Vivian Taylor (she/her)

Left has a photo of Maya Angelou, a smiling older Black woman, wearing a black dress, gold choker-style necklace, gold earrings, and short greying hair; right has this quote via azquotes.com: "You may encounter many defeats, but you must not be defeated. Please remember that your difficulties do not define you. They simply strengthen your ability to overcome." Maya Angelou

Thought for the day: (via azquotes.com)
#BlackHistoryMonth

Text: "You may encounter many defeats, but you must not be defeated. Please remember that your difficulties do not define you. They simply strengthen your ability to overcome." -- Maya Angelou

Photo on left of Octavia E. Butler, a Black American woman wearing glasses, dangling earrings, a black turtleneck top and colorful blazer standing in front of a bookshelf; the right has the following quote via azquotes.com: "Tolerance, like any aspect of peace, is forever a work in progress, never completed, and, if we're as intelligent as we like to think we are, never abandoned." Octavia Butler

Thought for the day: (via azquotes.com)
#BlackHistoryMonth

Text: "Tolerance, like any aspect of peace, is forever a work in progress, never completed, and, if we're as intelligent as we like to think we are, never abandoned." -
Octavia Butler

Left is a photo of a smiling, bald, older Black American man, John Lewis; right is a quote via azquotes.com: "If you see something that is not right, not fair, not just, you have a moral obligation to do something about it." -- John Lewis

Thought for the day: (via azquotes.com)
#BlackHistoryMonth

"If you see something that is not right, not fair, not just, you have a moral obligation to do something about it." -- John Lewis

Watch "The Librarians" documentary next week. Free on PBS!

You're personally invited to watch The Librarians, a new documentary about censorship, libraries, and the fight for the right to read, premiering next week on Independent Lens on PBS.

www.everylibrary.org/librarianspbs via @everylibrary.bsky.social

SEND AN EMAIL: Tell Congress To Stand Against Trump's Budget Proposal to Defund IMLS. Your representatives need to hear from you today! Trump has eliminated all Federal Funding for libraries in his proposed budget by calling for the complete elimination of the Institute of Museum and ...

Congress must pass the last parts of the federal budget that include the Institute of Museum and Library Services (IMLS) and the National Archives and Records Administration (NARA) by January 30th.

www.speakupforimls.org via @everylibrary #library #libraries #read #lit #books

5 Images: upper left, Christmas tree made of lights with words "MERRY CHRISTMAS"; upper right Kwanzaa Kinara with words "HAPPY KWANZAA"; bottom left, a Menorah with colorful lit candles and the words "HAPPY HANUKKAH"; bottom center, a colorful tree representation of the 4 seasons with the words "SEASON'S GREETINGS"; and bottom right is a crescent moon in front of crystal snowflakes with the words "YULE WINTER SOLSTICE."

For all those celebrating holidays at this time of the year, I pray you have a peaceful and joy filled holiday season.

Happy Holidays Y'all! #happyholidays #seasonsgreetings

Background has a blurry view of trees and the sun, foreground has the following quote via quotefancy.com: “The belief in a supernatural source of evil is not necessary; men alone are quite capable of every wickedness.” — Joseph Conrad

Thought for the day: (via quotefancy.com)

Text: “The belief in a supernatural source of evil is not necessary; men alone are quite capable of every wickedness.” — Joseph Conrad

Graphic image of an open book, the words below the book image: "Thankful, Blessed, & Reading Obsessed", and a large and small pumpkin in the lower left

I'm feeling thankful, blessed, and reading obsessed (today and every day).

Happy Thanksgiving to everyone celebrating.

Happy Thursday to anyone not celebrating.

Hope you find some time to read. #HappyThanksgiving

Photo of a curved wall of books on bookshelves in the background. Foreground has the following quote via Quotefancy.com: "If one reads enough books one has a fighting chance. Or better, one's chances of survival increase with each book one reads." Sherman Alexie

#WordsOfWisdom
#NativeAmericanHeritageMonth

Quote text: “If one reads enough books one has a fighting chance. Or better, one’s chances of survival increase with each book one reads.” — Sherman Alexie

Red background: West Virginia Humanities Council announces Pulitzer Prize winning author Viet Thanh Nguyen live at 7:30 PM in Charleston West Virginia. Photo of author, lower right in front of book cover THE SYMPATHIZER by Viet Thanh Nguyen

#WVBookFestival kick off!!

Tonight's the 43rd McCreight Lecture in the Humanities featuring Pulitzer Prize–winning author Viet Thanh Nguyen at 7:30 PM at the historic Capitol Theater in Charleston.
Free
Doors open: 7:00 PM, lecture begins: 7:30 PM
#WVHumanities #McCreightLecture #CharlestonWV

GODS OF JADE AND SHADOW giveaway Win a copy of GODS OF JADE AND SHADOW Shipped anywhere in the world Brand new paperback edition from Arcadia ‘This is historical fantasy at its best’ S.A. Chakraborty, author of The City of Brass ​***...

