As Director of the Lititz Public Library, I’ve had the pleasure of meeting and working with a multitude of people who simply love libraries and books. Hardback, softback, audio, or downloadable, we read library books for the wonderful stories, insightful research, intriguing characters and challenging points of view. There are tens of thousands of books to enjoy at the Lititz Public Library, like these selections about reading and libraries.
Dear Fahrenheit 451: Love and Heartbreak in the Stacks by Annie Spence
The author has crafted love letters and breakup notes to the iconic and eclectic books she has encountered over the years, including suggested reading lists and thoughtful, sometimes laugh-out-loud, commentaries on classic and contemporary books.
The Catalogue of Shipwrecked Books: Christopher Columbus, His Son, and the Quest to Build the World’s Greatest Library by Edward Wilson-Lee
Columbus’ illegitimate son, a visionary of the printing press-age, sought to surpass his father’s accomplishments by building a library that would collect everything ever printed.
What to Read and Why by Francine Prose
Distinguished novelist, literary critic and essayist celebrates the pleasures of reading and pays homage to the works and writers she admires, making a case for the solitary act of reading and the great enjoyment it brings.
Daemon Voices: On Stories and Storytelling by Philip Pullman
Best-selling author explains his enchantment with stories and delves into the role of stories in education, religion and science.
On Reading Well: Finding the Good Life through Great Books by Karen Swallow Prior
Using great works of ancient and modern literature, the author explores twelve virtues that philosophers and theologians throughout history have identified as most essential for good character and a good life.
1,000 Books to Read Before You Die: A Life-Changing List by James Mustich
An independent bookseller has compiled a lively, informed, enthusiastic list of essential reading that includes pillars of classic literature as well as unexpected recommendations.
My Life with Bob: Flawed Heroine Keeps Book of Books, Plot Ensues by Pamela Paul
For twenty-eight years, the author has kept a journal by her side that records every book she’s ever read.
The Book of Books by Jessica Allen
A companion to the PBS series, The Great American Read, presents all 100 novels with fascinating information about each book. (A reading checklist of the books in this series is available at the library.)
Wild Things: The Joy of Reading Children’s Literature as an Adult by Bruce Handy
The author revisits the classics of childhood, from fairy tales to The Very Hungry Caterpillar, exploring the backstories and showing how authors and illustrators created their often deeply personal masterpieces.
Books for Living by Will Schwalbe
Spanning centuries and genres, the author looks for books that speak to specific challenges of living in the modern world, reflecting how each relates to the questions and concerns we all share.
The World Between Two Covers: Reading the Globe by Ann Morgan
Following an impulse to read more internationally, a journalist chose a story from each of 196 nations, discovering how geography and history shape the way books are written and read.
How to Be a Heroine, or, What I’ve Learned from Reading Too Much by Samantha Ellis
The author takes a retrospective look at the literary ladies, both characters and writers, whom she has loved since childhood, sharing a frank and humorous account of her own life growing up in a tight-knit Iraqi-Jewish community in London.
Why I Read: The Serious Pleasure of Books by Wendy Lesser
Cultural critic draws on a lifetime of pleasure reading and decades of editing a literary magazine to describe her love of literature.
The Reading Promise: My Father and the Books We Shared by Alice Ozma
When the author was in fourth grade, she and her father decided to see if he could read aloud to her for 100 consecutive nights, a streak that continued until the day she left for college.
March 29, 2019