I haven’t posted for a long time, but I had to share this. It is from the funniest book I’ve read in a long time: A Bad Boy’s First Reader written by Frank Bellew and published in New York by G.W. Carleton & Co. in 1881. I got it from a archive of 6,000 historical children’s books digitized and posted online by the University of Florida’s Baldwin Library, which I discovered at Open Culture. Check it out, it’s wonderful!
Filed under Books, History of Books & Libraries, Humour, Wisdom
This is the month for romance novels. Granted, they have come a long way since Jane Austin’s time, often with much stronger heroines and modern plot lines but one might be wise to consider the following advice.
Claire Fallon was a victim of romance novels. Much wiser now, she has shared the lessons learned in Everything I Knew About Dating I Learned From 19th Century Novels. Huge Mistake.
An excerpt:
“Date a guy who thinks you’re just attractive enough to tolerate. (Pride and Prejudice, Jane Austen)
He’s willing to hook up with you, so does it really matter that he once told your friend he thought he could snag a hotter girlfriend than you? Maybe he makes fun of your love handles, then gently suggests getting a gym membership. Don’t give up! Tell yourself you can win him over with your vivacious personality. One day he’ll find you beautiful. After all, Mr. Darcy went from finding Elizabeth Bennett “tolerable; but not handsome enough to tempt me” to proclaiming her “one of the handsomest women of my acquaintance” after a couple hundred pages of banter and general hilarity. Lesson: He might be settling for you now, but keep trying and someday he’ll really appreciate you. Really.”
Filed under Books, Authors & Illustrators, Wisdom
Filed under Art & Design, Wisdom
Kurt Vonnegut
The following letter is Kurt Vonnegut’s response to requests from high school students in 2006 for a school visit.
Click on either image to read the transcript of the letter and about the students’ letters at Letters of Note.
Filed under Books, Authors & Illustrators, Wisdom
I read The Count of Monte Cristo by Alexandre Dumas this summer on my Kobo. The e-reader took the physical weight off my hands and allowed me to absorb the mental weight by the hour. I loved it. I do enjoy classic fiction (I’m a huge Dickens fan) but this book stuck me hard with the complexity of the diabolical plot and Dumas’ ability to draw such wonderfully unique characters.
It turns out that I was engaging in some social therapy as I lounged in the sunshine.
Photo by Jennifer on Flickr
In a recent New York Times article, Pam Belluck discusses a study published in the Journal of Science that found a direct correlation between reading literary fiction and good social skills. It’s not the first study to have reached the conclusion that the development of empathy and sensitivity can be enhanced by reading, but this one compares literary fiction with nonfiction and popular novels.
“…after reading literary fiction, as opposed to popular fiction or serious nonfiction, people performed better on tests measuring empathy, social perception and emotional intelligence — skills that come in especially handy when you are trying to read someone’s body language or gauge what they might be thinking.
“…The researchers say the reason is that literary fiction often leaves more to the imagination, encouraging readers to make inferences about characters and be sensitive to emotional nuance and complexity.
“…The study’s authors and other academic psychologists said such findings should be considered by educators designing curriculums, particularly the Common Core standards adopted by most states, which assign students more nonfiction.” For Better Social Skills, Scientists Recommend a Little Chekhov
Enokson on Flickr
Luckily, we library people can do our bit to encourage such reading in our schools. The very generous digital artist Enokson on Flickr shares these “Booktalkers“.
“Cut apart these bookmarks and slip into books on display or on shelves, leaving them peeking out of the top of the pages or to attract attention to new books or books of specific genres. A black and white version is also available in my photostream.”
Her Creative Commons license only asks that they not be used for commercial purposes, that you give the artist credit, and that if you modify it, you share your work with the same generosity.
(I wonder if these generous people who share their work so freely read more literary fiction – empathy and sensitivity at work, wouldn’t you say?)
Filed under Education, Online Resources, Reading, Wisdom
The Wisdom of Robert Louis Stevenson (1904)Â – shared freely at the Open Library along with many other eBooks to read online, download in various formats or borrow.
Click to read online
Filed under Books, Authors & Illustrators, Wisdom
Beyond Survival in a School Library 