RenoVous

Thursday is Take Action for Libraries Day. As library funding is under attack, the American Library Association encourages us to advocate and contact our representatives about protecting federal support through the Institute of Museum and Library Services (IMLS).  #ForOurLibraries But libraries are also facing local attacks from people who don't support freedom of choice. A bill in Nevada is being proposed to ban book banning. "AB416 would prohibit school boards, the governing body of a charter school, a school employee, or public library from limiting access to or removing certain books based on the characteristics of the author or the content of the book, or because of the subject, or intended audience of the book." I saw a comment on a local story recently that said libraries are becoming obsolete - an inaccurate and narrow opinion.  Sure, we could all buy books or use online resources, but not everyone has that option.  The accessibility of a library and all it has to...

  In April of 1800, John Adams approved legislation to appropriate $5,000 in order to purchase "such books as may be necessary for the use of Congress." On this day in 1814, the British burned the Capitol, and more than 3,000 books were lost. Thomas Jefferson responded by selling his collection of 6,487 volumes to Congress. By 1851, when a second fire broke out, there were 55,000 books, and nearly 2/3 were destroyed.  Within a few years though, the majority of books had been replaced. Today, there are more than 17 million books and millions of maps.  The Library of Congress is one of the largest in the world. The remaining Jefferson books are on permanent display in the Great Hall, as part of the Rare Book and Special Collections Division. "I cannot live without books." Of note, it's also Bucket List Day, and this is on mine.  I went to Washington DC when I was in middle school, and certainly appreciated what I saw and learned, but Hubby and I have talked about ...

Library haul!  I went to one I haven't been to before and their Nevada section was right up front, so I grabbed the Numa history.  I then wandered through mystery and found the Tahoe collection. I picked up the Mike Carey book because I was looking for The Girl with All the Gifts , but this one sounded interesting too. I'm starting with the mystery. What are you reading?  

  I love the stacks - for the smell, and for the hidden treasures to be found. Timely enough, I finished my Agatha Christie and I've moved on to....John Grisham. Still on the crime beat. The first book ever written (that we know of) is The Epic of Gilgamesh , an ancient poem from Mesopotamia carved into stone tablets. It is considered a foundation of heroic sagas. And it was held in the first organized library - The Library of Ashurbanipal. Named after the last great king of the Assyrian empire, it was established in the 7th century and held thousands of clay tablets in various languages.  The Dream Tablet was recently returned to Iraq. The first book to have been written on paper is said to have come from China.  The pulp was created from mulberries, hemp, bark, and even fish.  A sheet of paper was then called a leaf, and once written or printed upon, it would be called a folio. Before Gutenberg's printing press, to print was to use wooden blocks. The Diamond Sutra ...

  I've started Tender is the Night  by F. Scott Fitzgerald. So far I'm interested but not excited, about a quarter way through, so we'll see.   I stopped at the library and picked up a couple things, including One More for the Road,  a collection of short stories by Ray Bradbury.  I thought this might be a nice chance for a read-along or two, but I can't seem to find a source online.  So that's disappointing. Contents It'll be a half day for me today, but I'll be back around this evening. Happy Reading!

Lately, Hubby has been more serious about buying some property and living out of town.  I told him I have a few conditions for camper living - I need a closet and an office/library.  We've talked about making the latter out of storage containers, so I've decided I want a reading loft.  ^_^ As for reading, I'm finishing up that Oliver Sacks book, An Anthropologist on Mars. Next I'm thinking of getting The Girl With All the Gifts  from the library.  My aunt had recommended it once, and now I see there's a movie.  So I have to read it first. What are you reading? What's your favorite place to read?