books

Of Interest : Book Burning, a Bad Library Idea, Go-Sees, Riprap, Jean Prouvé, Peking the Beautiful, Newer Book picks and more

This week's Of Interest takes us from a rare book on Peking to an anthology of one line poems to a collection of songs inspired by books with a sprinkling of newer books that have caught our fancy. First a few headlines: Seems like the burning of books is a hot topic these days - Pro-Russian demonstrators are burning Ukrainian-language books "in small bonfires in the street" http://ow.ly/uRGOL  In what might a first - Vandals torch a Little Free Library near an elementary school in Tuscon, Arizona  http://ow.ly/uR7R5      and in what might just be the most nearsighted, wackiest story in some time...

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Anne Frank was not alone: Holocaust diary of 14-year-old Rywka Lipszyc finds the light

What seems like a divine series of events has culminated in the publication of the Holocaust diary of a 14 year old girl. Here's what we know: -When Rywka Lipszyc began her diary, she had lived in the Lodz ghetto for more than three years and had already lost both of her parents. -her diary cover six months in the Lodz ghetto starting in 1943. -Zinaida Berezovskaya, A Soviet Red Army doctor found the diary beside a crematorium at Auschwitz-Birkenau in 1945. - Berezovskaya kept the diary hidden in a closet in her home in Omsk (in southwestern Siberia) until her death...

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Of Interest: Bambi, Book of the Dead, Chicago Crime, The Brooklyn Bridge and more

  Welcome to the second installment of Of Interest, a look at some of the books, new and old, that have caught our attention in the last week or so.  From a first edition of the children's classic Bambi to Nick Hornby's latest collection derived from his column in The Believer with plenty in between. Enjoy!    Bambi: A Life in the Woods by Felix Salten Simon and Schuster, 1928. First Edition. $1500. One of the most beloved children’s books in any language, and basis for the classic 1942 Disney animated film The Book of The Dead: The Papyrus of Ani;...

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Seattle wants, and deserves, to be a UNESCO City of Literature

Right on the heels of hosting the largest AWP conference to date, the city of Seattle is preparing to launch a bid to become a UNESCO City of Literature. Spearheaded by writer Ryan Boudinot, the efforts already have the unanimous blessing of the Seattle City Council and Mayor Ed Murray. The designation would fall under the UNESCO Creative Cities network which is a group of 41 cities worldwide with specialties in film, literature, design, music, gastronomy, media arts and crafts and folk art. Currently 7 of the 41 cities have been designated as cities of literature - Edinburgh; Melbourne, Australia; Norwich; Dublin; Reykjavik, Iceland;...

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