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Your next favorite book
is waiting.
The English language is a wonderful thing. For a whistle stop tour through it's 1500 year (or thereabouts) history, sit back and enjoy The History of English in 10 Minutes produced by Britain's Open University:
Over the last few years we've discovered many exceptional books through BookBrowse's "First Impressions" program, including these three Fall debut novels which our members are particularly enthusiastic about:
It's rare that a book trailer catches my eye, but this one for Wonderstruck, Brian Selznick's follow up to The Adventures of Hugo Cabret, is great as it gives both a sense of the uniqueness of the book and the author behind it...
London's Southbank Centre is planning a huge "Poetry Parnassus" to coincide with next year's Olympics.
Members of the public are invited to nominate up to 3 poets from any of the 205 Olympic competing nations. The organizers will select one from each country who will be provided with airfare, accommodation and visa so they can attend the event to be held in London in late June/early July 2012.
A few weeks ago I asked our Facebook followers to share the name of their favorite poem. As you'll see below, the responses were both enthusiastic and eclectic!
Do you see any of your favorites here? Whether that's a yes or no, do take a moment to click on the comments option at the bottom and tell us about your favorite or favorites!
Phyllis SB got in first, within a few seconds of me posting, with her recommendation of "The Cremation of Sam McGee" by Robert Service, which was seconded by Dana VB.
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It is difficult to get the news from poems yet men die miserably every day for lack of what is found there. - from Asphodel, That Greeny Flower by William Carlos Williams |
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They're often short enough to accompany your morning coffee, and light enough to carry around in your pocket. They can be funny, powerful, sad, wistful, sexy, angry, or silly. With to-the-quick immediacy and just a handful of words, a poem can strike a place in the reader that most tomes could only aspire to. The first step to reading poetry is finding a poem you love, and I think collections are the best place to start, mostly because you increase your odds with so many poets between the covers.
The following are my favorite collections because they're curated with personality and passion, not obligation to the canon. So wrestle poetry away from the grasp of your stuffy high-school English teacher, forget all the rules, and add a poem to your daily news.
