#books

Luceros y Penumbras ("Starlight and Shadows"), a pop-up book in the rotunda of the Los Angeles Central Library, is officially the largest pop-up book of all time, Guinness World Records announced. It was made by Los Angeles artist Daniel González for the library's centennial, with paper engineering by Matthew Reinhart.

The cover measures 15.41 by 20.01 feet and opens into a scene about 31 feet wide, with designs up to 11 feet tall. It weighs 1,800 lbs and uses ordinary book materials: paper, adhesive and fabric. Turning a page takes a team of 10 people with extra-large sticks. Its two spreads show the library emerging from the night sky and a "Tree of Wisdom." A team of 35 built it, in sections so it would fit through the library doors. It is on free display.

A dusty copy of Herman Wouk's 1978 novel War and Remembrance, due back at the Greater Victoria Public Library's Oak Bay branch on Sept. 1, 1983, came through the return chute in October with no note, the Times Colonist reports. Borrower records are purged for privacy, so no one knows who had it.

"We're very happy that someone had the courage or conscience to bring it back," said Delia Filipescu, the library's coordinator of branch operations. At the old 20-cents-a-day rate the fine would have topped $3,100, but the library dropped fines in 2024 and, she said, recovery of books has gone up since. The library's record is 82 years, for a book borrowed in 1916 and returned in 1998.