Thursday, June 25, 2015

Quote of the Day-----Goodreads






We have eyes, and we're looking at stuff all the time, all day long. And I just think that whatever our eyes touch should be beautiful, tasteful, appealing, and important.
Eric Carle

Happy birthday, Eric Carle! The writer and illustrator's most famous children's book, The Very Hungry Caterpillar, was almost called A Week with Willi Worm—until Carle's editor brought up concerns about the likability of a worm protagonist.

Wednesday, June 24, 2015

Quote of the Day------Goodreads




Isn't it strange how life won't flow, like a river, but moves in jumps, as if it were held back by locks that are opened now and then to let it jump forwards in a kind of flood?

Anita Desai
Happy birthday, Anita Desai! The Indian novelist is a wordsmith in more than one language. Because of her German mother, she grew up speaking German at home, but spoke Bengali, Urdu, Hindi, and English everywhere else.

Wednesday, June 17, 2015

Quote of the Day------Goodreads





If you don't like someone's story, write your own.
Chinua Achebe
June 17, 1878: Chinua Achebe's Things Fall Apart was published 137 years ago today. The classic novel tells the story of Okonkwo, a local wrestling champion living in the fictional Nigerian village of Umuofia.

Tuesday, June 16, 2015

Quote of the Day-----Goodreads




Nothing is so painful to the human mind as a great and sudden change.
Mary Shelley
June 16, 1816: On this day, Mary Shelley experienced a “waking dream,” a vision of a scientist kneeling beside his hideous creation. This nightmarish episode would inspire her to write Frankenstein.

Monday, June 15, 2015

To The Best of our Knowledge NPR edition 6-14-15

True Stories Of A Warehouse Worker

A few years ago, journalist Mac McClelland went undercover to find out what really happens when you order something online from a site like Amazon. As it turns out, all that ecommerce is still largely driven by humans, many of whom work backbreaking temporary jobs in massive warehouses.






Yesterday (6-14-15) I happened to be listening to NPR's program To The Best of our Knowledge, the first story was about working in a shipping warehouse - Amazon is not named until the very last of the piece. 
I came away glad that I am one of the last remaining dinosaurs that does not use Amazon's services, I would hate to be involved in "slave labor" practices in this day and age.


You can download it or listen to from their website - To The Best of our Knowledge.



Thursday, June 4, 2015

Quote of the day-----Goodreads




I can't imagine a man really enjoying a book and reading it only once.
C.S. Lewis
June 4, 1949: On this day, C.S. Lewis cautioned a reader about the "undesirability of shutting oneself in a cupboard" while re-enacting the adventures in The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe.


 Ah, an author after my own heart.  Sweet to know that C.S. knew the value of re-reading books - afterall, one doesn't always "see" all the little "in's and out's" of a story with the very first reading.