#OnThisDay in 1922 Collier's Magazine published a new short story by F Scott Fitzgerald - The Curious Case of Benjamin Button. Inspiration for this tale of a man aging backwards came from a Mark Twain quote: "It is a pity that the best part of life comes at the beginning, and the worst part at the end." A 2008 film adaptation made some changes, incl changing Button's wife's name from Hildegarde to Daisy in a nod to Gatsby. #HistoryGetsLIT

#OnThisDay in 1897 Bram Stoker's Dracula was published. Eight days earlier, Stoker had presented a stage adaptation of the novel in order to publicize his forthcoming novel and to secure the copyright. While the book sold reasonably well, it did not become a huge seller until the film adaptations began. Today, Dracula is the most-filmed fictional character ever (can anyone guess who comes in second?) #HistoryGetsLIT

#OnThisDay in 1990 Alicia Girón García became the first female director of the Biblioteca Nacional de España. She began her career in 1969 in Madrid, and in the 80s she was deputy director-general of libraries within the Ministry of Culture, helping draft a law mandating a library in any settlement of over 5000 people. García was director for 2 years, during which time she implemented the country's interlibrary loan system. #HistoryGetsLIT

A singular portrait of Martha, a woman struggling to live through mental illness, and the effect on those who love her. Her acerbic wit brings a layer of humour, which lightens the frustration, anger, and heartbreak just enough to be tolerable but never not uncomfortable (please note that I mean that as a huge compliment, it is never meant to be a comfortable story). The portrayal of Martha's loved ones is beautifully rendered 👇

#OnThisDay Catch Up Time!

May 21 - 2019 Celestial Bodies by Johka Alharthi (and translated by Marilyn Booth) became the first Arabic title to win the Man Booker International Prize.

May 22 - 1570 'Theatrum Orbis Terrarum' (Theatre of the World), is the world's first atlas, published by Abraham Ortelius in Antwerp with 70 maps.

May 23 - 1943 Thomas Mann begins writing Dr Faustus

#HistoryGetsLIT will return with proper blurbs tomorrow!

#OnThisDay my area is dealing with the fall out of a massive wind storm yesterday. We are all okay, but the power is still out, internet is down, and cell service is spotty at best. The daily history posts will resume on the other side! #HistoryGetsLIT

#OnThisDay in 1609 publisher and "procurer of manuscripts" issued the first publication of Shakespeare's Sonnets. Without the bard's approval. While his decision to publish without permission earned him some disdain, it is unlikely to have had a lasting effect on his reputation, and Thorpe's order of the sonnets largely holds today. #HistoryGetsLIT

I loved this one. A lovely, witty book about books and ghosts and redemption lures you in, then shakes you up when the narrative gets knocked sideways by Covid and the murder of George Floyd. In the hands of another writer it would have felt unfocused, but Erdrich felt handles the disorienting feelings we all experienced in 2020 and brings those initial themes of books, ghosts, and redemption to a larger field.

#OnThisDay in 1963 excerpts from MLKing Jr's Letter from Birmingham Jail were leaked in NY Post's Sunday Magazine. King wrote the letter as a response to "A Call for Unity" by 8 white clergymen who disagreed with King's methods of protest (b/c "you can protest, just not like THAT" is a common refrain in the fight for social justice). The letter included the oft-repeated line: "Injustice anywhere is a threat to justice everywhere." #HistoryGetsLIT

I liked this one, it is a beautiful book, but I fell short of loving it. I don't know if it was a case of over-hype? The poetic writing was so beautiful, and there are passages that I will carry with me, but I felt the structure distracted from the story. And in many ways I felt that Kostas and Defne's story was not the most interesting one in the book. I'd read the heck out of Yusuf and Yiorgis' story (cont'd in comments under a spoiler alert)

New books, courtesy of a Mother's Day gift certificate. And new mugs that just HAD to come home with me.

