AbeBooks' Reading Copy

It’s always interesting to find out what books people own, it gives you a small window into someone’s life and places their interests, passions, and sense of humor on display.  Most of my colleagues and I have admitted that when we get invited into someone’s home, we will often scan over our hosts bookshelves, just [...]

Our good friends over at LibraryThing.com have announced a new initiative to help local bookstores and libraries promote their literary events and help raise money for literary charities. How are they doing this? For every bookstore and library event added to LibraryThing Local from now until January 1, LibraryThing will donate up to 15 cents [...]

A second-hand bookshop in Toronto called The Monkey’s Paw has designed a vending machine which will plop out a random book for two dollars.  I think this is a fantastic idea, and would have a very hard time not giving it a try a few times; the whole machine is made even better by the sales pitch [...]

Great news for the University of Virginia where an $896,000 grant from the Andrew W. Mellon Foundation has been awarded to the college’s Rare Book School. The Rare Book School is a non-profit organization that sponsors classes for academics, historians, book collectors and archivists interested in the history of books, manuscripts and the written word. [...]

Taschen, one of our favorite publishers, has issued The James Bond Archives edited by Paul Duncan. The publisher claims the 600-page heavyweight book is “the most complete account of the making of the series, covering every James Bond film ever made.” Duncan spent two years researching over “one million images and 100 filing cabinets of [...]

As a result of transportation delays and service interruptions caused by Hurricane Sandy, AbeBooks customers may experience a delay in the confirmation of outstanding orders, as well as potential delivery delays. If you have a question about your order, please contact the bookseller directly or contact AbeBooks Customer Support. A little patience will go a [...]

Chinese writer Mo Yan has won the 2012 Nobel Prize for Literature, reports the BBC.  Born Guan Moye, he writes under the pen name of Mo Yan, which translates as “don’t speak” in Chinese. The 57-year-old began writing while working as a soldier in the Chinese army and was first published in 1981. He is [...]

Nasa announced yesterday that The Mars Curiosity landing site has been named Bradbury after literary legend Ray Bradbury who passed away in June of this year. Henceforth known as Bradbury landing, the site unnamed until its official dedication and naming yesterday, which would have been Bradbury’s 92nd birthday. All of this points, to me, to [...]

Toronto mayor Rob Ford is in the middle of a torrid scandal. Sex scandal? No. Embezzling? No. Drinking and driving? Close, but no. Ford’s crime is reading and driving. You read that right. A twitter user posted a photo of what appears to be Rob Ford, driving in 70km/hour traffic on the Gardiner Expressway, with [...]

In 1948, when Elvis Presley was just 13 years old, he checked a copy of The Courageous Heart: A Life of Andrew Jackson out from his school library in Memphis, Tennessee. The card, complete with the young Presley’s signature, was discovered by a librarian while getting rid of old books. It, along with a copy [...]