blogis librorum. A blog about books. Rare books.

This week we celebrate the birthday of Amy Tan, author of the acclaimed novel, The Joy Luck Club.  Tan was born on February 19, 1952 to Chinese immigrants in Oakland, California. America was a place of refuge for her family; her mother fled to America to escape her abusive first husband and Tan’s father immigrated to avoid the Chinese Civil War.

As a girl, Tan rejected her Chinese heritage. She disliked her Asian appearance and even slept with a clothespin on her nose to narrow its shape. “I felt ashamed of being different and ashamed of feeling that way,” she later commented. Instead, she embraced everything American.

Jeff Shaara, was born in New Brunswick, New Jersey on February 21^st, 1952. He is a novelist in his own right and the son of the famed Pulitzer Prize winning author Michael Shaara. Both he and his father specialized in books on war.

The simple act of reading a story with your child is a powerful one. But simple words on texts are not enough on their own; the most enduring children's stories pair wonderful stories with compelling illustrations. Thus, children's illustrators are just as important as children's authors. 

The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn by Mark Twain has long been considered an invaluable work of literature – some even declaring it THE great American novel. Students pore over it in the classroom; lovers of classic literature read it, and reread it, and reread it again; and book collectors dream of adding rare editions to their libraries.

Although Twain’s story manages to capture a long-passed time period while also exploring themes relevant to today’s society, books of a certain age rarely make the headlines of our newspapers.  They are seen as time capsules, set in stone just as they are. But the final word on Huckleberry Finn has yet to be spoken.

Alice Walker is a critically acclaimed and best selling author, poet, and a political activist, champion of progressive ideals. She gave a strong voice to women, particularly women of color, and reignited interest in author Zora Neale Hurston. 

Born on February 9, 1944 in Putnam County, Georgia, Walker is one of eight children. Her mother worked as a maid and her father was a sharecropper. Despite Jim Crow laws and the era's conventional wisdom that blacks need not be educated, Walker's mother enrolled young Alice in school and worked to ensure her daughter received a college education.

Russian poet, novelist, and translator, Boris Pasternak was born in Moscow, Russia on February 10, 1890. His father, Leonid Pasternak was a post-impressionist painter and professor at the Moscow School of Painting, Sculpture, and Architecture; his mother, Rosa Kaufman was a concert pianist. Growing up in a household rich with artistic influence, it is only natural that he would follow in his parent’s footsteps. In 1904, Pasternak took up musical composition. However, he abandoned these studies to attend the University of Marburg, Germany and focus on a career in philosophy.

When it comes to award-winning writing, it may seem that a vast majority of the recipients of the most distinguished prizes are American or English authors. While the scale may dip heavily in this direction, there are international writers who have received the praise and recognition they deserve. JM Coetzee, a South African author, is one of these. Along with winning the Nobel Prize in Literature in 2003, he has also won two Booker Prizes, three CNA prizes, and many others. Richard Poplak described him as “inarguably the most celebrated and decorated living English-language author."

Sinclair Lewis captivated the Amercan public with his wry criticism of capitalism and materialism as threats to American civilization. He was born on February 7,1885, in the village of Sauk Centre, Minnesota. The youngest of three boys, Lewis was sensitive and unathletic, turning not to sports and girls as his older brothers did, but to books and diaries.

On February 6,1937, John Steinbeck's Of Mice and Men was published. The novella met with immediate acclaim, but later sparked countless controversies. Now the book has found its way to the required reading lists in English-speaking classrooms around the world. 

Love her or hate her, Ayn Rand undoubtedly made her mark on the literary, political, and philosophical landscape of 20th century America. Nothing can stir up controversy quite like a discussion of The Fountainhead or Atlas Shrugged. Rand was a woman who held her opinions strongly in the face of dissent. Along with the two novels that earned her a place in history, she also wrote plays, published her own magazine, and composed many essays promoting her philosophies. These views have made her an idol for many fiscal conservatives and libertarians, while eliciting ridicule from progressives and religious leaders.