AbeBooks' Reading Copy

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 [...]

The scariest books, to keep you awake, alert to every sound, and eventually lull you into sweet nightmares.

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 [...]

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 [...]

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 [...]

I enjoyed this slideshow* on Flavorwire of the beautiful estates of 15 authors. I especially liked the creepy gate on Stephen King’s abode. And they’re not kidding about how lovely Ernest Hemingway’s home in Key West, Florida is – I was lucky enough to enjoy a tour of it a year ago, and it was [...]

Aside from his wand, Harry Potter’s most useful accessory was his invisibility cloak. If my memory serves me correctly, the Boy Wizard used it in every story and his father also found it very useful during his time at Hogwarts. We should all own invisibility cloaks (I would use it to sneak into major sporting [...]

Yes, the torrent of books and articles about Charles Dickens just keeps on going. Today, we learn that Dickens had a lifelong obsession with home decoration thanks to this great piece in The Guardian. He wrote an article called “Household Scenery”, for a journal called Household Words and penned 6,000 words on wall coverings from [...]

Happy Robbie Burns Day – enjoy perusing these collectible copies of Robert Burns’ works.

American author and illustrator Howard Pyle had a huge influence on modern popular culture. He died in 1911 and you can see his influence in movies, television and books today. He transformed Robin Hood from a villain to a hero. He defined the look of pirates and positioned them as fearless adventurers. His first full [...]