Erin Crosby Eckstine is an author of speculative historical fiction, personal essays, and anything else she's in the mood for. Born in Montgomery, Alabama, Eckstine grew up between the South and Los Angeles before moving to New York City, where she taught high school English for six years. She...
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Odes to My First Car
In celebration of National Poetry Month, we gave Los Angeles Public Library staffers a poetry prompt—Write an Ode to Your First Car—and the response was Fast and Furious!
Read it First: At Home Edition - Shakespeare With Familiar Faces
Ah, April. The month we celebrate Spring, National Poetry Month and the birth (and death) of one Mr. William Shakespeare. Arguably the most famous author of all time, Shakespeare’s works are perennial favorites, having been performed for centuries.
Flash Fiction: Telling the Whole Story in 1500 Words or Less
If you are having trouble staying focused these days, you’re not alone. Your concentration may not be what it was, so this is a good time for flash fiction, a genre of very, very, very short stories.
Library Backgrounds for Your Next Zoom Meeting / Tu biblioteca como fondo de Zoom
Are you using Zoom to communicate with colleagues, family, and friends while staying safe at home? Here's a gallery of library photos you can display as virtual backgrounds during your next meeting.
Grow Something: Gardening Indoors or Outdoors
You do not need a “green thumb” to be a successful gardener. Start small, with one plant. Pick the most forgiving plants; ones that take a lot of water (such as pothos, ivy, spider plant), or ones that need hardly any water (such as a cactus or succulent).
Stargazing: Looking Up
Remember to look up at the stars and not down at your feet. Stephen Hawking
Interview With an Author: Peter Swanson
Peter Swanson is the author of six novels, including The Kind Worth Killing, winner of the New England Society Book Award, and finalist for the CWA Ian Fleming Steel Dagger and Her Every F
What Novels Were We Reading 100 Years Ago?
Like the current year, 1920 was an eventful one for the United States. The “Spanish Influenza” epidemic of the previous two years, which we’ve heard a lot about recently, had taken 675,000 American lives, including more than half of the 116,000 who died while serving in World War I.
You’re the DJ! How to Make and Share Your Own Freegal Playlist
Way back in the 1980s, for that BFF or pen pal or special someone, you would make mixtapes. The perfect set of songs, lovingly curated to express your eternal friendship, your inspiration, the dark abyss of your misunderstood heart, your super coolness or your tender feelings.
From Lewis Carroll to John Lennon: The Irrational Magic of Nonsense Verse
According to the Encyclopedia Britannica, nonsense verse is defined as “humorous or whimsical verse that differs from other comic verse in its resistance to any rational or allegorical interpretation.