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Great Book Nook October 2nd, 2008

I ran across this photo over on the Freshome site and had to share… all it’s lacking is a pot of coffee and my rear-end on the couch. What a perfectly small reading spot.

small library


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Buy a Friend a Banned Book October 1st, 2008

Buy a Friend a Book Week

It’s Buy a Friend a Book Week! This week is one of the four per year weeks where bookish types around the globe target a friend and plot which book to buy for them. bwahahaha! (that’s my October/Halloween laugh.) You can click on over and see what all the hub-bub is about (even on Twitter) and slap some BAFAB week icons on your site. But most importantly… pick someone… and buy them a book.

Banned book Week buttonThis week is also Banned Book Week as organzied by the American Library Association. Lots of libraries having events this week and the ALA has gone all social media with their Facebook and MySpace pages.

But WOW let me tell you how shocked I was at some titles included on page Amazon coughed up listing all the books that have been “banned or challenged in 2008″. Now, not having The Joy of Sex in a high school library, I get. And thinking that middle school library goers shouldn’t be digesting Sebold’s Lovely Bones, I grant you.

But banning Huck Finn? The Giver? Of Mice and Men? from high school or community libraries? For real? I’ve seen Hardee’s commercials that violate more social mores, in 18 seconds, than all three of those classics combined. Oh well. That’s reason enough to read a banned book (or explore one on Google’s Banned Books page)!


Book Cover Winner Announced September 29th, 2008

Matt Taylor won the Penguin cover design competition we mentioned last week, for Sam Taylor’s The Island at the End of the World. Congratulations to him! It is, no doubt, one of the cleanest and well executed designs submitted, with some very complex imagery…

Matt Taylor cover

It’s almost too much. The synopsis just seemed to call for a simpler more representative image. But then my skills as an illustrator are often challenged by sitting in the floor coloring with my two-year-old.

Thanks to BDR for spilling the beans on the winners (because I sure couldn’t find any updates online). Click through to see the runners-up and such, too.


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GOOD Magazine - worth what? September 25th, 2008

Good Magazine

The folks over at GOOD Magazine are spinning a little Radiohead retail. That is you pay them whatever you want for a year’s subscription (starting at a dollar). Think they have too many charts and the traditionally $20/yr. rate was too high? Pay $10. You keep up with paper and gas prices and realize these probably couldn’t do anything else in life, but create a magazine that tries to create and be helpful, so they need a liferaft? Pay them $50.

Even if you’ve never picked up the magazine. How can you pass up an annual subscription for a dollar?

Their post asks readers to check back on October 22nd, for an update, on how this new plan is working out. We’ll pass along any news, of this great experiment.


Mark your Calendars September 23rd, 2008

They are calling it the inaugural  GreencupBooks Book, Zine, and Music Fair and it’s on the calendar for November 14 and 15. GreencupBooks and Bare Hands Gallery are neighbors over on 21st Ave South and they’re teaming up with the local literary zine phenom  The2ndHand to throw a two day bash celebrating “local and regional writers, literary magazines, small presses, comix artists, record labels and bands, zine makers, and handmade book artists, along with live music and readings.”

Their announcement says

Join us Friday night for a welcome party/reception for participating vendors, followed by a creative reading by THE2NDHAND, followed by live music. The party begins at 6 p.m. On Saturday, readings will occur periodically during the day, followed by performances and an afterparty at the bookstore. The afterparty begins at 9:30 p.m.

How can that not be a fun couple of days? You can check out the GreencupBooks site for more info, if you’re interested in being a vendor and/or setting up a table.


2008 Moleskinerie Fall Giveaways September 22nd, 2008

Molskine Free

I’ve tried dozens of notebooks. All shapes, sizes and prices… but I always come back to my simple pocket sized no-ruled Moleskines. I just haven’t found a better notebook that fits my needs. Which is why I entered this year’s 2008 Moleskinerie Fall Giveaway as fast as I could. It seems pretty painless, just send in a snail mail addy and if you’re not selected they automatically enter you in the next drawing. It started today and names are drawn three times a week for five weeks.

Check it out for yourself and good luck (though deep down I really hope I win)!

{hat tip Steve J}


Penguin Book Cover Contest September 22nd, 2008

Penguin has shared the top 25 designs (out of 300+ submissions) for Sam Taylor’s The Island at the End of the World. To be honest, I didn’t know what to expect when I clicked through, but these are some GREAT designs.

Though I liked #6 & #7 (I’m a sucker for die cut), my favorite is this one by Justin Walsh. The bleeding watercolor effect is almost too much, but I think the rest of it is executed wonderfully! It certainly stands out from the group.

Justin Walsh

The winner will be announced at a New York event on September 25th.

{via bdr}


Wordcamp Birmingham 2008! September 19th, 2008

Worcamp Birmingham

I’m dusting off my notebooks and “back to school” attitude and plan on soaking up all of the knowledge flowing around the Virginia Samford Theater, next weekend (Sept. 27-28).

That’s the site of the first annual Wordcamp Birmingham! It’s going to be a couple of days to talk all about Wordpress, the platform this site is built on. Go ahead and check the schedule to see what they have planned over Saturday and Sunday and register sooooooon! Like NOW soon, as seating is limited. Which just means that, if you get in the door, you’re promised a great seat and a chance to participate with some of the coolest blogging-centered folks, from around the country.

Kudos to Andre (and crew) for getting all this together. It’s going to be a blast!


What has changed? September 12th, 2008

This political season, Amazon is tracking all of the “red books” and “blue books” sold. It’s been fun watching the trends as they move through the country, but I’m having a tough time making sense of any of it. Usually, all the traditionally more liberal states are buying the “blue books, while the more traditionally conservative states are buying the “red books”. Here is a May-June snapshot that Amazon posted:

Read the rest of this entry »


The Man Booker Shortlist - 2008 September 9th, 2008

Here’s this year’s list and I haven’t read any of them. Not sure why I feel guilty about that… I think it’s just that I’d enjoy this more if I had a horse to pull for in this race.

Aravind Adiga The White Tiger  (Atlantic)
Sebastian Barry The Secret Scripture (Faber and Faber)                        
Amitav Ghosh Sea of Poppies (John Murray)                                  
Linda Grant The Clothes on Their Backs (Virago)             
Philip Hensher The Northern Clemency (Fourth Estate)                    
Steve Toltz A Fraction of the Whole (Hamish Hamilton) 


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