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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We talk with Annie Carl, founder of the Neverending Bookshop in Edmonds, Wash., a community bookstore that focuses on genre titles and children’s and YA. Continue reading at Publishers Weekly
[ Publishers Weekly | 2023-04-14 04:00:00 UTC ]
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Celebrities including Julia Roberts, Julianna Margulies, and Selma Blair are urging people to take part in the #LetAmericaRead campaign. April is National School Library Month but, unfortunately, some of the books in school libraries have never been under greater threat in parts of America than... Continue reading at Fast Company
[ Fast Company | 2023-04-11 12:01:00 UTC ]
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Lambda executive director Samiya Bashir called Forester's gift "transformational," which will allow Lambda Literary to usher in a new phase of expansion. Continue reading at Publishers Weekly
[ Publishers Weekly | 2023-04-11 04:00:00 UTC ]
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Jeff Boyd’s searching debut novel portrays a Black musician alienated from his city, his faith and his past. Continue reading at The New York Times
[ The New York Times | 2023-04-10 09:00:16 UTC ]
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About 150 publishing professionals were in attendance at the Mountains and Plains Independent Booksellers Association SpringCon last week. In addition to networking and professional development opportunities, the attendees discussed a new bill in the Texas legislature, which would place more... Continue reading at Publishers Weekly
[ Publishers Weekly | 2023-04-10 04:00:00 UTC ]
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I have imbibed fairy tales ever since I was six years old. I used to sneak into the public library and scatter several books on the floor to read, even if I couldn’t read them. My mother used to read the Grimms and Andersen tales aloud to me every night until I could read them […] Continue reading at Literrary Hub
[ Literrary Hub | 2023-04-06 08:53:02 UTC ]
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The Stinging Fly has helped launch several of Ireland’s most promising writers. How has a publication with 1,000 subscribers carved a niche in the Irish canon? Continue reading at The New York Times
[ The New York Times | 2023-04-05 09:00:42 UTC ]
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Phaidon Press will celebrate its 100th anniversary in September with a slate of events, exhibitions, original digital content, and sales initiatives. Continue reading at Publishers Weekly
[ Publishers Weekly | 2023-04-05 04:00:00 UTC ]
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Our reverence towards stars and celebrities was not borne of the 19th century’s cinematic revolution, but rather has been a resilient aspect of our culture for millennia. Ancient tales of immortal gods rising again and again after fatal injury, the veneration and deification of social and... Continue reading at Engadget
[ Engadget | 2023-04-04 18:00:30 UTC ]
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In the latest “Craftwork” episode, a deep-dive conversation about literary agents with Carly Watters, herself a longtime literary agent and the co-host of the popular writing podcast The Shit No One Tells You About Writing. Carly is “very online” with a keen understanding of the digital... Continue reading at Literrary Hub
[ Literrary Hub | 2023-04-03 08:53:09 UTC ]
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The new Sustainability Lounge at London Book Fair – its concept led by Elsevier's Rachel Martin – will run throughout the week. The post Rachel Martin on London Book Fair’s Sustainability Lounge appeared first on Publishing Perspectives. Continue reading at Publishing Perspectives
[ Publishing Perspectives | 2023-03-31 16:31:23 UTC ]
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The beloved online athenaeum just lost a big court case. Librarians fear it’ll make ebooks less accessible. So why are some writers cheering? Continue reading at Wired
[ Wired | 2023-03-31 13:00:00 UTC ]
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Collected stories about the wild, uncharted frontiers of North America expand to include everything from classic nature tales to dystopian climate fiction. Continue reading at The Christian Science Monitor
[ The Christian Science Monitor | 2023-03-29 16:23:08 UTC ]
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At the Audio Publishers Association's first in-person Audie Awards ceremony since 2020, Viola Davis's 'Finding Me' took home the prize for Audiobook of the Year. Continue reading at Publishers Weekly
[ Publishers Weekly | 2023-03-29 04:00:00 UTC ]
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Emergence Magazine is an online publication with annual print edition exploring the threads connecting ecology, culture, and spirituality. As we experience the desecration of our lands and waters, the extinguishing of species, and a loss of sacred connection to the Earth, we look to emerging... Continue reading at Literrary Hub
[ Literrary Hub | 2023-03-27 08:52:16 UTC ]
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Are publishers acquiring fewer LGBTQ+ and diverse books in the wake of rising censorship? This week's book censorship news. Continue reading at Book Riot
[ Book Riot | 2023-03-24 10:40:00 UTC ]
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In this in-depth BookBeat review, let’s find out what makes this service better than Scribd for English-language audiobook listeners. Continue reading at Book Riot
[ Book Riot | 2023-03-24 10:33:00 UTC ]
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The second day of the inaugural RISE bookselling conference, organized by the European & International Book Federation, in Prague offered an idea exchange with booksellers and authors on best practices for the industry, ranging from how do deal with curation in an age of disinformation to... Continue reading at Publishers Weekly
[ Publishers Weekly | 2023-03-22 04:00:00 UTC ]
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The inaugural RISE bookselling conference, organized by the European & International Book Federation, was held in Prague this past weekend. The first day focused on how bookselling can lessen its impact on the environment and become more inclusive. Continue reading at Publishers Weekly
[ Publishers Weekly | 2023-03-21 04:00:00 UTC ]
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Author and publisher Rick Riordan reflects on half a decade of exceptional storytelling. (Sponsored) Continue reading at Publishers Weekly
[ Publishers Weekly | 2023-03-17 04:00:00 UTC ]
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