AbeBooks: One of BC’s Top Employers for 2012

February 3rd, 2012 by elizabethc

It’s a good day around AbeBooks. It’s Friday, the sun is out, and we’ve just learned that we have been named one of BC’s Top Employers for 2012.

Want to know what exactly that entails? From the award web site:

Now entering its eighth year, BC’s Top Employers is an annual competition organized by the editors of Canada’s Top 100 Employers. This special designation recognizes the British Columbia employers that lead their industries in offering exceptional places to work.

Employers are evaluated by the editors of Canada’s Top 100 Employers using the same eight criteria as the national competition: (1) Physical Workplace; (2) Work Atmosphere & Social; (3) Health, Financial & Family Benefits; (4) Vacation & Time Off; (5) Employee Communications; (6) Performance Management; (7) Training & Skills Development; and (8) Community Involvement. Employers are compared to other organizations in their field to determine which offers the most progressive and forward-thinking programs.

Scanning the other winners, we are definitely in good company – there are some excellent, innovative businesses on the list. And we’re already so lucky even to live in British Columbia. We’re honored to be included. If you’d like to work here and see why we landed on the list, Peruse Our Job Listings and we’d love to hear from you.

Posted in AbeBooks, awards, business, Canada, celebration, media coverage | No Comments »

Rare Japanese Photobooks

February 3rd, 2012 by elizabethc

Japanese photography is now one of the most vibrant genres in the rare book world. The photobooks of Nobuyoshi Araki, Daido Moriyama and others provide thought-provoking visions of Japan and beyond.

Shocking and often surreal, these are powerful books.

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Uvic Collectors Talk – “The Accidental Collector”

February 3rd, 2012 by elizabethc


The University of Victoria, here on Vancouver Island, just a hop, skip and jump away from AbeBooks HQ is a wonderful resource for educational and antiquarian book collections. They also do much for the bookish and literary community, including annual collector’s talks, which always prove fascinating – and this next one sounds to be no exception. The speaker will be Victoria’s own Ron Greene, talking about the joy of being an accidental collector, as well as discussing and displaying much of his large selection of collectible postcards, many of which relate to early Victoria.

In downtown Victoria, there is a one-of-a-kind store called Capital Iron. The building itself is a beautiful, huge Tudor-style structure built in 1863. Begun as a scrap and ship-breaking business in 1934, Capital Iron has expanded over the years into a unique shopping experience. From outdoor supplies and hardware, to kitchen goods and a garden shop, and the world’s most weird and wonderful basement of antiques and oddities (which used to feature a genuine iron ball and chain), it is a Victoria institution and still going strong.

Ron Greene ran Capital Iron until 1997, and it was his father, Morris, who began it back in 1934. Ron was awarded the Heritage Canada Regional Award of Honour in 1982 for the restoration of the Capital Iron facades, and was the recipient of the Royal Canadian Mint Medal for Numismatic Education in 1991. In 2010 he was recognized as a Distinguished Alumni for the Faculty of Humanities.

For those interested in collecting, the history of Victoria or postcards, this is sure to be a great afternoon not to be missed.

Ron Greene “The Accidental Collector”
Wednesday, February 15, 2012 2:00 – 4:00 p.m.
Room A003, Archives and Special Collections Classroom – Lower Level
William C. Mearns Centre for Learning/McPherson Library
Refreshments follow lecture. Free admission but limited seating

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Why do old books smell?

February 3rd, 2012 by Richard Davies

Enter a used bookstore and you will encounter the unique smell of old books. But where does that aroma come from? It’s down to science and the fact that books are full of organic material that reacts with the environment.

Learn more about book care at the AbeBooks’ Book Collecting Guide.

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J.D. Salinger – Fighting for Privacy Even After Death

February 2nd, 2012 by elizabethc

We all know that J.D. Salinger was famously, notoriously, insistently private in his life. He eschewed public events, declined interviews, and seemingly avoided contact with the outside world wherever possible. Since his death two years ago, in January 2010, members of the literary world – legions of readers, ardent fans, nosy busybodies, agents and publishers alike – have all waited with baited breath for news of any glimpse of writing that had gone on behind Salinger’s closed doors. Had he written? Had he burned it all? Were there floor-to-ceiling masterpieces awaiting us?

I admit to being curious, excited even, at the prospect of more words from Salinger. While I didn’t care for The Catcher in the Rye as much as the rest of the world (and found Holden Caulfield somewhat intolerable, to be frank), I absolutely loved Nine Stories, and anything to do with the Glass family. But it’s strange to see an author’s – a human being’s – legacy rifled through, dissected and pawed at after death, in the hopes of sniffing out treasure.

