I've watched hundreds of books pass through my Little Free Library outside our house over the past five years. Despite the many adorable LFL logo stamps I've seen other stewards wielding on social media, I've never felt the desire to stamp a book just to show it stopped by my library on its literary journey. … Continue reading Stamping Books and Making a Mark

During four years of college, this is the best advice I ever got: Bring a book. I received this sage advice my first week on campus, before my classes even began, thanks to Colby president William Cotter, who shared it in a welcome lecture to entering students. I admit that I remember little else from the lecture, … Continue reading The Best Lesson I Learned in College

I judge books by their covers. I know. I know. It's the content, the story inside, that matters. As I tell my kids, we shouldn't dismiss new books, people, ideas, or foods with a glance. However, I'm reading Corelli's Mandolin by Louis de Bernières—a used copy I got at a library book sale. I'm enjoying the novel, except … Continue reading Judge a Book by Its Cover: Because Book Design Matters

Apparently I am ruining my fourth grader. According to the American Library Association's Office for Intellectual Freedom, the most challenged book of 2012 is dog-eared on his bookshelf. Drum roll for...Captain Underpants by Dav Pilkey, challenged in schools and libraries for its "offensive language, unsuited for age group." Call me contrarian, but it suddenly sounds a … Continue reading Celebrate Sex, Drugs, Language, Ideas with Banned Books Week

Ahoy, mateys and scallywags. Today be International Talk Like a Pirate Day At Bookswain we're celebrating swashbuckling adventures on the high seas with pirates in literature. After all, many of our pirate memes—talking parrots—and expressions—shiver me timbers—come straight from literature. Treasure Islandby Robert Louis Stevenson "Fifteen men on the dead man's chest, yo-ho-ho, and a bottle of rum." You can … Continue reading Looking for Pirates in Literature