Most of us read her diary in high school, which chronicled two years of her life spent hiding in a secret room above her father’s office during the Nazi occupation of  Holland. Eventually, the family was betrayed and sent to concentration camps where Anne died of typhus in March 1945 at the age of 15.

Her father, Otto Frank, was the only family member to survive. After the war, he went back to the secret room and found Anne’s diary. Through his efforts her diary was published in 1947. Since then it has been translated into multiple languages and adapted to both film and theater.

In honor of her birthday, please share your experience reading her diary. What do you remember feeling as you read about their lives spent in that room? How did it impact your life?

If you’re on Pinterest, you may want to check out these publishers’ pages. They have boards for subcategories like children’s books and bookclubs. If you know of others please comment with a link to the page. I couldn’t find Hachette Book Group or Macmillan.

• Penguin Books
• Random House
• Simon & Schuster
• HarperCollins

The Guardian reported that Russell Hoban, author of “Riddley Walker,” died last night at age 86. He also wrote the Frances Badger books as well as “The Mouse and His Child.”

I’m not familiar with his work, though I have seen the Frances Badger I can read books.

Have you read any of Hoban’s books? If so, please share your thoughts.

Jodi Picoult is holding a contest to give away her latest book “Lone Wolf,” which is to be published in March, 2012.

In “Lone Wolf,” Picoult “looks at the intersection between medical science and moral choices.” After an accident leaves Edward and Cara’s father comatose in a hospital. Edward wants to terminate life support, but Cara doesn’t. The book asks the questions, “If we can keep people who have no hope for recovery alive artificially, should they also be allowed to die artificially? Does the potential to save someone else’s life with a donated organ balance the act of hastening another’s death? And finally, when a father’s life hangs in the balance, which sibling should get to decide his fate? ” Here’s an excerpt.

The contest ends December 19, 2011. Click here to enter.

ShanghaiDaily.com reported that Chinese author, Zhang Yiyi, is planning to undergo 10 plasctic surgery face-lifts in order to make himself look like William Shakespeare.

The surgeries will cost 1 million yuan ($153,000) and will be spread out over 10 months, all in order “to ‘let the people across the world mourn’ one of world’s greatest writers and dramatists.”

Here’s an interesting article from O, The Oprah Magazine spotlighting books that made a difference to Oscar winner Colin Firth.

“The eternally watchable star of The King’s Speech goes for psychological intrigue, moral mud puddles and lyrical truth-telling.”

The list includes books like “Light in August” by William Faulkner and “The Corrections” by Jonathan Franzen. Click here for the full list.

Here’s a quick laugh for any of you who have gone out with one of these guys.

“Undateable: 311 Things Guys Do That Guarantee They Won’t Be Dating or Having Sex” by Ellen Rakieten and Anne Coyle gives the low down on what makes a guy undateable.

Feel free to share your own stories.

In honor of poet, writer, and activist Alice Walker tell me how her books or poems have changed your life.

Walker, born February 9, 1944, in Eatonton, Ga., is the author of many poems, short stories, novels, and essays, including “The Color Purple” which won the Pulitzer Prize for fiction in 1983 making her the first African American woman writer to receive the award. Incidentally, it’s number 17 on the top 100 banned/challenged books.

Please stop by her website and read her impressive biography and some of her poems and be sure to tell me about your favorite one.

Flavorwire posted this link showing photos of the libraries of the rich and famous. I’m not sure if I like James Stewart’s or Woody Allen’s the best. I like the amount of books in Stewart’s library, but I like the decor of Allen’s.

Note, I wrote James Stewart because if you click on the link under the photo, it takes you to BLUETRAMONTANA STYLE where Flavorwire got the photos, and in that article it says James Stewart not Rod.  Under the photo it says, ‘“The library was the most used room in the house,” says Kelly Stewart. “Family and friends always gathered there before dinner.” On the low table are a Presidential Medal of Freedom, the nation’s highest civilian honor, and a book of poems Stewart published in 1989.’

Some of these photos are pretty old, but still interesting. What do you think? Which library is your favorite? Don’t forgot to look at the other photos of the celebrities homes not included in the Flavorwire list.

Are any of you Jack London fans? Call of the Wild, White Fang, The Sea Wolf? He was born in 1876 and died 1893. In honor of his birthday, please share any memories of his works.