Northeast Regional Library Blog

covid-19

Coronavirus Disease 2019 COVID-19

Coronavirus Disease 2019 Since it was first detected in Wuhan, China in December, COVID-19 (commonly referred to as simply “coronavirus”) has spread to other countries, including the United States.  Cases of the virus have been reported across the country, with some areas declaring a state of emergency. As such, it’s important for you to be informed about how the virus spreads and what you can do to protect yourself and others. Below, we’ve provided information Read more…

By Library Staff, ago

Hear Chaucer’s The Canterbury Tales in Original 14th-Century English

Hear Chaucer’s The Canterbury Tales in Original 14th-Century English One of the many reasons Geoffrey Chaucer’s 14th-century magnum opus The Canterbury Tales is considered a groundbreaking collection of stories is because he chose to write it not in a highbrow language like Latin or French, but in the common tongue of the people: Middle English. Since colloquial English has changed quite a bit over the past seven centuries, The Canterbury Tales that you might have encountered in high school Read more…

By External Source, ago

On the Heartbreaking Difficulty of Getting Rid of Books

On the Heartbreaking Difficulty of Getting Rid of Books Summer Brennan Attempts Marie Kondo’s Approach to Tidying Up Her Library Like a lot of avid readers, I enjoyed Marie Kondo’s The Life-Changing Magic of Tidying Up but bristled when it came to the section about books. The gist of her now-famous method is this: go through all your possessions by category, touch everything, keep only that which “sparks joy,” and watch as your world is transformed. It Read more…

By External Source, ago

15 Facts about Monty Python and the Holy Grail

15 Facts about Monty Python and the Holy Grail Ni! Ni! Ni! In honor of the 40th anniversary of Monty Python’s quest for the Holy Grail, here are a few facts you may not have known about the legendary comedy. 1. THE NAME “MONTY PYTHON” DOESN’T MEAN ANYTHING. The name of the highly influential comedy troupe made up of Graham Chapman, John Cleese, Terry Gilliam, Eric Idle, Terry Jones, and Michael Palin was made up by the Read more…

By External Source, ago

Happy Birthday Mississippi!

Mississippi On December 10, 1817, Mississippi was officially recognized as the 20th state in the United States of America. Mississippi joined the Union as the 20th state in 1817 and gets its name from the Mississippi River, which forms its western border. Early inhabitants of the area that became Mississippi included the Choctaw, Natchez and Chickasaw. Spanish explorers arrived in the region in 1540 but it was the French who established the first permanent settlement Read more…

By Library Staff, ago

Holiday TV Schedule 2019

Holiday TV Schedule 2019 It’s time for Christmas to have its annual TV takeover. That starts with one parade (New York City on Thanksgiving morning) and continues through another (Disney parks on Christmas morning), four weeks later. In between are cartoons, competitions, music and movies. Lots of movies, actually. In a typical week, there are at least nine new ones – three on the Hallmark networks, three on Lifetime, two on Ion, one on UPtv – Read more…

By Library Staff, ago
Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade

How to tell if a book is a first edition

HOW TO TELL IF A BOOK IS A FIRST EDITION Chances are if you’re an avid book collector, you’ve looked at your shelves and thought, “I wonder how valuable some of my books are!” Or maybe you’re a used bookstore patron and you’ve stumbled upon really pristine, really old copies of popular books that were super cheap, and thought maybe they might be worth more than their sticker price. If you don’t know how to tell if Read more…

By External Source, ago

How to remove stickers from books

HOW TO REMOVE STICKERS FROM BOOKS You know when you get a great book but the cover is marred by a terrible sticker? So you peel off the sticker, but it either refuses to budge, or leaves a terrible, sticky residue? Or, worst of all: The sticker must remain in place and be a terribly placed sticker? We did some very scientific research to find the best ways to remove stickers from books. We tested a Read more…

By External Source, ago

Stephen King’s home 👻 will become a museum and writers’ retreat

Stephen King’s home 👻 will become a museum and writers’ retreat Today in “Stephen King is a good literary citizen” news: the writer’s home in Bangor, ME (the AKA the real-life Derry, where the sewers are perfectly normal thank you very much) will soon house an archive of his work and a writers’ retreat. According to Rolling Stone, “the Bangor City Council unanimously approved a request by King and his wife Tabitha to rezone their home as a Read more…

By External Source, ago

Who doesn’t read books in America?

Who doesn’t read books in America? BY ANDREW PERRIN PEWRESEARCH.ORG Roughly a quarter of U.S. adults (27%) say they haven’t read a book in whole or in part in the past year, whether in print, electronic or audio form, according to a Pew Research Center survey conducted Jan. 8 to Feb. 7. Who are these non-book readers? Roughly a quarter of U.S. adults (27%) say they haven’t read a book in whole or in part in Read more…

By External Source, ago