Still Life with Book Maven
March 11th, 2011
Every Friday, we’ll post a collection of links to amuse you through this last work day! For explanations of the categories, please see our original TGILinks post!
Made By Words – Cool Book Video: Flip Book Parkour by The Huffington Post – The Huffington Post recently linked to this amazing video that isn’t technically made by words, but it is made with paper. According to the artist, the project was for a class.
Book Technology – Rainbow in Your Hand – Does this count as book technology? It’s innovative and it’s in the form of the book, so I have to go with yes. This clever little flip book is beautiful and available for purchase here.
Photo credit: Masashi Kawamura
Literary Tangents – Hideous fonts may boost reading comprehension at Salon.com – All of us can poke a little fun at Comic Sans, but there are some serious font purists out there who take your selection of font very seriously. Ease of reading and aesthetic quality have always been the most important elements of a good font, but what if it’s not necessarily the best for reading comprehension? According to the studies cited in this article, bad fonts make us better readers, because the harder we work to read something, the more we will remember.
Nuts and Bolts - A History of Famous Literary Mentorships at Flavorwire – It’s not uncommon to hear of one author mentoring and supporting a younger author. This Flavorwire article outlines some of the most famous mentorships in literature, from Henry James and Edith Wharton to Alan Moore and Niel Gaiman. Did you know that Joyce Carol Oates was Jonathan Safran Foer’s mentor? Interesting stuff!
For Every Book Lover – Keep Calm and Read On Calendar by Keep Calm Shop on Etsy – Reimagined Keep Calm and Carry On posters have been everywhere lately, but this Keep Calm and Read On poster is too adorable to miss! You can even pick your colors!
Photo credit: Keep Calm Shop.
Tags: book technology, comic sans, flavorwire, flip book parkour, fonts, for every book lover, huffington post, jonathan safran foer, joyce carol oates, keep calm and carry on, keep calm and read on, literary mentorships, literary tangents, made by words, nuts and bolts, rainbow in your hand, salon.com, TGILinks
Posted in TGILinks | No Comments »
March 4th, 2011
Every Friday, we’ll post a collection of links to amuse you through this last work day! For explanations of the categories, please see our original TGILinks post!
Made by Words – “Brow Beat: Stanley Fish’s Top Five Sentences” in Slate Magazine What’s your favorite sentence? Stanley Fish’s new book How to Write a Sentence explores what makes your favorite sentences great. In this Slate article, he lists his favorite sentences and asks for suggestions by Slate readers.
Book Technology – Secret Belgian Binding Instructions - Have you ever wondered how to make your own books? This technique is beautiful and sturdy.
Literary Tangents – 10 Best Bookshops in the World by Independent.ie – Has winter given you the travel bug? Indpendent. ie has a list of the best bookstores in the world, including a slideshow of pictures. There are definitely a few on this list that are must-sees! See Amsterdam’s American Book Center pictured left. (Photo credit: Independent.ie)
Nuts and Bolts – 2011 Best Translated Book Awards: Fiction Longlist at Three Percent – The long list for the 2011 Best Translated Book Awards was announced back in January. You can read the entire list at Three Percent, but you can also search for the tag BTBA 2011 to find all the recent posts on the subject. Three Percent predicts and suggests winners for the award, with general commentary on translated fiction.
For Every Book Lover – Love is a Book 5×7 print by NanLawson on Etsy – Look at this print! Don’t you want it to hang on the wall right by your favorite reading spot or your favorite bookshelf? I thought so.
(Image credit: NanLawson)
Tags: belgian binding, belgian book binding, book stores, Books, btba, btba 2011, how to write a sentence, independent.ie, link round up, love is a book, sentences, slate magazine, stanley fish, TGILinks, three percent, translated book awards, translated fiction
Posted in TGILinks | No Comments »
March 3rd, 2011
When putting together the Further Reading, it was difficult to decide where to put Mr. Chartwell by Rebecca Hunt. While one of the main characters in this book is a talking dog, the most important part of this book is not the dog himself, but what he represents: depression. Affecting the lives of both Winston Churchill and librarian Esther Hammerhaus, depression and suicide take the form of a black dog, just as Churchill described figuratively in his writing.
