Killer Reading – The Hunt for the Potentially Deadly Arsenic-Infused Books of the 19th Century
Book conservationists have launched an effort to locate thousands of 19th-century books containing ’emerald green’, a rare and coveted pigment created with the help of arsenic. Before the industrial revolution, books were leather-bound artisanal creations that took a lot of time and effort to produce, but the invention of bookcloth changed everything. It was both […]
Man Books One Night at 5-Star Hotel, Lives There for 600 Nights Free of Charge
An Indian man is currently under investigation for fraud, after allegedly spending a total of 603 nights at a New Delhi 5-star hotel despite only paying for one night. On May 30th, Ankush Dutta booked a room at the renowned Roseate House Hotel in Delhi. He was supposed to check out the next day, but […]
This Portuguese Library Relies on Bats to Preserve Old Books and Manuscripts
The Joanina Library of the University of Coimbra Alta and Sofia is one of two Portuguese libraries to house colonies of bats as natural deterrents for bugs that would otherwise feed on old books and manuscripts. As unusual as having a colony of Common pipistrelle bats living behind the bookshelves of one of the most […]
Pastor Burns ‘Harry Potter’ and ‘Twilight Books’ to Fight Demonic Influences
During a live-streamed event last week, a controversial Tennessee pastor burned tens of fantasy books, including Harry Potter and Twilight, in an alleged attempt to fight “demonic influences”. Pastor Greg Locke of the Global Vision Bible Church in Mt. Juliet, near Nashville, began his sermon last Wednesday by telling his congregation that he had received […]
This French Bookstore Is a Cat-Lover’s Dream Come True
You know what a good book goes great with? Well, apparently cats, and this new bookstore in Aix-en-Provence, France is all the proof you need. Mon Chat Pitre opened its doors in June of this year, and it has already become somewhat of a local attraction in Aix-en-Provence, especially among cat lovers. It has a […]
Mirrored Ceiling Makes Bookstore Look Like an Infinite Library
Dujiangyan Zhongshuge, a bookstore in Dujiangyan, China, relies on strategically placed mirrors and gleaming black tile floor to create a stunning illusion that makes the place look like an infinite bookworm’s paradise. The roughly 10,500-square-foot bookshop was designed by Li Xiang, founder of Shanghai-based architecture studio X+Living, and inaugurated in the Fall of 2020. Using […]
Social Media Star Promotes Fake Books as Props for Wanna-Be Online Influencers
If you want to make it as a glamour influencer on social media, you have to look the part, and one way to achieve that is by using fake books as decorations. French Instagram superstar Maddy Burciaga has come under fire for allegedly promoting fake expensive books are the perfect props to decorate one’s home. […]
Polish Priests Burn Harry Potter and Twilight Books to Protest Occultism
Catholic priests from an evangelical group in northern Poland recently sparked a heated online debate after staging a controversial protest against occultism, idolatry and sorcery by burning various “sacrilegious” items, including Harry Potter and Twilight books, traditional masks and idols, and even a Hello Kitty umbrella. In photos posted on Facebook, several priests from the SMS […]
Man Quits His Job to Wait for “Dream Girl” He Made Eye Contact With for 10 Seconds in a Bookstore
A Chinese man has been making national headlines after it was revealed that he has been waiting in a bookstore in Beijing for over 50 days hoping to meet a girl he has “fallen in love with” after making eye-contact for 10 seconds. To say that this 26-year-old man is a firm believer in love […]
Russian Scientist Allegedly Stabs Colleague Who Kept Revealing the Endings of Books He Was Reading
A Russian scientist working at the Bellingshausen research station on King George Island, in Antarctica, was charged with attempted murder after he stabbed a fellow colleague with a kitchen knife for allegedly revealing the endings of books that he was reading. 55-year-old Sergey Savitsky and Oleg Beloguzov, 52, had been working together at Russia’s remote Bellingshausen for four years […]
Spanish Second-Hand Bookstore Finds Fake Bomb-Book in Its Collection
Staff at a second-hand bookstore in Badajoz, western Spain, were terrified to discover that one of the books in their collection had had its pages removed and replaced with a complex mechanism that closely resembled a bomb. The book in question, a copy of “The King of Beggars” by French writer Jean Larteguy attracted the […]
Library of Abandoned Books – Garbage Collectors in Turkey Open Library with Books Destined for the Landfills
An incredible new library has opened in the Çankaya district of Ankara, Turkey featuring a collection of salvaged books once destined for landfill. Local sanitation workers, who spent months collecting abandoned and discarded books from the streets, established the library to be used by themselves and their families. As the collection grew, however, word spread […]
The Literary Man – A Library-Style Hotel with a Collection of Over 50,000 Books
If you ever decide to visit the medieval village of Obidos, in Portugal, you needn’t bother bringing a book to pass the time. Just book a stay at The Literary Man hotel and you can choose from its collection of over 50,000 books. Established in 2015, The Literary Man has already become famous as the […]
Alabama Library to Enforce Jail Time for Overdue Books
Returning a book late at the local library usually gets you a scolding by the librarian, or maybe your permit revoked for repeat offenses, but failing to turn in a book on time at one Alabama library could actually land you in jail for 30 days. With over $200,000 worth of overdue books to recuperate, […]
Unique ‘Human Library’ Project Lets You Check Out People Instead of Books
Books allow us a glimpse into the mind of the author, but what if we could make a direct connection instead? What if we could ask specific questions about their experiences, receive instant answers, and hear their story first-hand? A library in Denmark is trying to achieve just that, by having people check out and […]