| Library Cats Domesticated cats were celebrated, esteemed creatures in Ancient Egypt, but they also had important jobs. People introduced cats to libraries to prevent mice and other creatures from eating and damaging precious manuscripts. The threat rodents pose to treasured tomes has kept library cats gainfully employed ever since. They've served some pretty high clientele: In the 18th century, Empress Elisabeth of Russia issued a decree ordering that the biggest, best mousers be brought into the royal palace (now the Hermitage Museum) in St. Petersburg to catch rats that had invaded the library; their descendants continue to work there today. In most cases, people tend to adore their local library cats. Some of these felines gain a celebrity-like status that stretches beyond the communities they serve. One of the most famous of them all was Dewey Readmore Books, who lived in the public library of Spencer, Iowa. He was discovered there in 1988 at 8 weeks old after being abandoned in the library's drop box, and remained with the institution until his passing almost 20 years later. Check out these titles |
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| Books on the Air An overview of talked-about books and authors. This weekly update, published every Friday, provides descriptions of recent TV and radio appearances by authors and their recently released books. See the hot titles from the media this week. |
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| Tom Perrotta Thomas R. Perrotta (born August 13, 1961) is an American novelist and screenwriter best known for his novels Election and Little Children, both of which were made into critically acclaimed, Academy Award-nominated films. Perrotta co-wrote the screenplay for the 2006 film version of Little Children with Todd Field, for which he received an Academy Award nomination for Best Adapted Screenplay. He is also known for his novel The Leftovers, which has been adapted into a TV series on HBO. Tom Perrotta was born in Newark, New Jersey, and enjoyed reading authors such as O. Henry, J. R. R. Tolkien, and John Irving, and decided early in his life that he wanted to be a writer. Perrotta earned a B.A. in English from Yale University in 1983, and then received an M.A. in English/creative writing from Syracuse University. Check out his books here. |
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| Get Grilling Summer is fast approaching and you know what that means: it's time to cook outside. Whether you're new to the grill or a seasoned pro, you'll find inspiration in these grilling and barbecue cookbooks. Check them out here |
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| Let us read, and let us dance; these two amusements will never do any harm to the world.-Voltaire
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