Books, Publishing and Birmingham - headsubhead.com » Book Talk

Rare Print Discovered in Library Book

trav — Fri, 04 May 2012 16:37:43 +0000

I love stories like this… The NY Times published the recent account of a Brown University archivist finding, what is believed to be one of only five copies of a print done by revolutionary heavyweight Paul Revere himself. No doubt the chance of this happening increases if your job is handling books from the 1700′s. But it’s still pretty cool to think that such a unique rarity was just stuck in the back of a book on physics. Revere was quite the engraver and printer, flooding the colonies with pamphlets and political information. He’s certainly not known for any kind of iconic or religious art, which ups the “cool factor” of the find. Be sure to click through to read the article on the library archivist and see the photos.

If nifty old archives of historical significance interest you then you should tune into Book TV (on CSPAN2) this weekend. At noon, on Saturday, they will be touring old bookstores and the Nichols Collection at the University of Oklahoma. They have books going back as far as the 15th century! They also have a History of Science Collection with papers and books from Galileo, Copernicus and other famous people in white lab coats. I think it’ll be fun to watch.

Book Recommendations

trav — Thu, 05 Apr 2012 03:37:51 +0000

Three times this week I have been asked about book recommendations (I hope you have as cool and bookish friends as I do). Anyway, each time I found myself repeating the same titles, so I thought I’d share here as well.

Tonight, I finished Pearl’s The Technologists which left me a little flat. It was fantastic in the sense of time, place and setting, but just lacked some of the “thrill” part that was there when I read his “The Dante Club”.

The last really well written book I read was, Towles’ The Rules of Civility.
I enjoyed Holmqvist’s The Unit as well, but for different reasons.

I also recommend reading Justin Cronin’s The Passage, to get ready for The Twelve which comes out later this year. It is so so good. I mean like REALLY good.

I recently went through quite a run of fiction, so I am thinking about picking up Bryson’s At Home. But I may go sci-fi with Russell’s The Sparrow. We’ll see.

How about you?

What are you recommending to friends?

Michael Chabon’s New Book

trav — Tue, 06 Mar 2012 03:11:18 +0000

Chabon’s next book Telegraph Avenue doesn’t come out until September of this year, but Harper Collins did release the final cover a couple of days ago, via their catalog site. I wonder how many revisions they went through before everyone agreed on the red and the label was just retro enough… very cool! The blurb they offered up on the site:

The fictional world of Telegraph Avenue is grounded in Chabon’s deeply researched, lovingly painted pop culture of Kung Fu, Blaxploitation films of the ’70s, Jazz, and Soul.

This is one book that I can not wait to read this year.

Movie Based on a Bill Bryson Book

trav — Sat, 25 Feb 2012 18:48:50 +0000

Last week, novelist Richard Russo mentioned that he is working on a screenplay based on Bill Bryson’s A Walk in the Woods. This very cool… if Hollywood doesn’t mess it up (I mean c’mon what are the chances of that?). A Walk in the Woods, which logs Bryson’s travels and experiences along the Appalachian Trail, was my first introduction to Bryson and I have now read every book of his except At Home, which is currently sitting about half-way in my TBR pile. So maybe by 2016… at the rate I’m going… anyway…

I did some digging and found out that Robert Redford is slated to play Bryson and *maybe* Nick Nolte as Bryon’s buddy Stephen Katz. Seems this project has been in the works since 2005 and has dragged on so long that no one is really paying attention. I hope they keep moving though. I think Russo could do well with it.

The Flame Alphabet

trav — Tue, 31 Jan 2012 22:33:37 +0000

The Flame Alphabet is one of those books that seems to have it all on the front end, for me:

GREAT cover
in the syfy-ish category
back cover blurb by MichaelChabon (he’s never lead me astray)
interesting book trailer (ok, so I’ve yet to jump on the book trailer bandwagon, but this one was particularly creepy & creative)

I just hope it delivers. It’s certainly seems to have a lot going for it. We’ll see…

One Dollar books at Little Professor

trav — Mon, 09 Jan 2012 21:40:18 +0000

Little Professor in Homewood have set up a space for $1 books. I stopped in to see what was there so I could share. Most of the books are in used condition and from big name authors (Kind, Patterson, Steele, etc.). They are stocked on shelves below the table top. There are some ‘new’ books too though.

