National Poetry Month: April 2nd

April 2, 2011

raccoon prayer by Lucille Clifton oh Master Of All Who Take And Wash And Eat    lift me away at the end into evening forever    into sanctified crumples of paper and peelings curled over my hand i have scavenged as i must among the hairless now welcome this bandit into the kingdom just as you made […]


“Stoked by Stieg”- More Larsson Read-Alikes

April 1, 2011

EarlyWord posted this brief item about “Swedish Noir”—   authors who write in a similar style to Stieg Larsson. Along with this short article is a link (USA Today) to outlines of the plots of each novel mentioned. Lastly, Dierdre Donahue explains which Scandinavian authors are on book tour this summer in the states.     […]


Library of America Goes With the Zeitgeist

April 1, 2011

It looks like Library of America, the venerable publisher of classic American literature, will give in and start publishing books of greater interest to the general public. LOA announced today that it would publish volumes of Paris Hilton’s and William Shatner’s memoirs, and possibly those of Jersey Shore’s Snooki (Nicole Polizzi). If the plan proves fruitful for the […]


National Poetry Month: April 1st

April 1, 2011

Dreams by Langston Hughes Hold fast to dreams For if dreams die Life is a broken-winged bird That cannot fly. Hold fast to dreams For when dreams go Life is a barren field Frozen with snow. This poem was selected by Rika G. (Reference Librarian) Poetry Copyright Notice


April is National Poetry Month

April 1, 2011

Hey all you poetry lovers and likers, happy days are here again!  National Poetry Month has finally arrived, and in response to overwhelming popular demand, we’re bringing back our Poem-a-Day feature to properly mark the occasion.  That’s right, we’re having a poetry party right here on Off the Shelf where each and everyday of April you can drop by to enjoy a fresh, […]


Friday After Hours Movies

March 31, 2011

 So, Oscar time has come and gone, and once again you’ve missed seeing any of the nominated movies. What now? Hope that it’ll be at the local video store when you find time to go there? Wait your turn on a library reserve list that has 200 people ahead of you? Fear not. Evanston Public […]


Rediscovered Seuss Stories to be Published

March 30, 2011

Several Dr. Seuss stories which were only seen in a magazine 60 years ago will appear for the first time as a book. Random House Children’s division says the material last saw the light of day in 1950-1951. The collection of seven stories, titled The Bippolo Seed and Other Lost Stories, should be released in […]


Booker International Prize Finalists Announced

March 30, 2011

The finalists of the Man Booker International Prize have just been announced: Wang Anyi (China) Juan Goytisolo (Spain) James Kelman (UK) John le Carré (UK) Amin Maalouf (Lebanon) David Malouf (Australia) Dacia Maraini (Italy) Rohinton Mistry (India/Canada) Philip Pullman (UK) Marilynne Robinson (USA) Philip Roth (USA) Su Tong (China) Anne Tyler (USA)


PS to Haggadah Post …

March 29, 2011

People of the Book by Geraldine Brooks (who won a Pulitzer for her 2006 work March) is a work of fiction based on the Sarajevo Hagadah. This is the only significant novel about hagadot I was able to find. One of the earliest illuminated Jewish manuscripts, the priceless antique haggadah serves as the vehicle for […]


A New Take on an Old Tradition: the Latest Maxwell House Haggadah

March 29, 2011

The Passover or Pesach (in Hebrew) holiday begins Monday evening April 18 and continues until the 26th. Maxwell House is printing a new edition of its haggadah which appeared originally in the 1930’s. Different articles have been circulating about people’s memories and nostalgia associated with family gatherings where the haggadah was recited at the annual […]


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