Victor Hugo (1802-1885), the celebrated author of Les Misérables, rose from the dead this morning to throw his tricorne into the ring and proclaim his endorsement of Sonia Sotomayor for Supreme Court Justice of the United States.“If you loved Les Miz, there is only one way for the Senate to vote,” he averred. “You gotta go with Sonia. Otherwise, cognitive dissonance, hypocrisie!"“Those who know my Les Misérables only as staged musical schmaltz herring may be surprised to learn that the actual novel, a two-ton tome upon which I rest my head in Tempur-Pedic eternity, is a vigorous plea for the...
”A Proud Non-Reader of Books”
If you, like me, hang on the words of celebrities, completely dependent upon the wisdom of our betters for guidance in matters of life and love, then the gold that fell from the mouth of Grammy Award-winner, Kanye West, the other day was bling to the ears of those of us who have struggled daily with the imperative to Read or Die."Sometimes people write novels and they just be so wordy and so self-absorbed," West said. "I am not a fan of books. I would never want a book's autograph."I am a proud non-reader of books. I like to get...
Note To Novel Readers: “If Any Harm Results, Stop At Once!”
It is generally assumed that the Culture Wars in the United States began in the Sixties. They did. In the 1860s."Licentious literature, which under cunning disguise or with fearless effrontery, circulates among us, defying all decency, sapping the morals of all classes, is doing Satan's work with most mischievous energy. That obscene books and prints are published, imported, and sold in our cities and through the country, is a fact which we are all familiar with…it is easy to estimate their evil potency…Bishop Bayley, in a late charge, gave very timely warning of this important theme. He well says: 'If...
“The Kindle Is A Dangerous Toy”
Alert the Federal Trade Commission Bureau of Consumer Protection. Call the Consumer Product Safety Commission. Tip-off the DEA. Shut the windows and lock the door.A Mother’s Day was spoiled by the elves in Lucifer’s Little Toy Shoppe™. Be forewarned - this could happen to you:“For Mother's Day this year, I told my family, it better be good. Since last Mother's Day, my mothering skills have been put to the highest test.”So innocently begins the saga of Elizabeth, a writer and rare book dealer in a small town in Georgia. It is, however, a cautionary tale so terrifying in its denouement.“What...
Attack of the Library Cat!
Perkins, the library cat at “Bloggington-on-Sea Carnegie Library on the dockside of Bloggington harbour” is the host of the Good Library Blog, part of The Good Library Guide website, an ombudsman for libraries in the U.S. and the U.K.Perkins can generally be counted upon to provide library news found nowhere else and insightful commentary that never fails to scratch below the surface and leave a keen, plump hairball of perception in its aftermath.Recently, however, Perkins – in a fit of delirious feline pique inspired, perhaps, by underindulgence by his caregivers or overindulgence in a kilo of catnip, or both –...