Friday Fun Facts!

It has been a long time since I have done a Friday Fun Facts post, and it is long overdue. Today’s topic: Bizarre book facts.

  • Best selling book of all time: The Holy Bible
  • Book that is stolen the most: I have seen two different answers on this, with the Bible being one; but the book I saw referenced the most is The Guinness Book of World Records.
  • Guinness world record by tattered cover
    Photo from Guinness World Records
  • Longest book to date: A la recherche du temps perduby Marcel Proust contains an estimated 9,609,000 characters (each letter counts as one character. Spaces are also counted, as one character each). The title translates to “Remembrance of Things Past“.
  • Marcel Proust cover image
    Photo from Pinterest
  • Author with most published books: L. Ron Hubbard, with 1,084 published works.
  • L Ron Hubbard cover image from Goodreads
    photo from Goodreads
  • Most expensive book: Bay Psalm Book; auctioned for 14,165,000.00 at Sotheby’s.
  • Bay Psalm Book image from Reuters
    Image from Reuters; Carlo Allegri
  • Oldest story known: The Epic of Gilgamesh; written on clay tablets between 2700-2500 BC.
  • Epic of Gilgamesh image
    Photo from Ancient History Encyclopedia

 

Do you know of any strange or fun facts about books? I would love to hear them!

References:
1: https://www.statista.com/statistics/248141/most-read-books-in-the-world/
2: http://mb.ntdin.tv/en/article/english/stolen-book-guinness-book-world-records-10-fun-facts-never-imagine
3: Guinness World Records
4: https://malwarwickonbooks.com/who-has-written-the-most-books/5:
5: https://www.telegraph.co.uk/culture/books/10475282/The-worlds-most-expensive-books.html
6: https://andyrossagency.wordpress.com/2010/08/02/the-first-book-ever-written/

 

 

 

 

My Personal Library!

Always a work in process, I have a few more wooden crates in my garage being spray painted; yes, this was my best option when buying a new house and building a library before worrying about any other room.

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I have books stacked on crates, items that need to be hung on the walls, and still have to put in my tin ceiling that Menard’s denied me over a year ago.

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Still unpacking books, and trying to make room.

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I love too many stories to make a theme in this library, other than reading books!

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Old School Book Favorites!

I was a voracious reader growing up; I would read a book in a day, easily, and quickly collected quite the collection of books in my preteen and teen years by going to the grocery store with my Mom. They had a section of paperbacks, and I got one on every trip. The fact that I had the book read before I went to bed that night did not please her any, but I always reread my books. I lost so many of those paperbacks when they were stored in my parent’s basement and they had a water issue. To replace them now is near impossible as these older books are very expensive.

If you have followed me for a while you know that William W. Johnstone was my favorite author as a teen, and I could not read his horror stories fast enough. I honestly cannot believe my Mom bought them for me, considering what the covers looked like. Go Mom! “Rockinghorse” sent me down a path that literally had me typing a letter to him on my sister’s typewriter, telling him how much his story inspired me, and that I wanted to become a writer. It led to several back-and-forth correspondences, and I am so blessed that he sent me a couple autographed books which are among my prized possessions. As well as the letters I received from him. He went on to write many Western series, which have always been on the best-sellers lists.

Alfred Hitchcock and the Three Investigators were another set of books I always checked out of the school library. I read the series several times, but unfortunately now, they have become collector’s prizes and to even get a hard cover book is very expensive.

Encyclopedia Brown anyone? How I loved those stories. And who could ever not read Beverly Cleary? She got me through some tough teenage angst! And my favorite elementary school book was “The Adventures of the Black Hand Gang”. A picture after every 2-3 page story for you to figure out the clues. That one will set you back over $30.00 if you try to buy it now. I have my beat-up-worn-out-copy in my library.

Adventures of the Black Hand Gang Cover Image

What are your favorite books that you cannot let go of?

If You Are In (or near) High Point, NC

https://w.soundcloud.com/player/?url=https%3A%2F%2Fapi.soundcloud.com%2Ftracks%2F455097678&visual=true&color=%23ff5500&auto_play=false&hide_related=false&show_comments=true&show_user=true&show_reposts=false&show_teaser=true

I’ll be greeting readers and signing copies of NO SAD SONGS tomorrow (Sat. June 9) at Barnes & Noble High Point (NC) starting at 2pm.

via Book Signing Tomorrow! — Frank Morelli

Meet Author Sam Westhoek!

PLEASE RIGHT-CLICK ON THE LINKS TO BE TAKEN TO THE VARIOUS PAGES! 🙂

Sam Westhoek waited until the midpoint of his life to start writing in earnest.  He felt it best to first experience our world to its fullest.

TJ Weeks - head shot

His various travels have taken him to: farms and cities in Europe; amidst lush humid bayous on the Gulf Coast; across the grandeur of hills and plains in Texas; atop arid mile-high mountains in California; slogging through insidious moon dust in the Arizona and New Mexico deserts; under the variegated curtains of the aurora borealis in Iceland; through tropical fields on the island of Terceira in the Azores; and horseback riding amidst the aspens in the high country of Colorado.

Through it all, Sam has loved and lost, and learned to love again.  He has currently settled in the middle of the country, in the middle of the state of Missouri, with his wonderful wife—his best companion.  All five of their children have started their own lives, so again there has been loss and gain.  Sam has been an encouraging force for writers in his community, hosting events for National Novel Writing Month (NaNoWriMo) for the past few years.

He hasn’t settled on one particular genre in which to spin his tales, so don’t be surprised to find him published in a niche you least expect.  His favorite genres are sci-fi, fantasy, historical fiction, and even poetry.  His stories strike a chord with a wide range of ages.  Turn a page and find something new each time.

Do yourself (and Sam) a small favor by taking a few minutes to sample each of the works in his growing repertoire.  The Previews are free.  If you use Kindle Unlimited, you can read his works for free.  Conversely, you could invest in the craft and bless yourself with a copy of one of his ebooks or paperbacks.  What a nifty symbiotic relationship!

Oh, and if You like a particular work, tell a Friend.

AND IF YOU ARE NEAR THE AREA; DO NOT MISS THIS!

20180317 - Author Meet &amp; Greet at OS Library

Two Days Only!

My Autumn Book box is now on sale for $20.00 for the next two days! I need to make room for my Christmas supplies, and want to get these moving! There are things to read, eat, drink, and wear, as well as a couple other handmade gifts!

Thanks for taking the time to look! Autumn Book Box!

Your Thanksgiving Themed Book!

The cozy-mystery paperback I’ve included in my Autumn book box is “The Turkey Day Murder” by Leslie Meier.

Turkey Day Murder Cover Image

This is book #7 in the Lucy Stone mysteries, but is also a stand-alone book. So never fear, if you haven’t read any of the other books in this series, you will not be lost or confused! I have read several of the books in this series, and none of them in order 🙂 Each was a great read, and I was not questioning what I may have missed from a previous book that seems tied to the one I was reading.

This is just one of several fantastic items included! Everything is wrapped and packaged for a gift recipient, or you can indulge in this book box for yourself as we all get prepared for the upcoming Holiday Seasons!

You can order your Autumn Book Box here: Autumn Book Box

 

My Autumn Book Box is Done!

It took me forever, and I am losing money by sending it to anyone, but I do not care!

I am so happy with the products in this box: there are books and magazines to read, yummy stuff to eat, drink, and things to wear!

Autumn book box

My Christmas box is lined up, so think ahead to your bookish friends, and I guarantee they will not be disappointed!

 
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