Those of you who regularly visit this humble blog are all too well aware that I am an enormous fan of street art and basically obsessed with books. So when I stumbled upon the book Minima Muralia, which explores more than 200 large murals painted by the Italian artist known as Blu , I was hooked. The book covers every major piece created by the pseudonymous Bologna-based street artist over the first 15 years of his career. This special edition of the book was released with a 32-page zine, two posters, and a specially-designed book casing from Zooo Print & Press.
GoGoBooks is a new mobile bookstore specializing in books for young readers that has hit the road in the state of Delaware. Owner Kate Keeper has turned a former delivery truck into a bookmobile carrying a couple thousand titles that range from board books and picture books to young adult novels, as well as some children’s-focused sidelines. The bookmobile launched earlier this month.
Keeper, who left her job as a registered nurse to found GoGo Books, says that she was inspired to open a bookstore of her own after visiting Stories Bookshop + Storytelling Lab in Brooklyn, N.Y. about a year ago. While they felt that they could make a bookstore work, Keeper was skeptical about the idea of a bricks-and-mortar store. After researching bookmobiles, however, Keeper decided to take the leap.
She plans to host storytime and singalong sessions at the truck, and set up shop at festivals and other events in the area. She hopes to form partnerships with a variety of local businesses, and her next appearance is scheduled for May 4-5 at the Creamery of Kennett Square, across the border in Pennsylvania.
“I left my nursing job because I wanted to do what I want to do when I want to do it,” Keeper said. “And this is what I hope will help me get there. I seriously just love being around books, I love being around people. I just want to be out in the community.”
Most of us don’t give a second thought to the greatest human achievement in history. But now the British Museum’s new interactive exhibition Writing: Marking Your Mark is celebrating more than 5,000 years of our most amazing legacy. The exhibit, which runs through August 27, 2019, offers an introduction to five millennia of technological innovations in writing. Visitors can discover the extraordinary evolution of writing from Mesopotamian tablets to the early printed text, and onto the age of emojis. From my observations of the children in my family and community, the act of writing with a nondigital instrument should be disappearing by the mid-21st century.
Sandstone figure of a sphinx
Way back in 2017 I shared a story about one woman’s efforts to bring an independent bookstore to the New York City Borough of the Bronx. It’s still difficult to believe that this entire district of the largest city in the United States had no bookstores. I rarely post links to crowdfunding campaigns, but Noëlle Santos’ crusade got my attention and support. I hope that some of you also contributed to the Let’s bring a goddamn bookstore to the Bronx campaign too. Long story short, the project was a huge success earning more than $170,000 and also attracting a grant from the New York Public Library.
This Saturday, on Independent Bookstore Day, the Lit Bar will have its official grand opening. So if you are in NYC, take a trip to the Bronx for the festivities, if not tell your New York friends to support the bookstore launch.
Since we have a new crop of kids in our family, I’ve been spending more time in the children’s section of bookstores, but there aren’t many titles like these. This series of reimagined kid’s books come from the pen of San Francisco-based artist Ted McCagg, so blame him if you are offended.
h/t Herakut & Dr.Seuss
This coming Saturday, April 27, will mark the fifth annual Independent Bookstore Day in the United States. The day-long party will take place at hundreds of indie booksellers from Alaska to Florida. Bookshops will celebrate the occasion with author events, giveaways, refreshments, music, poetry readings, open mics, children’s book events, and limited edition books. You can find a participating independent bookstore on the Indiemap and get more information on the dedicated website.
Travel On A Sunbeam with Tillie Walden’s online sci-fi comic.
Get your Surrealist Starter Kit right here.
Who doesn’t need some more Gorey ?
Transit maps should work for residents and tourists alike. Check out this amazing but unofficial re-imagined map for Berlin’s excellent transport system. The map was the passion project of Russian graphic design genius Pasha Omelekhin.
Magic from the Library of Congress can be yours at LOC Serendipity.
The Hidden World of National Parks https://artsandculture.withgoogle.com/en-us/national-parks-service/parks
An abandoned warehouse in southeastern Seoul, Korea has been transformed into the city’s first publicly supported secondhand bookstore mall. Although it faced sharp criticism, the project developed by the municipal government and main library, has been a resounding success. In its first three weeks of operation it has already attracted more than 30,000 visitors.
The interior is impressive with rows of iron-frame bookshelves creating a tunnel.
Around 120,000 secondhand books are on sale in this single-story, 1,400-square-meter store, called Seoul Book Repository. The books are supplied by 25 secondhand bookstores scattered around the city, most of which are located at at secondhand book street near Cheonggye Street. The city-managed book mall charges no rent to the booksellers, but takes a 10% commission on sales to cover the cost of operations.
The books are shelved by individual bookshop, allowing each bookstore to maintain its distinct identity and to utilize its own cataloging system for its books. Booksellers are allowed minimal advertising and hang small metal card holders from the shelving.
Hopefully, other cities around the world will consider this model to support local bookshops in their struggle to survive in the Amazon era. The system requires minimal governmental support and can actually create jobs, protect small local businesses, attract bookloving tourists, and even raise revenue.
Travel Between The Pages 