by Kyle Tonniges

* The big news for book lovers last week was the announcement that Borders had filed for bankruptcy protection and was closing 200 stores. The good news is that none of the three Omaha-area stores are among them. In an email to customers, President and CEO Mike Edwards assured customers that the stores are still open for business and that their loyalty program, Borders Rewards, is still in effect and that their eBook libraries are perfectly safe on Kobo, the engine behind the chain’s eBooks. * End February on a high (and free) note by attending The Encyclopedia Show: Omaha at the Omaha Community Playhouse, located at 6915 Cass St. Billed as a live variety show that commissions local and touring artists and experts from various disciplines to use their individual talents to present a different verbal encyclopedia entry each month, this promises to be a performance that manages to both educate and entertain. The show starts at 7:30. * The National Book Foundation just launched a blog — NBFPoetryBlog.squarespace.com — to showcase National Book Foundation Award-winning poets of the last 61 years. “The blog provides an opportunity for a group of talented contemporary poets who represent diverse poetic styles to sound off on some of the greatest American poets and their books, with one original essay published each weekday into May 2011,” according to the site. Each blog entry includes the original book cover, an author photo, a list of the National Book Award judges and finalists for that year (when available), as well as relevant related material and links.

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