Summer Solstice Reads: How to Handle 15 Hours of Daylight
Laura, Center for Brooklyn History, Center for Brooklyn History
The summer solstice is upon us once again. I’ve always loved the solstice. Who doesn’t love the start of summer and all it entails: ice cream cones, flip-flops, the smell of sunscreen on the beach? But this year, the solstice feels even more fitting to the timeline in which we are existing. The longest day of the year? That is exactly what the past few pandemic years have felt like: one weird, nebulous, chaotic and LONG year spanning multiple years. In the year of our lives, 2020 to present has been its longest day. Linear time no longer feels true to experience, so even a day where the…
A Few Thoughts on Gratitude
We are all going through a really rough time right now. Life is overwhelming and scary. Many of us won't get to celebrate Thanksgiving with our loved ones. Many of us have been directly affected by COVID-19. Many of us miss spending time with our friends and family, traveling, eating at a restaurant or cafe, and feeling safer. Nevertheless, we can still feel and express gratitude, or be thankful for what we DO have. I am grateful to have discovered and read these five books this year. They gave me hope and made me laugh, a lot. Want to check them out? Click on the…
When Did You Fall in Love with Reading?
A little birdie told us that, when our collective quarantine happened, many avid readers just couldn't focus on books anymore. We're sure it's quite scary to suddenly find the thing that felt like home, now feels as if it's 'too much'. If this sounds like you, fear no more! In an effort to help you jumpstart a new love affair with the written word, Off the Shelf editors asked our book-obsessed colleagues: What books made you fall in love with reading? Below are some selections for anyone looking to revisit some childhood classics, or if you're in need, possible inspiration. Happy…
Interview with Author Bonnie Tsui
Off the Shelf Editorial Staff; Erik Bobilin
"Water is the great equalizer—no matter your age or size or color or physical ability, it buoys us all. Libraries are the same. They are portals to magical worlds beyond the ones we currently inhabit. And we all could use that right about now." For an unexpectedly rewarding thought experiment, ask yourself: why do we swim? If a flood of fond memories of water and sun return for you, it probably makes little sense at first to ask why we, humans, swim, but as author Bonnie Tsui reminds us, primates are among the only mammals not innately possessed of swimming instincts. “Elephants, dogs,…