If you stop by this humble blog on a regular basis, you are probably aware that I love good faux book cover art. I recently ran across this selection and thought that I’d share some. While they’re all amusing, they also have that cringey feel of verisimilitude.
These illustrations are from Levi Walter Yaggy’s Geograpahical Portfolio – Comprising Physical, Political, Geological, and Astronomical Geography. Published by Western Publishing House of Chicago in 1887, the book features large educational geographical charts.
Using chromolithography, Yaggy created stunning colors and contrasts in his images of the world, its regions, and peoples. Yaggy intended his charts to be used in classrooms by students, and issued a teacher’s handbook to assist with instruction.
H/t to the David Rumsey Map Center at the Stamford University Library
So it seems that that lovable street art scamp known as Banksy has brought his personal commentary on overtourism, commercialism, and the art world to Venice on the heels of the pretentious Biennale.
Although I have my quibbles with the baffling commitment to light roasts by Scandinavian 3rd wave coffeeshops and roasters, I do appreciate that there are coffee drinking opportunities everywhere—even in libraries. One of the coolest place to enjoy a good pour-over is at the Democratic Coffee Bar, which is actually situated inside of the city’s main library branch in the heart of town on Krystalgade.
When the Hovedbibliotek was renovated in 2011, Democratic Coffee moved into a first floor spot. Since there are no barriers in the shop, you can actually bring your coffee into the library. But there’s always a selection of free reading materials inside the coffee bar from the library collection.
Part of Iceland’s problem with overtourism is that too few tourists take the time to visit the beautiful East of the country. I always try to see the “real” Iceland by driving to some of the little waterfront towns like the village of Fáskrúðsfjörður in the East Fjords. With only 662 residents, the peaceful settlement recently gathered the entire population by the harbor to watch Italian pianist and composer Costantino Carrara, 22, as his music video, featuring an arrangement of Led Zeppelin’s “Stairway to Heaven,” was being recorded. Carrara is among a new generation of musicians, who strive to reach an audience through social media, rather than by selling CDs or giving concerts. Enjoy the show and the scenery.
HBO’s Game of Thrones reached its dramatic conclusion yesterday, but the Folio Society is encouraging fans to go back to the original source by releasing collector editions of George R.R. Martin’s original Song of Ice and Fire novels, beginning with A Game of Thrones.Last week, the publisher revealed the full cover art for the planned re-release of Martin’s first book in the fantasy epic, which will come July 16 in two volumes for $195.
The cover of one of the volumes features a raven perched atop the corpse of a mother direwolf, the one fatally gored by a stag in Winterfell but whose pups would grow up to become the direwolves of the Stark family. The other cover shows a lion, the sigil of House Lannister, attacking a stag, the sigil of House Baratheon.
These new covers — accompanied by eight illustrated chapter openers, nine illustrated house sigils, and nine family trees — were illustrated by artist Jonathan Burton, a regular collaborator with Folio who previously designed special edition covers for Cover Her Face, by P. D. James; Nineteen Eighty-Four, by George Orwell; and the entire Hitchhikers series.
Fantasy author Joe Abercrombie also wrote an introduction for this release of A Game of Thrones. A Game of Thrones also comes with a fold-out map of “the Known World” that arrives as a separately bound volume, and a gold-blocked slipcase with a secret illustration of a White Walker inside.
The curious folks at The Pudding did a deep dive into data on U.S. restaurant visits. They then created some fascinating maps and charts exploring the geographic patterns and regional preferences across the states. There aren’t many surprises. But what’s up with New Jersey and sandwiches?
Sandwich restaurant visits.
Pizza
BBQ restaurant visits.
Mexican restaurant visits.
Italian restaurant visits.
The Bookseller has reported that Silence Under a Stone, by the 81-year-old Irish writer Norma MacMaster, has been shortlisted for the Society of Authors’ Awards. What is noteworthy is that it is also Norma’s debut novel.
The book, which the Independent (Ireland) describes as a “traditional novel” that “frames the ‘burning fervour’ of a mother’s love with the scourge of fundamentalism and division,” is just MacMaster’s second book. Her only other publication was a memoir published in 2008.
The Society of Authors’ Award is for debut novels by writers over the age of 40. Maybe there’s hope for me yet? Time to dust of that old novel and try again?
In many cities in Europe it’s become an asinine tourist tradition for couples to purchase overpriced padlocks, scratch their initials in them, and then attach them to bridges. Not only does this annoying habit visually blight historic architecture,but many of old bridges weren’t built to withstand the weight of so many locks. In 2014 the Des Arts bridge in Paris collapsed from the weight of padlocks people attached to it. It’s now against the law in Paris to put locks on bridges. In the video below, the folks at Honest Guide (A YouTube channel about Prague for tourists) got a bunch of bolt cutters and an angle grinder and went to work removing love locks, inviting others to share in the merriment. While you’re at it, check out their excellent and very helpful series of travel videos on Youtube and maybe buy their new Prague guidebook.
Travel Between The Pages 