It is my worst nightmare to see my books go up into flames, but this bookmark is quite fun! A great way to mark the page of the hot book you are reading. Click here to find out more. This bookmark reminds me of the famous book by Ray Bradbury, Fahrenheit 451. A couple of days ago a new adaption of this book came out, authorised by Bradbury. To learn more about this book, go here
A couple of weeks ago I wrote about the new translation of “Time was soft there” by Jeremy Mercer in my native language, Dutch. (See here.) The Dutch publisher gave it the title: A bed between the books (Een bed tussen de boeken). I just read it and I can recommend it to anyone who loves bookshops in general and Shakespeare and Company in Paris in particular.
Since I’ve recently been to the shop, I could picture the adventures of Mercer in this shop vividly. (Click here to read the post about my visit to the shop.) This Canadian journalist has written a very good account of his life in the bookstore. (But not dry and matter of fact at all.) And an interesting biography of the owner, George Whitman. The style of the writing was very entertaining and quite funny at times.
I actually started reading the book this morning and finished it before dinner. I just could not lay it aside. Well, I did put it away for a moment. But just to get myself a cold glass of wine to accompany me during the last chapters. In spirit of the book. I started to envy Mercer quite early on in the book, even though he lived in poverty and not very hygienic to say the least. He did live the bookish life style to the fullest. In the best shop in the world.
As the chapters moved on – or should I say ‘raced’ on – my envy changed into sheer jealousy. The life lessons he learned at the shop changed his life. He made true friends. “Sucked the marrow out of live”, to quote Thoreau. For Mercer, Shakespeare and Co were his woods. The book is a beautiful tale that proves that books sometimes truly are more important than food.
More information on the Dutch translation, “Een bed tussen de boeken” can be found here. I hate reading translations, because they are usually not very good. This one is, I have to say. Click here
Remember the post I did recently about the Paris based bookshop Shakespeare and Company? (If not, click here.) It has been brought to my attention (thank you Ineke!) that there is a book about Shakespeare and Company. Or rather, a book written by a reporter that worked there for nine months. In this book “Time was soft there”, Jeremy Mercel, tells all about his experiences in this fantastic store. Click here
For the Dutch readers, the book has just been translated into Dutch! It is called “Een bed tussen de boeken” (A bed between the books). You can find more information on it here. Once I’ve read it, I will let you know what I think of it.
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.)
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
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.)
Thanks to Urbi for the link!
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!
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
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
Happy cooking!
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.
Kimbooktu.com 