This post asks What have we learned about those years since Salinger’s death? and then answers:

We now know that the author had an ironically un-Zen like penchant for Burger King (a curious revelation considering we somehow imagined him consisting on a diet of bean sprouts) and he was not above taking a bus tour of Niagara Falls.

He was enthusiastic about the ballet, reveling in a 1951 London performance of Swan Lake and a 1982 Balanchine presentation at the all-too-phony Paris Opera House. That same year, Salinger lamented that only two “people” had ever truly known him: his son, Matthew, and his dog, Benny, the serene schnauzer that Salinger had brought home from Germany in 1946 and who had died nearly thirty years before.

For a time, Salinger seriously considered abandoning writing altogether, and devoting his life to Eastern religion, a choice that would likely have involved joining a monastic order. Salinger reconsidered. He found “the chase” of pinning down a good story more enticing than a lifetime of meditation.

We’ve also learned of Salinger’s passion for sweaters, his fondness for tennis and baseball, his late-life interest in Christian Science, and his enduring devotion to the Vedantic branch of Hinduism. The author sent holiday greetings to the Ramakrishna-Vivekananda Center of New York every year from 1952 until his death in 2010, usually accompanied by a generous donation.

No manuscripts – masterpieces, useless drivel or anything in between – have thus far come to light, and it seems to frustrate people to no end. I understand the yearning, as a reader, and even share in it. But the post goes on to say:

The author, who was famous for demanding control over every detail of his work while living, is still in control. In a sense, J.D. Salinger has been able to cheat death because – in the continued absence of his unpublished manuscripts – he has managed to deny us the ability to measure the second half of his life and to determine his full impact upon literature. Two years on, we are no closer to cementing Salinger’s legacy than we were on the day that he died.

And I can’t help but feel… well, good. I know it doesn’t matter to a dead person, but to what extent to we own our own lives, have rights to our own privacy? If we are deemed an artist, does that mean we owe the world our art, to share it, expose it to scrutiny? It says “he has managed to deny us the ability to measure the second half of his life and to determine his full impact upon literature.”

And part of me is glad, Because really, who are we, any of us, to measure and determine anything by anyone who clearly wishes not to be measured or determined? How is “cementing Salinger’s legacy” any of our business?

Posted in AbeBooks, author, blog, literature, reading, writing | No Comments »

Muhammad Ali’s Legendary Trainer Angelo Dundee Dies at 90

February 2nd, 2012 by elizabethc

Boxing Legend Angelo Dundee, who trained Muhammad Ali, Sugar Ray Leonard, George Foreman and countless other champions, died yesterday.

If the rumors are true, the first words Ali ever spoke to Dundee, upon meeting him for the first time, were:

“My Name is Cassius Marcellus Clay Jr. I’m the Golden Gloves champion of Louisville, Kentucky. I won the Pan American Games a month ago and I’m going to win the Olympics, and I want to talk to you.”

Dundee was with Ali, then known as Cassius Clay, for almost all of his early fights. He toured around the world with Ali, and became known as the best man to have in your corner during a fight.

He died of complications from a blood clot on Wednesday, February 1st, at age 90. But not before he attended Ali’s 70th birthday party, the month before, and caught up.

If you’d like to learn more about the career of Muhammad Ali, including his work and friendship with Angelo Dundee, the Taschen book Greatest of All Time (GOAT) is an unforgettable tribute, full of countless facts, anecdotes, articles, essays and some truly jaw-dropping photographs.

Posted in AbeBooks, books, review, sports, video | No Comments »

Doggy Lit: A History of Dogs in Books

February 2nd, 2012 by Richard Davies

Brainpickings showcases a book called Dogs In Books: A Celebration of Dog Illustration Through the Ages. You can see dog-related illustrations from Arthur Rackham, Edward Lear and other folks.

It’s easy to come up with lists of famous dogs from books – Toto, the hound of the Baskervilles, Lassie, Buck from Call of the Wild, Bulls-eye from Oliver Twist, Cujo, Nana from Peter Pan, Fluffy from Harry Potter and the Philosopher’s Stone, Lad from Albert Payson Terhune’s books, Spot from Dick and Jane, and Clifford the Big Red Dog. I could go on and on.

(NB – I didn’t add Walter the Farting Dog to the list.)