This collection of memoirs and essays look at the beast that is depression and how it affects those who suffer from the illness and those who are close to its victims.
Darkness Visible by William Styron, author of Sophie’s Choice, is a pioneer in memoirs and non-fiction about depression by so clearly and painfully describing the details of depression.
Half in Love by Linda Gray Sexton is a memoir in the tradition of Darkness Visible, but with the additional element of Sexton’s role as mother and as a daughter to poet Anne Sexton, who succeeded in committing suicide after many attempts. The legacy of suicide, the fact that you are much more likely to suffer from depression and suicidal thoughts, is very real and Linda writes beautifully and honestly about what it is like to be under the spell of depression.
Unholy Ghosts, edited by Nell Casey, is a collection of essays by authors about depression that offers perspectives similar to that of Sexton’s and Styron’s, but also from family members of those who are depressed, including Styron’s wife.
Tags: darkness, darkness visible, depression, dog, essay, half in love, legacy of suicide, linda gray sexton, memoir, mr. chartwell, nell casey, rebecca hunt, suicide, unholy ghost, william styron, winston churchill
Posted in Books, Further Reading | 2 Comments »
March 1st, 2011
When I received Tamara Chalabi’s Late for Tea at the Deer Palace: The Lost Dreams of My Iraqi Family, I knew I wanted to at least dip into it simply from its lush, colorful cover and overall heft ( it’s a substantial tome).
However, the same might be said for My Father At 100 by Ron Reagan, Jr. I’m no Reagan fan, but what an arresting image to go with an arresting title. I hoped that Reagan, Jr.’s memoir might be similarly arresting.
Unfortunately, while My Father at 100 holds a few tidbits of information — we’ve all heard by now that the son believes his father suffered from early symptoms of Alzheimer’s Disease even before his 1980 inauguration — it’s mainly a son’s tribute and reminiscence. It’s tender and warm and honest, but ultimately adds very little to our cultural dialogue.
Chalabi’s book, on the other hand, offers a window into a world few of us know well, that of how modern Iraq was formed. Her surname may be as familiar as Reagan’s to modern Americans, because her father Ahmed Chalabi was the leader of the Saddam Hussein oppositionist Iraqi National Congress in exile.
But Ahmed Chalabi isn’t the focus of his daughter’s book; her great-grandfather, Abdul Hussein Chalabi, is, along with his vibrant wife Bibi. Chalabi’s grandparents were key figures in the nationhood of Iraq and in Baghdad’s mid-twentieth-century cosmopolitan tone. Unfortunately, the family lost its power and fortune in the late 1950s and was forced to flee; Tamara Chalabi grew up in Beirut, and did not visit her paternal family’s homeland until 2003.
However, Tamara Chalabi is more than your average family diarist. She has a Ph.D. in history from Harvard, and she uses her formidable research skills to interweave primary accounts from letters and journals with contemporary analysis. The pre-exile years are clearly most riveting for Chalabi, who is also fascinated by her great-grandmother Bibi’s perspective — Bibi’s story would make another excelent book, and who knows? Perhaps Chalabi is planning to write it.
Tags: late for tea at the deer palace, my father at 100, ron reagan, ronald reagan, tamara chalabi, the lost dreams of my iraqi family
Posted in Books, Reserve Shelf | No Comments »
February 28th, 2011
Every Monday, we’ll post a round up of links of industry news, book reviews and more. For more information about the categories, click here.
Let’s Talk About Me – If you’re visiting this blog you probably know all about how Twitter can connect readers, but Publishing Perspectives has an article that is a good round up of all the different Twitter book memes, including #fridayreads.
Friends of Bethanne – I Went to TOC, and All You Got Was this Round-Up at Booksquare – Kassia Krozser has a post all about what happened at the Tools of Change for Publishing Conference. It’s thoughtful, detailed and well worth a read.
