Ever wonder which library has the most expensive budget or what the names of the first three books to contain photographs are?or what about:-The name of the first book to have page numbers-The title of the largest and smallest and most expensive books ever published-or the tallest bookstore and library buildings in the worldWell, wonder no more. The second of edition of Library World Records by Godfrey Oswald has just been published by McFarland. This updated and expanded edition contains more than 380 entries providing answers to hundreds of new questions about libraries, periodicals, books, and reference databases.Here's the table...
Book JENGA®
Check out this little video tour of a bookshop in Salem, MA that two young women happened upon.It appears the shop adheres to the JENGA® approach to book display.Thanks to The Bookshop Blog for the lead
Image of the Day : Funeral for the Book
This image accompanies bookseller John Schulman's article in the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette, The Next Page: The Book Is Dead? Its Sellers Are Dying?I couldn't quite make out who the artist is, but will post the credit once I find out.The article itself is worth reading as well. Schulman urges us "to remember what bookstores can provide that the Internet cannot,"and uses numerous cinematic examples to remind us of all that can happen at the bookshop.He also believes:that as the years go by there will be "Internet backlash," most readers will return to the shops. It will be like "Night of the...
The Bush vs. Rove Reading Challenge
Errata:Thanks to Adrianne's comment below for informing me that the photo I refer to below of Bush holding a book upside down is not authentic. The details of this doctored image and the original image are discussed at snopes.comMy apologies for the error.In his latest weekly op-ed piece for the Wall Street Journal, "Bush is a Book Lover", Karl Rove shares his thoughts on George W. Bush's reading life.There is a myth perpetuated by Bush critics that he would rather burn a book than read one. Like so many caricatures of the past eight years, this one is not only...
Letter Chaos
Falling LettersBrazilian artist Marina Camargo has a way with letters. Her photographs and installations often feature letter forms in various states of disarray. Her photograph Falling Letters is a perfect visual metaphor for the current state of many aspects of the book world.Letters in Perspective, 2002Page 93 (The Sheltering Sky), 2008Camille Utterback is another artist who loves playing with letters.Text Rain. Camille Utterback & Romy Achituv, 1999Text Rain is "an interactive installation in which participants use the familiar instrument of their bodies, to do what seems magical—to lift and play with falling letters that do not really exist...Like rain or...