February 21, 2012
Huffington Post recently asked for people’s attitudes toward their libraries. They assembled a collection of affectionate tweets explaining just what they love about their local library. One comment I especially liked: “…the quiet mystery of absorbed & oblivious readers.” In a world where many are concerned about people becoming oblivious and indifferent to each other, […]
February 21, 2012
Worried about how to cope now that the second season of Downton Abbey is over? You can always play with dolls. There’s actually a set of printable paper dolls based on the show, posted by New York Magazine’s Vulture blog. Dolls include Maggie Smith’s character dowager countess Violet Crawley with a bustled dress and multiple […]
February 16, 2012
First there was Disney World, then the Wizarding World of Harry Potter – and now Dickens World. New York Times’ magazine critic Sam Anderson writes a mixed review of the theme park. A recreation of the London of Charles Dickens’s novels (including the smells), the park was to open in Chatham, England (Dickens’ childhood home) […]
February 15, 2012
With all the interest in vampires the last couple of years it’s natural that someone decided to write a cookbook with vampire-themed recipes. There are actually two with a similar title. “Love at First Bite: The Complete Vampire Lover’s Cookbook” offers food with irresistible names such as Blood Chilling Gazpacho and I Vant S’mores. The other […]
February 13, 2012
“As the reach and impact of the videogames world continues to grow, it’s vital that we at least preserve the essence of the cultural and historical impact of the sector.” – Paul Wheatley, Digital Preservation Manager, The British Library The British Library and the National Videogame Archive are working together to preserve gaming culture by […]
February 13, 2012
Did you miss THE INTERRUPTERS when it played at Evanston Public Library during part of the Reeltime Film series last month? Not to worry: this forceful, empathic documentary from Kartemquin Films about three “violence interrupters” working for CeaseFire on the south side of Chicago will air on Frontline on WTTW-11 at 8 p.m. on Tuesday, […]
February 11, 2012
Penguin just announced that they are suspending deals with Overdrive. As of Feb. 10 they will not lend their audio books or e-books to libraries. Their affiliation with Amazon probably has something to do with this new wrinkle in the e-book business. According to the publisher “Physical editions of Penguin’s new and backlist titles will […]
February 9, 2012
Peter Lerangis, one of the authors of the YA series The 39 Clues, will be at a book signing in Old Orchard at the Barnes and Noble store on March 20 at 7 PM. All eleven books in the series have been written by a few different authors and the novels contain game cards and […]
February 9, 2012
OK, so a few months ago I reported in this space about the small library in Winslow, AZ having a cats-in-the-library problem. Youthful vandals were suspected of stuffing stray cats through the book drop after hours much to the surprise of the librarian the next morning (and very much to the dismay of the bewildered […]
February 7, 2012
A gorgeous new coffee table book on the craft of beautiful and precision timepieces is out for the new year. PW requested a few photos from “The Mastery of Time: A History of Timekeeping, from the Sundial to the Wristwatch: Discoveries, Inventions, and Advances in Master Watchmaking” to share on its website. The photography highlights […]
