All posts by trav

At the heart of it all, I’m a fan. A fan of books and bookstores. A fan of fiction and non-fiction. A fan of authors and publishers. And most of all I’m a fan of great conversations sparked by books. All that to say - I really need more bookshelves.
Book Column, New Releases, Upcoming Titles

New Basbanes Book

Leave a comment

It looks like famed bibliophile Nicholas Basbanes and Knopf have put the finishing touches on Basbanes’ long awaited new book “On Paper: The Everything of Its Two-Thousand-Year History”. It has an official street date of October 15, 2013. Basbanes started researching paper and paper ephemera back in 2005. The new Basbanes book was first mentioned in a CSPAN video interview the author did back in 2008, where he gave the cameras a tour of his home library. The new book is listed at 488 pages with a full retail price of $35.00. Can’t wait to see what it looks like when it comes out this October!

On Paper Nicholas Basbanes

Basbanes is best known for his books about book collecting and bibliomania  A Gentle Madness and Patience & Fortitude.

Birmingham, Bookstores, Events, Free Books

Church Street Books Scavenger Hunt

1 Comment

The bookish barristas at Church Street Coffee & Books have organized something cool next week. They call it ‘Bookstravaganza’ and it kicks off on April 22nd, with a books-themed scavenger hunt, ending April 26th. Starting on the 22nd,  the indie bookstore will start posting cryptic clues for their Facebook and Twitter followers. Once decoded, the answer will points to another local Birmingham business where a free book is waiting on the first successful code cracker. So that’s four days of following for freebies. Sounds fun!

They are also running a neat promo inside the store, which I’m anxious to go by and try out. Basically, they’re inviting you to scan the books, on the shelves, with your smartphone to get the super-secret discount (10%-50% off)  price. Some of the books will also score you a free cookie or coffee.

Other events planned during the week that is Bookstravaganza 2013:

April 22nd at 7p.m. – Q&A with murder-mystery author Jenny Milchman about her book Cover of Snow

April 23rd (all day) – World Book Night giveaways, with hundreds of books to be given away free to help encourage reading. Many of which volunteers will hide in places around the city. This is a global event and very cool that they are participating.

So grab your decoder ring, smartphone barcode reader and follow Church Street Coffee & Books on Facebook and Twitter to play along next week. Bookstravaganza sounds like four days of fun promoting local businesses, reading and books, books, books!

Book Column, Bookstores, Movies

The Last Bookshop – Short Film

Leave a comment

The first 10 minutes of this short film are fantastic. I would love to get lost in the stacks of an old shop just like this boy does. Lots of great imagery here as a boy finds himself exploring the last bookshop in England. The film was produced in an effort to support local bookshops and stress the importance of them. They have a site for the film as well so you can learn more about the shops shown in the film, bookshops in the UK as well as the movie score. Lot’s to think about while watching this short movie.

What did you think of the short film?

Book Column, Digital Publishing, E-Books, Movies

New Movie about the Death of Paper Books

Leave a comment

Here  is a minute and 55 second trailer for Out of Print, a documentary that tries to capture what the digital shift is doing to books, businesses and cultures around the world. That’s a lot of ground to cover! But the lineup is pretty impressive. Narrated by Meryl Streep they talk with Jeff Bezos, authors Scott Turow and Ray Bradbury as well as elementary school teachers, bookstore owners and developmental psychology experts.

I’m hoping it’s balanced and not just “the sky is falling” or “print is dead”. The issue and trend is certainly more complicated and worth more level thought than the emotionally tainted headlines touted in the media these days. There are definitely pros and cons to be said of every step we take into the new digital world.

Regardless of where you think things stand in regards to the death of paper books, Out of Print looks to be a movie worth seeing. It’s certainly worth watching the trailer. Hopefully it’ll be online soon for rent or purchase as, like many of these indie movie deals, it’s not showing anywhere near Birmingham.