It’s Presidents Day in ‘murica

Tom the Dancing Bug 1376 news – pearl harbor attacked

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Great Man Theory

 

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Bed, Breakfast and Books

If you visit Lille, France after March 21st, you will be able to browse a new bookstore, have a coffee, and even stay the night at Place Ronde – Bed, Books & Breakfast. The project is the brainchild of Fabienne van Hulle, who retired from the corporate world to pursue the dream of owning a bookshop. Located in the heart of the city, the shop will offer 4000+ titles and will specialize in women’s literature and Northern European books. Van Hulle is adding two guest rooms so that visiting bibliophiles or writers can stay the night. If you’re interested, the rooms will be available on AirbnB.

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Underground Books Go Digital

For more than 20 years, public transit riders in Santiago, Chile have been able to borrow books from a network of mini-library vending machines in Metro stations. Now the service, which is provided by the municipal government and the Directorate of Libraries, Archives, and Museums, has added access to digital books for smartphones and tablets via new scanner stations. The Bibliometro project has also expanded to 23 borrowing points in public transit stations. What a great concept.

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Why Bibliophiles Hate Cristiano Ronaldo

Cristiano Ronaldo, the famous Portuguese footballer, has purchased the historic Casa del Libro bookstore building in the heart of Madrid with plans to convert it into a luxury hotel. The 95 year old bookstore is housed in a beautiful building on the Gran Via designed by architect Jose Yarnoz Larrosa. It’s a sad day for book lovers, but nothing can stop the rich from their wretched pursuit of more wealth.

La Casa del Libro, edificada en 1922 e inaugurada un año más tarde. Situada en la Avenida Pi i Margall, hoy Gran vía.

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Isn’t It Romantic

Happy Valentine’s Day ! This beautiful edition of Elizabeth Barrett Browning’s romantic poems Sonnets from the Portuguese was published in Venice in 1906. The lovely miniature book was handset and bound in vellum. H/t to the University of Iowa Special Collections Library.

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Questions from the Audience

h/t tip Tom Gauld

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Gulliver’s Travels

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Falter not O book, fulfil your destiny

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Mind The Gap

Those of you who visit this blog on a regular basis already know that I have an inordinate interest in travel posters, graphic design, and especially public transport system safety posters. So it will come as little surprise that I really, really like this new series created for Transport for London.

The bold graphics communicate simple, but essential safety messages to millions of travelers who use the system each day. They are vivid, colorful, eye-catching, easy to understand, and clearly convey the intended messages.

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