Here we are again at the end of another year. It’s a time for stock taking, both literal and metaphorical. Regular followers of Travel Between The Pages may be aware that in real life I am a bookseller. At this time of the year I usually spend some time reviewing annual sales, getting ready for tax preparation, tidying up the shelves, and thinking about rebuilding the catalog. This year I’m also marking a decade in the book trade as a “professional’ bookseller, although I’ve been collecting, buying, and selling books for many years.
Those of you in the book trade are surely aware of the vicissitude, unpredictability, and uncertainty of the business of bookselling. And I’m certain that those of you who are writers, editors, and publishers live with the mercurial nature of the book business every day. But as I mark this year’s end, I find that as time passes I am more grateful than ever for the opportunity to spend my days surrounded by books.
Each morning I get to immerse myself in the biblichor and be surrounded by old books. My days are enriched by printed works of art that can never be replaced by pale digital versions of reality.
So, as this year winds down, I can look forward to a new year in books and look back on a decade with gratitude.
Have you ever wondered what writers snack on while they’re working? Then check out this wonderful illustration by San Francisco-based artist Wendy MacNaughton, which appeared in the New York Times Book review earlier this year. You can see more of MacNaughton’s clever work (and buy prints) on her Etsy shop site.
I’m a long time fan of writer George Saunders going back to his short story collections “CivilWar Land in Bad Decline” and “Pastoralia”. If you love great storytelling, whether you know Saunders’ work or not (but you should), this short video interview with the author is a master class in how it’s done.
There’s lots to love in Philadelphia; it has terrific restaurants, seminal historic sites, hip neighborhoods, and world class museums. The best museum in town is the extraordinary Philadelphia Museum of Art. Philly-based, award-winning videographer and journalist Cory J. Popp has just released an exciting new 4k video tour of the museum. Take a look:
I’ve lost count of the number of times that I’ve visited Amsterdam. But some how I always seem to miss the annual Amsterdam Light Festival. Illuminating the wintery gloom, this colorful event features dozens of light installations scattered throughout the city. This year’s festival theme is “Friendship”, with thirty-five sight-specific pieces by both local and international artists.
The installations are now powered entirely by renewable energy and can be visited by self-guided walking tours. And since this is Amsterdam, there’s a long canal boat tour as well, but it costs €20 this year. The festival runs through January 17, 2016.
This wonderful compilation combines some of the oldest film footage shot in Paris between 1877 and 1900, with contemporary video. Created by Yestervid, it also places each location on a map of the city.
The German publishing house Bastei Lübbe and the bookstore chain Hugendubel have teamed up to create a unique way to end re-gifting of unwanted holiday presents. They have come up with a vending machine where booklovers can insert their disappointing gifts and get a book in return. The machines will be set up at Hugendubel branches around Germany during the holiday season. By the way, all of the unwanted presents will go to local charitable organizations.
Now free the prisoners!
This time of the year, most folks in the northern hemisphere could do with a little “luminotherapie”; and none more than the residents of chilly Canada. Impulse is a fabulously fun interactive art installation in the heart of Montreal made of luminous, musical seesaws. Created by CS Design, the marvelous installation, with LED lighting and built-in speakers, is open until the end of January on the Place Des Festivals.
all photos ©Ulysse Lemerise
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