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25 Things Learned From Opening a Bookstore

February 1st, 2012 by elizabethc

As someone who has often wistfully dreamed of opening my own bookstore (with a lovely soft couch-and-cushion section with story hour for kids, free coffee for grown-ups, and a leave-a-book-take-a-book section for swaps..), I enoyed reading this blog post called “25 Things I Learned From Opening a Bookstore”. It further confirmed my suspicion that not only have I been wistfully dreaming of opening a bookstore, I’ve also been unrealistically romanticizing the hell out of the idea. Still, for all the pitfalls and drawbacks and foibles and pain, it sounds like something I’d like to do.

Here is the list, funny and insightful:

1. People are getting rid of bookshelves. Treat the money you budgeted for shelving as found money. Go to garage sales and cruise the curbs.

2. While you’re drafting that business plan, cut your projected profits in half. People are getting rid of bookshelves.

3. If someone comes in and asks where to find the historical fiction, they’re not looking for classics, they want the romance section.

4. If someone comes in and says they read a little of everything, they also want the romance section.

5. If someone comes in and asks for a recommendation and you ask for the name of a book that they liked and they can’t think of one, the person is not really a reader. Recommend Nicholas Sparks.

6. Kids will stop by your store on their way home from school if you have a free bucket of kids books. If you also give out free gum, they’ll come every day and start bringing their friends.

7. If you put free books outside, cookbooks will be gone in the first hour and other non-fiction books will sit there for weeks. Except in warm weather when people are having garage sales. Then someone will back their car up and take everything, including your baskets.

8. If you put free books outside, someone will walk in every week and ask if they’re really free, no matter how many signs you put out . Someone else will walk in and ask if everything in the store is free.

9. No one buys self help books in a store where there’s a high likelihood of personal interaction when paying. Don’t waste the shelf space, put them in the free baskets.

10. This is also true of sex manuals. The only ones who show an interest in these in a small store are the gum chewing kids, who will find them no matter how well you hide them.

11. Under no circumstances should you put the sex manuals in the free baskets. Parents will show up.

12. People buying books don’t write bad checks. No need for ID’s. They do regularly show up having raided the change jar.

13. If you have a bookstore that shares a parking lot with a beauty shop that caters to an older clientele, the cars parked in your lot will always be pulled in at an angle even though it’s not angle parking.

14. More people want to sell books than buy them, which means your initial concerns were wrong. You will have no trouble getting books, the problem is selling them. Plus a shortage of storage space for all the Readers Digest books and encyclopedias that people donate to you.

15. If you open a store in a college town, and maybe even if you don’t, you will find yourself as the main human contact for some strange and very socially awkward men who were science and math majors way back when. Be nice and talk to them, and ignore that their fly is open.

16. Most people think every old book is worth a lot of money. The same is true of signed copies and 1st editions. There’s no need to tell them they’re probably not insuring financial security for their grandkids with that signed Patricia Cornwell they have at home.

17. There’s also no need to perpetuate the myth by pricing your signed Patricia Cornwell higher than the non-signed one.

18. People use whatever is close at hand for bookmarks–toothpicks, photographs, kleenex, and the very ocassional fifty dollar bill, which will keep you leafing through books way beyond the point where it’s pr0ductive.

19. If you’re thinking of giving someone a religious book for their graduation, rethink. It will end up unread and in pristine condition at a used book store, sometimes with the fifty dollar bill still tucked inside. (And you’re off and leafing once again).

20. If you don’t have an AARP card, you’re apparently too young to read westerns.

21. A surprising number of people will think you’ve read every book in the store and will keep pulling out volumes and asking you what this one is about. These are the people who leave without buying a book, so it’s time to have some fun. Make up plots.

22. Even if you’re a used bookstore, people will get huffy when you don’t have the new release by James Patterson. They are the same people who will ask for a discount because a book looks like it’s been read.

23. Everyone has a little Nancy Drew in them. Stock up on the mysteries.

24. It is both true and sad that some people do in fact buy books based on the color of the binding.

25. No matter how many books you’ve read in the past, you will feel woefully un-well read within a week of opening the store. You will also feel wise at having found such a good way to spend your days.

Posted in books, booksellers, business, humor, life, lists | 2 Comments »

The Paris Review: Bastion of Fine Fiction & Poetry

February 1st, 2012 by elizabethc

Are you familiar with The Paris Review?

Just shy of its 60th birthday and still going strong, The Paris Review has gone beyond being a literary journal. It’s an a institution that has celebrated creative writing from Hemingway, Kerouac, Vonnegut, Wodehouse and many more.

The legends of modern literature can be found in these historic back issues.

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Are Walter Scott’s books still readable?

February 1st, 2012 by Richard Davies

I am pleased to see the Daily Telegraph writing that Walter Scott’s books are still relevant and readable. My daughter and I read an abridged version of Ivanhoe at bedtime last year and we enjoyed it very much.

