{bits & pieces} & All About Books

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{bits & pieces} & All About Books

The weekly “little of this, little of that” feature here at Like Mother, Like Daughter

What’s both exciting and disappointing about this little collection of books?

The exciting and fun part is that I received them for free and they are now part of my family library, to sit on my shelves for my children to observe and wonder about and, someday, pick up and read.

The disappointing part is that the reason they were free is that my library was getting rid of them, which means that the people in charge were making room on the shelves by getting rid of old (to them: “outdated”) books that weren’t circulating. No one was reading them, so they were deemed dead weight. The very purpose of the library – a place for great works to be treasured for the ages and accessed by the public – is undermined.

The way I see it, I owe it to the world to pick up where the public library left off, and perhaps someday donate these back to a library in the hopes that they’ll be rediscovered — after my family has absorbed them. In addition, I’m considering making it a point of “intellectual charity” to borrow great books from the library, if for no other reason than just to simply keep them in circulation!

I’m inspired to give you a little {b&p} feature: a usual list of links is below, but for now I just want to give you a collection from our Archives, in case you need to catch up on the Library Project:

The Like Mother, Like Daughter Library Project – an introduction to what we believe a library should be, and the concept of this non-list we’re offering
To Educate Children, you Need Books on the Shelves – permission to acquire and collect any and all books of quality!
Just Say No to “Books that Build Character” – includes recommendations for great stories that will contribute in the long run to what you can’t do with a shortcut
Library Project: Should Parent or Child Choose?

Looking for more? See the item in the header menu, above! You can scroll through all the past Library Project posts for more thoughts on books in general and recommendations for specific ones that are worthy of adding to your collection.

On to this week’s links!

For deeper reading:

Anthony Esolen alert! This week we recommend his article The Uses of Disgust. We need this interesting reminder to keep our moral reactions simple. From the article: “You do not say to someone who has brought himself to dine upon feces, so that it is to him an evil second nature, “You know, you should really check a dietician about that.” Nor do you say anything similar to your children. You rely upon their natural sense of disgust: you corroborate it and you direct it. Everything genuinely natural is your ally.”

Prepare to be moved by this inspiring in memoriam piece about Lizz Lovett, a young woman who witnessed to life while dying of cancer. Written by a friend of Rosie’s, this article also includes Lovett’s funeral homily by our dear Fr. Scalia. It also includes this video, in which Lovett offers her story as part of the campaign against euthanasia (legal in her home state of OR):

Some reading to help you prepare to take appropriate action by urging your representatives about the upcoming vote on the Conscience Protection Act!

And lighter & miscellaneous:

You know how I love a good wedding celebration. And we LMLD girls are self-proclaimed wedding-photo addicts. But this shoot I liked in particular because of how it features a cross-generational party. Just some inspiration for how the whole family, young and old, can enjoy a wedding feast together. Laura & Mark’s Rhode Island Wedding. (Discerning readers will recognize some crossover material from my posts about receptions.)

Have you heard about Simone Biles? The young American gymnast phenom who’s slated to, in Rosie’s words, tear it UP at the Olympics this summer? Also: a short video showing and explaining how she’s a head and shoulders above the rest (at less than 5′ :).

A hilarious and endearing interview with the great P.G. Wodehouse, at age 91. On writing, humor, self-reflection… Let’s just say that he doesn’t seem to suffer from false modesty. (Don’t miss the Library Project post on Wodehouse!)

This writer has apparently made a study of the super rich, and diagnosed such wealthy folks with Perfection Anxiety. From Auntie Leila: “Read with your older children (teens) to appreciate a well written essay and to discuss what too much money would do to your life. Is it true that only the extremely rich have perfection anxiety? Is money the cause of this anxiety? Or is it something else?”

In the Liturgical Year:

Today is the memorial of St. Augustine Zhao Rong and his companions, Chinese martyrs!