Bookstore Tourism, Bookstore Travels, Bookstores

E. Shaver, Bookseller – Savannah, GA Named Best Bookstore in the South 2020

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E. Shaver, Bookseller has been named the South’s Best Bookstore for 2020 by Southern Living magazine. It’s always good when an indie bookshop gets some recognition outside of its hometown.

E. Shaver, Bookseller is located in Savannah, GA and sits on one of the most idyllic and walkable squares I’ve ever visited. Savannah has a few great bookstores and E. Shaver, Bookseller is definitely on the “must visit” list.

When things aren’t so crazy in the world you can visit the bookstore during their normal hours:

E. Shaver, Bookseller
Monday-Tuesday 9:30am-5:30pm
Wednesday-Saturday 9:30am-7:00pm
Sunday 11:00am-4:00pm
Phone (912) 234-7257

The shop is fun to walk around as it has lots of little very well lit rooms and a solid collection of local and regional books.

I have to admit I felt a little bummed while pulling up these photos from my last visit and getting them ready to post. It dawned on me–it’s been weeks since I’ve browsed in a bookstore. I haven’t been to my usual haunts in what seems like forever. So I think I am going to start posting photos from all my past shop visits. When I travel (work or family) we always make a point to visit local bookshops and I’m always taking photos. So there’s plenty to work with and I’m a little excited to start going back through the past couple of years of photos. None of the photos were taken with “these will go online one day” and for all I know some of the shops may have closed up.

But my hope is that by browsing virtual shelves and bookstores the senses will calm and help me look ahead to when we all can get back out there and visit our local bookstores. So more to come and I’m happy to be kicking things off with the E. Shaver, Bookseller photos.

I hope each of you have a good book nearby, are tucked in, safe and as well as can be.

Movies, Type, Typography

Helvetica Movie – Watch for Free

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Until Tuesday, March 24th, 2020, you can watch Gary Hustwit’s documentary Helvetica for free. Helvetica is a feature-length (about 1 hour and 20 minutes) documentary about typography, graphic design and global visual culture. It features the world’s most prolific typeface and explains why that is and how it got to be that way.

The director posted this on Twitter last week:

In light of the COVID-19 crisis, I’m streaming my films for free to viewers stuck indoors anywhere in the world. I’ll be streaming a new movie every week, launching each Tuesday. Stay strong, we’ll get through this.

via @gary_hustwit

I haven’t seen it since 2008, but parts of it stick in your mine. I have to admit that some of my favorite parts of the film are with the folks that are simply OVER Helvetica and complain about how simple and boring it is. I am not saying I agree, but it’s always fun to listen to intelligent folks who are passionate about something. That seems even more so when that thing they are passionate about is typography.

helvetica movie

It looks like Hustwit will be sharing more of his films as well. He has another one that was enjoyable called Objectified. It’s worth checking out if you enjoy listening to folks talk about high-design, products and ideas.

Here’s the trailer for Objectified:

helvetica and objectified

Enjoy the films!

Book Column, Book Talk

What Makes a Nonfiction Book a Favorite?

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We’re in the homestretch of Nonfiction November and Leann from There There Read This is hosting this fourth week’s topic of Nonfiction Favorites. Here is the prompt:

We’ve talked about how you pick nonfiction books in previous years, but this week I’m excited to talk about what makes a book you’ve read one of your favorites. Is the topic pretty much all that matters? Are there particular ways a story can be told or particular writing styles that you love? Do you look for a light, humorous approach or do you prefer a more serious tone? Let us know what qualities make you add a nonfiction book to your list of favorite.

I have to admit that this one took some thought. It’s not an exact science for me. While the subject matter probably is the most important factor, I really enjoy it when an author has a specific lens they are looking through and makes that fact clear up front.

A few examples might be when a serious data scientist writes about romance and dating, in Dataclysm; or an engineer tackles something as mundane as a paper clip, like in The Evolution of Useful Things, or a historical writer tackles all of the insane (sometime literally speaking) details swirling around the birth or the Oxford English Dictionary, in The Professor and the Madman. All of these offer a unique perspective and some fresh light on the topics.

