Human beings are hard-wired to rely on visual perception; perhaps this explains why we really, really like to look at pictures. And when we read, we often want to see […]
The Movies Are Coming, So Read the Books Now
Everyone knows that the book is always better than the movie, right? (Of course there are exceptions: I could never get through The Shining, so finally saw the movie. But […]
88 Books that Shaped America
I love lists. I especially love lists of books. The Library of Congress recently complied a list of the 88 books that shaped America. Note, that this isn’t a list […]
Murder in the Archives
Hey all you fictioneers: I’m waiting with bated breath to read a book with the above title. Please, can someone write it? Of course, an archive is in many ways […]
Literary Baltimore: Part 3
While Edgar Allan Poe and H.L. Mencken are perhaps the best known literary names associated with Baltimore, there are many other writers who have lived or worked here. If you […]
Schools & Stories: Adventures in Academia
I absolutely love stories in which universities, academies, libraries, or archives are some of the major characters. Didn’t the Hogwarts students have a cool selection of classes? And don’t forget the […]
Magic
Summer is magic. Now is the time for books, music, and movies that are magical. Book At this moment, on the McNaughton shelf on M Level, find the stunning novel about […]
New Things, More Ways: Learning How to Live in the E-Book World
In the tangled world of e-books, there are lots of lessons to be learned. Readers are learning: That an e-book you bought this week may not be available for purchase […]
Encyclopedias: Dead AND Alive
By now, most of us have heard the news that the venerable Encyclopaedia Britannica will no longer produce a printed set. For those among us who remember leafing through the […]
Scandinavia: Beyond Dragon Tattoo
Now that Stieg Larssen’s Millennium-trilogy of Swedish mysteries in English translation has been devoured by the reading public and the Hollywood movie version is in the can, it would be easy for […]