#OnThisDay in 1593 an arrest warrant was issued for playwright Christopher Marlowe, following accusations of heresy from fellow playwright Thomas Kyd. Heretical documents had been found in Kyd's rooms, leading to his arrest and torture, during which he claimed the papers belonged to Marlowe. Marlowe was arrested, but quickly bailed out by wealthy friends. His freedom did not last long, on May 30th he was killed in a bar brawl. #HistoryGetsLIT

#OnThisDay in 1900 L. Frank Baum introduced the magical world of Oz to the masses with the publication of The Wonderful Wizard of Oz. The name Oz came from a filing cabinet - Baum couldn't come up with a name for his magical world and looked around the room for inspiration, until his eyes landed on a drawer marked "O to Z". (Cont'd in comments) #HistoryGetsLIT

#OnThisDay in 1916 Natsume Sōseki's 明暗, Mei An (Light and Darkness) began serialization in the Tokyo and Osaka editions of Asahi Shimbun. At the time of his death in November of that year, Sōseki had completed 188 installments. A blank manuscript page with the number 189 was found on his desk after he passed. Even incomplete, it was the longest novel he ever wrote, and is considered the first modern Japanese novel. #HistoryGetsLIT

#OnThisDay in 1907, at a dinner for the American Booksellers Association, American humorist and illustrator introduced a new word to the lexicon: blurb. He gave each attendee a limited edition of his book "Are you a Bromide?" with a new character on the cover named Miss Belinda Blurb and declaring what had been known as a publisher's puff line to be a "blurb", calling out those who hype up their own work as "the best ever written!" #HistoryGetsLIT

(Yesterday's entry) #OnThisDay in 1925 Mrs Dalloway was first published. Woolf wrote the novel in hand bound journals in her garden shed, dating each day's work like a diary as she went. She modeled Clarissa Dalloway on her childhood friend Kitty Manxe, a socialite who died after falling over her staircase banister. The novel sold so well, it paid for a bathroom to be installed in the Woolf house, nicknamed "Mrs Dalloway's closet." #HistoryGetsLIT

#OnThisDay in 1907 a woman was born who would go on to craft one of the most hauntingly beautiful opening sentences in literature. Daphne DuMaurier published her first novel at the age of 24, and in 1938 her novel Rebecca was an immediate bestseller and has remained in print (and adaptations) ever since. A prolific writer of novels, short stories, and plays, her ability to create atmosphere is a stand out in Gothic literature. #HistoryGetsLIT

Couldn't resist a #staycationintimeswap with @Chrissyreadit and @DinoMom 😁 Head to their pages for info and sign ups!

"How I lamented that I could not turn my branches into arms to embrace him, my twigs into fingers to caress him, my leaves into a thousand tongues to whisper back his words, and my trunk into a heart to take him in."

Happy Limerick Day! #OnThisDay in 1812 Edward Lear was born in Middlesex. Often mistakenly credited with inventing the limerick, Lear popularized the form with his Book of Nonsense, containing around 100 of the short, humorous poems.
There was an Old Man with a beard,
who said, “It is just as I feared! –
Two Owls and a Hen,
four Larks and a Wren,
Have all built their nests in my beard!”
#HistoryGetsLIT

"She keeps looking over to them to see if they understand, as she does, that life is unfair. How could they not? And not even that, because unfair suggests a standard of fairness, something to hope for. Life is unrelated to such standards. Life is a physical activity achieved by the body -- until it isn't anymore."
From "Mt.Adams at Mar Vista"

#OnThisDay in 1926 the English faculty at Merton College, Oxford held a meeting to discuss scheduling and curriculum outlines (thrilling stuff). In attendance were recently appointed Professor J.R.R Tolkien and English Fellow/Tutor C.S Lewis. After the meeting, Lewis wrote of Tolkien "No harm in him: only needs a smack or two." And thus was the beginning of a beautiful literary friendship. #HistoryGetsLIT

Buried under reading buddies 😁🥰

#OnThisDay in 1962 Marvel Comics published the first issue of The Incredible Hulk. Originally, Stan Lee and Jack Kirby designed Hulk with grey skin, but throughout the colouring and printing process more green shades came out, and slowly over the years he became the vibrant green we associate with the character today. #HistoryGetsLIT

Unflinching and heartbreaking, but tinged with beauty and wit. Parts of this are incredibly difficult to read, please heed trigger warnings if they pertain to you. But if you can, it is a strong portrait of a woman buried in trauma and circumstance who just may be finding a way to herself

"... brutality is an inescapable inheritance of humanity, but so is Love. As terribly as we can be hurt, so deeply can we be healed. And we cannot stand alone."

