Unfortunately, I missed the boat when The Reader by Bernhard Schlink first hit American shores in 1997. Originally published in Germany it went on to sell, after an Oprah push, over two million copies in the U.S. and became the first German book to top The New York Times bestseller list. I did; however, watch the 2008 film version recently and have been thinking about it ever since. It has to rank among the most powerful films dealing with literacy ever made. The film follows the relationship between Hanna Schmitz (played by Kate Winslet, who won an Academy Award for performance) and a 15-year-old boy Michael (played...
Have Book Will Travel
Eiffel Tower Patrick Girouard was assigned the task of creating the visuals for the 2013 Illinois Library Association's iREAD® Summer reading project. The theme was "Have Book Will Travel" and here is his journey around the world. Big Ben Leaning Tower of Pisa Bookhenge Easter Island What a trip! Girouard's blog post on the project
The Classics for the Masses: The Loeb Classical Library heads online
When James Loeb founded the Loeb Classical Library in 1911 he had two simple goals: 1. To make the work of classical authors accessible to as many readers as possible—regardless of their knowledge of Greek or Latin—so they could profit from the wisdom of the ancients that had enriched his life so much. 2. He wanted the Loeb Classical Library to offer the best of Anglo-American classical scholarship Loeb was also way ahead of the crowd by having the books in the series designed to fit into one's pocket (the Penguin paperback was still 20+ years away). Technology has finally...
Dr. Seuss as a political cartoonist
Dr. Seuss is forever entrenched in the upper pantheon of children's books writers. Many of the 46 children's books he wrote still have a place on our kids bookshelves. From Cat In The Hat to Hop on Pop to Green Eggs and Ham his stories are part of the fabric of many a childhood. His books have sold over 600 million copies, and appear in more than 20 languages. In 2000, Publishers Weekly compiled a list of the best-selling children's books of all time; of the top 100 hardcover books, 16 were written by Dr. Seuss! World Telegram & Sun photo by Al Ravenna. For...
The 100th anniversary of the destruction of the University of Leuven Library
On August 19th, 1914 the Germans seized control of the Belgian town of Leuven and began bombarding it. One of the most notable targets was the University of Leuven (Louvain) Library which was soon razed to the ground. An estimated 300,000 books, 1000 manuscripts and 800 incunabula were looted or destroyed! The world was horrified by the wanton destruction and efforts where made to collect books to help replenish the library In 1924 the library was reopened, it was financed by the National Committee of the United States for the Restoration of the University of Louvain. Sadly and unconscionably the library was...