Tuesday April 24, 2012
How often do you get the chance to give away free books? Or, better yet, when has a stranger given you a book (or left it for you to find)?
It's World Book Night (April 23, 2012)! Around the world, we are celebrating books and reading. And, you may have seen the evidence around the city where you live--in the UK, Ireland, Germany and in the US. Books have been placed (or distributed) in hospitals, on benches, in coffee shops, in schools, retirement communities, malls, and probably just about anywhere and everywhere else you can imagine.
Have you seen the evidence? Perhaps you've seen one (or more) figures trudging around town with their loads of books? All the news of "sightings" and "givings" and "gettings" are feeding into the World Book Night America Twitter feed. If you've experienced any of the bookish excitement, share your stories (and pics). Connect with all those other people out there who are celebrating their passion for books and reading :)
------
This afternoon, I distributed a batch of World Book Night books (it was only one of the 30 titles that were given out across the US. As one of the "givers," I received a box filled with copies of Maya Angelou's famous (and controversial) classic I Know Why The Caged Bird Sings.
In that famous work, Angelou writes: "I didn't come to stay." And, "See, you don't have to think about doing the right thing. If you're for the right thing, then you do it without thinking."
If you missed World Book Night this year, how about next year... Reading is contagious. It's catching... and it's so fun to share!
© World Book Night
Saturday April 21, 2012
There's something about the smell of books... Umberto Eco said, "I love the smell of book ink in the morning." And, Ray Bradbury said, "Do you know that books smell like nutmeg or some spice from a foreign land? I loved to smell them when I was a boy. Lord, there were a lot of lovely books once, before we let them go."
I don't recall the first time I recognized that smell. At some point, I just began to yearn after it--to eagerly await the next time I'd visit a library or bookstore. You can tell a lot about a book by the smell. The newness may emanate from the book (crisp pages, ink, and stiff binding), or the leather may give off a musty or sweet odor. It's not always easy to explain...
In Quiet, Please: Dispatches From A Public Librarian, Scott Douglas said, "There was the smell of old books, a smell that has a way of making all libraries seem the same. Some say that smell is asbestos." Or some might just say: "It smells OLD."
Even now, I love the smell of books--old and new. George Robert Gissing said, "I know every book of mine by its smell, and I have but to put my nose between the pages to be reminded of all sorts of things."
I guess I'm not the only one who loves the smell of books...
There's even a bookish fragrance, according to The Independent. And, yes, I'm sure it's one of those smells that only a book-geekish bibliophile could possibly love (but I adore the idea). I'm envious enough that he has more than 300,000 books in his library, but now he's working on a book-inspired fragrance. "The book-aholic has found the cure for everyone who misses the smell of paper in these digital times: a perfume that smells of books, thanks to a 'fatty' olfactory mark."
And, no, I don't think it's a strange thing at all. Do you?
Friday April 13, 2012
A Farewell to Arms is a novel by Ernest Hemingway. The book was published in 1929, and the popularity of this work contributed to Hemingway's status as an American legend in literature (he was a larger-than-life figure: journalist, novelist, hunter and all-around adventurer).
In A Farewell to Arms, Hemingway drew upon his own wartime experiences to tell the story of Frederic Henry, a volunteer in the Italian army. Here are quotes from this tragic love story.
- "I went out the door and suddenly I felt lonely and empty. I had treated seeing Catherine very lightly. I had gotten somewhat drunk and had nearly forgotten to come but when I could not see her there I was feeling lonely and hollow."
- "You do. What you tell me about in the nights. That is not love. That is only passion and lust. When you love you wish to do things for. You wish to sacrifice for. You wish to serve."
Take a look at more quotes . What's your favorite quote from A Farewell to Arms?
Friday April 13, 2012
Beverly Cleary was born on April 12, 1916 (96 years!). She was born Beverly Bunn in Oregon, and became a popular author of more than 30 books, some of which won awards like the Newbery Medal.
Beverly Cleary once wrote: "Writers are good at plucking out what they need here and there."
She also said: "Children want to do what the grownups do. Children should learn that reading is pleasure, not just something that teachers make you do in school."
Do you remember reading the works of Beverly Cleary? Which one was your favorite?
Read more about Beverly Cleary, from Liz Kennedy.
Photo © HarperCollins.