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 ]
News tagged with:
#heady mix
#bookseller
Our Children’s Starred Reviews Annual features nearly 400 reviews of exceptional books for young readers, a selection of interviews with some of today’s top authors and illustrators, our 50 Best Books of 2022, and a cover by Felicita Sala. Continue reading at Publishers Weekly
[ Publishers Weekly | 2022-11-21 05:00:00 UTC ]
More news stories like this | News stories tagged with:
#exceptional books
#young readers
#top authors
Her store, Art Catalogues, specialized in books for and about museum and gallery exhibitions and became a gathering place for artists and bibliophiles. Continue reading at The New York Times
[ The New York Times | 2022-11-20 21:18:47 UTC ]
More news stories like this | News stories tagged with:
#gathering place
#bookseller
We all know books have the power to move us to tears, and that those tears have the power to move books. Last year, with the sudden rise on popularity of certain titles, the publishing industry realized that BookTok might have the ability to shape the market. One reader cries on camera about... Continue reading at Literrary Hub
[ Literrary Hub | 2022-11-18 18:44:22 UTC ]
More news stories like this | News stories tagged with:
#move books
#sudden rise
#madeline miller
#publishing industry
We talk with Maureen Palmer, owner of Redbery Books in Cable, Wis., population 825. Continue reading at Publishers Weekly
[ Publishers Weekly | 2022-11-18 05:00:00 UTC ]
More news stories like this | News stories tagged with:
#bookselling spotlight
Tributes have flooded in for the much-loved writer, who wrote more than 40 books for children and adults including the recent Be the Change handbooksAuthor Marcus Sedgwick, who wrote more than 40 books for children and adults, has died aged 54. His literary agency RCW has confirmed his death,... Continue reading at The Guardian
[ The Guardian | 2022-11-17 13:02:14 UTC ]
More news stories like this | News stories tagged with:
#celebrated children
#guardian children
#much-loved writer
#carnegie medal
#fiction prize
#literary agency
The winners of the 2022 Governor General's Literary Awards were announced on November 16 by the Canada Council for the Arts. Continue reading at Publishers Weekly
[ Publishers Weekly | 2022-11-17 05:00:00 UTC ]
More news stories like this | News stories tagged with:
#literary awards
The new literary magazine is distributed in Europe via Antenne Books in print and online. Founding editor Benoît Loiseau shares how independent literature forms forge new inroads into publishing for minority authors and readers. Continue reading at Publishers Weekly
[ Publishers Weekly | 2022-11-15 05:00:00 UTC ]
More news stories like this | News stories tagged with:
#intimate influences
#bittersweet review
#antenne books
#minority authors
#literary magazine
A new anthology collects some of the writings, interviews and speeches of the comic and civil rights activist. Continue reading at The New York Times
[ The New York Times | 2022-11-14 20:11:45 UTC ]
More news stories like this | News stories tagged with:
#book review
#anthology
The two Los Angeles–based independent publishers opened North Figueroa Bookshop earlier this month. Continue reading at Publishers Weekly
[ Publishers Weekly | 2022-11-14 05:00:00 UTC ]
More news stories like this | News stories tagged with:
#unnamed press
#indie booksellers
#bookshop
In addition to their top book of the year, Barnes and Noble booksellers also selected a winner for a new award for speculative fiction. Continue reading at Book Riot
[ Book Riot | 2022-11-11 15:00:02 UTC ]
More news stories like this | News stories tagged with:
#top book
#speculative fiction
The new literary magazine is distributed in Europe via Antenne Books in print and online. Founding editor Benoît Loiseau shares how independent literature forms forge new inroads into publishing for minority authors and readers. Continue reading at Publishers Weekly
[ Publishers Weekly | 2022-11-10 05:00:00 UTC ]
More news stories like this | News stories tagged with:
#intimate influences
#bittersweet review
#antenne books
#minority authors
#literary magazine
BookLooks, RatedBooks, and more biased online rating systems getting books banned. That, plus this week's book censorship news. Continue reading at Book Riot
[ Book Riot | 2022-11-04 10:40:00 UTC ]
More news stories like this | News stories tagged with:
#online book
Spare, which is released in January, has been heavily discounted by larger retailers, leaving smaller bookshops unable to competePrince Harry’s forthcoming memoir, Spare, is unlikely to be championed by independent bookshops because of how heavily it has been discounted by larger retailers,... Continue reading at The Guardian
[ The Guardian | 2022-11-03 15:12:22 UTC ]
More news stories like this | News stories tagged with:
#heavily discounted
#forthcoming memoir
#independent bookshops
#bestsellers list
#memoir
A play based on the writer’s memoir about the death of her husband, in its first New York revival, goes small to powerful effect. Continue reading at The New York Times
[ The New York Times | 2022-11-02 23:00:05 UTC ]
More news stories like this | News stories tagged with:
#magical thinking
#joan didion
#play based
#memoir
We love to be active and engaged members of the literary community. We also love to not leave our bed. Now you can do both! * 2022 Brooklyn Public Library Book Prize Celebration November 2 @ 7pm EST Hosted by Isaac Fitzgerald, this event will celebrate the winners of this year’s BPL Book Prize... Continue reading at Literrary Hub
[ Literrary Hub | 2022-11-02 13:30:38 UTC ]
More news stories like this | News stories tagged with:
#literary community
#isaac fitzgerald
#book prize
First published in Japan in 1983, this picture book from the fabled animator is eerie, enchanting and surpassingly strange. Continue reading at The New York Times
[ The New York Times | 2022-11-02 09:00:16 UTC ]
More news stories like this | News stories tagged with:
#book review
#hayao miyazaki
#picture book
Irish author Claire Keegan is one of those U.S. 'discoveries' who have been known back home for years. With 'Foster,' she earns that acclaim and more. Continue reading at Los Angeles Times
[ Los Angeles Times | 2022-11-01 14:00:17 UTC ]
More news stories like this | News stories tagged with:
#ll read
#back home
#irish author
Jeanna Kadlec's 'Heretic' combines scholarship with memoir to account for how American evangelism went astray — and how to take Christianity back. Continue reading at Los Angeles Times
[ Los Angeles Times | 2022-11-01 13:00:38 UTC ]
More news stories like this | News stories tagged with:
#memoir
Peter Orner's 'Still No Word From You' melds memoir and criticism and, in the process, brings reading to life as a multi-sensory, communal experience. Continue reading at Los Angeles Times
[ Los Angeles Times | 2022-10-28 15:00:54 UTC ]
More news stories like this | News stories tagged with:
#peter orner
#memoir
Literary agents and rights directors describe the 2022 Frankfurt Book Fair with phrases like 'splendid,' 'beautiful,' and 'exhilarating'. The post So How Did It Go? Literary Rights Pros on Frankfurt 2022 appeared first on Publishing Perspectives. Continue reading at Publishing Perspectives
[ Publishing Perspectives | 2022-10-25 16:36:14 UTC ]
More news stories like this | News stories tagged with:
#frankfurt book fair
#literary agents