The history of American literature is the history of the nation’s libraries.  These have changed over time, from mere depositories of books meant for circulation where patrons, driven by taste and curiosity, replenish their intellectual needs, to sites where an assortment of community services are offered, especially for the disenfranchised.  They offer internet services, English-language classes for immigrants, children’s activities, job-hunting tools, and even yoga.  In that sense, the American library is an essential ingredient in the nation’s ongoing democratic conversation.  It is known that after the first volume of Don Quixote was published, in 1605, the way people accessed it—at least people not part of the nobility—was through public readings in town plazas and other open spaces.  In contrast, books reach Americans in multiple ways.  They might arrive as e-books, audio books, in serialized form through online services, and so on.  Likewise, book clubs have remained and even increased their popularity.  Yet no matter how we see it, the act of reading is in decline.  Amy Tan in her memoir Where the Past Begins (2017):  My first library gave me the freedom to exist in private, to choose and even be greedy.  I took ten books the first time—illustrated books, fables, fairy tales and happy stories of white children and their kind parents.  A week later, now initiated, I was allowed to walk to the library by myself, carrying the ten books I had finished reading, knowing I could choose many more to furnish my vast secret room, my imagination, all mine.  Barbara Kingsolver in her novel Unsheltered (2018):  Those of us launched from bare-bones schools in uncelebrated places will always find particular grace in a library, where the temple doors are thrown wide to all believers, regardless of pedigree.  Ilan Stavans  https://lithub.com/american-literature-is-a-history-of-the-nations-libraries/ 

The gestation period of a rabbit is 28-31 days.  A group of wild rabbits is called a fluffle or a colony.  A group of rabbits lives in a warren.  Rabbits are crepuscular, meaning they are most active at dusk and dawn.  Rabbits have a blind spot right in front of their nose.  https://rabbit.org/basic-rabbit-facts/ 

Deus ex machina ("god out of the machine") is a plot device whereby a seemingly unsolvable problem in a story is suddenly and abruptly resolved by an unexpected and unlikely occurrence.  Its function is generally to resolve an otherwise irresolvable plot situation, to surprise the audience, to bring the tale to a happy ending, or act as a comedic device.  https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Deus_ex_machina  Deus ex machina sounds like day·uhs eks maa·kuh·nuh

 In linguistics, a calque or loan translation is a word or phrase borrowed from another language by literal word-for-word or root-for-root translation.  When used as a verb, "to calque" means to borrow a word or phrase from another language while translating its components, so as to create a new lexeme in the target language.  For instance, the English word "skyscraper" led to calques in dozens of other languages.  Another notable example is the Latin weekday names, which came to be associated by ancient Germanic speakers with their own gods following a practice known as interpretatio germanica:  the Latin "Day of Mercury", Mercurii dies (later "mercredi" in modern French), was borrowed into Late Proto-Germanic as the "Day of Wōđanaz" (*Wodanesdag), which became Wōdnesdæg in Old English, then "Wednesday" in Modern English.  The term calque itself is a loanword from the French noun calque ("tracing, imitation, close copy"), while the word loanword is a calque of the German noun Lehnwort.   https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Calque 

"'Kolty' (singular 'kolt') are pendants that attached to a woman's headdress at the temples.  The hollow space within the two concave gold disks that compose a 'kolt' contained perfumes or scented oils.  The pendants were usually decorated on both sides, since they could rotate as the woman walked.  See image at https://www.jigidi.com/jigsaw-puzzle/j7fg8wap/temple-pendant-kolt-with-two-birds-12th-century-middle-ages-ukraine/ 

The Hugo Award is an annual literary award for the best science fiction or fantasy works and achievements of the previous year, given at the World Science Fiction Convention and chosen by its members.  The Hugo is widely considered the premier award in science fiction.  The award is administered by the World Science Fiction Society.  Hugos were first given in 1953, at the 11th World Science Fiction Convention, and have been awarded every year since 1955.  The awards were originally given in seven categories.  These categories have changed over the years, and the award is currently conferred in seventeen categories of written and dramatic works.  The winners receive a trophy consisting of a stylized rocket ship on a base; the design of the trophy changes each year, though the rocket itself has been standardized since 1984.  The World Science Fiction Society (WSFS) gives out the Hugo Awards each year for the best science fiction or fantasy works and achievements of the previous year. The award is named after Hugo Gernsback, who founded the pioneering science fiction magazine Amazing Stories and who is considered one of the "fathers" of the science fiction genre.  Works are eligible for an award if they were published in the prior calendar year, or translated into English in the prior calendar year.   https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hugo_Award 

Sharing my grandma’s Borscht Recipe I grew up eating in Ukraine:    this iconic beet soup is made with beef (optional), cabbage, potatoes, carrots, garlic and dill, and then served with a dollop of sour cream and rye bread.  Looking for more Ukrainian recipes?  Try grandma’s unstuffed cabbage rolls and chicken noodle soup.  OLENA OSIPOV   https://ifoodreal.com/ukrainian-borscht/ 

The ideals which have lighted my way, and time after time have given me new courage to face life cheerfully, have been Kindness, Beauty, and Truth. - Albert Einstein, physicist, Nobel laureate (14 Mar 1879-1955) 

March 14 is Pi Day, officially a celebration of the mathematical constant.  “14 Delicious Pies for Pi Day” by Food & Wine includes recipes for  sweet and savory pies.  https://www.foodandwine.com/desserts/pies/delicious-pies-pi-day 

http://librariansmuse.blogspot.com  Issue 2507  March 14, 2022