October 23, 2013
Unlike many librarians, Patricia Ann Kettles did not have an easy time learning how to read. Held back in school and labeled “emotionally disabled,” she can readily relate to kids who may be having a hard time. The Staten Island librarian read her first book at the age of 10. She credits one special teacher […]
October 22, 2013
Talk about a few of my favorite things! Club Monaco will be opening a 20,000 sq ft. space devoted to fashion, culture, and coffee. The director of marketing and communications, Alison Greenberg, states that this venture is an attempt to “bring our blog to life,” referring to the Culture Club. The goal is to “create […]
October 22, 2013
Macmillan has agreed to accommodate libraries by offering its backlist of over 11,000 e-book titles. Materials will be accessed through 3M, Overdrive, Baker and Taylor, and Recorded Books. Other publishers are moving in a similar direction as part of their ongoing evaluation of the digital business. Pricing will stay the same for now at 2 years […]
October 22, 2013
As you know from this amazing blog and our website, public library staff are great at recommending new and interesting books. Here’s another cool, collaborative source for recommended reading from our friends at libraries across the country. Library Reads is a monthly list of “The top ten books published this month that librarians across the […]
October 22, 2013
Today’s Chicago Trib had a long and generous article about local author Veronica Roth. She’s a 25-year old phenom who’s hot, hot, hot with the YA crowd who latched onto her debut novel, Divergent, the first of a trilogy set in Chicago which depicts a disturbing, dystopic future society. Roth grew up in Barrington, attended […]
October 20, 2013
Dr. James Campbell, an architect and architectural historian at Cambridge University, spent five years researching libraries around the world for the “first complete history of library buildings.” The result is The Library: A World History, which includes many beautiful photographs by Will Pryce, who travelled with Dr. Campbell to over 80 libraries in 20 countries. Dr. Campbell […]
October 19, 2013
Paul McComas wears many hats…as well as the occasional half-head Frankenstein’s Monster mask. McComas is the author of two novels and two short story collections, and the editor of two short-fiction anthologies. In addition, the Evanston resident is an award-winning indie filmmaker, a teacher of writing, literature, and film, and a performance artist of no small […]
October 17, 2013
The National Book Foundation announced the shortlist of finalists for this year’s National Book Awards. The award ceremony will be held on November 20. The finalists for fiction include: The Flamethrowers by Rachel Kushner; The Lowland by Jhumpa Lahiria; The Good Lord Bird by James McBride; Bleeding Edge by Thomas Pynchon; and Tenth of December […]
October 17, 2013
McDonald’s plans to hand out 20 million books (instead of toys) in Happy Meals that will be especially written for them. The books will emphasize positive messages about food and eating well. The goal is to encourage quality family time. (Could it possibly increase sales?) Another project, the release of interactive digital books, places a […]
October 16, 2013
The Reading Agency, a British charity with a mission “to inspire more people to read more,” asked author Neil Gaiman to give their second annual lecture on the future of reading and libraries. Mr. Gaiman strongly believes that library closures are “like stopping the vaccination programmes,” and that “libraries are about freedom. Freedom to read, freedom of ideas, freedom of communication. […]
