Christmas is a time when we all want to express just the right words about how much we love one another, to celebrate the year that was, and to anticipate and hope for the future. Here are ten sentiments by writers who may reflect what you are feeling during this holiday season. 1. In the…
Category: Poetry
Ten Thanksgiving Thoughts From Literature
Thanksgiving is a time of abundance: of food, of family, of friends. Here are ten thoughts from authors who have reflected on the holiday in many different ways. 1. “One Day is there of the Series / Termed Thanksgiving Day. / Celebrated part at Table / Part in Memory.” ~ Emily Dickinson 2. “’I do…
Digital Lending Is Here!
For me, books are like crack. I will seriously consider buying less food if there is a new title out that I want to read. And having a Kindle makes it all too easy to have instant gratification. At first I thought I was safe. After all, Kindle allows you to "sample" any book you…
Goodbye to a Modern Pioneer: Michael S. Hart, Project Gutenberg
"Reasonable people adapt themselves to the world. Unreasonable people attempt to adapt the world to themselves. All progress, therefore, depends on unreasonable people." ~ George Bernard Shaw. On September 6, the literary world lost a true pioneer. Michael S. Hart, founder of Project Gutenberg, died of a heart attack in his home in Urbana, Illinois.…
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OMG, I Mean, Like, Ya Know?
I understand that young people often use the word "like" as a sort of placeholder; that is, a way to pause briefly before carrying on with their thoughts. While I know I am not the first person to rail against the overuse of "like," I still believe it is worth pointing out to students how…
In Praise of Reading and Fiction
Last October, Peruvian author Mario Vargas Llosa was awarded the Nobel Prize for his writing about the political power struggles of Latin America. In an article following the award, The New York Times called Vargas Llosa an "anti-totalitarian intellectual whose work covers the range of human experience, whether it is ideology or eros." This week,…
The “Not Buried Imagination”: A New Poem by E. E. Cummings Discovered
It is the kind of thing scholars live for, the type of adventure A. S. Byatt wrote so eloquently about in her novel Possession. A few weeks ago, biographer James Dempsey, while working on a biography of Scofield Thayer (publisher of The Dial Magazine), made a remarkable discovery. Going through a file folder containing correspondence…
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Kindle to Launch Library Lending: Check Out This Year’s Pulitzer Prize Winners and More, Free!
For me, books are like crack. I cannot have enough. I cannot read enough. When I got my Kindle for Christmas, I told myself, "Hey, self! Look! Everything in public domain is free! You won't fall victim to the latest New York Times book review, or the engrossing interview on NPR's Fresh Air. No sirree! There…