Hello everyone! Taking a break this week to enjoy my son being home from college. Which means I'm back to making lots of food, LOL. Love it! Love him to pieces! Here are a couple of photos I took of The Last Bookstore in Los Angeles. Part bookstore. Part art gallery. Lots of cozy nooks. … Continue reading Family Downtime & The Last Bookstore
Going back 15 years, today, because I just read a beautiful autobiographical story told by an amazing writer you may have heard of: Jacqueline Woodson. And yes, it won a Newbery Honor. The cover's die cut diamond with patchwork border, reveals a child with a lantern. And that lantern illuminates a quilt, a "show way" … Continue reading Show Way – Perfect Picture Book Friday #PPBF
Sometimes I wander through the children's section of the library and wait for a cover to catch my eye. Like this one: Look at that stack of books in big sister's arms. See her expectant, even eager, face. Look at that darling toddler with a stuffy in his arms. Perhaps he's looking a little recalcitrant? … Continue reading Edgar’s Second Word – Perfect Picture Book Friday
Litquake San Francisco, an annual literary festival comprising 850+ authors and hundreds of events in the span of 10 days, can be exhausting and daunting, but it can also be exhilarating and inspirational. I'm a co-producer of Kidquake, an event that draws 1,000 elementary school kids, their teachers, and chaperones to four assemblies and 10 … Continue reading Kidquake – Dream Big!
There's an ongoing discussion in the kid lit world about why boys don't want to read "girl books," meaning books that star female protagonists or feature fairies or princesses on the cover or in the title. Is this "preference" intrinsic, or are they steered away from such interests, starting at a very young age? Shannon … Continue reading Reading Gender Into It – Children’s Books and Beyond
Umberto Eco died on February 19, 2016. He was a brilliant man who wrote fascinating books. He also had an encyclopedic memory. Here's a brief interview filmed by David Ferrario. In the interview, Eco discusses memory, computers, and a terrifying future. For those of you with serious book envy that may trigger a Pavlovian response, … Continue reading Umberto Eco – On Memory, Books, and Computers
In the spirit of improved public health, a librarian friend sent me a link from "Library Link of the Day" that contains an extremely high "ewwww" factor. Body Fluid Alert!!! My own take on this subject? I think library users have more robust immune systems than the average person. However, I will support any argument … Continue reading One More Reason to Buy Books
I knew someone like Penelope Lively could explain why I hoard books (see post "Revealing My Boo--ks" to give you an idea of just how bad it is) in an NPR interview (via Literary Man's link): http://literaryman.com/2014/03/18/why-do-you-keep-all-your-books/ I feel so much better now that I have a "rationalized justification." It makes perfect sense, doesn't it?
Time out from NaNoWriMo to post a, ah, quickie. 😮 We've ogled each others' bookshelves in the past, but these are bookshelves par excellence: Bookshelf Porn Go ahead and drool.
I spent some delicious time with a few hundred Ansel Adams photographs today. But, surprisingly, the most memorable moment came not in the form of an image but as one of Adams's favorite quotes. It hit me head on: "People say that what we're seeking is the meaning of life. I don't think that's what … Continue reading What Does Literature Do to You?
Jilanne Hoffmann 