I really like this elegantly annotated online version of Moby Dick. Simple and well-designed.
Bookseller Catalogues Part II
Having just issued my first two catalogues during the last year, Michael's weekend post on the resurgence of this bookselling tool was of particular interest. I completely agree that catalogues are making a comeback, perhaps especially among younger booksellers (an incredibly relative term in the antiquarian book biz - see Between the Covers' Tom Congleton for more on this). In addition to the previously-mentioned Derringer Books and Jeff Maser (and even, for that matter, Wessel and Lieberman), I would also throw out the examples of Garrett Scott (whose Some preliminary notes on the aesthetic merits of interesting catalogues is another...
Hypnerotomachia Poliphili
Jason Kottke has a nice appreciation of the Hypnerotomachia Poliphili, noting in particular its modern design:To contemporary eyes, the HP looks almost modern. The text is very readable. The typography, layout, and the way the text flows around the illustration; none of it looks out of the ordinary. When compared to other books of the time [...] its modernity is downright eerie. The most obvious difference is the absence of the blackletter typeface. Blackletter was a popular choice because it resembled closely the handwritten script that preceded the printing press, and I imagine its use smoothed the transition to books...
Last Call, Bohemia
In this month's Vanity Fair, Christopher Hitchens considers the role of Bohemia in the health of a city and mourns its loss to gentrification. Included in his catalog of endangered Bohemiana, bookstores (emphasis mine):It isn’t possible to quantify the extent to which society and culture are indebted to Bohemia. In every age in every successful country, it has been important that at least a small part of the cityscape is not dominated by bankers, developers, chain stores, generic restaurants, and railway terminals. This little quarter should instead be the preserve of—in no special order—insomniacs and restaurants and bars that never...
Writer’s Rooms
The UK Guardian has a great feature on writer's rooms, including those of John Banville, Roald Dahl, Martin Amis, Mark Haddon, Seamus Heaney (pictured), and dozens of others.