Save Publishing – Towards a New Model of Ebook Circ in Libraries at EarlyWord – HarperCollins surprised everyone when they announced their new policy regarding libraries and eBooks – 26 lends and then the library will be forced to repurchase the license. Of course, is that policy better than the others at places like Macmillan who isn’t even offering eBook lending? Earlyword’s article gives information and advice on interacting with publishers about this very question.
Review Revue – Townie by Andre Dubus III Review at NYT and I Think I Love You by Allison Pearson at The Washington Post – These reviews are written by two of my favorite authors: Darcey Steinke author of Easter Everywhere and Elinor Lipman, author of The Family Man.
Culture Vulture – Ken Burns on Public Broadcasting at The Washington Post – Politics aside, what would this world be without public media? Some people in Congress believe it would be okay, but please, let’s listen to the Washington Post’s opposing view. Like libraries, nothing needs funding more than public media in times of need.
Tags: allison pearson, andre dubus iii, booksquare, Culture Vulture, darcey steinke, earlyword, easter everywhere, ebook lending, ebook licensing, ebooks, ebooks circulation, elinor lipman, Friday Reads, fridayreads, Friends of Bethanne, harpercollins, i think i love you, kassia krozser, ken burns, libraries, macmillan, NPR, PBS, public broadcasting, Publishing Perspectives, Save Publishing, the family man, the new york times, the washington post, TOC, tools of change, tools of change for publishing, tools of change for publishing conference, townie, Twitter
Posted in Books, Required Reading | No Comments »
February 25th, 2011
Every Friday, we’ll post a collection of links to amuse you through this last work day! For explanations of the categories, please see our original TGILinks post!
Made by Words – Newspaper Blackout Tumblr Newspaper Blackout takes the idea that there is poetry everywhere, even in our newspapers, and brings it to life. All you need is a newspaper, a black marker and a scanner and you could be creating “found” poetry for folks to read. I have seen a couple variations of this around the internet, but this site allows you to submit your own versions. People are taking this idea and making it their own, creating black out poetry from all sorts of writing. Some are also adding other art to it to create something even more meaningful. One of my favorite new ideas? Blacking out horoscopes, like the one pictured. Austin Kleon, collector of all the Newspaper Blackouts, originally began this project as a book of poetry, published by Harper Perennial.
Image credit: Austin Kleon, author/artist Newspaper Blackout
Literary Tangents – “Space Invaders: Why you should never, ever use two spaces after a period” by Farhad Manjoo at Slate This article caused an uproar a few weeks back because of all the people it completely shocked. Did you know you weren’t supposed to put two spaces after a period? Well, this article will not only explain why, but will do it with a fair bit of tongue-in-cheek snark. Beyond the silliness, though, is an interesting glimpse into the world of not only typography, but education as well.
Book Technology – Mark by Damjan Stankovic – It makes me so sad that this piece is only a concept. No, it’s not exactly book technology in the sense of e-readers, but I imagine it is a technology that most readers will be giddy about. I love this idea, especially as someone who likes to read almost every night before bed. Essentially, the light is both a bookmark and a light. When you remove the book from the light, it turns on, but when you place it back on the light, it holds your place and turns the light off. Be sure to check out Stankovic’s other work. They’re all innovative and unique. I hope to see some of them become realities!
Photo credit: Damjan Stankovic
Nuts and Bolts – “Three-year-old helps translate Jonathan Swift’s letters to his poo poo ppt: Gulliver’s Travels author and satirist used baby talk for coded intimacy in journal of letters” by Maev Kennedy at the Guardian – When Abigail Williams, English tutor at Oxford, set out to translate the letters of Jonathan Swift’s letters, she needed the help of two experts: an FBI document analyst and her three-year-old son. This article describes the raunchy letters and how Williams’s son was able to help translate the cleaner sections that were often transcribed in an odd baby talk. The article is interesting, but I’d definitely like more information on exactly how this was done!
