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The Nancy Drew Series by Carolyn Keene.
The Little Engine That Could by Watty Piper with illustrations by Lois Lenski.
Swallows and Amazons by Arthur Ransome
The Tale of Little Pig Robinson by Beatrix Potter.
The Cat Who Went to Heaven by Elizabeth Coatsworth: It won the Newbery Medal for excellence in American children's literature in 1931.
HAPPY PUBLIC DOMAIN DAY! And Happy New Year!
Books published in 1930 will enter the U.S. public domain, such as:
The Maltese Falcon by Dashiell Hammett: This novel introduced the world to the famous detective Sam Spade.
As I Lay Dying by William Faulkner: A masterpiece of American literature.
The Murder at the Vicarage by Agatha Christie: This was the first novel to feature the beloved character Miss Marple.
Did Jane Austen Invent the Wellness Guy?
"Chris Cohen on the Self-Optimization Obsessions of Austen’s Male Characters"
https://lithub.com/did-jane-austen-invent-the-wellness-guy/
Books by Austen at PG:
https://www.gutenberg.org/ebooks/author/68
"Persuasion, ch. 18. Admiral Croft is in earnest contemplation of some print, and doesn't see Anne Elliot." - picryl.com
What was on summer reading lists 100 years ago, in 1925?
In the summer of 1925, long before podcasts, audiobooks and even paperbacks, holiday reading meant hoping a hardback fit in your suitcase.
By James Tugwell
Two great blues musicians, and 2000 more records
By John Mark Ockerbloom
David Seubert writes that more than 2500 records from 1925 digitized by the UC Santa Barbara Library will soon be freely downloadable there.
Full list is available online:
https://www.library.ucsb.edu/1925-recordings-digitized-ucsb-entering-public-domain-january-1-2026
Tintin, The Wayback Machine, and The Public Domain
by Sterling Dudley
What do a Belgian boy reporter, a forgotten 2008 webpage, and the Wayback Machine have in common? They all played a role in uncovering Tintin the Belgian detective’s earliest adventures as part of Public Domain Day 2025.
https://blog.archive.org/2025/12/26/wayback-machine-and-public-domain-research/
How Colette Was Inspired By Her Many Cats
Susannah Fullerton on the French Writer’s Feline Muses
https://lithub.com/how-colette-was-inspired-by-her-many-cats/
Books by Colette at PG:
The hidden history of 'White Christmas'
Nearly every pop music holiday song written in the past 80 years owes at least some of its DNA to one Christmas tune in particular: "White Christmas," written by Irving Berlin and sung by Bing Crosby, which he first recorded in 1942.
by Anastasia Tsioulcas
https://www.npr.org/2025/12/15/nx-s1-5628363/white-christmas-bing-crosby-history
Rare public display for Mary Queen of Scots' final letter
The public are to be given a rare chance to see the last letter by Mary Queen of Scots, which was written just hours before she was beheaded.
by Cara Berkley
https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/articles/cg4nzy3r5zyo
Mary Queen of Scots at PG:
https://www.gutenberg.org/ebooks/subjects/search/?query=Mary+Queen+of+Scots
The original knights of Camelot return
Games can’t really be copyrighted as such, but their texts and visual elements can be. That leaves some games in an intellectual property limbo, like Camelot, a strategy game published in 1930 that’s now long out of production.
By John Mark Ockerbloom
https://everybodyslibraries.com/2025/12/13/the-original-knights-of-camelot-return/
About Camelot:
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Camelot_(board_game)
An Industrious Grocer in the 1930s Wanted to Make It Easier for His Customers to Buy More. They Just Needed a Push
"There was a time when shoppers could buy only as much as they could carry. And as ubiquitous as shopping carts are today, it initially took some convincing to use them."
Grand days out
There's something magical about Swallows and Amazons.
By John Mark Ockerbloom
Who ordered this timeline?
There’s the 1980 we know from memory and history, and there’s the 1980 of Just Imagine, where people have names like “J-21”, need permits to marry, and travel in both dirigibles and Mars rockets.
By John Mark Ockerbloom
https://everybodyslibraries.com/2025/12/05/who-ordered-this-timeline/
More about it:
https://www.themoviedb.org/review/65ce219dd8af67018790607a
Shells found in Spain could be among oldest known musical instruments
Conch-shell trumpets discovered in Neolithic settlements and mines in Catalonia make tone similar to french horn, says lead researcher
By Sam Jones
“It takes two people to make you, and one people to die”
Faulkner's "As I Lay Dying," set in Yoknapatawpha County, enters US public soon. Despite 15 stream-of-consciousness narrators making it challenging, Holly at Nut Free Nerd explains why it's worth reading.
By John Mark Ockerbloom
https://everybodyslibraries.com/2025/12/01/it-takes-two-people-to-make-you-and-one-people-to-die/
Meet the Forgotten Female Artist Behind the World’s Most Popular Tarot Deck (1909)
Explore 1,100 Works of Art by Georgia O’Keeffe: They’re Digitized and Free to View Online
https://www.openculture.com/2025/10/1100-works-of-art-by-georgia-okeeffe.html
52 Years Later, Agatha Christie’s Forgotten Final Book Remains Untouched
By Florencia Aberastury
https://www.cbr.com/agatha-christie-postern-of-fate-deserves-adaptation/
Agatha Christie at PG:
https://www.gutenberg.org/ebooks/author/451
Break out the calculators: November 23 is Fibonacci Sequence Day
The cornerstone of modern math wouldn’t be possible without the Hindu-Arabic numerical system.
by Andrew Paul
https://www.popsci.com/science/fibonacci-sequence-day-2025/
Fibonacci at PG:
https://www.gutenberg.org/ebooks/search/?query=fibonacci
#OTD In 1858, Swedish writer Selma Lagerlöf was born.
"She published her first novel, Gösta Berling's Saga, at the age of 33. She was the first woman to win the Nobel Prize in Literature, which she was awarded in 1909. In 1914, she was the first woman to be granted a membership of the Swedish Academy"
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Selma_Lagerl%C3%B6f
Books by Lagerlöf at PG: