Tuesday, March 02, 2010

Teaser Tuesdays: The Library

This week my teaser lines come from Stuart A.P. Murray's The Library: An Illustrated History. One of the books I picked up on my last visit to my own local public library, it's a very pretty book with lots of photos and illustrations, but one that's gotten mixed reviews from the critics (and many librarians). I'm enjoying it so far, but then I'm not a critic or a librarian.

This bit is from Chapter 4, and the subject is the libraries of "Europe's High Middle Ages":
Bibliophiles, such as Petrarch's acquaintance, English bishop Richard de Bury (1281-1345), gathered books (manuscripts) wherever and however they could. . . . As a high official of King Edward III, de Bury was showered with gifts and bribes from those who desired his favor and influence with the royal court. The best bribe, however, was a book. [p.69]
Yes, that usually works with me, too.


Teaser Tuesdays is hosted by mizb17 at Should Be Reading. If you'd like to read more teasers, or take part yourself, just head on over to her blog.

23 comments:

  1. Times haven't changed too much! We are still in love with books!

    My teaser and book giveaway: Teaser

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  2. Would work for me too! Love the cover. Here's my teaser and giveaway

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  3. That looks like a book I need to get my hands on!

    My teaser: A Bit of Chick Lit for Teaser Tuesday

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  4. Ahh very true! :) Great teaser. Mine is at The Crowded Leaf.

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  5. What did the critics and librarians say? I'm nosy! Enjoy!

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  6. Definitely the best bribe for me as well. Thanks for visiting my blog. I'm having my first contest right now as well. Enter to win a free book!
    http://readingangel002.blogspot.com/2010/03/my-first-contest-25-followers.html

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  7. I haven't really heard much about this book. I'm a librarian so maybe I'd enjoy looking at it. I have seen an older book on Carnegie libraries that I liked. The pictures were pretty anyway.

    I hope you enjoy your book. Thanks for visiting my blog!

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  8. My brother sent me a book many years ago about how libraries were featured in books/stories. I cannot find it for the life of me, which upsets me. I DO remember that one of the stories was one I specfically looked for, which was when Betsy Ray (Betsy-Tacy books -- one of my all-time faves of series) first was introduced to her town's new Carnegies library, in "Betsy and Tacy go Downtown." Wonderful story...

    My teaser is from a book, "This Hungry Spirit," that combines happiness and leadership in a way that shows that the factors that contribute to happiness also contribute to success AND also inspire you to make positive contributions to the world. In other words, what makes you happy also makes you successful and want to do some good in this wacky world of ours.

    "What we all really want to find is a sense of relevance, purpose, and belonging in our lives, and how well the pursuit of that goes is what gives us greater or lesser happiness. The question of “Who am I, and why am I here?” is the root to all of our pursuits, and the answer it draws can be the source of our deepest resilience."

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  9. I appreciate the teaser but don't think this book would be for me.

    http://fredasvoice.blogspot.com/2010/03/teaser.html

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  10. I would like to be bribed with books, please.

    Thanks for stopping by my blog. :)

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  11. I like that teaser! It's very true! My book does sound creepy. I must read it this year!

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  12. The best bribe, however, was a book.

    I agree! Haha. Nice teaser and thanks for stopping by my blog!

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  13. Great teaser. I love that last sentence!

    Thanks for stopping by my blog!

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  14. Bribed by a book! I love it.

    Are you doing the Bibliophilic Books challenge? I can't remember now if you are. This would be a perfect book for it.

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  15. Easy to forget what valuable items books were then. Interesting teaser!

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  16. Fantastic! I wouldn't have thought a library history would be so exciting.

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  17. Sounds like a great book!

    I hope you have a great reading week...

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  18. I can frequently bribed with the promise of a good book or three. Great teaser!

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  19. Would work for me, too.

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  20. :-d Excellent. As Erasmus said, a man's home is where his books are.

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