I have always thought of the bookmobile as an outreach tool for rural or suburban libraries, but even the great Brooklyn Public Library in New York City still sends them into the community. The little video below directed by Steve Mallon documents the redesign of one of the library’s older models.
If like me you frequent book blogs, it’s likely that you have seen the charming, book-celebratory art work and illustrations by Hawaii-based artist and bibliophile Jane Mount. Now she has a delightful new book titled Bibliophile: An Illustrated Miscellany coming out next week from Chronicle Books.
In the book, Mount tours bookstores, visits famous writers, curates reading lists, explores great libraries, and much more through her signature vibrant illustrations. It looks like a great gift idea for the book lovers in your life. Hint, hint.
This is what Monday morning looks like when you arrive to find the bookstore closed.
I just discovered that The English Bookshop in Uppsala, Sweden was named the bookstore of the year at the London Book Fair. It’s not surprising when you learn that founder and manager Jan Smedh personally curates the store’s stock of all English language books. The charming little shop is jampacked with more than 13,000 titles and also hosts regular author readings, book discussion groups, and other literary events.
My love affair with Uppsala began years before I even set foot in Sweden’s 4th largest city. When I saw Ingmar Bergman’s stunning film Fanny and Alexander, which was filmed entirely in the old university town, it was love at first sight. Eventually, I was able to spend sometime there one summer and made some good friends. If you ever find yourself in Stockholm, Uppsala is less than an hour north and well worth a detour. But be warned, you’ll want to stay a while.
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The Great American Novel: Places from the pages of America’s finest literary works” map celebrates 42 important works of fiction in a very cool limited edition hand-drawn map. The graphic, which is screen printed on archival stock, is available from the folks at Hog Island Press.
Yesterday the New York Public Library launched a brilliant new way to enjoy classic literature. Insta Novels brings short stories, novellas, and even novels to readers in a new digital format. All readers need to do is follow @nypl on Instagram to access beloved literary works with all new illustrations and animation. The project’s first offering is a new edition for Lewis Carroll’s Alice in Wonderland, which will be followed shortly by Franz Kafka’s Metamorphosis, and Charlotte Perkins Gilman’s short story The Yellow Wallpaper.
Each literary work for Insta Novels has been chosen for its visual nature. But ultimately the NYPL hopes to encourage digital readers to seek out other works from the library’s vast collection of traditional format books and e-books.
Readers who eschew Instagram can still follow Insta Novels on the library’s “Highlights” webpage where all of the works will be posted.
The Talk Story Bookstore in beautiful Hanapepe, Kauai, Hawaii, bills itself as America’s westernmost bookstore, but that’s not the only thing interesting about this shop. The charming little video below tells the heartwarming tale and may just rekindle your belief in the romance of book selling.
In glaring polarity to the illiterate moron now squatting in the White House, a real President actually reads books instead of binge watching faux news on television. This weekend, President Obama posted a summary on social media of his summer reads to date. Here’s a sample:
Tara Westover’s Educated is a remarkable memoir of a young woman raised in a survivalist family in Idaho who strives for education while still showing great understanding and love for the world she leaves behind.
Set after WWII, Warlight by Michael Ondaatje is a meditation on the lingering effects of war on family.
With the recent passing of V.S. Naipaul, I reread A House for Mr Biswas, the Nobel Prize winner’s first great novel about growing up in Trinidad and the challenge of post-colonial identity.
An American Marriage by Tayari Jones is a moving portrayal of the effects of a wrongful conviction on a young African-American couple.
Factfulness by Hans Rosling, an outstanding international public health expert, is a hopeful book about the potential for human progress when we work off facts rather than our inherent biases.
“Become Someone Else” is a clever ad campaign for the Mint Vinetu which is a popular independent secondhand bookshop and cafe in the heart of Old Town Vilnius, Lithuania. The cozy shop also sells vinyl and provides a venue for local musicians and writers.
Travel Between The Pages 