For Every Book Lover – Made with Love: Bookplates by Design*sponge Bookplates are lovingly described in this how-to post as a “charming throwback [that] serve a very practical purpose, saying ‘Give me my darn book back, already.’ so you don’t have to.” This post will not only give you some adorable bookplates to print out, but will also offer some advice on how best to adhere them to your books.
Photo credit: Design*sponge
Tags: austin kleon, book of poetry, book technology, bookplates, damjan stankovic, design*sponge, farhad manjoo, for every book lover, furniture, gulliver's travels, jonathan swift, kleon, literary tangents, made by words, maev kennedy, mark, newspaper blackout, newspaper blackout tumblr, nuts and bolts, poem, poetry, slate, slate magazine, space invaders, tgif, TGIL, TGILinks, the guardian, tumblr, typography
Posted in Books, TGILinks | 1 Comment »
February 24th, 2011
Joyce Carol Oates, known for her thought-provoking fiction, has written a new memoir, released on February 15, about the sudden death of her husband of forty-six years and the aftermath. Painstakingly describing the grieving process, Oates writes about what it is like to have lost the most important part of her life.
The point of this group of memoirs and novels is not necessarily to give you a collection of books about death and grieving, but rather a collection that describe what it is like to be a wife, and, yes, sometimes a widow. Each of these books looks at the woman as wife, as connected to her husband, but individual and beautiful.
It’s going to be difficult to read A Widow’s Story without immediately thinking of Joan Didion’s powerful The Year of Magical Thinking. This book is a memoir about the sudden death of Didion’s husband, John, and her daughter Quintana’s illness, but it is also a well-researched piece of non-fiction about grief and the concept of magical thinking.
Also non-fiction, The Meaning of Wife is a look at what it is to be a wife in the 21st century. With a range of topics like the wedding industry, wives-turned-murderers, abusive relationships and sex and marriage, The Meaning of Wife is a fascinating must-read for any woman.
The Paris Wife is a soon-to-be-published fictionalized account of the marriage of Earnest Hemingway and his first wife, Hadley Richardson. Author Paula McClain deftly creates a voice for Hadley based on the letters that she sent to Hemingway and her other writings. Hadley gives us a different perspective on the controversial and conflicted figure that Hemingway has become.
Finally, Meg Wolitzer’s The Wife is the story of one woman whose famous husband is about to win the prestigious, fictional, Helsinki Prize. As they fly to Europe to accept the prize, his wife decides that she must end their marriage and the novel is her first-person account of their life together and its inevitable unraveling.
Tags: a widow's story, anne kingston, fiction, joan didion, joyce carol oates, meg wolitzer, memoir, non-fiction, nonfiction, novels about wives, paula mcclain, the meaning of wife, the paris wife, the wife, the year of magical thinking
Posted in Books | 1 Comment »
February 11th, 2011
Every Friday, we’ll post a collection of links to amuse you through this last work day! For explanations of the categories, please see our original TGILinks post!
Made By Words – “The Wormworld Saga” by Daniel Lieske
This link is made by words and art. It is a digital graphic novel by Daniel Lieske called The Wormworld Saga and it is beautiful and colorful. I love the art and what I have read so far. If you are a graphic novel veteran or if this will be your first foray into the medium, please give The Wormworld Saga a try!
Book Technology – “Are ‘Vooks’ the Future of Book Publishing?” by Wall Street Journal
What the heck is a vook? Vook just might be the next step in e-books that we have been waiting for. When you buy an ebook through Vook, you are not only getting the text, but an entire experience, including audio, video and social media sharing possibilities. This is one of those ideas that could be great or could fizzle out before ever really going anywhere. Only time will tell!
Literary Tangents – “Alexandria Youth ‘protecting library from looters‘” by The Guardian
As all the events unfold in Egypt, it’s hard to stop watching and reading the news about the revolution in Egypt. These young Egyptians protecting the library in Alexandria are definitely heroes.
