When you read the book of a deceased author, you are essentially listening to the words of the dead. Unless a book is extremely rare, the thoughts of a dead author are usually heard by many people. However, if an old book has a personal inscription inside of it, then that dead person’s words may…
Tag: Books
State Libraries
Each of the United States’ 50 states runs its own official state library. I have only visited Illinois’ and Indiana’s state libraries so far. Both are located in their states’ capitals, which are Springfield and Indianapolis, respectively. You would assume that all state libraries are similar, but Illinois’ and Indiana’s state libraries each have separate…
Ernest Hemingway Birthplace Museum
In April of 2021, the famous documentarian, Ken Burns, released a 6-hour documentary called Hemingway. As its name implies, this documentary is about the Pulitzer Prize and Nobel Prize-winning American writer, Ernest Hemingway. I have not seen the film, but based on Ken Burns’ other works, I am sure that it does a fantastic job…
Jane Austen’s House
It is a truth universally acknowledged that Jane Austen ranks among the most famous British writers in history. I enjoy Jane Austen’s books, but for the strangest reason, I cannot remember the inside of her home in Chawton, even though I saw it in 2010. I only remember watching a short video about her life…
Newberry Library
Although the Chicago Public Library was founded in 1873, two years after the Great Chicago Fire, a wealthy Chicagoan named Walter L. Newberry decided to leave $2.2 million dollars upon his death to fund another free public library in Chicago. That led to the creation of the Newberry Library in 1887. This is not to…
William Saroyan, Assyrians, and the Joys of Research
Prior to a few decades ago, researching beyond the public library to learn about a random topic of interest would have been too much of an effort to be worthwhile. Thankfully, technology continues to make it easier and easier to research almost anything. As an example, I will demonstrate how I was able to satisfy…
Library Detective Work
Instead of writing about a specific library or museum, today, I want to write about how librarians can sometimes do detective work. I have had experience overseeing book donations and cataloging the books of an unprocessed library. For both tasks, I have always tried to scout out any books that seem potentially significant. I have…
Ashurbanipal Library
Many people have heard about the Ancient Assyrians when learning about ancient civilizations in history class, or when reading the book of Jonah in the Bible. However, most people do not realize that there is a Christian, ethnic minority group in the Middle East that still identifies with this ancient civilization. Assyrians live in Iran,…
Bet Arkeh 