The Telegraph asks if the Twitter Generation can handle Scott.

Scott, we are told, is not read. He is too wordy. His descriptions are too long, as are his paragraphs and the speeches his characters make. The narrative flow is choked by verbiage. It won’t do for our time. Our attention span is too short and, worse still, it is getting shorter. We no longer settle in an armchair or curl up in bed with a novel, but sit in front of a screen and flit to and fro. How can anyone be expected to engage with Scott now that the favoured mode of communication is the 140-character Tweet? He makes excessive demands on our time and ability to concentrate.

But he can tell a rattling good story. Ivanhoe is all about the fusion of the Normans and Saxons. I had to explain English history to my daughter so she could understand the novel’s plot and many conflicts. I would argue that understanding history is a good thing (even if the novelist takes plenty of liberties). In December, our bedtime reading was The Silver Branch by Rosemary Sutcliff – a fine adventure book that describes the final days of the Romans in Britain as the Saxons prepare to take over the reins. Our earlier discussions about the Saxons and Normans in Ivanhoe were put into perspective by The Silver Branch, which is set 700 years earlier. I fear that my family is alone in working our way through the classic stories.

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A Quiz: Tax in Literature

January 31st, 2012 by elizabethc

I love The Guardian’s literary quizzes. More often than not, I do abysmally on them, and today’s was no exception. I scored a lowlt 4 out of 10 – and all but one were guesses. A sad state of affairs indeed. Can you do better than I did?

Take the Guardian’s Tax in Literature quiz and see how you fare.

I, for one, am ashamed.

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Fear Itself: Books That Go Bump in the Night

January 30th, 2012 by elizabethc

It’s bed time, and you know you shouldn’t pick up the scary book you’re midway through, but you just can’t wait to find out what happens…

What is it about fear that can be so enticing, and keep us diving deep into the terror? How do writers weave words so skillfully as to conjure a primal fear response inside us, in essence tricking our brain into fearing what we know to be imaginary?

Proceed with caution. These are the books that fear built.

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Blade Runner Sketchbook resurfaces online

January 30th, 2012 by Richard Davies

The Blade Runner Sketchbook is one of the ultimate pieces of memorabilia for fans of the 1982 science fiction movie. The book details the look and feel of the film’s production artwork from simple props like Deckard’s gun to police cars and clothes. Some of the designs come from director Ridley Scott himself but also Syd Mead.

Blade Runner starred Harrison Ford although the real star is Rutger Hauer, and it’s a movie that stands the test of time and that probably owes much to its look. I remember thinking the first time that I watched it that the streets were shockingly packed and the rain never stops. The movie is based on Philip K Dick’s novel, Do Androids Dream of Electric Sheep?

Edited by David Scrogg, the Sketchbook has been out-of-print for many years but there are five copies on AbeBooks for prices between $300 and $500.

But somebody has put the book online.

Posted in art, design, film, science fiction | No Comments »

Quoting the wrong Shakespeare

January 27th, 2012 by Richard Davies

Everyone quotes Shakespeare and most of the time they don’t know they are doing it. Everyday language is littered with phrases popularized by the Bard in his writing.

French presidential candidate François Hollande made a key speech on Sunday and, indeed, quoted Shakespeare, reports the Daily Telegraph.

The “universal message” he wished to convey, Mr Hollande told the crowd, was best summed up by Shakespeare’s great words: “They failed because they did not start with a dream.”

Sadly, he quoted the wrong Shakespeare. Hollande quoted Nicholas Shakespeare, the Daily Telegraph’s chief book reviewer. Nicholas Shakespeare is apparently a descendant of William’s grandfather, so he was close.

The quote comes from Nicholas Shakespeare’s 1989 novel, The Vision of Elena Silves. It’s a story of a Maoist revolutionary who becomes a terrorist for Peru’s Marxist guerrilla band, Shining Path.

Probably not the connection that Hollande was hoping to make!

This sort of thing is easily done. Karl Marx/Groucho Marx would be a mix-up with fascinating results.

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2011-2012 National Book Collecting Contest for Young Canadians Under 30

January 26th, 2012 by Richard Davies

Attention Canada’s young book collectors – there is still time left to enter the 2011-2012 National Book Collecting Contest for Young Canadians Under 30.

We are one of the contest’s sponsors and this is a great opportunity for young bibliophiles to show their passion for rare books.

The winner takes home $1,000 (CAD) with the second and third place collectors receiving $500 and $250 respectively. Entrants are required to write a 1,500 to 2,000-word essay about their collection describing important features such as binding, decoration, illustrations and key bibliographical aspects such as format, printing and publication data.

More details.

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