Crossing the Sea of Knowledge

Art by Francis Minoza and Laurence Minoza (based in Cebu Philippines).

Gone With the Wind

A 1938 copy of Gone With the Wind (signed by almost all of the movie's cast, as well as the Director and Producer) sold for $135,300 at auction recently, according to The Hollywood Reporter. 

My kind of stage

Courtesy of BuzzFeed, pictures of a music festival stage in Belgium that has created pure magic.

Book cupcakes

The Book of the Future

A Book by Edgar A. Guest

“Now” - said a good book unto me -
“Open my pages and you shall see
Jewels of wisdom and treasures fine,
Gold and silver in every line,
And you may claim them if you but will
Open my pages and take your fill.

“Open my pages and run them o’er,
Take what you choose of my golden store.
Be you greedy, I shall not care -
All that you seize I shall gladly spare;
There is never a lock on my treasure doors,
Come - here are my jewels, make them yours!

“I am just a book on your mantel shelf,
But I can be part of your living self;
If only you’ll travel my pages through,
Then I will travel the world with you.
As two wines blended make better wine,
Blend your mind with these truths of mine.

“I’ll make you fitter to talk with men,
I’ll touch with silver the lines you pen,
I’ll lead you nearer the truth you seek,
I’ll strengthen you when your faith grows weak -
This place on your shelf is a prison cell,
Let me come into your mind to dwell!”

Bladorthin the Grey?

Loved this bit from Mental Floss, naming 17 famous literary characters who were almost named something else.  Bladorthin the Grey just doesn't have the same ring to it that Gandalf does.  See what you think of the others.

Bookish Town

I would like to live here.

Fictional Landscapes

UK based artist, Kyle Kirkpatrick, constructs wonderfully tiny dioramas using the topographies of carved books. 

Book Fountain

Love this Book Fountain in Budapest.

The Autobiography of Mrs. Tom Thumb by Melanie Benjamin

She was two feet, eight inches tall, but Mercy Lavinia Bump (or Mrs. Tom Thumb) was a nineteenth century icon.  Vinnie was born on October 31, 1841 in Middleborough, Massachusetts, to a family of good standing.  All of her siblings (except for her younger sister, Minnie) were normal sized.  Vinnie had a form of proportionate dwarfism (probably caused by a pituitary disorder).  She had a very loving and normal childhood, even teaching school for a short time.  She left home to appear on a floating palace of curiosities and eventually crossed paths with P. T. Barnum.  Barnum introduced her to General Tom Thumb and their wedding would captivate the nation, preempt coverage of the Civil War, and usher them into the White House and the company of presidents and queens.  They traveled the globe, met Brigham Young, and were among the first passengers on the new Union Pacific railroad linking the country and also among the very first Americans of any size to travel to the new colony of Australia.  This is a novel of the Gilded Age and one woman's public triumphs and personal tragedies.  After you've read the book, you may want to explore The Lost Museum which reconstructs Barnum's American Museum in an interactive fashion, and also provides much history about Barnum and his various performers.

Vinnie died in 1919 at the age of 78,  She was a remarkable person, who never let her size define her.

Justin Rowe, Book Sculptor

Justin Rowe is a Book Sculptor whose work is cut free hand with a scalpel and assembled with gum Arabic.  Here's a link to a fairytale exhibit he has done, and another link to an article that explores his amazing talent.  Enjoy.

Bookends of the Earth

These sculptural bookends by Chicago-based artist Garth Borovicka cleverly utilize the layers of wood and the growth rings within to symbolize the sedimentary layers of the Earth. They compare microcosms and macrocosms, exploring the similarities of naturally occurring patterns on small and large scales.  In both instances these patterns represent the passage of time on either a relatively short span or a massive one. As a further play with the theme of scale, each set is cut from a larger landscape built by the artist. When displayed as bookends they make reference to the life cycle of a tree and its various uses.

Book Inspired Cakes

These are courtesy of booklicious:

Twilight

Jane Austen

Harry Potter

Narnia

If you Love to Read

Epilogue: The Future of Print

This is a student documentary project exploring the world of print.  It will stir your thoughts and hopefully elicit discussion about the immersive reading experience and the lost craft of the book arts.  It is for people who are still passionate about reading on paper.

Library e books

While three-quarters of the nation's public libraries now offer e-book lending services, their patrons may still lack awareness of the full range of options available. A phone survey of 2,986 Americans--ages 16 and older--conducted by the Pew Research Center's Internet & American Life Project from November 16 to December 21, 2011, found that only 12% had borrowed an e-book from a library during the previous year and 62% did not know whether their library offered e-book lending (our library does free downloads/click here icon on the left).
According to the survey, 58% of respondents have a library card and 69% consider the library important to them and their family. Also of note:

• 58% of all library cardholders do not know if their library provides e-book lending services.
• 53% of all tablet computer owners do not know if their library lends e-books.
• 48% of all owners of e-book reading devices do not know if their library lends e-books.
• 47% of all those who read an e-book in the past year do not know if their library lends e-books.

"It was a genuine surprise to see these data, especially after all of the attention that has been paid to the tension between libraries and major book publishers about whether many of the most popular books should be available for lending by libraries," said Lee Rainie, director of the Pew Internet Project.

The Pew survey found that e-book borrowers read an average (the mean number) of 29 borrowed or purchased books during the past year in all formats (e-book, printed book, audiobook), compared to 23 books for readers who do not borrow e-books from a library. The median (midpoint) figures for books reportedly read are 20 in the past year by e-book borrowers and 12 by non-borrowers.

Asked about the most recent book they had read, 41% of those who borrow e-books from libraries purchased their most recent e-book.

