The Book Patrol blog is now also available on the Seattle Post-Intelligencer websiteCome visit.
For the Record Books: One Life 5 Minutes at a Time
Move over Samuel Pepys Did you know that the record for the world's longest diary is held by a Reverend Robert Shields of Dayton, Washington! for at least 4 hours a dayfor 24 years Shields recorded his every movement.35 million words Here is a link to a transcript of a radio interview Shields did with David Isay Here are a couple of excerpts: 12:20 to 12:25: I stripped to my thermals. I always do that. 12:25 to 12:30: I discharged urine. 12:30 to 12:50: I ate leftover salmon -- Alaska red salmon by Bumblebee, about seven ounces -- drank ten...
Color Your Penguin: Book Design by the Masters and the Masses
One place the phrase 'Don't judge a book by its cover' doesn't work is in the publishing and bookselling world. One of the most important factors that determine whether someone browsing for a book buys one is how the book looks. Cover designs that important.Patrick Ness has a nice commentary on book design in the Guardian today Arthur Hawkins, Rockwell Kent, Lustig, E. McKnight Kauffer, Milton Glaser, Paul Rand and Chip Kidd are just a few of the names of artists and designers known for the their dust jacket cover art.Along these lines if you are going to be in...
10 Best and Worst Lists
10 Best and Worst Lists The New York Times released its list of the top 10 books for 2006. The list will appear in the December 10th print issue of the Book Review. And in case you missed this one: Here is another list that I thought might be worth a revisit. It is called the Ten Most Harmful Books of the 19th and 20th Century and it was published by the national conservative weekly Human Events, or as it has been called 'a Bible for the right', last May. 15 conservative scholars and public policy leaders voted to determine...
The Library as Shelter
Yesterdays paper had an article about the strides the library has made in dealing with its large amount of homeless visitors. Yes, added security and a larger space have made a difference. The library is larger so it could hold the homeless more discreetly and the added security does help, although I think it is there more as an essential element in maintaining the library as a tourist attraction. So did the issue that plagued the old central library really improve? Social service issues can never be solved through architecture, they might be improved but never solved. Why couldn't a...