Author: jfiet
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History of US Public Libraries
When you search online for “first public library in the United States” you might get conflicting information. Three libraries claim this distinction. All three were established long before 1776. In the 1720s, Philadelphia resident Benjamin Franklin worked in a print shop. He and eleven friends founded the Junto Club in 1727. The purpose of this…
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Easter Eggs
Some authors like to include inside jokes, often called Easter Eggs, in their books. Little things that fans might notice but nobody else will pay the slightest attention to. An author’s nod to an observant reader. A character from a past book may make a cameo appearance in a new novel, or maybe the same…
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“Tomorrow, and Tomorrow, and Tomorrow” by Gabrielle Zevin
I picked up “Tomorrow, and Tomorrow, and Tomorrow” by Gabrielle Zevin because her previous book, “The Storied Life of A.J. Fikrey” has been on my to-read list for a long time. Working in a library is sort of like working at an ice cream shop. It’s tempting to try the new flavors, so I took…
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Gardening
This weekend a friend dropped off several buckets of corn so my husband and I spent the afternoon freezing it. I started thinking about how I learned to preserve my garden produce from my mother who learned from her mother-in-law. Mom canned tomatoes, green beans, and pickles. She froze peas and corn, and a lot…