Download or read book The Library Book written by Susan Orlean and published by Simon & Schuster. This book was released on 2019-10-01 with total page 336 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Susan Orlean’s bestseller and New York Times Notable Book is “a sheer delight…as rich in insight and as varied as the treasures contained on the shelves in any local library” (USA TODAY)—a dazzling love letter to a beloved institution and an investigation into one of its greatest mysteries. “Everybody who loves books should check out The Library Book” (The Washington Post). On the morning of April 28, 1986, a fire alarm sounded in the Los Angeles Public Library. The fire was disastrous: it reached two thousand degrees and burned for more than seven hours. By the time it was extinguished, it had consumed four hundred thousand books and damaged seven hundred thousand more. Investigators descended on the scene, but more than thirty years later, the mystery remains: Did someone purposefully set fire to the library—and if so, who? Weaving her lifelong love of books and reading into an investigation of the fire, award-winning New Yorker reporter and New York Times bestselling author Susan Orlean delivers a “delightful…reflection on the past, present, and future of libraries in America” (New York magazine) that manages to tell the broader story of libraries and librarians in a way that has never been done before. In the “exquisitely written, consistently entertaining” (The New York Times) The Library Book, Orlean chronicles the LAPL fire and its aftermath to showcase the larger, crucial role that libraries play in our lives; delves into the evolution of libraries; brings each department of the library to vivid life; studies arson and attempts to burn a copy of a book herself; and reexamines the case of Harry Peak, the blond-haired actor long suspected of setting fire to the LAPL more than thirty years ago. “A book lover’s dream…an ambitiously researched, elegantly written book that serves as a portal into a place of history, drama, culture, and stories” (Star Tribune, Minneapolis), Susan Orlean’s thrilling journey through the stacks reveals how these beloved institutions provide much more than just books—and why they remain an essential part of the heart, mind, and soul of our country.

Download or read book Women and Men written by Joseph McElroy and published by . This book was released on 2023-01-17 with total page 0 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Beginning in childbirth and entered like a multiple dwelling in motion, Women and Men embraces and anatomizes the 1970s in New York - from experiments in the chaotic relations between the sexes to the flux of the city itself. Yet through an intricate overlay of scenes, voices, fact, and myth, this expanding fiction finds its way also across continents and into earlier and future times and indeed the Earth, to reveal connections between the most disparate lives and systems of feeling and power. At its breathing heart, it plots the fuguelike and fieldlike densities of late-twentieth-century life. McElroy rests a global vision on two people, apartment-house neighbors who never quite meet. Except, that is, in the population of others whose histories cross theirs believers and skeptics; lovers, friends, and hermits; children, parents, grandparents, avatars, and, apparently, angels. For Women and Men shows how the families through which we pass let one person's experience belong to that of many, so that we throw light on each other as if these kinships were refracted lives so real as to be reincarnate. A mirror of manners, the book is also a meditation on the languages, rich, ludicrous, exact, and also American, in which we try to grasp the world we're in. Along the kindred axes of separation and intimacy Women and Men extends the great line of twentieth-century innovative fiction.

Download or read book The Book of Unusual Knowledge written by Ltd Publications International and published by Publications International, Limited. This book was released on 2012-03 with total page 704 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: The Book of Unusual Knowledge is a mammoth 704-page hardcover book crammed with a cornucopia of information--some useful, others not so much--but all of it completely captivating. It's perfect for anyone with a curious mind and a passion for learning. With quirky illustrations and a vast array of articles, anecdotes, lists, and games, this book will provide hours of fascinating reading. It will also expand your knowledge on a range of topics, including the animal kingdom, art, sports, technology, history, politics, the universe, and much, much more. Sample topics include: * Are plastic bags killing sacred cows in India? * Does NASCAR have roots in bootlegging moonshine? * Did Ronald Reagan see not one--but two--UFOs during his lifetime? Gorgeous leatherette binding with gilded accents makes The Book of Unusual Knowledge a handsome addition to your library.