Nuts and Bolts – “How to Pick a Book Prize” by The Daily Beast
When a book is given a prestigious award, there is always buzz. Whether people agree or disagree with the award, it’s safe to say that an award-winning book will be all over blogs and bookstores. So how do award committees choose the winners? The National Book Critics Circle explains their process in this Daily Beast article.
For Every Book Lover – Personal Library Kit at Perpetual Kid
Do you guard your personal library like only the very best librarian but don’t have the digs? Perpetual Kid has a library kit for the book geek in all of us. But this fun gift serves a practical purpose as well! Hopefully it will help you keep track of the books you loan out so they all make it home safe.
Tags: alexandria, book technology, comic, e-book, e-reader, ebook, egypt, ereader, for every book lover, graphic novel, librarian, library, literary tangents, made by words, national book critics circle, nuts and bolts, online comic, online graphic novel, perpetual kid, personal library kit, TGIL, TGILink, TGILinks, the daily beast, the wormworld saga, vook
Posted in Books | No Comments »
February 10th, 2011
The Evolution of Bruno Littlemore by Benjamin Hale was released last week by Twelve, featuring a very unique narrator. Bruno is the first chimpanzee to learn how to speak and, of course, decides that he needs to dictate his memoirs, including the story of his love affair with his human caretaker. Rather than being an outright disturbing account, The Evolution of Bruno Littlemore manages to be satire at its best.
But Bruno isn’t the first animal character that has made us remember what it is to be human.
The Art of Racing in the Rain by Garth Stein is the story of one dog, Enzo, and his family. This novel is at turns funny, tragic and beautiful. Yes, you probably know how this one ends, but the story is well worth it.
Origin by Diana Abu-Jaber is the story of Lena, a fingerprint analyst, who is investigating a series of SIDS cases that seem to be connected in Syracuse, NY. We don’t want to spoil what role animals have in this particular book, but this is a novel that will keep you guessing every step of the way.
While The Art of Racing in the Rain is narrated by Enzo, I Thought You Were Dead by Pete Nelson features a dog who regularly has conversations with his owner, Paul. Stella helps Paul become his best self, with plenty of missteps along the way.
Tags: benjamin hale, bruno littlemore, diana abu-jaber, further reading, garth stein, i thought you were dead, origin, pete nelson, the art of racing in the rain
Posted in Books | No Comments »
February 7th, 2011
Every Monday, we’ll post a round up of links of industry news, book reviews and more. Organized into five categories:
| Let’s Talk About Me – Book Maven Media is always growing! Here I’ll link to different endeavors that you should know about.
Friends of Bethanne - What are my bookish (and sometimes non-bookish) friends up to? Find out here.
Save Publishing - Book and industry news that you need to know, now!
The Review Revue – A highlight of recent interesting and thought-provoking book reviews.
Culture Vulture – It can’t be all about books, all the time! Here I’ll link to something outside the book world that is relevant and interesting! |
Let’s Talk About Me – I was recently interviewed on NPR about Friday Reads! Click here to listen.
Friends of Bethanne - The Super Bowl was yesterday, but all the excitement for me was on Twitter. Writer and musician Roseanne Cash (@roseannecash) posted Super Bowl updates like “One hopes the unfortunate incident involving the lady’s corset is not repeated on this occasion” and “Some ladies are determined to sport bonnets made of cheese. I must take to my bed” with the hashtag #JaneAustenAtTheSuperBowl. Fortunately it caught on. Catch up on all the hilarity here.
Save Publishing - If this “bookshelf porn” from Boing Boing doesn’t make you want to save publishing, I don’t know what will.
Review Revue – Three books about women of many different ages, stages, and eras are getting attention right now. I’ve read each of these and would recommend them all — but not necessarily all to the same woman.
Culture Vulture – The television show Mad Men is everywhere, from award shows to a toned down version on Sesame Street. The real question is why. Daniel Mendelsohn asks and answers this question in this fascinating article.
Posted in Books | 3 Comments »
