Latham, a bookseller for 35 years, has put together a heady mix of history, philosophy, anecdotes and entertaining factsWhat most people know about the American librarian Melvil Dewey is his phenomenal classification technique, the Dewey decimal system, which is still used in 135 countries. Less well known is how he liked to classify people, too. In a chapter entitled “Dubious Dewey”, Martin Latham describes how the great librarian created groups from A to D, banning all in the D group – Jews, African-Americans, Cubans and the “new rich” – from his Lake Placid resort. He was also a prolific groper of women. Latham speculates that Dewey’s hypocrisy, and his “obsessively domineering persona”, were what caused his lifelong constipation and piles.This is a book that is down on banning, rigidity, abuse of power and all kinds of snobbery, bookish and otherwise. It celebrates stories, scribbling in margins and the collecting, cherishing and even kissing of books – something done with surprising frequency, apparently. Latham, a bookseller for 35 years, currently runs Waterstones Canterbury, where he proudly filed the biggest petty cash claim in the chain’s history to pay for the excavation of a Roman bath house under its floor. But this is not one of those funny “anecdotes from a bookshop” books that have recently been popular – though anecdotes there are aplenty. It is rather a history and celebration of all things bookish, from Alexander the Great’s unusual habit of reading... Continue reading at 'The Guardian'
[ The Guardian | 2020-12-19 09:00:45 UTC ]
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Last year was a great year for PW online. We added new podcasts and newsletters, made a ton of friends on Twitter and Facebook, and have had the busiest year ever at publishersweekly.com. Continue reading at Publishers Weekly
[ Publishers Weekly | 2014-01-03 00:00:00 UTC ]
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A sinking ship of a drama that managed to be neither monstrous nor deep"Thar she blows!" said one of the crew as a whale came to the surface. The cetacean wasn't the only thing blowing heavily in The Whale (BBC1), a 90-minute dramatisation of the sinking of the Essex, a Nantucket whaler, by a... Continue reading at The Guardian
[ The Guardian | 2013-12-23 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Frances Spalding on one of the most revealing accounts of Lucian Freud ever writtenGeordie Greig's book is an unapologetic mixture of intelligent perception and high gossip. It deepens the reader's understanding of Lucian Freud, as both man and artist, but it also connives with the kind of... Continue reading at The Guardian
[ The Guardian | 2013-12-18 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Independent booksellers are invited to complete The Bookseller's annual Christmas trading... Continue reading at The Bookseller
[ The Bookseller | 2013-12-18 00:00:00 UTC ]
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On short notice, a dozen of the UK's top startups hosted the first Digital Publishing Xmas Fair, celebrating London's burgeoning entrepreneurial community. Continue reading at Publishing Perspectives
[ Publishing Perspectives | 2013-12-16 00:00:00 UTC ]
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The World Service's expert reporting of Mandela's memorial service showed why its grant shouldn't be cutLive Coverage of the Memorial Service for Nelson Mandela (World Service)| iPlayerBook at Bedtime (R4) iPlayerAlice's Wunderland (R4) | iPlayerThe BBC comes into its own when covering state... Continue reading at The Guardian
[ The Guardian | 2013-12-14 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Many independent booksellers have begun to have a change of heart about self-published books. Continue reading at Publishers Weekly
[ Publishers Weekly | 2013-12-13 00:00:00 UTC ]
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On December 11, the German Book Office New York will celebrate 15 years promoting German literature in North America and connecting the German and American publishing industries. Continue reading at Publishing Perspectives
[ Publishing Perspectives | 2013-12-10 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Wiley is to trial a transferable peer review scheme for nine of its neuroscience journals, which... Continue reading at The Bookseller
[ The Bookseller | 2013-12-10 00:00:00 UTC ]
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The Publishers Weekly Children's Starred Reviews Annual is your source for the best books that 2013 has to offer. Continue reading at Publishers Weekly
[ Publishers Weekly | 2013-12-09 00:00:00 UTC ]
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All books submitted for sale in Qatar must been approved by the Ministry of Culture even if the same book has already been approved for another retailer. Continue reading at Publishing Perspectives
[ Publishing Perspectives | 2013-12-09 00:00:00 UTC ]
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The mobile library service run by Pembrokeshire County Council, used by about 1% of the... Continue reading at The Bookseller
[ The Bookseller | 2013-12-06 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Monday: Slate staffers pick their favorite books of 2013. Tuesday: The overlooked books of 2013. Wednesday: The best lines of 2013, and the best poetry of 2013. Thursday: Dan Kois’ 15 favorite books. Friday: The Slate Book Review Top 10. Continue reading at Slate
[ Slate | 2013-12-06 00:00:00 UTC ]
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The holiday started the evening before Thanksgiving, fueling "Thanksgivukkah" hype and perhaps goosing sales. Continue reading at Publishers Weekly
[ Publishers Weekly | 2013-12-05 00:00:00 UTC ]
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The Indies First movement garnered more than 1,000 authors working at bookstores across the US and in Canada for Small Business Saturday, including James Patterson and Garth Stein. Continue reading at The Christian Science Monitor
[ The Christian Science Monitor | 2013-12-04 00:00:00 UTC ]
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After the staff at New Hampshire bookstores proposed 'Cider Monday' as a holiday to celebrate on America's Cyber Monday, the idea caught on with other indie sellers. Continue reading at The Christian Science Monitor
[ The Christian Science Monitor | 2013-12-03 00:00:00 UTC ]
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London's new Australia & New Zealand Festival of Literature & Arts had a glamorous, clever launch on Monday. It takes place May 29-June 1, 2014. Continue reading at Publishing Perspectives
[ Publishing Perspectives | 2013-11-27 00:00:00 UTC ]
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With Indies First, Shop Small, and Thanks for Shopping Indie, independent bookstores could get off to a strong start. Continue reading at Publishers Weekly
[ Publishers Weekly | 2013-11-27 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Maurice Sendak's 1963 children's classic 'Where the Wild Things Are' still tops polls as a favorite picture book and was adapted into a film in 2009. Continue reading at The Christian Science Monitor
[ The Christian Science Monitor | 2013-11-22 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Forty years ago this fall, a University of Chicago graduate student named Curt Matthews and his wife, Linda Matthews, founded Chicago Review Press, naming it after the Chicago Review literary journal, for which Curt was then poetry editor. Operating initially out of the couple’s basement, CRP’s... Continue reading at Publishers Weekly
[ Publishers Weekly | 2013-11-22 00:00:00 UTC ]
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