The National Post profiles the top three rare book collectors from a contest to find Canada’s best book collectors under the age of 30.
Winner - Charlotte Ashley
2nd place - Vanessa Brown
3rd place - Naseem Hrab
Archive for the ‘books’ Category
Canada’s top under 30 book collectors
Friday, July 3rd, 2009Michael Jackson is Jack London in Call of the Weird
Friday, July 3rd, 2009
Call of the Wild first edition
The journalist fails to point out the irony of alias - there was also much controversy and debate about London’s death. Was it suicide? Was it an overdose of morphine?
A first edition of this classic book isn’t cheap - I wonder if Michael owned one. I suspect he did.
Salinger’s phony ban of Coming Through the Rye
Thursday, July 2nd, 2009
The banning of 60 Years Later: Coming Through the Rye by J.D. California reflects very badly on J.D. Salinger (not that he cares). This unauthorized sequel of The Catcher in the Rye is a bad book and would have sunk like a stone without any legal intervention. The big-hitting literary critics would have savaged it – they’d have done Salinger’s dirty work for free and probably in a very entertaining way. Most readers would have ignored it. The book is harmless but rubbish. Banning books is never a good thing and being a bad book is not a crime.
I’m sure Coming Through the Rye IS a sorry attempt to cash in on the fame of Catcher in the Rye but is that illegal, especially in America where cashing in is a way of life? The actual author, a Swede called Fredrik Colting, will probably keep pushing to get his book published because the publicity surrounding the book will make his efforts worthwhile. The curiosity factor surrounding this book is now very high, and all because America’s No.1 recluse went through the courts. In the meantime, the book has been published in Sweden and the UK. In today’s world of global bookselling, people will get their hands on copies so this storm in a tea cup will continue.
I believe Salinger lost control of his famous creation, Holden Caulfield, four decades ago. Holden Caulfield, the world’s first alienated teenager, became public property when Catcher in the Rye became required reading for all readers, and that happened a long time ago. How can some badly written book by a bloke from Sweden remotely damage the legacy of Salinger and his famous novel from 1951?
Catcher in the Rye sequel banned - Salinger wins
Thursday, July 2nd, 2009
60 Years Later, Coming though the Rye, the unauthorized sequal to JD Salingers classic has been halted perminantly as a US Judge rules that the book borrows too heavily on Catcher without offering parody or critique.
Colting’s defence claimed the book was a parody, and a literary critique of the original, but US District Judge Deborah Batts yesterday rejected these arguments, issuing a 37-page written ruling which said the book’s narrative “largely mirrors that of Catcher”, and that it had “taken well more from Catcher, in both substance and style, than is necessary for the alleged transformative purpose of criticising Salinger and his attitudes and behaviour”. Mr C, meanwhile, “has similar or identical thoughts, memories, and personality traits to Caulfield, often using precisely the same or only slightly modified language”. She pointed to the fact that both characters love to use the words “goddam”, “phony”, “crumby”, “lousy”, “hell”, “bastard”, and the phrase “kills me”.
Read our review of 60 Years Later, Coming though the Rye
The Terrorist Hunters by Andy Hayman - Publication Ban
Thursday, July 2nd, 2009
The Guardian reports that the British Government has stopped sales of The Terrorist Hunters, a book detailing the fight against Islamic extremism. The book’s author is Britain’s former head of counter-terrorism, and retired Scotland Yard assistant commissioner, Andy Hayman.
Hayman, gives a behind-the-scenes account of the 7 July attacks, the shooting of Jean Charles de Menezes and the fight against terror.
The Joys of Book Collecting According to a Prize Winning Collector
Thursday, July 2nd, 2009
Works: The Romances of Alexandre Dumas. Complete 48-volume set.
The National Post’s blog “The Afterword” features an interview with Canada’s first national book-collecting contest winner, Charlotte Ashley. The contest, sponsored by The Bibliographical Society of Canada (BSC), the Antiquarian Booksellers of Association of Canada (ABAC) and the Alcuin Society, “was created … to encourage young Canadians to collect books and study the discipline of researching and writing bibliographies.”
Ashley won the contest for her collection The Works (and Quirks) of Alexandre Dumas pere and was presented with $2,500.
Alice Hoffman Apologizes for Scathing Twitter Remarks
Tuesday, June 30th, 2009
Ok…Alice Hoffman didn’t like The Boston Globe’s review of her new book, The Story Sisters. I totally understand - criticism can be hard to take, especially when it hacks apart a piece of work you’ve slaved over for goodness knows how long - but hey, everyone is entitled to an opinion. But Hoffman’s reaction won’t be in an updated version of How to Win Friends and Influence People any time soon.
Using Twitter, Hoffman made her feelings known - “Roberta Silman in the Boston Globe is a moron,” she tweeted. “Now any idiot can be a critic,” stated another tweet.
Criticized for her criticism of the criticism, Hoffman defended her actions saying, “Girls are taught to be gracious and keep their mouths shut. We don’t have to…And we writers don’t have to say nothing when someone tries to destroy us.” Then she added a cherry to the top by publishing Silman’s phone number and email address so that readers could could “Tell her what u think of snarky critics.” (Ironically, Silman didn’t get any phone calls as Hoffman got the number wrong.)
