Welcome to the third episode of book patrol TV. This time around we feature the full episode of The Twilight Zone's Time Enough at Last featuring Burgess Meredith as Henry Bemis, a banker with a book problem, as well as the late Mike Wallace's complete 1958 interview with Aldous Huxley. Also included : The official trailer for The Raven, a pop up wedding proposal, Mark Strand reading The Poem of the Spanish Poet, a look at the Bay Area's Free Book Exchange, a trailer for Matt Kish's Moby Dick in Pictures, Ralph Fiennes reading "Th' Expense of Spirit in a Waste...
In The Stacks: The Astor Free Library at the NYPL
This is the latest installment of In the Stacks. A series dedicated to exploring the digital archives of the leading libraries, institutions and organizations of the known universe. At the prompting of his close friend, Joseph Cogswell, John Jacob Astor set aside $400,000 for the creation of a free public library. When it opened in 1854 The Astor Free Library was one of the first public libraries in the United States. It was also one of the most progressive institutions on the planet.The library was open to anyone from anywhere who was older than 14. It was one of the...
A Book Cover for an Eyesore
What else would you cover an electrical transformer that sits in front of the Library Place apartments, and is adjacent to the Everett Public Library, then with a book sculpture?It's called the "Book Stack" and it stands 8-feet-tall and 12-feet-wide. It is composed of fiberglass and comprised of seven books that were "chosen to acknowledge themes for urban renewal" says developer Craig Skotdal. Titles included are: A Tale of Two Cities and Great Expectations by Charles Dickens, Sense and Sensibility by Jane Austen, The Importance of Being Earnest by Oscar Wilde, Main Street by Sinclair Lewis, Metamorphosis by Franz Kafka and Leaves...
A Book Artist Takes to the Stage: Su Blackwell as Set Designer
Su Blackwell is a master papercut artist. She is best known for her intricate paper sculptures that emanate from books. Her work appears in many of the A-level book art exhibits around the world and has been used for various book and magazine covers. Last holiday season Blackwell moved from the confines of the codex to design the set for the Charles Way adaptation of the Hans Christian Anderson fairytale The Snow Queen at London's Rose Theatre. Poster for The Snow Queen. Designs by Su BlackwellGiven that much of her book work is derived from the realm of fairy-tales and...
The Last Bookstore Show? Larry McMurtry downsizes
Booked Up, the famed book city created by Larry McMurtry, is about to significantly decrease its footprint in Archer City, Texas.In August a public auction will be held on site to release 350,000 books into the wild. The announcement, which was posted on Booked Up's website, makes it clear that this is less a negative event then an opportunity for many of the books McMurtry has acquired through his long bookselling career to find new homes. Over the years McMurtry has secured the inventory of 26 bookshops and close to 200 personal libraries. I suspect that since the advent and...