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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The US$35,000 Aspen Words Literary Prize goes to Isabella Hammad, whose 'Enter Ghost' explores the Palestinian diaspora. The post Isabella Hammad Wins the 2024 Aspen Words Literary Prize appeared first on Publishing Perspectives. Continue reading at Publishing Perspectives
[ Publishing Perspectives | 2024-04-26 13:34:35 UTC ]
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“We are a literary city”: Will Evans started saying it in 2013, when he started the publisher Deep Vellum. Alongside the bookstore Wild Detectives and others, they’ve put Dallas on the literary map. Continue reading at The New York Times
[ The New York Times | 2024-04-25 09:05:49 UTC ]
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Independent publisher Zando's highest-visibility imprints are its collabs with celebrities, which are part of its mission to change the institutional racism that has plagued American publishing from its start. Continue reading at Los Angeles Times
[ Los Angeles Times | 2024-04-24 18:02:25 UTC ]
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The editor and essayist Joseph Epstein looks back on his life and career in two new books. Continue reading at The New York Times
[ The New York Times | 2024-04-22 09:03:39 UTC ]
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PEN America has faced an enormous amount of criticism from the literary world for, among other things, failing to call Israel’s six-month assault on Gaza a genocide, and is now facing a wave of withdrawals from two of its signature events, the literary awards and the World Voices Festival. In... Continue reading at Literrary Hub
[ Literrary Hub | 2024-04-18 14:26:32 UTC ]
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Nine of the 10 longlisted authors for this year's PEN/Jean Stein Book Award have withdrawn their books for consideration for the prize, effectively rendering it unawardable, as the controversy surrounding the freedom of expression organization continues to expand in scope. Continue reading at Publishers Weekly
[ Publishers Weekly | 2024-04-18 04:00:00 UTC ]
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The Professional Booksellers School has educated nearly 1,000 booksellers since it was launched in 2021, and has recently rolled out new self-study courses as well as “Bookstore Year One,” a year-long program designed to provide mentorship for new bookstore owners. Continue reading at Publishers Weekly
[ Publishers Weekly | 2024-04-18 04:00:00 UTC ]
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In the debut novel “The Band,” a burned-out pop idol meets a disillusioned professor, raising the question: What if the dangers of fame resemble white-collar ennui? Continue reading at The New York Times
[ The New York Times | 2024-04-13 09:02:30 UTC ]
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On April 8 and 9, Simon & Schuster hosted two star-studded centenary fetes in New York City to celebrate the 100th anniversary of its founding. Continue reading at Publishers Weekly
[ Publishers Weekly | 2024-04-12 04:00:00 UTC ]
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More than 200 members of the Women's Media Group celebrated its 50th anniversary at a March 25 gala at the New-York Historical Society. Marie Dutton Brown, Mary McAveney, We Need Diverse Books, and the Brooklyn Public Library were among the night's honorees. Continue reading at Publishers Weekly
[ Publishers Weekly | 2024-04-02 04:00:00 UTC ]
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Marilynne Robinson’s Reading Genesis, Tessa Hulls’ Feeding Ghosts, and Kristine S. Ervin’s Rabbit Heart all feature among the best reviewed fiction titles of the month Brought to you by Book Marks, Lit Hub’s home for book reviews. * 1. Reading Genesis by Marilynne Robinson (Farrar, Straus and... Continue reading at Literrary Hub
[ Literrary Hub | 2024-03-29 08:55:59 UTC ]
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The best of LGBTQ+ books, from mystery to children's titles, comics to romance, are all in this year's Lambda Literary Award shortlists. Continue reading at Book Riot
[ Book Riot | 2024-03-28 13:29:04 UTC ]
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