Interestingly, Hoffman’s Twitter account (@AliceHof) is currently offline…hmmm But Hoffman has come to her senses, or more likely her publicist has told her to fake it, and has made the following official statement:
I feel this whole situation has been completely blown out of proportion. Of course I was dismayed by Roberta Silman’s review which gave away the plot of the novel, and in the heat of the moment I responded strongly and I wish I hadn’t. I’m sorry if I offended anyone. Reviewers are entitled to their opinions and that’s the name of the game in publishing. I hope my readers understand that I didn’t mean to hurt anyone and I’m truly sorry if I did.
Best,
Alice Hoffman
Does an author have a right to defend his/her work? Of course they do but this really comes across as a “Tit-for-Tat” scenario. Quit with the childish name-calling and make your point in a mature, professional manner - that is of course, if you want to be taken seriously. (In my humble opinion, that is.) And fact of the matter is, not everyone is going to like your work…
About the book in question:
The Story Sisters by Alice Hoffman
Alice Hoffman’s previous novel, The Third Angel, was hailed as “an unforgettable portrait of the depth of true love” (USA Today), “stunning” (Jodi Picoult), and “spellbinding” (Miami Herald). Her new novel, The Story Sisters, charts the lives of three sisters–Elv, Claire, and Meg. Each has a fate she must meet alone: one on a country road, one in the streets of Paris, and one in the corridors of her own imagination. Inhabiting their world are a charismatic man who cannot tell the truth, a neighbor who is not who he appears to be, a clumsy boy in Paris who falls in love and stays there, a detective who finds his heart’s desire, and a demon who will not let go.
What does a mother do when one of her children goes astray? How does she save one daughter without sacrificing the others? How deep can love go, and how far can it take you? These are the questions this luminous novel asks.
At once a coming-of-age tale, a family saga, and a love story of erotic longing, The Story Sisters sifts through the miraculous and the mundane as the girls become women and their choices haunt them, change them and, finally, redeem them. It confirms Alice Hoffman’s reputation as “a writer whose keen ear for the measure struck by the beat of the human heart is unparalleled” (The Chicago Tribune).
Alexander McCall Smith’s Heroine Precious Ramotswe Set to Publish Cookbook
Monday, June 29th, 2009
Woman cooking Botswana Fat Cakes - a favourite food of Precious Ramotswe
Precious Ramotswe, leading character of Alexander McCall Smith’s The No. 1 Ladies’ Detective Agency series is “writing” a cookbook to share her favourite recipes for Botswanan dishes.
The cookbook is actually the brainchild of charity worker and former BBC journalist, Stuart Brown. While working for a charity in Africa, Brown collected authentic Botswanan recipes and with McCall Smith’s blessing, the cookbook project came to life. “I am delighted to be working with Stuart on this book, which will raise funds for worthwhile causes in Botswana,” says McCall Smith who will write a forward and reflections from Ramotswe for the book.
Precious Ramotswe’s generous figure is a recurring theme throughout the series and in Blue Shoes and Happiness, the seventh book, she tries dieting before deciding that satisfying her appetite is more important. As for the cookbook, Brown says that concessions have been made to healthy eating but much of the food is of the calorific type enjoyed by the heroine. “As fans of the series know, Mma Ramotswe is quite a fan of doughnuts, or fat cakes as they are called in Botswana. They feature heavily in her recipe book, as well as fruit cake. The book is a celebration of what she calls the ‘traditional African build’, as she is very much against the tyranny of the thin shape which dominates the fashion world.”
Watch for the book in November the scheduled date for publication by Polygon.
Bar codes 35 years old
Friday, June 26th, 200960 Years Later: Coming through the Rye review
Thursday, June 25th, 2009
So we managed to get our hands on one of the few copies of 60 Years Later: Coming through the Rye to have been printed before JD Salinger’s Lawyers opened fire and locked up the printing presses while books publishers battled for its life in court (verdict still pending).
Of the very small number of used copies floating about the UK my colleague Richard Davies has now read one and posted his review of the book on AbeBooks.com. You can read the review in full here, but be forward parts of the plot are revealed in the review. This is your fair spoiler warning.
