Tag Archives: books

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

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

Nov12

open book.

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this is what happened when a swedish library accidentally left a door open

 

The Gothenburg City Library in Sweden was supposed to be closed last Saturday, but staffers accidentally left a door unlocked. One might imagine that could lead to thievery or destruction, but what actually happened was quite the opposite: Residents simply used the library as usual.

The city said nearly 450 people visited the library that day and 246 books were borrowed. “Nothing was destroyed. It’s absolutely fantastic that you as a Gothenburger come into an empty library and treat it so lovingly,” operations manager Anna Carin Elf told radio station P4 Gothenburg, per the Swedish newspaper Dagens Nyheter.

Arvid Jadenius was among the visitors, alongside his wife and 2-year-old son, and didn’t know anything was amiss until he saw the news on social media.

“It felt good that everyone behaved exactly as usual, they borrowed books, read the newspaper, and so on,” he said in an interview with Göteborgs-Posten, adding, “The citizens of Gothenburg take care of their library. There is obviously a desire to be there.”

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“the only thing that you absolutely have to know, is the location of the library.”
-albert einstein

 

 

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source credits: P4 Gothenberg radio, Dagens Nyheter

Oct27

like books.

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“we are like books.

most people see only our cover,

the minority read only the introduction,

many people believe the critics.

few will know the content.”

-emile zola

 

 

 

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image credit: newton free library

 

Aug10

meeting ann.

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last night i had the great pleasure of going to my favorite theater

where one of my favorite authors, ann patchett

was appearing

while on a book tour for her latest book, “tom lake’

which happens to take place in northern michigan

a place dear to my heart.

ann is a prolific novel writer

a wordsmith of the highest order

who has a way with the human story

always using her literary magic to somehow weave her characters together

in unexpected and wonderful ways.

she was funny, smart, down to earth, and very relatable

talking about her books, writing, book banning, life,

offering support for other authors and books she knows and loves,

because she knows it can make all the difference for them,

 the joys and pains of book tours

and being an independent bookstore owner

(her other avocation).

 when i finally had the chance to meet her

i handed her my very used copy of ‘bel canto’

my favorite book of hers

she opened the cover, signed her name, and wrote:

‘thank you for bringing a well-loved book.’

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“i have been accused of being a pollyanna,

but I think there are plenty of people dealing with the darker side of human nature,

and if I am going to write about people who are kind and generous and loving and thoughtful, so what?”

-ann patchett

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

Nov29

of books and brews.

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Ann Arbor Book History: “Hold my beer,” 1875.

The Michigan Argus revealed tricks of the trade for preserving books,

one of which involved beer.

Books and brews have always made a great combination .

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(note: the closest i’ve come to this is when spilling a beer on a book

and unsure if it actually helped to preserve it)

 

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“books and beer are the best and worst defense.”

-sherman alexie

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credits: ann arbor district library, ann arbor book society, the michigan argus

Oct11

book month is on.

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(someone in a squirrel costume pretending to be me coming home from the ilbrary/bookstore)

it is national book month after all –

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“with freedom, flowers, books and the moon, who could not be perfectly happy?”

-oscar wilde

 

 

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

Jul9

because i read.

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oh, how i love these tiny places

filled with books are just waiting to be discovered.

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“i have lived a thousand lives and have loved a thousand loves.

i’ve walked on distant worlds and seen the end of time, because i read.”

-george r.r. martin

 

 

 

 

 

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glen arbor, michigan, usa – summer 2022