Archive for July, 2010

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The Hour by Bernard DeVoto: Tips for drinkers

Friday, July 30th, 2010

the-hourGeoff Nicholson rifs on drinking advice in literature in Sunday’s NY Times book review and leads off with The Hour by Bernard DeVoto – a classic cocktail book from 1951 recently bought back into print by Tin House Books.

There are only two cocktails: “a slug of whiskey” and a martini. This isn’t my opinion, but the law as laid down by Bernard DeVoto….. It so happens that I’ve owned a copy of this book for a long time and often wondered if anyone would ever bring it back into print and whether the world would find it as engaging and infuriating as I do.

It doesn’t take Nicholson long before he’s talking about the great Kingsley Amis, Hunter S Thompson and Dorothy Parker, and other infamous literary drinkers. No mention of Bukowski though.

AbeBooks has addressed the subjects of drink and literature twice – once how drink and drugs can fuel the creative process and the best books about drink.

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Anne Rice quits being a Christian

Thursday, July 29th, 2010

American novelist Anne Rice has “quit being a Christian.” Using her Facebook page, she said:

I quit being a Christian. I’m out. In the name of Christ, I refuse to be anti-gay. I refuse to be anti-feminist. I refuse to be anti-artificial birth control. I refuse to be anti-Democrat. I refuse to be anti-secular humanism. I refuse to be anti-science. I refuse to be anti-life. In the name of …Christ, I quit Christianity and being Christian. Amen.

Well, there you go then.

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Modern English novels are ‘hollow’

Thursday, July 29th, 2010

Those English whippersnappers – Barnes, Rushdie and McEwan – simply do not compare to the old-timers like Melville, Kafka, or Proust, says the former Weidenfeld professor of comparative literature at Oxford University. He also says Roth is rubbish too. Apparently, the English novel is “in a very fallow period.”

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Edward Bayntun-Coward interview

Wednesday, July 28th, 2010

The ILAB site has an interview with rare book dealer Edward Bayntun-Coward of George Bayntun, who sell through AbeBooks.

One of my friends at Oxford was a certain David Cameron. When I told him that I was going to be a book dealer, he replied that he was going to be Prime Minister. After graduating in 1988, I went straight back to Maggs to work with Bryan and Robert, largely on Sir Paul Getty’s library. During my first year I photocopied reproductions of bookbindings in every reference book and catalogue to be found in Maggs’s extensive reference library. I filled about fifty large files, with the images arranged chronologically and, in the process, I developed something of a photographic memory for bindings.

Posted in antiquarian, booksellers, business, collecting, interview | No Comments »

2010 Booker Prize Longlist – The Semi-Finalists!

Tuesday, July 27th, 2010

skippy-dies-paul-murrayThe longlist for this year’s Man Booker Prize has been announced.

It’s interesting to see Christos Tsiolkas’ book The Slap on there; I’ve seen that book mentioned in so many places by so many people and prizes that I’m really just going to have to give in and read it. Perhaps I’ll suggest it for book club.

I tend to really like the Booker-winners, and every year I try to read at least a couple of the selections that interest me from the lists.

The list is:

1. The Slap by Christos Tsiolkas
2. Parrot & Olivier in America by Peter Carey
3. Skippy Dies by Paul Murray
4. The Thousand Autumns of Jacob de Zoet by David Mitchell
5. The Betrayal by Helen Dunmore
6. Room by Emma Donoghue
7. The Long Song by Andrea Levy
8. The Finkler Question by Howard Jacobson
9. In a Strange Room by Damon Galgut
10. Trespass by Rose Tremain
11. C by Tom McCarthy
12. February by Lisa Moore
13. The Stars in the Bright Sky by Alan Warner

I haven’t read a single one! But I am definitely wanting to read the David Mitchell (I loved Cloud Atlas and Black Swan Green), the Peter Carey, the Emma Donoghue and the Christos Tsiolkas. My vote for best cover would be for Paul Murray’s book (pictured above).

Shortlist of six finalists will be announced on September 7th, and the 2010 Booker Prize winner will be announced on October 12th.

Posted in AbeBooks, author, awards, books, lists | No Comments »

Mums love AbeBooks

Tuesday, July 27th, 2010

Apparently all the mums over at Mumsnet, a UK website for parenting, love AbeBooks. Justine Roberts, the site’s co-founder, just did a little interview with The Good Web Guide and gave us some very nice kudos.

Abe Books – So once the tea and biscuits bit is sorted, you obviously need a good read. Mumsnetters are big fans and Abe Books is just the job. It searches through gazillions of books so if you can only remember the name of the lead protagonist from a childhood book and not the name of the book or the author, you can still find it by searching here.

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The real Stieg – Stig of the Dump

Tuesday, July 27th, 2010

stig-of-the-dumpThere is, of course, only one true Stieg. Not that dead Swede, but Stig of the Dump – Clive King’s wonderful literary creation and one of the best children’s novels ever written. My other half returned from a trip abroad last week and brought a present for our eight-year-old – lo and behold, it was Stig of the Dump. Excellent, I thought, I’m going to get to read it again more than 30 years after I first heard it read by a teacher in primary school.

