Blog Articles
AbeBooks, "the world's largest online marketplace for new, used, rare and out-of-print books" recently polled its users, asking them to name the "scariest character in literature." The most popular… continue reading Dracula Scary, Enigmatic Dictator Scarier
By written by Communications Office October 29, 2007
And it will most likely continue to rain through the better part of tomorrow, so why not curl up with a book? Edmund White has some suggestions--as does Cynthia Ozick , and John Updike , too. Or… continue reading It's Raining in Philadelphia
By written by Communications Office October 26, 2007
In his new book, The Conscience of a Liberal , Paul Krugman writes: “When [George W.] Bush moved into the White House, movement conservatism finally found itself in control of all the levers… continue reading To the Left, To the Left
By written by Communications Office October 24, 2007 1
This past Friday morning, at Carnegie Hall, J.K. Rowling announced to an audience of 1,600 students that she " always thought of Dumbledore as gay ," at which point those in attendance reportedly… continue reading Extra-Textual Outing of Fictional Character Makes International Headlines
By written by Communications Office October 22, 2007
This past Saturday the University of Pennsylvania's Arthur Ross Gallery opened its new show, Treasured Pages: Medieval and Renaissance Manuscripts from the Free Library of Philadelphia , which… continue reading Treasured Pages, Medieval Times
By written by Communications Office October 18, 2007
This morning Mayor John F. Street officially kicked off the 2008 One Book, One Philadelphia reading period with the announcement of this year’s One Book featured reading selection.… continue reading One Book, One Philadelphia Picks Dave Eggers' What Is the What for 2008
By written by Communications Office October 17, 2007
The hugely popular web-based, free content encyclopedia project Wikipedia currently features more than two million English-language articles. According to the site, “[Every] day hundreds of… continue reading Spinning Wikipedia
By written by Communications Office October 15, 2007 1
Yesterday Horace Engdahl, Permanent Secretary of the Swedish Academy , announced that Doris Lessing is the recipient of the 2007 Nobel Prize in Literature. Ms. Lessing's reaction to the news was… continue reading Congratulations, Ms. Lessing
By written by Communications Office October 12, 2007
The phrase “ Heavens to Murgatroyd! ” predates this character and may have found its way to 1960s American television by way of Gilbert and Sullivan. Spend hours exploring the origins… continue reading Heavens to Murgatroyd!
By written by Communications Office October 11, 2007 1
Winner of the 1996 National Book Award for fiction for her story collection Ship Fever , Andrea Barrett will be appearing at the Central Library’s Montgomery Auditorium tomorrow, Thursday ,… continue reading Take Five with . . . Andrea Barrett
By written by Administrator October 10, 2007
A copy of the Magna Carta that dates from 1297--and which, incidentally, paid a lengthy visit to Philadelphia 20 years ago--will be auctioned by Sotheby’s in December. Purchased by… continue reading Magna Carta for Sale in December, Just in Time for the Holidays
By written by Communications Office October 5, 2007
All you need is a light source 10 billion times brighter than the sun . continue reading Hands-Free Dead Sea Scrolls
By written by Communications Office October 3, 2007
The Guardian periodically takes readers inside Writers’ rooms with pieces contributed by renowned authors about the spaces in which they write. From this series one may learn, among other… continue reading Mature Authors from the UK Eschew Computers
By written by Communications Office October 2, 2007
Ann Patchett will be appearing at the Central Library's Montgomery Auditorium on Wednesday , October 3 , at 8:00 p.m. Click here for ticket info. She recently took a moment to chat with us about… continue reading Take Five with . . . Ann Patchett
By written by Communications Office October 1, 2007
Daniel Handler (Lemony Snicket himself) will be appearing at the Central Library's Montgomery Auditorium on Tuesday , October 2 , at 8:00 p.m. Click here for ticket info. He recently took a moment… continue reading Take Five with . . . Daniel Handler
By written by Communications Office September 28, 2007
Started in 2001 (née "McSweeney's Festival") Philadelphia's own 215 Festival is back in its seventh year with a long weekend of (mostly) free events and "cross-pollinated performances"… continue reading Kablam-O! The 215 Festival Is Upon Us
By written by Communications Office September 26, 2007
Items found between the pages of returned books at the Madison Public Library in recent memory include pipe cleaners, postcards, tax forms, an unused ticket to the Olympics for the rhythmic… continue reading Wisconsin Library Remembers Bacon Bookmarks
By written by Communications Office September 25, 2007 1
It seems that Augusten Burroughs may have taken some liberties in his characterization of the Turcotte family (aka "the Finches") in his wildly popular Running with Scissors: A Memoir . But… continue reading It's Not a Memoir, It's a Book
By written by Administrator September 24, 2007 2
Naomi Klein, bestselling author of No Logo , is back with another polemic, this time aiming to "[explode] the myth that the global free market triumphed democratically" and to expose "the puppet… continue reading Naomi Klein's Viral Video, Oscar-Nominated Director Does Nonfiction Book Ad
By written by Communications Office September 21, 2007
The Colbert Report on Comedy Central may seem like an improbable venue for serious literary discussion (and it is), but that doesn't discourage noted authors from stopping by to promote their… continue reading Stephen Colbert Doesn't Read
By written by Communications Office September 20, 2007