Download or read book Dewey written by Vicki Myron and published by Grand Central Publishing. This book was released on 2008-09-24 with total page 251 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Experience the uplifting, "unforgettable" New York Times bestseller about an abandoned kitten named Dewey, whose life in a library won over a farming town and the world -- with over 2 million copies sold! (Booklist) Dewey's story starts in the worst possible way. On the coldest night of the year in Spencer, Iowa, at only a few weeks old--a critical age for kittens--he was stuffed into the return book slot of the Spencer Public Library. He was found the next morning by library director Vicki Myron, a single mother who had survived the loss of her family farm, a breast cancer scare, and an alcoholic husband. Dewey won her heart, and the hearts of the staff, by pulling himself up and hobbling on frostbitten feet to nudge each of them in a gesture of thanks and love. For the next nineteen years, he never stopped charming the people of Spencer with his enthusiasm, warmth, humility (for a cat), and, above all, his sixth sense about who needed him most. As his fame grew from town to town, then state to state and finally, amazingly, worldwide, Dewey became more than just a friend; he became a source of pride for an extraordinary Heartland farming community slowly working its way back from the greatest crisis in its long history.

Download or read book Unpacking My Library written by Leah Price and published by Yale University Press. This book was released on 2011-11-29 with total page 210 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: As words and stories are increasingly disseminated through digital means, the significance of the book as object—whether pristine collectible or battered relic—is growing as well. Unpacking My Library: Writers and Their Books spotlights the personal libraries of thirteen favorite novelists who share their collections with readers. Stunning photographs provide full views of the libraries and close-ups of individual volumes: first editions, worn textbooks, pristine hardcovers, and childhood companions. In her introduction, Leah Price muses on the history and future of the bookshelf, asking what books can tell us about their owners and what readers can tell us about their collections. Supplementing the photographs are Price's interviews with each author, which probe the relation of writing to reading, collecting, and arranging books. Each writer provides a list of top ten favorite titles, offering unique personal histories along with suggestions for every bibliophile. Unpacking My Library: Writers and Their Books features the personal libraries of Alison Bechdel, Stephen Carter, Junot Díaz, Rebecca Goldstein and Steven Pinker, Lev Grossman and Sophie Gee, Jonathan Lethem, Claire Messud and James Wood, Philip Pullman, Gary Shteyngart, and Edmund White.

Download or read book The Seventh Wish written by Kate Messner and published by Bloomsbury Publishing USA. This book was released on 2017-06-13 with total page 259 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: When Charlie Brennan goes ice fishing on her town's frozen lake, she's hoping the fish she reels in will help pay for her dream: a fancy Irish dancing dress for her upcoming competition. But when Charlie's first catch of the day happens to be a talking fish offering her a wish in exchange for its freedom, her world quickly turns upside down, as her wishes go terribly and hilariously wrong. Just as Charlie is finally getting the hang of communicating with a magical wishing fish, a family crisis with her older sister brings reality into sharp focus. Charlie quickly learns that the real world doesn't always keep fairy-tale promises and life's toughest challenges can't be fixed by a simple wish . . . Acclaimed author Kate Messner expertly weaves fantasy into the ordinary, in an important story of self-reliance and hope that will open readers' eyes to the wonders and challenges of their world.

Download or read book My Red Hat written by Rachel Stubbs and published by National Geographic Books. This book was released on 2021-02-02 with total page 0 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: In a touching reflection on love between generations, a grandfather passes down a hat that has seen a world of moments—and carries a big piece of his heart. A hat can do many things. It can keep you warm and dry. It can help you stand out in a crowd, or it can help you blend in. It can hold your dreams or your secrets, and it can hide your fears. In a debut picture book, Rachel Stubbs pairs winsomely expressive artwork with a gentle meditation on family connection and memory, as a grandfather offers his grandchild the anticipation of a life lived with wonder and openness . . . and a very special hat.

Download or read book The Green Library Planner written by Mary M. Carr and published by Scarecrow Press. This book was released on 2013-09-11 with total page 154 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Green buildings are better buildings. In fact, buildings use 36% of the energy in the United States, according to the Environmental Protection Agency, so green buildings that use less energy help to address the very real challenges of reliance on fossil fuel and climate change. More than only being environmentally responsible, green libraries are beautiful, cost-effective, high-performance buildings that enhance occupant health and comfort. The Green Library Planner is designed for members of library building design teams who typically are not actively engaged in architecture, construction, or engineering, but who need an introduction to the rationale for green buildings, the elements of green building, and the language of the field. It will be equally useful for public officials, boards, or administrators who are considering a new green library building, a renovated library structure, or sustainable elements for a current library facility. Mary M. Carr, a library director who is also a LEED-Accredited Professional with national certification, first introduces the basic tenets of green building. She then covers the gamut of green building from design, through all phases of construction or renovation, to operations and maintenance. Chapter highlights include: Fundamentals of Sustainable Building The Importance of Place Energy and Lighting Indoor Environmental Quality Water Conservation and Quality Sustainable Construction Management Techniques Commissioning Sustainable Operations and Maintenance With this information the librarian, and related library staff and administrators, will be able to design, build or renovate, and operate the library in the best way possible, while considering the environmental and economic challenges faced, locally and globally, in the 21st century.

