As part of The New Yorker's lovely 1,000 Words feature, in which they showcase "great images of books from around the world and the web," they've highlighted a picture of a book sculpture created in memory of German writers and poets in the Bebelplatz in Berlin. The Bebelplatz is notable for being the site of a Nazi book burning in which more than 20,000 books went up in flames in a single day. It's such a striking image. And an important one. Go take a look.
This year really came through reading-wise. Initially, I didn't know what to expect. And I think I was a little surprised to find myself feeling a strong pull right from the beginning of the year to published books. I tried quite a few new-to-me authors with more abandon than I have in recent years—something I'm proud of and hope to continue. Not all of them worked in just an Angie-like way, but regret never entered the room. I passed them on. To the Little Free Libraries in my neighborhood, to the used bookstore down the street that I love, to my own public library in donations. Someone will love them. It didn't have to be me. And I loved giving them that little push along their way to the homes of the people who would soak up their words and hold them tight. What a gift books are. How much I need them and how grateful I am at the end of this year for the ones that came and continued on their way—but most especially for the ones that came to stay. And so, as has long bee...
What a cool memorial! Thanks for bringing this to my attention.
ReplyDeleteJuju, I thought so too. Very fitting.
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