I'm entering this competition and you can too! wn.nr/85rtKMn

Left features a photo of Black American author Ntozake Shange; right contains the following quote: “I’m a firm believer that language and how we use language determines how we act, and how we act then determines our lives and other people’s lives.” — Ntozake Shange

#Wordsofwisdom via Azquotes.com

Text: “I’m a firm believer that language and how we use language determines how we act, and how we act then determines our lives and other people’s lives.”
— Ntozake Shange

I Believe in Libraries. EveryLibrary's Executive Director, John Chrastka, discusses why he believes in libraries.

EveryLibrary's Executive Director, John Chrastka, discusses why he believes in libraries.

www.everylibrary.org/i_believe_in... via @everylibrary.bsky.social

Left: black & white photo of a young black male, author Richard Wright; right contains a Richard Wright quote via azquotes.com: "All literature is protest."

Thought for the day: (via azquotes.com)

Text: "All literature is protest." - Richard Wright

Urge Your Senators: Remove the Proposal to Cut Public Media Funding The Senate will soon consider a rescissions package that would take back approved public media funding. Call your Senators now!

Within days, the Senate will vote on legislation that would devastate public media. Call your Senators now and urge them to remove public media funding cuts from the rescissions package. bit.ly/3GqqF7y #ProtectMyPublicMedia

Eid Mubarak!

Debunking Hateful Propaganda about Jews and Muslims A viral meme claims Jews and Muslims have warred for thousands of years, but the facts prove this myth dangerously false—and the exact opposite as true

Trump is doing his best to create division and discord between Muslims and Jews, and joining him is a sustained campaign of propaganda.

Here I prove that Muslims and Jews have had a Long history of peace together—one we must revive on the tenets of justice.
www.qasimrashid.com/p/debunking-...

Authorities from the United States to Argentina, Russia, and around the world are targeting books to erase perspectives and restrict speech. This #WorldBookDay, we join @peninternational.bsky.social's call to defend the freedom to read and to end book bans.

Results of the First Library Ballot Initiatives in the Trump Era

The first two statewide elections of the Trump era have underscored a vital truth:

Libraries are not red or blue, liberal or conservative, left or right—they are essential.

www.everylibrary.org/first_librar... via @everylibrary.bsky.social

Connect with your library. National Library Week. Plug-in, login, visit, support.

It's National Library Week. Now more than ever, libraries are important.

12 Cheeky Buildings Shaped Like Animals From a crocodile-like hotel to an elephant-inspired skyscraper, these building add a touch of whimsy to the everyday

We need things that make us smile.
www.architecturaldigest.com/gallery/buil...

This is the daily book deals graphic, with all 5 of today's covers.

Want to grab today's deals from Kobo or Bookshop instead*? Affiliate links below! 😊

Your Friday thread of #romancedeals is ready, FREE to $1.49. Happy shopping! 📚❤

*if available

Print copy of THE GIRL WHO DISAPPEARED TWICE by Andrea Kane featuring a blurry image of a girl playing hopscotch on a greenish-blue background. The book sits on a brown blanket featuring an assortment of bookish images: an open book, eyeglasses, green plants, a trio of book spines, a cat resting on a stack of books, a coffee/tea mug, wine glass, wine bottle, & vase of flowers.

I recently received a signed print copy of THE GIRL WHO DISAPPEARED TWICE by Andrea Kane. Thanks to the author and @partnersincrimevbt.bsky.social. Now I need to add the remaining titles in the "Forensic Instincts" series to my print library (I have most in my digital library already).

#booksky 📚

If Musk and his Technoboyz can't stop a cyber attack at X, maybe they shouldn't have access to our Social Security? Just brainstorming.

In 1942, the American President opposed censorship because books were weapons in the fight against tyranny.

In 2017, Trump gave a $2 trillion tax cut mostly sucked up by billionaires and big corporations.

But it was so expensive, Republicans set many of their tax cuts to end after 2025.

Now, Republicans want to steal from working people to pay for more tax cuts for billionaires.

Romance Can be Resistance: Kennedy Ryan On Writing Romance for the Real World | Shelf Love - PEN America In this Shelf Love, Kennedy Ryan talks about the importance of romance novels and how to break into a literary landscape gate-kept by men.

This week for Shelf Love, an interview series in collaboration with @authorsabb.bsky.social, we talked to @kennedyryan.bsky.social.

Romance is one of the most targeted genres for book bans. Read on to find out why writing for and about marginalized love matters: pen.org/kennedy-ryan...

Foreground has a red women's handbag by Yoshi Lichfield featuring colorful book spines: MRS. DALLOWAY by Virginia Woolf, HEIDI by Johanna Spyri, GONE WITH THE WIND by Margaret Mitchell, PRIDE AND PREJUDICE by Jane Austen, JANE EYRE by Charlotte Bronte, LITTLE WOMEN by Louisa May Alcott, TESTAMENT OF YOUTH by Vera Brittain, MARY POPPINS by P.L. Travers, TO KILL A MOCKINGBIRD by Harper Lee, and REBECCA by Daphne DuMaurier. Background: white blanket with red heart BOOKS in the center.

Other than reading (a lot of reading, 90+ books so far this year), I haven't been very active on social media this year. I've been reading, attending book club meetings, and did some shopping. I treated myself to a new Yoshi Bookworm handbag.