Tree houses and book covers and buttons, oh my!
Okay, it has nothing to do with books, but go admire anyway: "Putting this principle into practice, Whole Tree Architecture is dedicated to building with materials that lumber companies consider scrap – weed trees, also know as 'managed forest thinnings.' The resulting projects are beautiful displays of locally sourced and sustainably managed materials." (via @TatteredCover)
Looking for a place to donate books?: "He contacted Bullitt County Public Schools and churches in that area, asking people to help him collect 100,000 books for libraries that needed them. He asked for textbooks, reference books, children's books, anything people had on their shelves collecting dust but not enhancing minds."
As a big rereader, I'm intrigued (and mystified) by this worldview: "Still, every time I look at one of my old books, I feel a much stronger desire to check out something new than to go back to my greatest hits."
Mr. G continues to narrate his Graveyard Book party judging: "Then I made my decision. I called Elyse Marshall at Harpers and told her. 'Ah,' she said. 'I'll have to check with the lawyers to find out if you can do that.'"
Bookselling in a nutshell: "In short, I asked each of them to choose a book that, for whatever reason, is overshadowed but still awesome."
So where do cover designers get their ideas? "But it's frowned upon to walk into a class room and use them as a focus group. It's better to take them out for a beverage an listen to what they have to say."
Print this, frame it, something: "Reading doesn’t have to be a 'tool,' a screwdriver to tighten the screws of a particular disciplinary scheme (or, later in childhood, of any other educational agenda). Yes, reading can be a means to an end, of course. But reading should also be an end unto itself, and if we fail to value that, we are in trouble."
Something that keeps arising in e-book discourse: "The goal of Project Gutenberg has always been to create 'An Information Age' not as something on the order of 'The Digital Divide,' but something greater in terms of bringing literacy and education to the masses free of all charge and in a way the vast majority can access instantly."
How to detect a master of handselling: "Picture Elizabeth Bluemle, bookseller extraordinaire, two years ago when The Book Thief came out in paperback...A customer asked her if the book was really good. Elizabeth just raised one eyebrow and the woman bought two."
Because free speech nerds need fantasy leagues too: FantasySCOTUS.net (via @NCACensorship)
I could go for a Shuffle button, especially when it comes to bookshelves: "Below are a list of my favorite common buttons and links that, decontextualized, make a kind of wishlist for my life in general."
Bookmark this one: "After yet another experience of a customer saying that books are too expensive, after watching the Amazon/Walmart pricing wars, I decided we need some perspective."
I think we need some "Please close the gate" signs in the ABA offices: "Signage in the editorial department hallway — this is an Algonquin original from when the company was run out of co-founder Louis Rubin's home!"
Because it's not fun to hear about any bookstores closing: "Not only are they full-time booksellers, but they've been working there for years and years, and they're important to the community they serve despite the fact that they work for people whose ideas about bookselling I disagree with, and I am just as sad about their loss as I am when I read about an independent bookstore shutting its doors."
Forty years ago this week: "Hersh won a Pulitzer Prize for the story. It was a story that changed history."
Posted at 01:50PM Nov 13, 2009 by Sarah Rettger in General |