What a wonderful idea for a kid’s book – a child finding a caveman living in a rubbish tip! Of course, it wouldn’t be written today because the rubbish dump would be a recycling centre and the caveman would have to an alien from space or a vampire with a heart of gold. This super book has been going strong for 47 years although I’m amazed that so few North Americans have heard of it. Can’t wait to read it again.

Revisiting books from my childhood is very real for me at the moment. I’m currently reading The Phantom Tollbooth to the eight-year-old at bedtime and again I hadn’t touched Norton Juster’s book since primary school. I had forgotten what a wonderfully clever book it is. The wordplay is top-notch – a world accessed by a tollbooth where everthing is taken literally. Last night’s chapter was where Milo, Tock the Watchdog and the Humbug meet Doctor Dischord and his DYNNE. This classic will be 50 years old in 2011 – I hope the publisher makes a fuss and gets another generation interested in this book.

Posted in author, books, children's book, reading | No Comments »

Ansel Adams’ garage sale negatives worth ‘$200,000,000′

Tuesday, July 27th, 2010

Some of you may remember an old story about someone finding Ansel Adams’ negatives at a garage sale and buying them for $45. Now an appraiser has confirmed the find is kosher and worth $200 million. However, Ansel’s grandson, Matthew, says it’s all cobblers.

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Mention in the New York Times

Monday, July 26th, 2010

Over the weekend AbeBooks was mentioned in the New York Times Magazine’s “The Medium” column. The article goes off about finding platonic relationships on Craigslist, where it seems man of the sites users could benefit from an education in Plato’s definition of love. As such the writer recommends “Apanta ta tou Platonos. Omnia Platonis Opera,” from Abebooks for $65,000. It’s a 1513 Venetian edition in Greek, with a Welsh inscription.

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Jane Austen’s Fight Club

Monday, July 26th, 2010

There is absolutely b*gger all going on of interest in the world of books this sunny Monday unless you are interested in the endless debate about ebooks. So here’s a silly video to start to the week – Jane Austen’s Fight Club.

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Today’s nightmare: Famous Five language updated

Friday, July 23rd, 2010

five-on-kirrin-island-againHodder is updating the language in Enid Blyton’s Famous Five novels, reports the Bookseller. Apparently, today’s kids can’t understand phrases like “jolly good show” or “tuck into those cucumber sandwiches.”

(Sigh) This is most stupid story. What is Hodder thinking? There are 21 Famous Five novels, the last one published in 1963, and I owned them all and read them at the tail end of the 1970s. Even then the text was outdated but it wasn’t a problem – it’s Enid ‘Bloody’ Blyton. She was born when Queen Victoria was on the throne – what do you expect? Why doesn’t Hodder just rename the whole series and be done with it?

Five on a Treasure Island becomes Five on Facebook
Five Run Away Together becomes Five Hang out at the Mall
Five Get Into Trouble becomes Five Get into Drum and Base
Five Get Into a Fix becomes Five Get A Fix

Posted in author, news, publishers | 3 Comments »

RJ Ellory wins Theakstons crime novel of the year

Friday, July 23rd, 2010

a-simple-act-of-violenceBrummie writer RJ Ellory, who is a very nice man and a former poacher too, has won Theakstons Old Peculier crime novel of the year award for A Simple Act of Violence, reports The Guardian. I interviewed RJ last year and he was charming. He received £3,000 and a handmade Theakstons Old Peculier beer barrel. Nice – I wonder where he will put the beer barrel?

I think of all the book awards, I would most like to attend the Theakstons Old Peculier crime novel of the year award because I always loved their ales. Beer and books are one of my favourite combinations. Congratulations to RJ and well done to Theakstons for supporting bookish things.

Posted in author, awards, crime, news | No Comments »

50th anniversary of the I Hate To Cook Book

Thursday, July 22nd, 2010

The I Hate To Cook Book by Peg Bracken has been around for half a century and is still going strong. Her daughter, Jo, has added a new foreword to the latest edition.

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For the Love of Libraries

Thursday, July 22nd, 2010

bookshelf
I enjoyed this story on NPR about why the world loves libraries, and how they might just be one of the next pop-culture trends.

And it’s kind of true – the economy sucks, and libraries just let you borrow things, for free. It might be an exception to the “no such thing as a free lunch”.

Then you bring said things back, and other people can borrow them. It’s all very reduce-reuse-recycle. In a world where everything increasingly has a shiny screen and beeps, books are becoming not only sources of knowledge, but also objects of comfort, familiarity and nostalgia to some people. They’re great places to people watch. They’re great places to read and study. Long live the library!

And yes, I realize that the Old Spice guy and his commercials may officially be mid shark-jump (is it just me, or has the internet accelerated that phenomenon to a frightening degree?), but if you haven’t seen this spoof video promoting libraries made by students at BYU, it’s very well done and worth watching.

Posted in AbeBooks | 2 Comments »

Naked ladies reading

Thursday, July 22nd, 2010

Gentlemen (and some ladies too), I know you are going to click on this link.

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