44 Scotland Street
Alexander McCall Smith has earned a following of readers for his many different series of novels. He began with the No. 1 Ladies’ Detective Agency series (DB55503), set in Botswana, … Continued
NLS Firsts!
I was doing a bit of research on the early days of the National Library Service (NLS) and I came across a list of the first talking books that were … Continued
Children’s Historical Books That Adults Will Love!
Children’s books that adults will enjoy!
Veteran’s Day Library Picks
Throughout the years, Veterans Day adopts a new meaning and context for each generation. When I was growing up, the holiday felt (and still is) very much attached to the … Continued
Infants and Writing Skills…How Do I Do That?
When it comes to those five early literacy skills, the term “writing” can be misleading, especially in the context of infants and babies. Read on to learn more about encouraging this early learning skill.
Sampling the Rich History of Poetry: Part 3
Welcome to the third and final installment of my series on poetry. We started our exploration way, way back in 1794, when words like “thy” were in everyday use. In this … Continued
The Rise and Fall of D.O.D.O.
Mix one part smarty-pants science fiction with one part masterful historical fiction and you get one awesome sci-fi/fantasy collaboration from two outstanding authors.
Discover Historic Bookbinding: Marbled Endsheets
Back in the good ‘ol days of the 19th and 20th century, we decorated the inside covers of our beloved books with wildly colorful papers. Swirls, speckles, wavy lines and crinkled patterns were all used by book binders to ease the transition of a reader’s eyes from the cover of the book to the meat of the book, the textblock. This transition sometimes was decorated, relative to the context of the book. A book about trains might have had some engines merrily chugging across the flyleaf. Other books might have had plain white endsheets, and others wild, splashy, psychedelic colorful swirls.
Giving Into an Ever-Changing Poetry Collection
Floating somewhere between fantasy and reality, between the mind and the body, is Güera, the latest poetry collection from Rebecca Gaydos. Published in 2016, the book is divided into five distinct parts, including prologue and epilogue. What struck me initially was the sparseness of each page, made up of stanzas that read as prose instead of verse. However, as I began to read, the weight of each word became immediately apparent.
An Interview with Olive Witch Author Abeer Hoque
Abeer Hoque was born in Nigeria to Bangladeshi parents and moved to Pittsburgh when she was thirteen. She struggled to find her place in America, and eventually moved to Bangladesh on her own, where she still didn’t quite fit in. She details her multicultural growing-up and coming-of-age story in a new memoir called Olive Witch. Abeer will be at CLP – Main on Wednesday to give a reading and answer questions, but I was able to catch up with her via email in advance of her event.