And, while all of the facts and data should be there and correctly referenced to give validity to the nonfiction book, I want to feel like I’m at a dinner party, sipping a drink, listening to someone share their experience and expertise. Non-fiction books get a bad rep because people automatically assume they’re going to be crammed full of stilted writing and beating the reader over the head with supporting facts. The bad ones do and often resemble text books. But put a creative writer in the hands of a good editor and you can get a real gem.

The last thing I really enjoy in a good non-fiction book has to do with page design. There has to be room on the page to make notes! And highlight and underline and circle and argue! As much as I appreciate books, I am of the mindset that to internalize what you’re reading/learning you have to chew it up before you swallow. This just goes better if there’s room for you in the book you’re reading. Plus, it’s just fun to pull a book off the shelf, after a few years, and skim back over your notes and thoughts.

Big maps and a good bibliography go a long way with me as well. Those aren’t ‘must haves’, like the above points, but for a nonfiction book to become a favorite, but they sure are nice. As much as I like a well cross referenced and annotated book, with a strong bibliography, I’m not really a fan of footnotes. I’d rather have all of the notes and “for further reading” information collected at the back of the book. That might seem picky, but it’s nice when you don’t have footnotes tugging at your eyeballs pulling you out of the immediate narrative all the time.

Hope your Nonfiction November is going well. Find a good book and stay warm!

Book Column, Book Talk, Bookshelf, Recommendations

Be the Expert: Books About Bookshelves

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It’s hard to believe how quickly this year’s Nonfiction November #nonficnov is blowing past as we’re already posting for Week Three. This week is hosted by Katie at Doing Dewey and carries the assignment of – Be The Expert/Ask the Expert/Become the Expert.

Here is the prompt:

You can either share 3 or more books on a single topic that you have read and can recommend (be the expert), you can put the call out for good nonfiction on a specific topic that you have been dying to read (ask the expert), or you can create your own list of books on a topic that you’d like to read (become the expert).

In the past, I’ve offered up titles for becoming an expert on book covers as well as good reads for becoming an expert on bookshops.

This week’s prompt is always my favorite topic each November. Not only do I enjoy taking a deep dive on whatever I’m doing or reading, this week gives us a glimpse at what else a fellow book blogger is into and thinks about. It’s really fun. In case you can’t tell: I like books. Keeping with that theme, here are three books I’d recommend to help you become an expert on bookshelves.

Three books all about bookshelves

Be An Expert on Bookshelves

Let’s start with the definitive book, on the subject, by Henry Petroski, The Book on the Bookshelf. This book, was published in 1999, and covers it all in a very accessible manner. Petroski is an engineer and it’s useful to see the changing construction of bookshelves and well as the cultural implications of the evolution of bookshelves through an engineer’s lens. There are some really fun and wacky illustrations in the book and is a great place to start.

Lydia Pyne’s 2016 essay-length book, simply titled Bookshelf, is the next book on the list. Pyne approaches the subject with a creative’s and historian’s perspective. So it dovetails nicely with Petroski’s book. In Pyne, you’ll find a kindred bookish spirit who helps explore what a bookshelf says about the owner as well as the impact bookshelves have when displayed for all to see. If you’ve ever been caught scanning a friend’s bookcase, trying to figure out what they like to read, this is a good book for you.

The third book is one of my absolute favorites. At Home with Books by Estelle Ellis, Caroline Seebohm and Christopher Sykes is a visual delight. This is a book you’ll want to leave open on the coffee table all the time. The photography is excellent and all of the interviews, short essays and sidebars deliver on the promise of the subtitle ”How Booklovers Live with and Care for Their Libraries”. Inside you’ll find houses crammed with books as well as million dollar lavish libraries. The bookshelves are all full, regardless of who owns them. You’ll meet book collectors that look for everything from fiction, to art books, to books on buildings and toys as well as poetry. It’s so much fun to see how these professional and hobbyist bibliophiles use their shelves and all the nooks and crannies they find to place bookshelves.

Those are the three I’d recommend for becoming an expert on bookshelves. Please, let me know if you know of any other good books on the topic of bookshelves or home libraries. I can never dive deep enough into a pile of books about books. Hope your Nonfiction November is going well.

Books, Publishing and Birmingham