John William Cheever (1912–1982) was an American short story writer and novelist.  He is sometimes called "the Chekhov of the suburbs".  His fiction is mostly set in the Upper East Side of Manhattan; the Westchester suburbs; old New England villages based on various South Shore towns around Quincy, Massachusetts, where he was born; and Italy, especially Rome.  His short stories included "The Enormous Radio", "Goodbye, My Brother", "The Five-Forty-Eight", "The Country Husband", and "The Swimmer", and he also wrote five novels:  The Wapshot Chronicle (National Book Award, 1958), The Wapshot Scandal (William Dean Howells Medal, 1965), Bullet Park (1969), Falconer (1977) and a novella Oh What a Paradise It Seems (1982).  His main themes include the duality of human nature:  sometimes dramatized as the disparity between a character's decorous social persona and inner corruption, and sometimes as a conflict between two characters (often brothers) who embody the salient aspects of both–light and dark, flesh and spirit.  Many of his works also express a nostalgia for a vanishing way of life (as evoked by the mythical St. Botolphs in the Wapshot novels), characterized by abiding cultural traditions and a profound sense of community, as opposed to the alienating nomadism of modern suburbia.  A compilation of his short stories, The Stories of John Cheever, won the 1979 Pulitzer Prize for Fiction and a National Book Critics Circle Award, and its first paperback edition won a 1981 National Book Award.  On April 27, 1982, six weeks before his death, Cheever was awarded the National Medal for Literature by the American Academy of Arts and Letters.  His work has been included in the Library of America.  https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/John_Cheever

Air Force One carries the President of the U.S. and his staff.  But did you know that the Air Force also operates 15 other business jets that are used to transport high-profile government officials, including members of Congress?  In addition to the pair of Boeing 747s that take turns serving as Air Force One (the aircraft bears the sobriquet only when the President is aboard), the fleet includes five Gulfstream IIIs, four GVs, two 737s, and four 757s.  All have been modified to incorporate such things as specialized communications and flight equipment and VIP staterooms.  Government agencies reimburse the Air Force for the use of the fleet at hourly rates ranging from $5,262 for the GIIIs to $18,338 for the 737s.  Read more at https://bjtonline.com/business-jet-news/you-know-air-force-one-meet-two-three-four-five   

Magnolia liliiflora is a small tree native to southwest China (in Sichuan and Yunnan), but cultivated for centuries elsewhere in China and also Japan.  Variously known by many names, including Mulan magnolia, purple magnolia, red magnolia, lily magnolia, tulip magnolia and woody-orchid, it was first introduced to English-speaking countries from cultivated Japanese origins, and is thus also sometimes called Japanese magnolia, though it is not native to Japan.  t is now also planted as an ornamental in North America and Europe.  It is a deciduous shrub, exceptionally a small tree, to 4m tall (smaller than most other magnolias), and blooms profusely in early spring with large pink to purple showy flowers, before the leaf buds open.  It is one of the slowest-growing trees, with a growth rate of 15 - 30 centimeters (6-12 in) when young.  See graphics at https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Magnolia_liliiflora  See also https://www.jigidi.com/solve/okhflq1g/magnolia-liliflora/

The three Bread Loaf Conferences include the Writers’ Conference, the Environmental Writers’ Conference, and the Translators’ Conference.  In all the programs, you’ll experience the Bread Loaf model, which includes small-group workshops scheduled among enriching readings and lectures.  Find more information at https://www.middlebury.edu/writers-conferences/ 

Claiming to be the oldest bookshop in the United Kingdom, Hatchards was founded at 173 Piccadilly, London, by John Hatchard in 1797.  It moved within Piccadilly in 1801, to No.189–190; the site of the first shop was cleared in 1810 for the Egyptian Hall to be built.  The second shop had a numbering change to 187, in 1820.  It still trades today from the same address, and Hatchard's portrait can be seen on the staircase of the shop.  It was founded with a collection of merchandise bought from Simon Vandenbergh, a bookseller of the 18th century.  In 1939 Hatchards was acquired for £6,000 by convicted fraudster Clarence Hatry, on his release from prison.  He turned the ailing business around, and in 1946 he also acquired the T. Werner Laurie Ltd. publishing firm.  Hatchards was acquired by William Collins, Sons in 1956.  In the 1980s it expanded the number of its retail outlets, opening branches across the UK.  It was bought by Pentos in 1990, and Pentos was later acquired by Waterstones who rebranded all but the flagship store.  It has a reputation for attracting high-profile authors and holds three royal warrants.  Oscar Wilde’s favourite bookshop, the writer signed his books sitting at the ground floor main table–today known as Oscar's table.  Hatchards opened a new store in St Pancras railway station in 2014.  The 2,000 sq ft store, opened at the beginning of August, and was located next door to a new (2013) branch of Fortnum and Mason, continuing a relationship that goes back over two centuries.  In August 2019 this location re-opened in a larger space within the station.  A third store has been opened in Cheltenham.  See graphics at https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hatchards#History 

http://librariansmuse.blogspot.com  Issue 2753  December 6, 2023