Kimbooktu is leaving for a short Christmas holiday tomorrow. I wish all my readers a very ‘gezellige’ (which is Dutch for ‘cozy’) Christmas!
I heard the bells on Christmas Day
Their old familiar carols play,
And wild and sweet the words repeat
Of peace on Earth, good will to men!
~ Henry Wadsworth Longfellow ~
Kimbooktu has turned one today. On December 21. 2006 I posted the first entry. It has been quite a year. I never thought that making a website about bookish gadgets would be so popular. I only created this blog, because I always wanted to read one. I hoped there would be some other book lovers around who had the same wish. And so there were!
Thank you all so much for your tips, your comments, your wise words and your overall enthusiasm. I cannot tell you how much it means to me. I was overwhelmed when you nominated me for me for the 2006 Best of Blogs award. And that your votes made me win. This is only one of the highlights in the short existence of Kimbooktu.
Below you will find some stats, measured today, about the first Kimbooktu year.
Total Views: 116,606
Best day: 2,955 views on January 4. (thanks to an article in the ALA newsletter)
Amount of posts: 398
Amount of comments: 835
Technorati Authority: 116
Blog reactions noted by Technorati: 391
Google hits on “Kimbooktu”: circa 25.400
How hard is it to find a chair or something to sit on in the library? Usually they are taken up by people who spend all day reading the papers and stuff. The Dutch designer Jelte van Geest found an amazing solution for it. You get your own seat the moment you enter the library. And it stays with you the entire time. Sounds weird? Click the video below to see it in action!
Our friends at Bibliobuffet are hosting a contest. It is about a bookish product which is really close to my heart; bookmarks. The prizes of the contest are, how appropriate, fine bookmarks! All you have to do is write an essay or story about these wonderful things, or make a photo essay about them. Click ‘more’ to read more about the contest.
I got a picture of an establishment with the same name recently. (See previous post, or click here.) I Googled the name to find out more about it. I was quite amazed when I discovered their are several businesses with the same name. It seems quite unusual to name a bar and grill restaurant ‘The Library’. As said, there are quite a view people who feel differently. At least five entrepreneurs in the VS and one in GB. Here is a summary of places with this name, just for the fun of it, starting with the place I wrote about in my last post. If you live near to one of these places, send me a photo of them!
The picture you see beneath is one of the treasures send by one of the Kimbooktu readers. I love it when you mail me interesting articles and products! The look of the building is absolutely brilliant. The designer and/or architect did a great job.
I was a bit surprised when I read what the purpose was. Take a look at the picture and have a guess. I will state the answer in the comments of the post.
Thanks to Marlise for sending me the link to this Flickr page with the photo on it.
In the beginning when there were nothing… Ever thought about what happened when the book was introduced? This very funny clip shows you the confusion.
As you probably know, I collect pictures of libraries of ordinary people. People who love to read - and collect - books from all over the world. Every time I get a new ‘library’ I am amazed at how book lover’s keep their possessions. The fun part is; all the libraries have something in common. It is impossible to say who owns which library. All the shelves are loved. And most of the time there is too little space.
Gender, country, religion, color. It is said that ones books say a lot about a person. But all the libraries on Your Shelves! just scream one thing at me. Passion for books. The rest does not matter. It is really about the things in what we are alike. Books.
A bibliophile will never judge a fellow book lover for its taste. The fact that you love books is enough. The fact that you adore the same thing. That you respect and even admire the differences. If every book was the same, it would be boring. Every book tells a different story. I wish we could feel the same about people as well…
And this is why I started Your Shelves! To snoop into other peoples libraries. And to understand that love - for something - is the same everywhere. There are some new shelves for you to admire. Please feel free to e-mail yours…
I do not know what it is, but I do love miniature books. The curiosity, the craft, or maybe the envy. I have posted about them before and I have found you some links on this topic again. This video is all about the wonder of the miniature book. Enjoy! Click here to watch the video.
