The Ashmolean Museum’s online Advent calendar 2025 is now live with a sampling from the Oxford museum’s treasures.
First up is : View of snow on Benten Hill at Kinryūzan Temple in Asakusa by Utagawa Kuniyoshi
Kuniyoshi was one of the last great masters of the Japanese ukiyo-e style of woodblock printing. He is probably best known for his prints of warriors and battles of legendary heroes, but also created designs of ghosts, cats, beautiful women, actor prints and landscapes.
This print shows snow at the Kinryūzan Temple in Asakusa, Tokyo and is from Kuniyoshi’s series of Famous Places in Edo (modern Tokyo). The temple sits across a lake with snow-laden trees on the right. Small figures in front of the temple hold umbrellas against the snow.
Kuniyoshi was born in Edo (modern day Tokyo) on 1 January 1798 and in 1811 he began an apprenticeship at the Utagawa school of printmakers, under the leadership of the celebrated Utagawa Toyokuni I (1769-1825). He remained in Toyokuni’s studio until 1814 when he set up on his own and was given the artist name Kuniyoshi.
Possibly inspired by All Streets, Ben Fry’s map of all the streets in the US, Nelson Minar built a US map out of all the rivers in the country.
A letter from Albert Einstein to his daughter: on The Universal Force of Love
In the late 1980s, Lieserl, the daughter of the famous genius, donated 1,400 letters, written by Einstein, to the Hebrew University, with orders not to publish their contents until two decades after his death. This is one of them, for Lieserl Einstein.
“When I proposed the theory of relativity, very few understood me, and what I will reveal now to transmit to mankind will also collide with the misunderstanding and prejudice in the world.
I ask you to guard the letters as long as necessary, years, decades, until society is advanced enough to accept what I will explain below.
There is an extremely powerful force that, so far, science has not found a formal explanation to. It is a force that includes and governs all others, and is even behind any phenomenon operating in the universe and has not yet been identified by us. This universal force is LOVE.
When scientists looked for a unified theory of the universe they forgot the most powerful unseen force. Love is Light, that enlightens those who give and receive it. Love is gravity, because it makes some people feel attracted to others. Love is power, because it multiplies the best we have, and allows humanity not to be extinguished in their blind selfishness. Love unfolds and reveals. For love we live and die. Love is God and God is Love.
This force explains everything and gives meaning to life. This is the variable that we have ignored for too long, maybe because we are afraid of love because it is the only energy in the universe that man has not learned to drive at will.
To give visibility to love, I made a simple substitution in my most famous equation. If instead of E = mc2, we accept that the energy to heal the world can be obtained through love multiplied by the speed of light squared, we arrive at the conclusion that love is the most powerful force there is, because it has no limits.
After the failure of humanity in the use and control of the other forces of the universe that have turned against us, it is urgent that we nourish ourselves with another kind of energy…
If we want our species to survive, if we are to find meaning in life, if we want to save the world and every sentient being that inhabits it, love is the one and only answer.
Perhaps we are not yet ready to make a bomb of love, a device powerful enough to entirely destroy the hate, selfishness and greed that devastate the planet.
However, each individual carries within them a small but powerful generator of love whose energy is waiting to be released.
When we learn to give and receive this universal energy, dear Lieserl, we will have affirmed that love conquers all, is able to transcend everything and anything, because love is the quintessence of life.
I deeply regret not having been able to express what is in my heart, which has quietly beaten for you all my life. Maybe it’s too late to apologize, but as time is relative, I need to tell you that I love you and thanks to you I have reached the ultimate answer! ”.
Your father, Albert Einstein
The annual giant Swedish holiday goat [live YouTube, Bluesky] is built and (currently) standing. Now well-guarded and protected, the goat has not been destroyed or burnt down since 2021 (although damaged in 2023 by jackdaws). This contrasts with 1969 to 1980 where the annual roll-call of destruction reads: fire, fire, smashed to pieces, collapsed, stolen, fire, collapsed, hit by a car, fire, kicked to pieces, fire/broken, fire. How to pronounce Gävle and some more facts. The fate of the Gävle Goat. The official inauguration is tomorrow at 15:00 hours CET (assumes goat still standing).
For its Word of the Year, Dictionary.com has selected “6-7” from its list of contenders for terms capturing the Zeitgeist of language and culture over the past twelve months. The meme, phrase and accompanying hand gestures from a nonsense lyric in a song by Philadelphia rapper Skrilla aka Jemille Edwards, titled “Doot Doot (Six-Seven) has been unavoidable. While grammarians have tried to apply several interpretations as to its meaning and etymology—from a reference to a street in the rapper’s hometown or police code, which despite being incorrect have increased its rather enduring lore. Recent marketing campaigns by fast food franchises and rumors that the next AI model will be called GPT-6-7 (surely a sign the trend is about to plummet) have kept the genuinely meaningless phrase alive.
The artist himself says the meaning is fluid — in a recent interview, he said, “That’s just what my brain thought of when I was making the song … It means a block … but that’s not what it means to everybody else now. So it’s just like, turn something negative to something positive.”
The Wikipedia entry for the much older, fourteenth century English idiom to describe a situation in disarray—“at sixes and sevens”—from the proto-version of gambling dice game craps called hazard has not been updated to reflect this new phenomenon.
