Tag: featured
Essay of the day: “Autumnal Tints” by Henry David Thoreau
Henry David Thoreau loved the natural world and held a deep respect for the organic changes brought by the seasons. This essay is a perfect read as fall sets in and we admire the multi-colored foliage. Thoreau enjoyed a good leaf-peeping as much as many of us do now, confused by his neighbors in Concord, ...
A Digital Exhibition of the History of U.S. Public Libraries
The United States has a long-running respect and tradition when it comes to public libraries. Libraries came about as an answer to the Enlightenment era, when science, reading, and learning found significance in much of the western world. Access to books was difficult for most people pre-Revolutionary War. Benjamin Franklin, along with members of his ...
Short Story Pick: “A Walk in the Dark” by Arthur C. Clarke
Straight out of the pulps, Arthur C. Clarke’s science-fiction/horror short story published by Thrilling Wonder Stories in 1950, tells the story of a man on a far off planet looking for the port station in the dead of night. His tractor broke down and his flash light went out; all he can do now is ...
Thirty, Nerdy and Thriving: Accomplishments and goals for the next decade
Turning thirty is like crashing onto an uncharted island or the room at the end of 2001: A Space Odyssey– you wake up and say, “Okay, now what?” I turned thirty in July and it didn’t really sink in until a week ago, when I went to the dentist and had to write down my ...
Five Classic Reads for Fall
Each season inspires in its own unique way, but there’s something special about fall. The air cools down to a crispness, making us want to wrap up in a cozy sweater and sip on something warm. Certain classic books have this cozy, crisp quality about them, pairing well with the weather. Some of these books ...
What I’ve Learned from Four Years of Blogging
Neptune Your Dial turned four years old in September! This blog has hit some ups and downs, gone through a lot of changes- including a renaming- and grown into something I am very proud of. The process of running a blog and posting regular content can be challenging, especially if you have a full-time life ...
The Boston Public Library… *sigh*
Boston has a long history. Not just in the founding of the U.S., but also in literature and the arts. On a recent trip, I stopped in the Boston Public Library’s Central Library at Copley Square. It was built in two parts, the McKim Building and the Johnson Building. The McKim Building drips history with ...
Completing Jane Austen’s Six
I read part of Pride and Prejudice in high school and it did nothing for me. I watched the BBC mini-series in my British Literature class and I thought, Okay, dancing, letter writing, guy bathing… entertaining enough, but not worth examining outside of class. Years later, during my last year of college, I finally decided ...
Literary and Bookish Places in Atlanta
Atlanta might not seem like a literary city, but the home of Margaret Mitchell and a slew of independent bookstores offers many attractions, events and activities for bibliophiles. Georgia State University and Emory University both have highly regarded English programs, growing the city’s bookish population each year. On any given week, established authors can be ...
A Day in Concord, MA: Home of Transcendentalism and Classic American Literature
Concord, Massachusetts was a incubator for enlightenment and philosophy during the early to mid-nineteenth century. Key members of America’s transcendentalist movement and other writers called Concord home, including Henry David Thoreau, Ralph Waldo Emerson, Louisa May Alcott and her father, Amos Bronson Alcott, and Nathaniel Hawthorne. The town is steeped in literary history, reminiscent of ...
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