By now most bibliophiles have participated in, or at least heard about, bookswapping programs. The latest book give-away scheme is London’s Books on the Underground. All that’s necessary to be a participant is to visit the project website, request some stickers and start sharing. So, if you’re going to be in London, plan ahead and get youself some stickers. (h/t to Evan Smythe)
I’m a fool for book-based art installations, as you may have already surmised. So here’s new one called “Meaning Minus Truth Condition” by Vienna-based artist Thomas Ehgartner. Built with 8,000 recycled books, the installation in the Kunstacademie Wien also includes two computers which voice random Wikipedia entries and snippets of text from the Guttenberg Online Archive.
Sparked by Korean photographer Ho-Yeol Ryu’s now iconic composite photograph (above) of planes at the Hannover, Germany airport, documentary filmmaker and photographer Cy Kuckenbacker created this phenomenal time-lapse video (below). While much of America was out worshiping at the altar of mamman on November 23rd, Kuckenbaker captured every landing at San Diego International Airport between 10:30am and 3pm.
This October, Reuben Beugel’s new company Hopper launched an innovative, eco-friendly taxi service in Amsterdam using chauffer-driven electric scooters. Charging a flat-rate fee of just € 2.50 regardless of the distance traveled Hopper’s service is quicker than traditional taxis, as it can bypass traffic jams and take advantage of Amsterdam’s tiny streets and alleys closed to larger vehicles.
The Hopper scooters can be booked on the website, by phone, with a smart phone app or be flagged down on the street. The service is currently running in the city centre, the Pijp and Zuidas, but there are plans for expansion this year to Utrecht, Rotterdam and the Hague.
If you follow this blog, I think that it’s safe to assume that books are high on your holiday gift-giving (and getting) lists. So, I thought that it would be appropriate to share some links to end of the year “best of ” lists. You may find some great titles that you’ve missed, I know I did, on the New York Times Notable Books of 2012, NPR Best Books of 2012 Complete List , or the many Guardian lists.
What’s on your best of list this year? I’ve been an evangelist for HHhH by Laurent Binet, Gone Girl by Gillian Flynn, The Age of Miracles by Karen Thompson Walker, The Dog Stars by Peter Heller, and The Last Policeman by Ben Winters.
I never finished Infinite Jest, nor have I read any of David Foster Wallace’s other overvalued twaddle, but I found Goodread’s infographic a hipster lit flowchart quite entertaining. The inclusion of Open City and Leaving the Atocha Station, two other abundantly praised, but considerably disappointing novels elicited more chuckles. On a positive note, Embassytown and Zone One are terrific novels that both transcend genre characterization. I’m safely senescent enough to ever be marked a hipster, but see how you stand on this flowchart.
This week, New Yorkers were treated to a brand new LED lightshow on the fabled Empire State Building. The remarkable show, synched to music from Alicia Keys and Jay-Z, was made possible by Philips Color Kinetics. The company replaced an aging system of 
hundreds of flood lights with an amazing array of 1200 cutting-edge LED fixtures that can project millions of color and light combinations.
The Art Series Hotel chain in Melbourne Australia is now offering the ultimate in customer-friendly check out policies. The Overstay Checkout answers that age old question: Why do most hotels make you checkout at 11AM even when the next guest isn’t due for hours?
Will Deague’s three boutique hotel properties now enable guests to keep their room as long as they want if no one is due to check in—which can be a few extra hours or even days at no extra charge. So, if you’re going to be in Melbourne, why not stay at The Cullen, The Olsen or the Blackman?
Tomorrow, December 1st, marks the third annual Take Your Child to a Bookstore Day. More than 1,000 bookshops in North America, along with stores in the U.K. and Australia, will be hosting special events to celebrate young readers. Many bookstores will have readings, book giveaways, door prizes, refreshments and more.
According to Take Your Child to a Bookstore Day founder Jenny Milchman:
“Bookstores hold a place in the hearts and times of our community. They are places to discover an author, a story, a life. Nothing affords the conversation and interaction among books and book lovers that a bookstore does. In the future, whether you download your story or pluck a volume off a shelf, a bookstore will be able to accommodate. But in order for bookstores to flourish and thrive, we must expose future generations to the unique pleasures they offer. On December 1st, 2012, take the child in your life to a bookstore. Watch his face light up as you give him free access, not just to a new book, but to tomorrow.”
According to the editor Julien Guntz,
The “Alsace timelapse” project is the fruit of the collaboration of three French artists from Strasbourg, and the fusion of their photographic, editing and musical talents. The collective, baptized IGH, presents a short film entirely produced through the time-lapse photography technique. Combining thousands of photographs captured over a period of two years across the Alsace region by the photographer Jean Isenmann, and edited by Julien Guntz against a musical background by Marco Havnin, this film attempts to encapsulate the magnificence of the Alsace region in all its aspects.
