Are You An Honest Book Buyer

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Last month a new concept in bookselling was launched in Nanjing, China. Located in a popular square in the city’s Baixia district, the “Honesty Bookshop” operates without a cashier or onsite staff, because customers pay for their purchases by dropping cash into a lockbox. With just 1,500 titles to start, the bookshop is an experiment in bookselling. But the project’s organizer reported that he sold more than 300 books on the first day alone and that patrons paid the posted prices for each title. I have my doubts that this model would fly in the U.S.; maybe someplace like Iceland or Finland would work.

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h/t to Maggie Wong for the story

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What Makes It Noir ?

Melanie Patrick and Adam Frost have created this marvelous infographic to answer that question about film.

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Posted in Art, Film, movies, USA | Tagged , , , , | 1 Comment

Bookmark This

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images © Case

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Don’t Call Me A Coffee Snob

I take my coffee seriously, but not to the level of the folks at the Specialty Coffee Association of America. The SCAA has been setting standards for the U.S. coffee market for the past three decades and offers guidance for both coffee professionals and the recreational drinker on defining precise coffee tasting terminology.

The other day, I spotted a copy of the SCAA’s official “Flavor Wheel” on the wall of the fantastic Reykjavik Roasters in Iceland’s capital. Now I can be even more pedantic when describing my favorite cup of joe.

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On The Road

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Wish You Were Here

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Posted in Art, Europe, Maps, Tourism | Tagged , , | 1 Comment

We Are All Typewriters

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See London Like A Victorian

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Stanfords Bookshop, London’s place to go for travel literature, guides and maps, has announced plans to offer horse-drawn carriage tours of central London on Tuesdays and Thursdays at 3, 4:30 and 6PM. Bookshop customers will be able to ride in a beautifully restored 19th century omnibus from Stanfords’ flagship store around Covent garden and the West End. Tickets, which will be available on line here, will be priced at £30 for adults and £10 for children.

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Guess Who’s Coming To Dinner

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