#OnThisDay in 1835 the first installment of Fairy Tales Told for Children by Hans Christian Andersen was published in Denmark. Andersen brought a new, informal style to children's tales that did not sit well with critics, who believed the stories should be more educational rather than entertaining. It wasn't until the 3rd installment, containing an original story about a little mermaid, that critics began to change their tune. #HistoryGetsLIT

#OnThisDay in 1846 America's first weekly newspaper began publication. The Cambridge Chronicle was founded by Andrew Reid and began printing just days after Cambridge was incorporated as a city. The first editions were printed on a hand press, situated above a grocery store. The Chronicle is still in print, articles are also released online at wickedlocal.com #HistoryGetsLIT

#OnThisDay in 1930 the Collins Crime Club imprint was founded by William Collins, Sons publishers. A sort of mystery themed BOTM, members were sent a quarterly newsletter with new publications and panel recommended picks to choose from. The club's success was down to the quality of its authors and their work, most notably the Grand Dame of Mystery Fiction herself Agatha Christie (all but 5 of her novels were publ. through Collins). #HistoryGetsLIT

#OnThisDay in 1927 Virginia Woolf published her follow up to Mrs Dalloway, To The Lighthouse. Woolf began writing To the Lighthouse partly as a way of understanding and dealing with unresolved issues concerning both her parents. Published through her own house, Hogarth Press, and with a cover designed by her sister Vanessa Bell, the book outsold all her previous novels and the proceeds allowed the Woolfs to buy their first car. #HistoryGetsLIT

#OnThisDay in 1773 Art Ó Laoghaire was killed after refusing to sell his valuable horse to a local magistrate. Upon his death his wife Eibhlín Dubh Ní Chonaill composed the keening poem Caoineadh Airt Uí Laoghaire. It has been described as the greatest poem written in either Ireland or Britain in the whole of the 18th century. The tagged explores the life of Ní Chonaill, and the passing of womens' words and stories through time #HistoryGetsLIT

#OnThisDay in 1915 Army Doctor John McCrae sat and penned the words:
"In Flanders Fields the poppies blow
Between the crosses, row on row,
That mark our place; and in the sky
The larks, still bravely singing, fly
Scarce heard amid the guns below."
Some say he then crumpled up the page and threw it away, until it was saved by a fellow officer. McCrae would continue to work on it for months until its publication later that year.
#HistoryGetsLIT

#OnThisDay in 1611 the King's Printers printed the first edition of the Authorized King James Bible. While it was not the first Bible translated into English, it was the first made available to the common people of England. The influence of the KGV is such that noted atheists Christopher Hitchens and Richard Dawkins have called it "a giant step in the maturing of English literature" and "a great work of literature", respectively. #HistoryGetsLIT

My #BookSpin #DoubleSpin and #BookSpinBingo for May. Of course, I made my list before the Women's Prize Shortlist was announced and ALL the holds came in and I went out for #IndependentBookstoreDay, so I think I'll be making use of the free and library spots the most 🤣🤣. Hopefully I'll at least get to the tagged as well 🤷‍♀️

@TheAromaofBooks

#OnThisDay in 1920 the Saturday Evening Post published the short story Bernice Bobs Her Hair by F Scott Fitzgerald with illustrations by May Wilson Preston. It marked the first occasion Fitzgerald's name appeared on the cover and was hailed as "set[ting] social standards for a generation of young Americans". Bernice's name was a nod to Berenice II of Egypt who was said to have cut off her hair to ensure a war victory. #HistoryGetsLIT

Who else headed out for #IndependentBookstoreDay yesterday? I managed to stick to my #20in4 goal of buying less than 20 books 🤣🤣🤣 Got some great stuff for myself, and a few for the kiddos at the tagged, my favourite local bookstore!

#OnThisDay in 1808 Pellegrino Turri completed construction of (possibly) the world's first typewriter. The idea of a machine for letters came from Henry Mill in 1714, but it wasn't until Turri invented carbon paper to provide ink that the idea was made possible. And that led to all this (and more): https://www.mentalfloss.com/article/80104/19-authors-and-their-typewriters #History GetsLIT

Can anyone think of an author with the initials H.B?

