Banned Books Week – Celebrate the Freedom to Read!

September 22, 2014 by Caitlin

Where The Wild Things Are, The Great Gatsby, Captain Underpants, and Harry Potter. What do all these books have in common? They’ve all been banned at one time or another. Can you imagine if someone tried to ban your favorite book just because they don’t agree with the ideas or messages contained within? This happens across the globe every single day – and is the whole point of Banned Books Week. September 21 marks the start of Banned Books Week, an […]

Categories: Featured • Tags: Banned Books Week, Censorship, literature

The God of Tits and Wine – Literary Happy Hour

April 3, 2014 by Caitlin

Welcome to my new series – Literary Happy Hour. Join me every other Thursday for a drink, some laughs and some good literature. It will go down smooth, I promise.  What to read: A Song of Ice and Fire Series (or watch HBO’s Game of Thrones) What to drink: A sweet, white wine; the Old Bear’s Hot Spiced Wine (recipe found below); Ommegang Beer Sunday, April 6, marks the launch of season four of arguably one of the best literary […]

Categories: Happy Hour • Tags: drinks, game of thrones, happy hour, literature, Song of Ice and Fire

Literary Liaisons – The New York Public Library

March 25, 2014 by Caitlin

Where: New York, New York What: The gorgeous, iconic 42nd Street library building, three sister research locations, plus a full 88-branch and online library system, complete with over 51 million items from historical artifacts to circulating materials. Oh, and Patience and Fortitude. Details: http://www.nypl.org/ The Scoop: The New York Public Library is a kind of Mecca for me; a pilgrimage I make when I visit the east coast. It serves as a refresher for the soul, an inspiration and reminder […]

Categories: Libraries • Tags: children's literature, library love, literary tourism, literature

Happy International Women’s Day!

March 8, 2014 by Ladies On The Shelf

Today marks International Women’s Day, a day to recognize how far the world has come in gender equality, inspire positive changes for the future and encourage advocacy for women’s rights across the globe. On top of that, International Women’s Day is a day to celebrate the women in our lives who inspire us – from our mothers and sisters, to our friends, to our role models who motivate us to change our world. Of course, we, the authors of Ladies […]

Categories: Events • Tags: authors, fantasy, Harry Potter, International Women's Day, ladies, literature, romance novels

Four Lessons For Writers From Harriet The Spy

March 6, 2014 by Caitlin

To celebrate the 50th anniversary of Louise Fitzhugh’s beloved children’s novel, the LOTS team took time to re-read Harriet the Spy and record our grown up observations for a book we loved as a kid. As a sort of prequel to our upcoming observations article, I thought I’d take a minute to share some thoughts I had on Harriet’s favorite thing – writing. As a writer, I find I both admire and relate to Harriet M. Welsch’s writing experiences. Sometimes, […]

Categories: Featured • Tags: harriet the spy, lessons, literature, writing