Celebrating Woodstock’s 40th Anniversary - Top 8 Books
Wednesday, June 24th, 2009Forty years ago, nearly half a million people gathered in a celebration of love, music and peace - the historic Woodstock Festival. This legendary event is remembered in many ways, including on the printed page. Good Morning America has compiled a list of their Top 8 favorites:
- Woodstock Revisited edited by Susan Reynolds
This collection contains fifty stories written by people who attended the original Woodstock Festival in 1969. Since all the books that preceded it have focused on the musicians, promoters, and staff, this book will be the first one that chronicles the audience’s experience in an up close and personal way. This book documents the event itself, but also provides a mesmerizing portrait of America as that tumultuous decade came to a close. It is nostalgic, historical, and a fascinating read that will appeal to all Baby Boomers, their offspring, and anyone who wonders what it was really like—and what became of all those “hippies.” - The Woodstock Story Book by Linanne G. Sackett and Barry Z. Levine
a chronologically and anatomically correct pictorial account of the historic 1969 Festival. It includes over 240 full color photographs by Barry Z Levine, official photographer of the Academy Award winning Woodstock film, and text by Linanne Sackett that resonates with the charm and humor of Dr. Seuss. The book captures the performers, personalities, audience, excitement, mood, and action from the beginning. The Woodstock Story Book’s 154 pages include many exceptional, never-before-seen photographs of Jimi Hendrix, Janis Joplin, Jerry Garcia, the Who, Joe Cocker, Jefferson Airplane, Joan Baez, The Band, Sly and the Family Stone, John Sebastian, Ten Years After, The Incredible String Band, Tim Hardin, Crosby, Stills, Nash & Young, and many more. - Back to the Garden: The Story of Woodstock by Pete Fornatale
On the fortieth anniversary of Woodstock, renowned New York City disc jockey Pete Fornatale brings the iconic rock concert to vivid life through original interviews with Roger Daltrey, Joan Baez, David Crosby, Richie Havens, Joe Cocker, and dozens of headliners, organizers, and fans. From Richie Havens’s legendary opening act to the Who’s violent performance, from the Grateful Dead’s jam to Jefferson Airplane’s wake-up call, culminating in Jimi Hendrix’s career-defining moment, Fornatale brings new stories to light and sets the record straight on some common misperceptions. Illustrated with black-and-white photographs, authoritative, and highly entertaining, Back to the Garden is the soon-to-be classic telling of three days of peace and music. - Woodstock Vision: The Spirit of a Generation by Elliott Landy, Intro. by Jerry Garcia
In the turbulent sixties, the Woodstock Festival and the Generation that came from that event were a manifestation of the desire to create a free, loving and just world. Elliot Landy has had his finger on the pulse of the Woodstock generation. He was there before the famous festival, hanging out with Dylan and The Band; he was the photographer of record at the Woodstock festival itself; and he still lives in Woodstock today. In this edition of Woodstock Vision, Landy captures and preserves the true vision and pure essence of the festival-what it was like to be part of the sixties, sharing the spirit of unlimited hope, optimism, and belief that the world can be made better through peace and love. The book affectionately chronicles what it was like to be at the Woodstock Festival and to be a part of the spirit of its generation - Girls Like Us by Shelia Weller
“Girls Like Us” is a groundbreaking and irresistible biography of three of America’s most important musical artists–Carly Simon, Carole King, and Joni Mitchell–and offers an epic treatment of these mid-century women who dared to break tradition. Filled with the voices of many dozens of these women’s intimates, who are speaking in these pages for the first time, this alternating biography reads like a novel — except it’s all true, and the heroines are famous and beloved. Sheila Weller captures the character of each woman and gives a balanced portrayal enriched by a wealth of new information. - The Road to Woodstock by Michael Lang with Holly George-Warren
The story of the festival begins with Michael Lang, a kid out of Bensonhurst, Brooklyn, who liked to smoke a joint and listen to jazz and who eventually found his way to Florida, where he opened a head shop and produced his first festival Miami Pop, featuring Jimi Hendrix, Frank Zappa, and others. In the late sixties, after settling in Woodstock, he began to envision a music and arts festival where folks could come and stay for a few days amid the rural beauty of upstate New York. The idea crystallized when Lang talked it over with Artie Kornfeld, a songwriter and A & R man, and with two other young men they formed Woodstock Ventures. They booked talent, from Janis Joplin and the Who to the virtually unknown Santana and Crosby, Stills and Nash; won over agents and promoters; brought in the Hog Farm commune to set up campgrounds; hired a peacekeeping force; took on fleets of volunteers; appeased the Yippies; and were run out of one town and found another site weeks before the festival. - Woodstock: Peace, Music & Memories by Brad Littleproud and Joanne Hague
Woodstock Peace, Music & Memories tells the story of what Time magazine called “the greatest peaceful event in history” in the words and pictures of some of the 500,000 people who lived it. With a natural look and scrapbook-of-memories character, this book celebrates the 40th anniversary of this legendary event with a mix of 350 color, sepia-tone and black and white photos; interviews with performers including Carlos Santana and Mountain, as well as attendees, a special section of Woodstock memorabilia with current values, and a foreword written by Woodstock co-organizer Artie Kornfedt. Whether you are a baby boomer or a musician who rocked and rolled – to the music and atmosphere of Woodstock, or are a fan, a collector or a historian who wish you were there, you will find this book to be an amazing tribute to the most famous three days of 1969. - Woodstock: Three Days That Rocked the World by Mike Evans & Paul Kingsbury. Foreword by Martin Scorsese
It defined a generation, exemplified an era: Woodstock was unlike anything that has ever happened before or since—and August 2009 marks the 40th anniversary of this seminal event. Relive the moment and “get back to the garden” with this day-by-day, act-by-act account of everything that went down on Yasgur’s Farm. With interviews and quotes from those who were there—the musicians, the fans, the organizers—and a wealth of photographs and graphic memorabilia, Woodstock is the ultimate celebration of a landmark in modern cultural history.