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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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 ]
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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 ]
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Sofia Samatar's "The White Mosque," a singular memoir about a journey through Asia on the trail of a Mennonite sect, tracks a personal search as well. Continue reading at Los Angeles Times
[ Los Angeles Times | 2022-10-24 13:00:39 UTC ]
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The National Book Award-winning author and translator of “Winter in Sokcho” return with another quietly powerful tale of dislocation. Continue reading at The New York Times
[ The New York Times | 2022-10-22 09:00:12 UTC ]
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Publishers have faced criticism for producing books considered ‘an easy sell’ Chef Jamie Oliver and former Spice Girl Geri Halliwell-Horner have become the latest celebrities to announce new children’s books, with experts saying there is no sign the celebrity-authored children’s book trend will... Continue reading at The Guardian
[ The Guardian | 2022-10-21 10:05:05 UTC ]
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In-person regional bookseller conferences came roaring back to life this fall with six high-energy shows. Continue reading at Publishers Weekly
[ Publishers Weekly | 2022-10-21 04:00:00 UTC ]
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The 28th issue of Kayak—a literary magazine edited and published by George Hitchcock out of Santa Cruz, California—appeared in 1972. The issue includes mostly poetry, as well as a few book reviews, a work of verse fiction, collages, illustrations lifted from old books and manuals, and an acerbic... Continue reading at Literrary Hub
[ Literrary Hub | 2022-10-19 08:57:28 UTC ]
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The former children’s laureate shares her sometimes enraging story of rejection, determination and resilienceAt the beginning of Malorie Blackman’s engrossing and often shocking memoir, the former children’s laureate asks: “Why am I an author?” What she goes on to tell us certainly shows how she... Continue reading at The Guardian
[ The Guardian | 2022-10-19 06:30:17 UTC ]
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The stories in Samanta Schweblin’s “Seven Empty Houses,” a finalist for the National Book Award in translated literature, tear down the delicate scaffolding of home. Continue reading at The New York Times
[ The New York Times | 2022-10-14 09:00:09 UTC ]
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In celebration of LGBTQ+ History month in October, nonprofit organization Parents, Families, & Friends of LGBT National has brought together a slew of celebrities to voice characters in a video adaptation of picture book 'The Mother of a Movement: Jeanne Manford—Ally, Activist, and... Continue reading at Publishers Weekly
[ Publishers Weekly | 2022-10-13 04:00:00 UTC ]
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At a glanceExpert's Rating ProsMinimalist slim-bezel designGood color accuracyVery low pricingConsNo height adjustment on standOnly offers HDMI and VGAConfusing menu systemOur VerdictThe Monoprice 24-inch CrystalPro delivers attractive color on a budget, but it’s not flawless. However, despite... Continue reading at PC World
[ PC World | 2022-10-06 10:45:00 UTC ]
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Author Alex George, the owner of Skylark Bookshop in Columbia, Mo., was named Midwest Bookseller of the Year by the Midwest Indie Booksellers Association. Continue reading at Publishers Weekly
[ Publishers Weekly | 2022-10-05 04:00:00 UTC ]
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We talk with Michelle Lewis and Charles Hannah, who own and operate Third Eye Books, a store in Portland, Ore., focused on anti-racism and social justice titles. Continue reading at Publishers Weekly
[ Publishers Weekly | 2022-09-30 00:00:00 UTC ]
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The second annual edition of the conference, slated for Oct. 18-20, will add in-person elements to its largely streaming format. Continue reading at Advertising Age
[ Advertising Age | 2022-09-27 15:00:48 UTC ]
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Critics raved over 'The Old Drift,' Namwali Serpell's epic debut novel. Our critic prefers her more difficult, intimate follow-up, 'The Furrows.' Continue reading at Los Angeles Times
[ Los Angeles Times | 2022-09-27 13:00:37 UTC ]
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By the time I read Hilary Mantel’s 1996 review of Kate Atkinson’s debut novel Behind the Scenes at the Museum in the London Review of Books, the novel had been a favorite of mine for over a decade. My mother gave me the book when I was in high school—both of us entirely unaware of […] Continue reading at Literrary Hub
[ Literrary Hub | 2022-09-23 14:57:31 UTC ]
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‘She saw and felt things us ordinary mortals missed,’ her agent says of Booker prize-winning author who died on Thursday• Hilary Mantel remembered: ‘She was the queen of literature’• ‘The pen is in our hands. A happy ending is ours to write’: Hilary Mantel in her own wordsThe Booker... Continue reading at The Guardian
[ The Guardian | 2022-09-23 11:29:23 UTC ]
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A refreshingly intimate account of Enninful’s rise from refugee status to editor-in-chiefEdward Enninful’s memoir gives the impression of someone in perpetual motion. He has, after all, made the journey from refugee to the hallowed offices of Condé Nast, becoming the editor-in-chief who brought... Continue reading at The Guardian
[ The Guardian | 2022-09-15 10:00:43 UTC ]
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Held in person for the first time since 2019, the American Christian Fiction Writers (ACFW) 2022 conference brought over 300 authors, agents, publishers, and aspiring novelists together in St. Louis, Mo. from September 8-11. Continue reading at Publishers Weekly
[ Publishers Weekly | 2022-09-14 04:00:00 UTC ]
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Dragonfly Books in Decorah, Iowa, has established a literary foundation to support author visits to the Oneota River Valley area in northeastern Iowa, as well as to support the literary endeavors of regional writers. Continue reading at Publishers Weekly
[ Publishers Weekly | 2022-09-14 04:00:00 UTC ]
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