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GW

@gwoltjer

PRPL Director. Library Director. Professor. Husband & Father. Baseball. Nonfiction. Fan of small & academic presses & obscure/forgotten books. Play sports. Read books. Serve others. Raised as a Jesuit.

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Latest posts by GW @gwoltjer

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Libraries – a quote from Vanity of Duluoz by Jack Kerouac Bragging still, but telling the truth still, during all this time I was getting As and Bs in high school, mainly because I used to cut classes at least once a week, to play hookey that is, just so …

There's also this paragraph by Jack Kerouac in Vanity of Duluoz.
bookaroundthecorner.com/2025/03/20/l...

08.03.2026 06:40 👍 1 🔁 1 💬 0 📌 0

These asshole twerps with no brains or education from DOGE really did use ChatGPT to find NEH grants to terminate ILLEGALLY - ruining hundreds lives and destroying hundreds of the greatest humanities projects and partnerships of our time. I’m overwhelmed with rage and anger all over again.

07.03.2026 20:54 👍 987 🔁 412 💬 12 📌 9
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This acknowledgment paragraph is one of the easiest ways I can explain the importance, purpose, and value of libraries.

07.03.2026 23:22 👍 3 🔁 0 💬 1 📌 0
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It's a delight to come across a university bookstore like the University of Central Oklahoma's that still sells *actual* books.

Even better when they showcase books written by their faculty!

06.03.2026 19:02 👍 10 🔁 1 💬 0 📌 0
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It's been a blast showing off books in the @oupress.bsky.social "Teaching, Engaging, and Thriving in Higher Ed" series at the Transformative Learning Conference at UCO today.

Many thanks to @thetattooedprof.bsky.social for modeling with a complete set of books in the series so far!

06.03.2026 21:02 👍 33 🔁 5 💬 3 📌 0
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Currently reading 👇

07.03.2026 21:56 👍 0 🔁 0 💬 0 📌 0
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Spending time with this offering from @ksupress.bsky.social. #truecrime

07.03.2026 21:31 👍 3 🔁 1 💬 0 📌 0
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This memoir hits hard.
So many aspects of it are relatable.
Congratulations to @univnebpress.bsky.social & Tim Hillegonds for creating a beautiful book.
After reading this book, I have a new courage to do something that I’ve avoided for years.

07.03.2026 18:03 👍 1 🔁 0 💬 0 📌 0

That would be a fascinating read

02.03.2026 19:27 👍 0 🔁 0 💬 0 📌 0

75 pages read. I was correct in thinking I’d enjoy this memoir, but I was woefully wrong regarding how affected I’d be from the narrative. Addiction is not a demon I suffer from. But I finally have a better understanding of how evil this demon is. Pub’d by @univnebpress.bsky.social.

02.03.2026 05:45 👍 2 🔁 1 💬 0 📌 0

Deighton seldom disappoints. His novel WINTER is my favorite of his works. It’s a bit messy at points, but it’s a helluva fun read. His Berlin trilogy is also quite good.

01.03.2026 22:18 👍 1 🔁 0 💬 2 📌 0
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Excited to start this #memoir from Timothy J. Hillegonds today. From what I’ve read, I think I’m really going to enjoy it. Published by @univnebpress.bsky.social.

01.03.2026 22:16 👍 3 🔁 1 💬 0 📌 1

I’m just starting this one. From the few pages I’ve read, I think I’m really going to enjoy it.

01.03.2026 22:14 👍 1 🔁 0 💬 0 📌 0
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On this day in 2024, I received my author copies from the University of New Mexico Press of my new biography about journalist Malcolm W. Browne, published by the University of New Mexico Press.

24.02.2026 11:30 👍 4 🔁 1 💬 0 📌 0
Preview
The Crime Writer and the Convict With his horn-rimmed glasses, bow tie, and mild manner, John Bartlow Martin looked more like a schoolteacher or a laboratory technician t...

“I am basically a serious person. I don’t like to do frivolous stories.”
John Bartlow Martin
rayboomhower.blogspot.com/2019/07/the-...

25.02.2026 13:57 👍 3 🔁 1 💬 0 📌 0
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Excited to share the cover for my new book, a bio of acclaimed journalist Wallace Terry. The book will be available from the @unmpress.bsky.social on October 6. It will be the third book I've done with the Press. Another excellent job by the Press's design staff.
www.unmpress.com/978082637015...

23.02.2026 15:41 👍 13 🔁 3 💬 2 📌 0
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Currently reading 👇

23.02.2026 14:04 👍 2 🔁 0 💬 0 📌 0
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Two biographies I’ve recently enjoyed. Take a bow, @marycronkfarrell.bsky.social & @rboomhower.bsky.social!

17.02.2026 05:03 👍 2 🔁 0 💬 2 📌 0
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The length Catherine Leroy went to tell the stories of the Vietnam War are difficult to fully comprehend. She gave voice to so many who lacked the ability/opportunity to speak for themselves. She truly was a fierce storyteller, and @marycronkfarrell.bsky.social has honored her in this #biography.

17.02.2026 05:01 👍 2 🔁 0 💬 0 📌 1
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This one by @marycronkfarrell.bsky.social might be of interest to you, @rboomhower.bsky.social.

16.02.2026 20:45 👍 2 🔁 0 💬 0 📌 1
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Catherine Leroy is an incredible person. I’m only 50 pages in and already know that she lived a life many of us could not. Excellent choice of subject, @marycronkfarrell.bsky.social!

16.02.2026 20:44 👍 1 🔁 0 💬 0 📌 1

Cc: @beltpublishing.bsky.social, @ksupress.bsky.social, @marycronkfarrell.bsky.social

16.02.2026 19:35 👍 1 🔁 0 💬 0 📌 0
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Currently reading 👇

16.02.2026 19:13 👍 2 🔁 1 💬 1 📌 0
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Last four reads

16.02.2026 18:58 👍 0 🔁 0 💬 0 📌 0
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Finished both of these today.

16.02.2026 18:58 👍 0 🔁 0 💬 0 📌 0
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Finished.
Politician. Librarian. Amateur Ethnologist. Historian. Public intellectual.
Jacob Piatt Dunn, Jr. was a remarkable man.
@rboomhower.bsky.social does an incredible job of balancing the many achievements of Dunn with his failures & shortcomings. A complex individual who lived a grand life.

16.02.2026 18:56 👍 1 🔁 0 💬 1 📌 0
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For #PresidentsDay: Did you know that Benjamin Harrison is the only president to have a fellow Civil War general (Lew Wallace), a Jesuit priest (Harry J. Sievers), a professor (Charles W. Calhoun), and a Mishawaka High School graduate (yours truly) serve as his biographers? You could look it up.

16.02.2026 18:32 👍 4 🔁 3 💬 0 📌 0
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Finished. Excellent compilation of 11 essays examining different HOFers. Superb notes & further reading sections for each subject. Great job, @baseballhall.org!

16.02.2026 16:24 👍 1 🔁 0 💬 0 📌 0
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This is a remarkably designed book. The heft of it combined with the thick texture of the pages makes for a truly beautiful historical artifact. Tip of my cap to the Indiana Historical Society & @rboomhower.bsky.social.

15.02.2026 20:10 👍 3 🔁 0 💬 1 📌 0
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Currently reading 👇

15.02.2026 19:58 👍 2 🔁 0 💬 0 📌 0