“…all part of life’s rich tapestry.”

From article in the Guardian.uk, written by Bella Bathurst: “Worksop has a resident book-eater. “We kept noticing that pages had been ripped from some of the books,” says Peter Collins. “Not whole pages, just little bits. It would always be done really neatly, just the tops of the pages. And then we’d see these little [...]

Could Online Book Sharing Spell End for Libraries?

From Guardian.co.uk: Could an online booksharing scheme spell the end for the traditional library? A scheme where residents post their own books online to swap, then meet to complete the transaction has worried some library campaigners Testing out Sutton council’s new online bookshare scheme. Photograph: Sarah Lee for the Guardian With more people using the [...]

Man Booker International Prize Finalists Announced

Don’t think I’ll try to read these, especially since the prize is for each writer’s whole body of work. Even I don’t feel I can tackle that. Still working on the Orange Prize Longlist as well as the NBCC winners (selected). But here’s the info: Thirteen selected for finalists’ list 30 March 2011 Thirteen writers [...]

Borders. And so it begins.

Chances are there’s a Borders store near you that’s either closing or will close within the next year. Fortunately, the store in my town will remain open – for now - though another location 15 minutes north of here isn’t quite so lucky. I’ve visited the unfortunate Borders store three times since they put up the [...]

How HarperCollins plans to squeeze libraries

Please keep this in mind when purchasing books. HarperCollins publishers plans to put the screws to libraries regarding use of the publisher’s eBooks. They propose to allow each title only 26 circulations, then charge the library all over again for use of this title. Granted, the second charge will be less, allowing for the paperback issue [...]

Opening March 11, 2011 – Jane Eyre

Release: March 11, 2011 (in select theatres) Mia Wasikowska (“Alice in Wonderland”) and Michael Fassbender (“Inglourious Basterds”) star in the romantic drama based on Charlotte Brontë’s classic novel, from acclaimed director Cary Fukunaga (“Sin Nombre”). In the story, Jane Eyre flees Thornfield House, where she works as a governess for wealthy Edward Rochester. As she [...]

Crazy much?

Shiny Gadget, Icky Name: IPad Jokes Fly On Web Apple’s Latest Invention Is Called A WHAT? Internet Wiseacres Mock The New IPad’s Name Read this link for one of the most outrageous cases of political correctness I’ve ever heard. I can’t quote the article here because it’s from the AP, and they won’t allow that… [...]

Odd News Stories a Specialty

From Merinews.com: Holiday Inn offers human bed warmers ” Oddities around the world are limitless. Enjoy the fun as it unfolds, this time via bed spreads and innovative human bed-warming service. Holiday Inn, an international hotel chain is offering on a trial basis human bed-warming service. “ Read more (I promise, part of this is [...]

And I thought the Milky Way Dark was an advance

From the University of Wisconsin – Madison news: ” Humans have always had a ringside seat for viewing the Milky Way. Now, however, thanks to NASA’s Spitzer Space Telescope, astronomers have obtained an entirely new perspective of our home galaxy: a complete mosaic portrait of the Milky Way in infrared light, a picture that when [...]