A hastily scribble May #BookSpin list! We'll see how it goes, I'm easily distracted lately.

@TheAromaofBooks

#OnThisDay in 1986 a devastating fire hit Los Angeles' Central Library. It damaged or destroyed more than one million books. Thankfully, the alarm systems and fire protection had recently been upgraded, and that advanced warning meant all 400 people inside the building were able to escape uninjured. It took around 350 firefighters and 7 hours before the blaze was extinguished. Arson was suspected, but the culprit remains a mystery. #HistoryGetsLIT

Brooks embarked on a huge undertaking with this book, to give life to Chaucer's Wife of Bath, she of the five husbands and bawdy spirits. The result is an entrancing, immersive piece of historical fiction, and a singular woman in Eleanor/Alyson. Full of wit, humours, and heartache, written so fully that you can feel (and smell) the atmosphere of medieval Bath and London 👇

#OnThisDay (probably) in 1438, the earliest known autobiography written in English was completed. The Book of Margery Kempe details life as a Christian mystic, including moments of divine revelation and her "presence" at key Biblical events. There is (understandable) debate as to whether it can be called an autobiography, or if it is a confession of faith, but it remains significant as a glimpse into the mind of a medieval woman. #HistoryGetsLIT

@Andrew65 is celebrating the turn of the month with another great Readathon. While it is a #20in4 Readathon, feel free to set your own goal that fits your weekend! I don't know how much reading time I'll get in, but it is Independent Bookstore Day this Saturday so I'll say my goal is NOT to buy 20 books 🤣🤣🤣🤣

"Winter didn't so much melt into spring as give over grudgingly. Snow retreated in sulking stages, buds shyly blossomed on the once-barren trees, and people swarmed into the city as the sun punched its way through the heavy firmament, spreading a bit of much needed warmth."

Taking a short break from the epic Ship of Magic for this one on OverDrive. Even in Black and White the cover is stunning.

#OnThisDay in 1667 John Milton sold the copyright for Paradise Lost for £10. By that time the once wealthy Milton had fallen into poverty. A supporter of Cromwell, he was to be imprisoned in 1660 but was saved by powerful friends. Stripped of property and prestige, and having lost his sight years earlier, Milton began dictating his epic in 1663 to his family. Despite inauspicious beginnings, it was hailed as a masterpiece. #HistoryGetsLIT

#OnThisDay in 1893 author and pioneering screenwriter Anita Loos was born. Best known for her novels Gentlemen Prefer Blondes and But Gentlemen Marry Brunettes. Loos was the first female staff screenwriter in Hollywood, working under DW Griffith who called her "the world's most brilliant woman." Her sharp wit served her well when transitioning to "talkies", penning classics like The Women in 1939. #HistoryGetsLIT

#OnThisDay in 1719 Robinson Crusoe was published. A hallmark of realistic fiction, and (possibly) one of the first English novels, Crusoe introduced the "Man (or Girl) Friday" to the English language. Originally published as a tale written by Crusoe himself, many mistook it for a true travelogue. Incredibly popular from the moment of publication, four editions were published before the end of 1719 #HistoryGetsLIT

#OnThisDay in 1800 the United States' oldest cultural institution was established - the Library of Congress. In 1812 British forces burned the library down, so in 1815 Thomas Jefferson sold his 6000 book collection to Congress for $23,950. In 1988 films were added to the collection, and now the library also collects EVERY public tweet. #HistoryGetsLIT

#OnThisDay in 1616 William Shakespeare died. We also celebrate his bday today, the exact date is unknown. "If you bid me good riddance and send me packing, if you wish I was dead as a door-nail, if you think I am an eyesore, a laughing stock, the devil incarnate, a stony-hearted villain, bloody-minded or a blinking idiot...For goodness' sake! What the dickens! But me no buts! - it is all one to me, for you are quoting Shakespeare." #HistoryGetsLIT

#OnThisDay in 1849 members of the Petrashevsky Circle were arrested due to their "spirit of opposition to the government, and…desire to alter the existing state of things." Of the 60 members arrested, 23 were sentenced to execution, including Dostoevsky. The Tsar agreed to commute the sentences, but prisoners were not informed until the first three prisoners had been blindfolded and tied to stakes and the order to fire was given ? #HistoryGetsLIT