It’s certainly worth stopping by to see what they have. But then they always have used-books upstairs that are worth keeping up with as they rotate stock pretty regularly and there are always new finds to scan through. I’m not sure how long they plan on leaving the $1 offerings there, so you should check it out soon. It’s right in front of you, behind the first round table, as you walk in the main door.

Best Bookstore Twitter List

trav — Wed, 21 Dec 2011 19:45:06 +0000

Last week someone started the #bkstoreluv to help folks celebrate their favorite local book shops. GalleyCat picked up on this and has started compiling a list of great bookstore twitter accounts. I’ve already submitted my two local favorites here in Birmingham – @81churchstreet and @little_prof.

Hopefully they will get added to the main directory listing soon. I also follow a few other out-of-town bookshops on Twitter. Are there others that you are fond of that are worth a follow? Please share! I’m always looking for good book conversations.

Birmingham on BookTV

trav — Mon, 28 Nov 2011 15:19:26 +0000

BookTV is building a network of local content. Birmingham’s part start airing this past weekend and some of the videos are already online. Very cool! Click through and scroll down the left column to see videos filmed in the Alabama Booksmith and around town, all focused on Birmingham’s “literary scene”. The column on the right is from CSPAN’s History TV with even more videos and interviews from a Birmingham perspective.

Local Author Expo – Birmingham

trav — Wed, 23 Nov 2011 22:08:54 +0000

Mark your calendars for December 3rd, 10:00am-3:00pm. That’s when the sixth annual Local Authors Expo is slated to take place. As always, the event will take place downtown at the Central Library. The expo is always an interesting mix of authors and books. Most of the tables are stacked with books by self-published authors. So authors have a publisher, but most are braving the wilds of literature on their own. Prices and subjects run the gamut, so you’ll want to leave yourself enough time to make the rounds. More than 90 authors have already signed on.

In keeping with the self-published push, they have also invited Liz Reed, of the Birmingham Arts Journal, to lead a 90-minute discussion/orientation for people wanting to get published. The event is called “Every Writer Needs an Editor“. It is free, but they’re asking that you click through that link to reserve a spot, so they can make sure they have enough seats.

Book Review: “The Unit” by Ninni Holmqvist

trav — Mon, 14 Nov 2011 15:41:10 +0000

I just finished The Unit by Ninni Homqvist and published by Other Press. It’s a great read that shines a light on what can happen when society starts looking at the population as numbers and statistics and quits seeing the people behind the numbers.

I picked up this book because I really liked the thought-provoking premise: society’s older members, who have no family or crucial job are taken to a utopian campus where every whim, wish and need are catered too. They get to live out their final years as comfortable as possible. The only catch: they are expected to participate in medical experiments and donate their body parts, for as long as they can… until their “final donation”. This society sees it as humane as it takes their poorest members, gives them the best in art and creature comforts, while maximizing their contributions to society.

It’s absurd. Sure. Crazy. But still, a great premise for this story. It’s an idea I was hoping the book would dive deep into, but it doesn’t. Instead it swirls around on the lives of the “dispensables” that are inside “The Unit” and focuses on the main character, Dorritt. All of the people in the Unit completely understand what is going on and they don’t put up a fight when they have to participate in a psychological exam, drug test, donate a kidney or even donate their lungs and heart. They see it as finally being of value to their community, on the outside.

It doesn’t take you long to accept the rules of this community and start living alongside Dorritt in the dome. The writing in this book is fantastic. It just flows in and out of conversations and offering insights into love, loss, society, ethics, etc. I was truly impressed with the author. The book flies through every emotion you can think of and every type of relationship as these people lean on each other and help each other deal with loosing body parts, going crazy, love, politics, pregnancy…

Towards the end, I knew the clock is ticking and I just wanted to know, does Dorritt escape? Does she die? But also towards the end, I didn’t wasn’t quite ready for it to be over. I enjoyed the many conversations and personalities in The Unit.

This one gets three out five stars and will be recommended often.