Books on books June 25, 2008

Recently I have noticed that a new collection is growing in my library. The shelve, or now shelves, that holds books about books is growing faster then any other shelve or category. I do not only like to read, I like to read about books as well. This can be anything from reading about other peoples libraries to the care for books. (Click here to view my books on books collection: English, Dutch, German.) Since I am a photographer, amongst other things, I love photo books that depict books or libraries too.

A couple of days ago, I wandered into an modern antiquarian. My heart jumped when I noticed the little area devoted to books about books and publishing. I found “A book of books” there. A wonderful book with beautiful pictures of Abelardo Morell in it. Next to the pictures are often quotations or poems by famous writers about books. If you love photography and books, this book is a must have! Learn more about the book here.

PS. If you want to read more about books about books, select the likewise named category in the side bar. (Or simply click here.)

Pop-up alphabet March 25, 2008

This book has gone straight to my Amazon.com wish-list. It is called the ABC-3D and it is made by Marion Bataille. I love it! Never has the alphabet been this pretty. I cannot wait to flip trough this book and admire all the different shapes. Click here if you want to learn more about the book, or even order it!

Beautiful libraries November 6, 2007

There are some amazing libraries all over the world, which most of us will never see in person. Luckily there is a website that has pictures of the best examples. Click here to see it. I can also reccomend the book ‘Libraries’ by Candida Hofer. I am proud to finally have this book in my collection. (Click here to read a previous post about this book.)

    The fantastic library of ‘our’ Rijksmuseum in Amsterdam.

Thanks to Urbi for the link!

Memoirs of a book snake… October 10, 2007

It has been a while since I posted a book on books, but I promise there are more to come. If you love collecting books, especially old books, this might be of interest. “Forty years of seeking and saving old books”, is the under title of this particular book. The book is written by ‘book snake’ David Meyer. If you are a book hunter, you might learn something from this man. You can search the book inside here.

PS. I have updated the “Bookish Blog Links A-Z” list. Everyone who send me a link and/or description until now should find it in the list. There are now 204 bookish blogs listed. Keep your links and descriptions coming!

Great British (Bookish) Journeys September 25, 2007

Every Tuesday night I am glued to my television, which is a rare thing. This particular evening, there is an very interesting program on the British BBC 2. The series is called “Great British Journeys”. Every week we get to admire Nick Crane, who follows into the footsteps of (great) writers. Via their journals and/or books he tries to reconstruct their travels in Britannia. You can find the website of the program here.  There is even an interactive map on the website that shows you the journeys. You can also ’sneak preview’ the episodes.

Some authors featured in the series are only known for their travel literature, others are more known for their other writings. Until now, the episodes were about the following authors: (Click on a name to learn more via an Wikipedia article.) Daniel Defoe, Thomas Pennant, William Gilpin, Celia Fiennes, William Cobbett and Gerald of Wales.

Every week, I regret that I have not seen them all. It is such an interesting and, because of presenter Crane, an amusing series. Via this series you not only get to see the beautiful English countryside; you get to learn (more) about some very interesting authors. The last two episodes, seen tonight and next week, are about John Leland and HV Morton. So tune in to BBC 2 tonight to catch the series!

The BBC also made a book about the series (of course!), which you can find here. (People closer to Britain, click here for the book. It is much cheaper here.) If you have missed the programs, you can purchase the DVD of the series. Click here to learn more.

Literary cooking September 6, 2007

If you love cooking, or just eating, and books this is the topic for you. I found you some cookbooks that have everything to do with reading. What about recipes from Shakespearean times? There is actually a book about this, click here to see it. Or maybe you prefer some Kafka on the side? Click here to see an appropriate book. For the ones that collect cookbooks, I have found a nice book too. It is a guide on collecting cookbooks. You can find it here.

Happy cooking!

The Smithsonian book of books July 31, 2007

It has been a while since I have posted on a book about books. This one seems quite promising. Even tough it has been around for some time. It was first published in 1992. The Smithsonian book of books is a ‘calibration’ of books, as Publishers Weekly called it. The book has 320 pages and they are stuffed with illustrations. In fact, the book has exactly 311 plates in color.

The book is written by Michael Olmert, who teaches Shakespeare at the University of Maryland, USA. He made this book into a history of books and their influence. He starts at the Egyptian papyrus and ends at the modern book fairs. He writes about a wide varity of topics; printing methods, dictionaries, the bible and much, much more. You can learn more about the book here.

PS.

I just made a new book category. In the past I just had ‘books’, but I have split it into two sections. In the categories in the sidebar, you will now find “books about books” and “books alls sorts”. The first only has books in it that are about books. The second one contains books that have to do with books, reading and libraries in general.

The science of reading July 23, 2007

I came accros this Wiki article on reading. I found it quite interesting. Did you know there are five methods/ways of reading? I did not. At the end of the article you find some links to other Wiki’s that might prove interesting. Click here to read it. Have fun!

(PS. There is also a very expensive psychology book called “The Science of Reading. You can learn more about it and look inside here.)

The anatomy of bibliomania June 7, 2007

This book about books by Jackson Holbrook is on “the usefulness, purpose, and pleasures that proceed from books.” He writes about the psychology behind reading. Why we read, how we read and about what happens to us when we pick up a book. As I understand this, he does it all in a witty manner.

He also writes about authors and their love for books, as well as everything that comes with bibliomania. The search for books, the look of books, the care for them, the housing of books. But he also mentions the fear of books and how this source of knowledge is and has been insulted. I would personally love to read this one! It seems very interesting. If anyone read it, please let me know via the comments! You can learn more about the book and look inside it here.

Book by book… June 1, 2007

…Notes on reading and life. Every now and then I post a book about books. I have one for you today. This book is written by Michael Dirda, a staff writer of the Washington Post Book World. It is all about reading and the important lessons you can learn from it. So it seems to be a bit philosophical on the act of reading too. Which, in my book, is a good thing.

Dirda also gives you fragments from books he think are must reads. If I may believe the critics, he makes well read and intelligent choices. With this book Dirda tries to inspire people to read and learn from the books they ingest. He also gives you tips on how you get can other people to read. Interesting!

Click here to learn more ánd browse inside the book! If you like to read more about books on books, just go to the cloud of categories and browse thru the ‘books’ category.