letterpress

Local Letterpress and Southern Prints

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I have been on a paper and ink kick lately. I can’t get enough of some of the letterpress and screen printing stuff out there. I think the local Kempis Press, with a storefront studio down in Five Points, is great. Lots of high-end papers, inks and designs. When I stopped they had lots of interesting pieces to show. Since this is a working shop much of what they do fall into the marketing and invitation categories. But the posters I saw showed a very different and creative side. It’s worth checking out.

On the other side of the artistic spectrum Old Try is a Boston-based outfit comprised of two Southern expats. Their work leans more to the iconic and bold. Some of their current pieces are wonderful and take tattered Southern symbols an treat them as stand alone pieces of art. Almost elevating some to the arena of pop art. I do hope they keep it up.

Here in Birmingham we have a pretty cool Birmingham Printmaker’s group on Facebook (of course you’ll have to be on Facebook) that is worth keeping up with, even if you’re just a fan, like I am.

Bookstore Ideas, Bookstores

Another Good Idea for Indie Bookstores

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I don’t think you can have a conversation about bookstores, in Birmingham, Alabama, without Jim Reed Books being mentioned within the first two minutes of the discussion. Reed has done many things “right” and the shop is a favorite destination for many bibliophiles around the Southeast. As a unique a place as his store is, it’s his newsletter (sign-up at the bottom of his site’s page) that bookstores could learn something from.

Reed is a creative writer and inspiring free-thinker and each edition of the email newsletter is peppered with his prose, but my favorite part is always the “What We Sold Last Week“. It’s like scanning someone’s bookshelf right from my InBox.

Of course, you never know who bought these books or even where the lucky book owner lives. But I have tripped over so many interesting titles and authors while skimming the newsletter that I never even would have even known to look for. His last email had 225+ items listed. Some are records. Some are gizmos. Most are books. Amazing. I am certain that 99% of them I have never heard of.

I’m not saying that your shop would have to be as consistant as Reed (though it helps) and you certainly wouldn’t have to publish lists as exhaustive as his, but it is fun for your customers (and potential customers) to see what others in their community are buying, outside of the “Best Sellers” and “Book Sellers Recommends” lists. Who knows what unknown titles (and sales) would surface.

On the Web, Technology

Great Gatsby Videogame

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Earlier this year, someone says they paid 50 cents for an old Nintendo cartridge that had some Japanese bootleg version of a Great Gatsby game. And thanks to the world of emulators you can play this 8-bit wonder right in your web browser.

You start off dodging butlers and tipsy partiers as Nick Carraway. Your goal is to simply “find Gatsby”. I admit that I have not played very much of the game and have no idea where it goes with the story or characters. I just thought its was neat that even way back when NES was the coolest, someone thought it worth while to make a game out of a book.

Birmingham, Book Talk, On the Web

Best Bookstore Twitter List

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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.

Books, Publishing and Birmingham