I am a big Winnie-the-Pooh fan. One cannot read A.A. Milne’s stories without feeling nostalgic and comfortable. On my library desk, I have a paper weight with Winnie-the-Pooh saying “Did you ever stop to think, and forget to start again?” Before I retired, on my work desk I had another Winnie-the-Pooh quote “People say that nothing is impossible but I do nothing every day.” Both those quotes are well-followed by me. I have Winnie-the-Pooh in English, German, and Latin. I even have a pop-up, spinning dial Winnie-the-Pooh book. I just love Winnie-the-Pooh.
Before I retired, I also kept a self-help book on my desk. It was a business book my district manager did not like. She thought that it (or perhaps I) was not serious enough for the job (or her). The characters are honest and good in a bad cutthroat world. She liked the cutthroat. I fought her perhaps too much. Two more of these books were found and displayed. I was always pushing that envelope about the type of focus in the business world with her.
These three books are “Winnie-the-Pooh on Management”, 1994; “Winnie-the-Pooh on Problem Solving”, 1995; and “Winnie-the-Pooh on Success”. 1997 by Roger E. Allen.
That was some experience at work! To segue slightly and to paraphrase, it is said that “Homer is where the heart is” I have the book “Stories from the Iliad…told to the children” by Jeanie Lang, published around 1950.
Homer wrote the “Iliad”, perhaps around 800 BC. That, along with the “Odyssey” are poems we still read about today. This marvelous old small book about the final years of the Siege of Troy, is in its original dust jacket. There are eight watercolor pictures tipped in. It retells several spectacular battles fought during the Trojan war, with heroes like Archilles and Hector, along with a few Greek gods adding their influence. It is a book and a story everyone should have knowledge of.
I also have another very interesting book, “The Life and Letters of Anton Tchekhov” published in 1925.
To quote the Beatles:
“You say you want a revolution
Well, you know
We all want to change the world“
Well, Tchekhov, (or Chekhov) did just that. He authored a Russian revolution for writers, and changed the short story for the world-putting characters development first and formost; giving realistic experiences of people. His “Letters” show how he actually thought, how he changed, how he developed as an author.
With the help of these few stories and authors, I would like to welcome a brand new Grandniece, and two Grandnephews into this world. Their respective parents chose to give absolutely wonderful names, and I will immortalize them in my library. Congratulations, and much happiness to Winnie, Hector, and Anton. I wish only the best for them.
Thanks for reading.
P.S.
For this event, I have to also include the books: How to Form a Library” by H.B. Wheatley published in 1886; and “Books That Have Shaped The World” by Fred Eastman, published by the American Library Association in 1937.
Both books speak reverently of “The Divine Comedy” by Dante. According to Eastman, “It is a poetic allegory of the whole life and destiny of man in time and in eternity.”
Grandnephew Dante, elder brother to Hector and Anton, just turned three. Happy birthday.
Librarytomes 