Category Books

Why is ‘Wings of Fire’, the autobiography of Dr. Kalam, inspirational?

‘Wings of Fire’ comes to us from the man who rewrote the definition of dreams. When Kalam talks about his early life, the hardships that he suffered and the courage that moved him forward in life, it stirs a movement inside every soul. We see a young boy in Rameswaram taking his first small steps towards a brilliant future.

The book is written by Dr. Kalam and Arun Tiwari, and it opens with a homage to his parents and in particular to his mother. ‘Wings of Fire’ is divided into four parts:

1931 to 63- Orientation

1963 to 80- Creation

1981 to 91- Propitiation

Beyond 1991- Contemplation

The book was first published in English in 1999. You could probably read it in your mother tongue as it is translated into 13 Indian languages! Choose your pick from Hindi, Bengali, Telugu, Tamil, Kannada, Malayalam, Odia, Marathi, and Gujarati. It also has a Chinese version titled ‘Huo Yi’, by Ji Peng and also many French translations. There are also several photographs related with the life and work of Dr. Kalam.

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WHAT ARE THE TOP LIBRARIES AROUND THE WORLD?

Some beautiful, unusual, and intriguing libraries from across the globe that bookworms should make a beeline for.

BODLEIAN LIBRARY, THE U.K.: It is one of the oldest libraries in Europe, and in Britain, it is second in size only to the British Library. Together, the Bodleian Libraries hold over 13 million printed items. It was first opened to scholars in 1602. It houses some of the most expensive books in the world including Shakespeare’s First Folio. The Bodleian has been the backdrop for 14 movies, including a few from the Harry Potter series.

ABBEY LIBRARY OF SAINT GALL, SWITZERLAND: An important medieval monastic library located in St.Gallen, Switzerland, in 1983, the library and the Abbey of St. Gall, were designated a World Heritage Site. Did you know that during a fire in 937, the Abbey was destroyed, but the library remained intact? It houses over almost 1,60,000 volumes, with most available for public use.

STUTTGART CITY LIBRARY, GERMANY: The library, as it stands today, was thrown open to the public in 2011. Its pristine, all-white, inverted pyramid gallery hall, lined with books of every genre imaginable, makes it an attraction for photography enthusiasts. The old library, located in Wilhelm Palace, was once the seat of the King of Württemberg, and was rebuilt after WWII along more modern lines.

LIBRARY OF CONGRESS, WASHINGTON D.C: Founded in 1800, making it the U.S.’s oldest federal cultural institution, it is the largest library in the world. Approximately half of its book and serial collections contain materials in around 470 languages. Most prominent among the Manuscript Division’s holdings are papers of 23 presidents, ranging from George Washington to Calvin Coolidge.

TAMA ART UNIVERSITY LIBRARY, TOKYO: Minimalist, yet beautiful, it was completed by architect  toyo lto I 2007. It is the academic library associated with Tama Art University, which comprises two library locations in Tokyo on the Hachioji library and contains about 77,000 japanese books, 47000 foreign books and 1500 periodicals.

AUSTRIAN NATIONAL LIBRARY, VIENNA: Austria’s largest library, it has more than 12 million items across its numerous collections. As a federal museum, it also includes five special museums: the Esperanto Museum, the Globe Museum, the State Hall, one of the world’s most beautiful baroque libraries in the world, the Papyrus Museum which houses collections of papyri and other artefacts more than 3,000 years old, and the Literature Museum.

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WHAT IS THE WORLD BOOK CAPITAL FOR 2022?

Guadalajara, Mexico, is UNESCO’s World Book Capital 2022 because of “its comprehensive plan for policies around the book to trigger social change, combat violence and build a culture of peace.” The city will promote a love for reading for 12 months from this World Book Day. It will make use of its libraries, reading rooms, bookstores, publishing houses, to advance human rights, gender equality and the culture of peace among the public and harness the great potential of books to contribute to social transformation.

Guadalajara’s proposed programme focuses on three strategic axes: regaining public spaces through reading activities in parks and other accessible places; social bonding and cohesion especially though reading and writing workshops for children; and strengthening of neighbourhood identity using intergenerational connections, story-telling and street poetry.

As a UNESCO Creative City of Media Arts Guadalajara has supported its local talents and advancing creative industries through initiatives that places media arts at the core of their programmes including in its world-famous International Book Fair. The city will further make use of its cultural assets such as libraries, reading rooms, bookstores, independent publishing houses, to improve violence-prevention policies. These resources will be leveraged to advance human rights, gender equality and the culture of peace among members of the public and harness the great potential of books to contribute to social transformation.

Activities will include literary events in collaboration with Latin-American writers, an artistic project on the Tower of Babel, events linking theatre and music to literature and the use of local radio for poetry readings.

The year of celebrations will start on 23 April, 2022, on World Book and Copyright Day.

Cities designated as UNESCO World Book Capital undertake to promote books and reading and to organize activities over the year. As the twenty-second city to bear the title since 2001, Guadalajara follows Tbilisi (2021) Kuala Lumpur (2020). Past winners include Madrid (2001), Alexandria (2002), New Delhi (2003), Anvers (2004), Montreal (2005), Turin (2006), Bogota (2007), Amsterdam(2008), Beirut (2009), Ljubljana (2010), Buenos Aires (2011), Erevan (2012), Bangkok (2013), Port Harcourt (2014), Incheon (2015), Wroclaw (2016), Conakry (2017), Athens (2018), Sharjah, (2019).

The application of the city of Guadalajara was accepted by an Advisory Committee, comprising representatives of the International Publisher’s Association (IPA), the International Federation of Library Associations (IFLA), the International Authors Forum (IAF) and UNESCO.

Credit : Universal current affairs

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What is StoryShots: Book Summaries app?

Can’t get through your list of must-read books? Use StoryShots to learn the key takeaways of bestselling, non fiction books in minutes instead of never. Enjoy takeaways from hundreds of bestsellers; each on average 15 minutes long. Read at your own pace, listen to podcasts/audiobooks at the same time or watch an animation (if you’re a visual learner) for every book in categories such as leadership, self improvement, productivity, habits, health, history, philosophy, science, mindfulness and relationships, among others. Find an interesting book? Order it on Amazon from inside the app. Free on iOS and Android for basic features, with a subscription option for extras like highlighting, offline reading, etc.

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