Bilbiotopia

What a great little book. BIBLIOTOPIA or, Mr. Gilbar's Book of Books & Catch-all of Literary Facts & Curiosities compiled by Steven Gilbar is wonderful collection of all book and literary trivia. From "Origin of the 'book'" to "Some Memorable Closing Lines" and "Famous Last Words," BIBLIOTOPIA has list after list of nothing but trivia. If you don't like lists, then this book is not for you. The book has no real arrangement -- I think the lists are entered as created by the author.

Origin of the 'book' = "The word comes from beech because the ancient Saxons and Germans usually wrote runes on pieces of beechen board.

Closing line = "That might be the subject of a new story, but our present story is ended." Fyodor Dostoevsky, Crime and Punishment"

Last words = "Blaise Pascal: My God, forsake me not."

Book Jewelry

I am always looking for items to give to librarians or book lovers. The bookmarks available through Book Jewelry fill the need. The ribbon, beads and charm make a great bookmark (approx. cost $10). I haven't tried beading. I wonder if I could make these?

Stupid questions....

Yes, I've been there and have/had all those same thoughts as The Vampire Librarian . In March The Vampire Librarian wrote "whoever said there are no stupid questions has never worked a public service desk." Amen! It's not that the questions are stupid so much as the ding-battiness of the questioner. You know, two slices short of a loaf of bread.... Which reminds me of that Mercedes Benz commercial with the blonde girl in the library ordering a burger. Brings a smile to my face just thinking about it.

Odds and Ends

Well, I joined two challenges in the last few weeks and have not started one book on the list for either challenge. I've been distracted by two other books. Last week I found Patterson's Mary, Mary in the guest room and realized I hadn't read it yet. Immediately sat down with the book in hand. Then Monday I received a copy of Afraid in the mail -- a great surprise. So I started to read that book, too. Guess I could add them to the Suspense and Thriller Reading Challenge list. As the saying goes, Too Many Books, Too Little Time.

Wicked Prey

Aaahhh! Wicked Prey by John Sandford will be released on May 12! I wish I lived in Minneapolis so I could go to a signing.

Cool Librarian and Teens

Cool Librarian has written about today's teenager and research in her recent blog. She discovered the students she met with were not interested in a class to prepare them for college research. Sadly, this behavior is normal for almost anyone especially teenagers. Why bother learning something now when the information won't be needed for a year or two. This reminds me of students questioning why they should take a geometry class -- "I'm never going to use that in real life."

Library Stuff

Came across Library Stuff today by accident today. As they say, " The library weblog dedicated to resources for keeping current and professional development." Library Stuff has short summaries of current information and links to further information. I like it. When I see something I like, I just click on the link. One of the news items that caught my attention was about a fountain of books. Sounded interesting. Here's the link to Fountain of Books.