Romance novel readers don’t have it easy. Already teased for reading the steamy tomes in the first place, they further have to deal with the humiliation of truly ghastly covers – tasteless and tawdry, garish and gaudy, these are lurid and cheesy enough to make someone wish for plain brown wrappers. But we say no more! We say embrace your love of reading, and your love of love! And in solidarity, we tried our hand at making some romance covers of our own – very family-friendly, of course. Enjoy the fruits of our labors.
Archive for the ‘video’ Category
Understanding book sizes: octavo to elephant folio
Wednesday, February 8th, 2012Books come in different shapes and sizes. They can be small or very big indeed. Quarto, duodecimo, octavo and elephant folio are just some of the terms you will hear used, and this video from my colleague Christi helps to demystify the jargon.
You can learn more about book sizes at the AbeBooks’ Book Collecting Guide.
Muhammad Ali’s Legendary Trainer Angelo Dundee Dies at 90
Thursday, February 2nd, 2012Boxing 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.
Howard Pyle’s Art: Pirates to Robin Hood
Tuesday, January 24th, 2012American 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 length work was a highly successful interpretation of the Robin Hood stories called The Merry Adventures of Robin Hood.
He wove various tales of Robin Hood into a single cohesive narrative, but he was happy to alter the original stories, so any child could pick one of his books and be gripped. Pyle used pirates in many adventure stories. He invented the flamboyant romantic garb that has become standard issue for any tale about piracy these days.
By 1900 Pyle founded his own art school – the Howard Pyle School of Illustration Art. He instructed many great artists including the great N.C. Wyeth, and it became known as the Brandywine School style of illustration. Read more.
I Like Big Books – A Literacy Rap
Thursday, January 19th, 2012I had to laugh watching this take-off of Sir Mix-a-Lot’s early nineties rap hit “Baby Got Back”. It’s called “I Like Big Books”, and it was done by the staff and students at Dowell Middle School of the McKinney school district in Texas. It’s over a year old now, but this is the first I’ve seen it, and it definitely made me smile. I especially liked the school librarians blowing imaginary smoke off their barcode scanners. Kudos to all involved – what a fun video.
Books in motion: a bookshelf video
Thursday, January 12th, 2012The Bookstore Comes Alive at Night
Monday, January 9th, 2012When it’s dark, and the last customer has left… the proprietor’s gone home, the lights are out and the door is locked…the books can shed the silly pretense of being inanimate objects, shake off the constraints of the day-to-day shelf, and get on with the joyous, celebratory business of being a book.
Love it. Beautiful.
via Bolen Books
Goat eats textbook
Thursday, December 15th, 2011Goats can eat anything including old textbooks. (However, to be honest, this goat should really have sold back that old textbook through the AbeBooks buyback program. There’s a lot of perfectly good grass in that field.)
Video review of Toast by Nigel Slater: my latest food memoir read
Tuesday, December 6th, 2011Toast: The Story of a Boy’s Hunger by Nigel Slater is the latest food memoir that I have read. I’m a fan of Heat by Bill Buford, Kitchen Confidential by Anthony Bourdain and The Hungry Years by William Leith. This memoir is a little softer than those three but that’s part of its appeal.
Slater is an English food writer on The Observer newspaper and is well known the UK. This book concerns a very English childhood in the West Midlands during the 1960s – a part of world hardly known for its fine dining. Every day was defined by what he ate and Nigel offers comment on everything toast to lamb chops.
In reality, Nigel is actually telling the story of his childhood through his meals. He explains the relationship between his mum and dad, and charts his mother’s descent into ill health. It’s a fast read and by the end we are seeing the author’s teenage years where he finds salvation as a dog’s body in a pub kitchen and realizes that his future lies in the food business.
The memoir moves effortlessly from a mundane meals to sudden references to his sexuality and then back again to lamb chops and gravy. The American edition has a glossary at the back so English food terms can be understood.
The difference between ex-library & ex libris books
Thursday, December 1st, 2011When searching on AbeBooks, you will see the terms ex-library and ex libris. Although they sound similar, it’s important to understand the difference between the two.
Ex-library shows that the book was once in a public library. Ex-library books are usually identified with some marking of the library – a stamp, a card pocket, or catalog number. They are often marked as “discarded” or “withdrawn” or have their catalog number struck through when sold by the library. Ex-library books are often worn by use but they are affordable.
Ex libris refers a book that has come from the library of an individual. Ex libris is Latin for “From the Library of……” An ex-libris book usually has a bookplate – a small print of artwork pasted inside the cover that features the owner’s name or initials. You can see the example from the video (right) of the bookplate that belonged to Reverend Clement Mitchell from Prince Edward Island in Canada.
Learn more at the AbeBooks’ Book Collecting Guide.
