Scribblings #15: Bookish Summer Vacation Edition

I did try to make an effort to have a slightly bookish summer vacation; well, not as successful as I would have liked. We visited the New York Public Library and it is magnificent! And we drove pretty close by Mark Twain’s birthplace and biked/drove/walked past many other literary spots in New York city; and of course, I did some reading as well.

Some of the reading was right at my feet, literally!

Traveling does broaden your horizons, literally; and those of your mind too. Those umpteen miles we walked the past few days dazzled us with sights, information, and the pure joy of discovery! We biked into unknown territories; took a few steps to travel into the past and then took a turn to land into the future; were awed by both man-made and natural wonders; humbled by the inventions, discoveries, and efforts of so many around the world that let us enjoy this journey.

Last Week

So being on vacation meant I completely missed making a note of these two literary celebrations this past week. Maybe you celebrated it; if not, better late than never, right?!

Aug 9th – National Book Lover’s Day – Well, this one is everyday for me
Aug 10th – Love Your Bookshop Day – If you did not visit your local bookshop yesterday, that is OK. I think you can go ahead and show some love anytime and support those bookstores.

This Week and Coming Up Next

My bookish summer is almost ending as back to school frenzy begins (first day of school today for my middle-schooler!). But there is still one or two more posts waiting to make their presence felt here. And we have National Bad Poetry Day coming up on the 18th of August 🙂 So, go ahead and read or write some poetry that does not need to be good!!

Today, the 15th of August, India celebrates her 73rd Independence Day. And I fondly remember the march pasts I participated during school celebrations, with my parents looking for my brother and me in the rows of students marching past!

And August also marks the celebration of many festivals in India. The dates vary each year by a few days here and there; but come August, we are in celebration frenzy through…. well, we have something to celebrate throughout the year; but the second half of the year do seem to have lots more of the bigger celebrations!

That said, today we are celebrating Raksha Bandhan. The words literally mean the bond(Bandhan) of protection(Raksha). Sisters tie amulets/talisman around their brothers’ wrists symbolically protecting them; and in turn receive the promise of protection (along with gifts as well!). Now that my brother is oceans away, I use online sites to mail the Rakhi (the name given to the talisman tied by sisters) to him..

A Little Bit of Randomness

Over 2.5 million books of the New York Public Library are housed in stacks below the main floors; and below adjacent Bryant Park. The stacks contain 125 miles of shelving — 88 miles in the seven stack floors of the original building and 37 miles in the two-level stack extension under Bryant Park.

Wrapping Up My Scribblings

Here is wishing you a wonderful bookish time wherever you are..

Linking this to the Sunday Post over at the Caffeinated Reviewer

And so my bookish summer continues…..

So, this was just a catch-up post as you can see. I will have one (or two) more post(s) maybe for my bookish summer theme (though most of my posts are bookish anyways!) ….

What are your comments or questions about today’s post? I would love to hear from you. Check out previous Bookish Summer posts using the links below.

Lady In Read Writes

A Blog(ful) Of Niches