I recently ran across Great Bookish Quotes, published in 2023. The entertaining collection of thoughtful passages was edited by the American Library Association, and celebrates the power and magic of books through memorable quotes. This anthology brings together some of the most thought-provoking, humorous, and heartfelt words ever written about reading, literature, and the written word. Featuring insights from authors, poets, and thinkers throughout history, the book serves as a tribute to the transformative experience of storytelling and the deep connection between readers and books. Whether you’re a lifelong bibliophile or a casual reader, this collection offers inspiration and reflection on the enduring impact of literature. Here are some notable quotes from the book:
“A library in the middle of a community is a cross between an emergency exit, a life raft, and a festival. They are cathedrals of the mind; hospitals of the soul; theme parks of the imagination.” — Caitlin Moran
“The library is the temple of learning and learning has liberated more people than all the wars in history.” —Carl Rowan
“Some books are so familiar that reading them is like being home again.” – Louisa May Alcott
“Civilized nations build libraries; lands that have lost their soul close them down.” — Toby Forward
“Books are the quietest and most constant of friends; they are the most accessible and wisest of counsellors, and the most patient of teachers.” – Charles Eliot
“Libraries store the energy that fuels the imagination. They open up windows to the world and inspire us to explore and achieve, and contribute to improving our quality of life. Libraries change lives for the better.” — Sidney Sheldon
“A book, too, can be a star, explosive material, capable of stirring up fish life endlessly, a living fire to lighten the darkness, leading out into the expanding universe.” — Madeleine L’Engle
“Maybe this is why we read, and why in moments of darkness we return to books: to find words for what we already know.” — Alberto Manguel
“I am a part of everything that I have read.” — Theodore Roosevelt
“What people truly desire is access to the knowledge and information that ultimately lead to a better life — the collected wisdom of the ages found only in one place: a well-stocked library.” – Linda Sue Park
“Every book, every volume you see here, has a soul. The soul of the person who wrote it, and of those who read it and lived and dreamed with it. Every time a book changes hands, every time someone runs his eyes down its pages, its spirit grows and strengthens.” Carlos Ruiz Zafon
“Most people don’t understand what a library does for me, and I’ve tried to explain it to them. All I know is that I feel energized when I’m in one. My pulse quickens when I walk through the stacks. I feel like an explorer surveying an uncharted tour. Lost worlds are here waiting to be discovered. Ancient worlds; once glorious, not crumbled. Future worlds; no more substantial than the numbers or ideas or words of those who dream them. Mythical worlds. Worlds of limitless dimensions. Libraries are medieval forests, masking opportunity and danger; every aisle is a path, every catalog reference a clue to the location of the Holy Grail.” – Jack Kavanaugh
“Libraries have a transformative effect on lives of all ages the communities in which they reside, in the country as a whole. They were, and still are, civic institutions that welcome anyone who wishes to become a more informed an independent citizen. There is no other public resource that’s so well encapsulates this aspirational notion of democracy. Through the library, through books, through knowledge, through access to technology, we all can improve to become better, more learned, versions of ourselves, and in turn, be better neighbors to those around us.” – Dan Rather
Visiting the New York home of that other famous Tarantino: A Home That Proves You Can Never Have Too Many Books
If you are searching for holiday gifts for the children in your life, you can’t go wrong with The 2025 New York Times/New York Public Library Best Illustrated Children’s Books suggestions.
If you are a regular visitor to Travel Between The Pages, I think that it’s a fair assumption that you care about books and all things literary. But have you ever considered what it really means to be a “good literary citizen” ? Here’s how to do it in simple steps: How to Be a Good Literary Citizen (in Seven Easy Steps)
If you’re like me, you sometimes daydream about chucking it all and moving to another country to live. And if you’re also like me, that entails finding a getaway that’s inexpensive as well as interesting. This article may just have the answers that we all are looking for : The Cheapest Places to Live in the World: 2025.
Would you like to sleep in one of the most iconic rooms in children’s literature? To do so just visit the Sheraton Boston Hotel and check out its new Goodnight Moon suite. The charming suite recreates Margaret Wise Brown’s classic 1947 children’s book Goodnight Moon, illustrated by Clement Hurd. The project is a collaboration between Harper Collins and Margaret Wise Brown’s estate.
Boston.com provides more details about the suite’s inspiration and includes photos:
The bedtime story, beloved by generations of children, famously features a small bunny who says goodnight to everything in his “Great Green Room” before falling asleep.
The suite, with sweeping views of the Charles River, recreates the story’s Great Green Room with its green walls, red carpet, bowl of mush, glowing LED fireplace, working dollhouse, and, of course, the iconic red balloon . . . Guests are greeted with milk and cookies, a “Goodnight Moon” book, and a plush bunny upon arrival.
According to the hotel’s website , the suite sleeps two adults and two children. A booking includes four tickets to “View Boston” at the Prudential Center (a 360-degree observation deck with terrific city views), a daily food and beverage credit, and more. It also provides a detailed description of the suite:
The suite is a replica of the Great Green Room from the book’s iconic bedroom, complete with green walls, the tiger-striped carpet and cozy pink blanket and the unmistakable red balloon. The suite accommodates up to two adults and two children, with a queen bed in the Great Green room and an additional king bed in suite’s main bedroom.
The inaugural Chicagoland Holiday Bookstore Trolley will make its debut next month. Organized by the Chicagoland Independent Booksellers Alliance, the holiday trolley will take a group of 25 book lovers plus one guide on a festive tour of independent bookstores in Chicago and surrounding suburbs.
Ten route options are available, with each route featuring stops at 4-5 indie bookstores–in total, 43 Chicago-area indies are taking part. The trolley tours will run on December 6, 7, 13, 14, and 20, with morning and afternoon options available.
How It Works
“There are 10 different routes to choose from, and each route includes stops at 4-5 bookstores. Each route has a unique starting location (in Chicago and Surrounding Suburbs) and a unique duration. Please review the schedule options carefully to make sure you select the correct tickets. Route details can be found on our website’s home page and on the ticket booking page.”
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