It’s one of those linky kinds of days.
- A new book I must own: The Librarian’s Book of Quotes
- Writing in the margins of library books. Annoying or fascinating? I vote mostly annoying, but now and then I run across a good one.
- The British Library is a petri dish of sexual tension. Who knew?
- 25,000 books borrowed and counting. Louise Brown, 91 has been borrowing as many as a dozen books a week from her library since 1946 and she has never incurred a late fine either. I don’t know which is more amazing, the number of books or no late fines.
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Great links! But the story about the British Library is sheer nonsense. Or at least the product of a worryingly overactive imagination. I think the guy should try reading a book to distract himself!
The book of quotes looks like a lot of fun – you’ll have to tell us more when you get a copy! And I saw the article about Louise Brown, isn’t that wonderful?!
I can confirm the dubious nature of the story about the British Library. My comment is coming directly from the Rare Books Room (I know, I know, get back to work) and any frisson of romance or even lust seems…well…rare. Perhaps the different reading rooms have different atmospheres?
Litlove, Since I’ve only been in the British Library once and that was only in the museum part of it, I couldn’t judge the accuracy of the guy’s statements. But I thought maybe he was grasping at straws.
Verbivore, when I manage to get my hands on a copy of the book I will definitely provide more information! I hope to be like Louise Brown one day. Well, at least in the amount of books I have borrowed. I can’t say I’ve always been so good about returning books on time!
Maggie, woman on the scene, I will count the guy’s story of the British Library balderdash.
I showed my four-year-old daughter the photo of the woman who has checked out the most books and told her how many books that lady has probably read in her lifetime. Her eyes got super big and she said “I want to be like her when I grow up!” How’s that for a reading goal?!
Writing in the margins of books? Great fun when it’s a friend’s/husband’s book, and I get some insight into her/his thoughts. Horrible when it’s a library book, and I have no connection to the person (and I certainly hoped none of my books with margin notes ever ends up in a library where some poor stranger has to suffer through it).
Jeane, give your daughter a big hug for that comment! An admirable goal i hope she reaches
Emily, I agree with you about marginalia and hope that none of my books with margin notes end up in a library either. I can hear the thoughts of the unfortunately soul now, “and she obviously thought she was being so clever with this note, poor thing.”