Download or read book Too Much Information written by Cass R. Sunstein and published by MIT Press. This book was released on 2022-02-15 with total page 261 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: The New York Times–bestselling co-author of Nudge explores how more information can make us happy or miserable—and why we sometimes avoid it but sometimes seek it out. How much information is too much? Do we need to know how many calories are in the giant vat of popcorn that we bought on our way into the movie theater? Do we want to know if we are genetically predisposed to a certain disease? Can we do anything useful with next week's weather forecast for Paris if we are not in Paris? In Too Much Information, Cass Sunstein examines the effects of information on our lives. Policymakers emphasize “the right to know,” but Sunstein takes a different perspective, arguing that the focus should be on human well-being and what information contributes to it. Government should require companies, employers, hospitals, and others to disclose information not because of a general “right to know” but when the information in question would significantly improve people's lives. Of course, says Sunstein, we are better off with stop signs, warnings on prescription drugs, and reminders about payment due dates. But sometimes less is more. What we need is more clarity about what information is actually doing or achieving.

Download or read book Manners with a Library Book written by Amanda Doering Tourville and published by Capstone. This book was released on 2009 with total page 14 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: An introduction to etiquette and proper behavior when borrowing books from the library.

Download or read book The Library Book written by Tom Chapin and published by Simon and Schuster. This book was released on 2017-10-03 with total page 48 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Using the lyrics to Tom Chapin and Michael Mark's "The Library Song," this picture book celebrates the magic of reading and of libraries.

Download or read book An Archive of Taste written by Lauren F. Klein and published by . This book was released on 2020 with total page 0 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Introduction: No eating in the archive -- Taste: eating and aesthetics in the early United States -- Appetite: eating, embodiment, and the tasteful subject -- Satisfaction: aesthetics, speculation, and the theory of cookbooks -- Imagination: food, fiction, and the limits of taste -- Absence: slavery and silence in the archive of eating -- Epilogue: two portraits of taste.

Download or read book The Library Book written by and published by Profile Books. This book was released on 2012-02-02 with total page 192 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: From Alan Bennett's Baffled at a Bookcase, to Lucy Mangan's Library Rules, famous writers tell us all about how libraries are used and why they're important. Tom Holland writes about libraries in the ancient world, while Seth Godin describes what a library will look like in the future. Lionel Shriver thinks books are the best investment, Hardeep Singh Kohli makes a confession and Julie Myerson remembers how her career began beside the shelves. Using memoir, history, polemic and some short stories too, The Library Book celebrates 'that place where they lend you books for free' and the people who work there. All royalties go to The Reading Agency, to help their work supporting libraries.

Download or read book A Library is to Know written by Arthur H. Parsons (Jr.) and published by . This book was released on 1961 with total page 44 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt:

Download or read book Unpacking My Library written by Walter Benjamin and published by Eris. This book was released on 2022-08 with total page 0 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: "I fully realize that my discussion of the mental climate of collecting will confirm many of you in your conviction that this passion is behind the times, in your distrust of the collector type. Nothing is further from my mind than to shake either your conviction or your distrust." Walter Benjamin was one of the great cultural critics of the twentieth century. In Unpacking My Library he offers a strikingly personal meditation on his career as a book collector and on the strange relations that spring up between objects and their owners. Witty, erudite and often moving, this book will resonate with bibliophiles of all kinds. Eris Gems make available in the form of beautifully produced saddle-stitched booklets a series of outstanding short works of fiction and non-fiction.

Download or read book Know Your Library written by University of California, Los Angeles. Library and published by . This book was released on 1948 with total page 24 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt:

Download or read book Check it Out written by Gail Gibbons and published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt. This book was released on 1985 with total page 36 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Discusses what is found in a library and how different libraries serve their communities.