredrik backman.

 public libraries in 37 states hosted this live chat with fredrik

as he continued on a worldwide book tour

for his latest work,  ‘the winners.’

 he spoke openly about his struggles with anxiety

being on the autism spectrum

 the pressures of a success which he never expected

 his wife as his partner and support in all things

her important roles

organizing his promotional side of being an author

helping him to stay grounded

 encouraging him taking as many breaks as needed.

i first became acquainted with his writing with the arrival of his book (and later, film),

‘a man called ove’

and there was no going back.

when he was asked about his writing process in today’s chat,

i found that we have a somewhat similar process.

his reply:

“my process is just chaos. all of these ideas are just in my head, like horses in a burning barn, trying to get out. my brain is always working, hearing a bit of conversation, crossing paths with a stranger, a place i happen into, anything is fair game, and i think, i would love to include those words or that person in my writing. i am always observing, listening, taking it all in, my brain never stops. i have to write an idea down on whatever i can find, an envelope, a scrap of paper, a receipt….then 3 weeks later i’ll make my family insane by asking, “where is that envelope i wrote my idea on a few weeks ago?” i have to scour our whole apartment looking for it and make everyone crazy. i suppose that is my process.”

amazing.

“words are not small things.”

-fredrik backman, beartown

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*Fredrik Backman is the #1 New York Times bestselling author of A Man Called Ove, My Grandmother Asked Me to Tell You She’s Sorry, Britt-Marie Was Here, Beartown, Us Against You, and Anxious People, as well as two novellas and one work of nonfiction. His books are published in more than forty countries. He lives in Stockholm, Sweden, with his wife and two children. Connect with him on Facebook and Twitter @BackmanLand or on Instagram @BackmanSK.

 

 

Oct6

they have made me.

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The library in Puebla, Mexico has grown from 5,000 volumes in 1646 to more than 40,000 volumes now,

the majority of which date from before Mexico’s independence and is the oldest in the Americas.

 

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“i cannot remember the books i’ve read any more than the meals i have eaten; even so, they have made me.”

-ralph waldo emerson

 

 

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in honor of international book month