Among e-book readers who also have library cards, 55% prefer to buy e-books, while 36% prefer borrowing them from any source (friends or libraries). For library card holders, 46% prefer to buy print books and 45% prefer to borrow print books. When it comes to e-book borrowers, 33% say they generally prefer to buy e-books and 57% say they generally prefer to borrow them.

Regarding e-title availability, 32% of e-book borrowers say the selection at their library is "good," 18% "very good" and 16% "excellent," with 23% calling the selection "fair," 4% "poor" and 8% saying they don’t know.

Other notable findings:

• 18% of e-book borrowers say at one point or another they found that an e-book they were interested in was not compatible with the e-reading device they were using.
• 46% of those who do not currently borrow e-books from libraries would be "very" or "somewhat" likely to borrow an e-reading device that came loaded with a book they wanted to read.
• 32% of those who do not currently borrow e-books would be "very" or "somewhat" likely to take a library class on how to download e-books onto handheld devices.
• 32% of those who do not currently borrow e-books say they would be "very" or "somewhat" likely to take a course at a library in how to use an e-reader or tablet computer.

Kathryn Zickuhr, a research specialist at the Pew Internet Project, said the findings suggest ways that libraries might be able to build awareness: "First, these data show that public education campaigns might add to the numbers of those who are aware that e-books can be borrowed and enjoyed on new technology like tablet computers and e-book reading devices. Second, the data show that a share of patrons would appreciate being helped in their quest to master new devices and load e-books onto them."

(If you have any trouble at all with accessing e-reader content, I urge you to contact your local library.  They are there to help you in any way possible.)

[courtesy of Shelf Awareness, June 22, 2012]

Wrapped in Rain by Charles Martin

I was not familiar with Charles Martin as an author, but a patron at the library recommended him highly, and I decided to read this particular book of his based on a quote on the back of the book from Library Journal that said:  "Martin's engaging Southern family drama will have crossover appeal for readers of Pat Conroy.  It deserves a place in all collections."

Pat Conroy has always been one of my favorite authors, so I decided to see what I thought about Martin and his style of writing.  First let me say, I LOVED this book.  It is a very moving story that illustrates beautifully some of my favorite verses from the bible--1 Corinthians 13:4-7  Love is patient, love is kind. It does not envy, it does not boast, it is not proud.   It does not dishonor others, it is not self-seeking, it is not easily angered, it keeps no record of wrongs.   Love does not delight in evil but rejoices with the truth.   It always protects, always trusts, always hopes, always perseveres.

Tucker Mason is a photographer of international fame who has seen life in all its beauty and tragedy.  When his brother escapes from a mental institution and an old girlfriend appears with a son and a black eye, Tucker is forced to go back home where he will have to face the pain of his own past.  Growing up in the home of an abusive, alcoholic father in rural Alabama, the best thing his father ever did for Tucker was hire Miss Ella Rain to look after them. 

Miss Ella is my favorite character from the book, and her timeless words of wisdom about the redeeming power of love are infused in just about every page and indelibly written on Tucker's heart.  Here's just one brief example:  "Light doesn’t have to announce its way into a room or ask the darkness to leave. It just is. It walks ahead of you, and the darkness rolls back like a tide."  Like that? Here's another:  "Child," she said placing her head to mine and her callused fingers on my cheek, "you can whip it and beat it senseless, you can drag it through the streets and spit on it, you can even dangle it from a tree, drive spikes through it, and drain the last breath from it, but in the end, no matter what you do, and no matter how hard you try to kill it, love wins."

This book touched me to my core from the very first pages.  I did not want to put it down.  Thought provoking and beautifully written.

The Pioneer Woman Black Heels to Tractor Wheels: A Love Story by Ree Drummond

Ree Drummond began blogging in 2006, and her blog www.thepioneerwoman.com showcases her photography, and documents her transition from city life to ranch wife on a working cattle ranch near Pawhuska, OK.  She shares recipes on her website and has written a book called The Pioneer Woman Cooks.  I have followed her blog for some time now, and find it interesting (some posts more than others) and I always love the pictures she posts.  This book just fills you in on how she met her "Marlboro Man" (her name for her husband) and the early days of her transition from city woman to farm woman, which eventually led to her metamorphosis into her Pioneer Woman persona.  It is an opposites-attract love story told with Ree's self-deprecating humor.  It reminds us that love really is a heart-thumping, blood-pumping, passionate roller coaster ride when you are lucky enough to meet your soul mate and pursue the beautiful dance of commitment and honor and, yes, adjustment that is involved in blending two disparate personalities into one happy entity.  I found it to be a funny diversion, an easy uncomplicated read.  Ree Drummond is a hoot, and I've never read so many pages written in so many different ways about just... making out.  Nobody's perfect--neither Ree, nor her cowboy--but the love they shared always seemed to triumph...and who doesn't like to read a good love story?

Nature-Infused Altered Books

Rachael Ashe is an emerging, self-taught artist who also sees the beauty in books. The Vancouver-based artist creates lovely works that all have a nature element to them.  "I live in Vancouver, BC, a city surrounded by mountains, forests, and the ocean. Nature is ever present within the city, but I also don’t have to go far in order to immerse myself fully in natural surroundings.  I think incorporating imagery of birds, trees, and even using found objects from nature in my artwork is a natural byproduct of the environment in which I live."  Her work is truly beautiful.

Too true

Hunger Games by Suzanne Collins

This story is told in the voice of Katniss Everdeen, a 16 year old, who lives in the country of Panem in a post-apocalyptic world.  The Capitol, a highly advanced Metropolis, has political and military dominance over the rest of the nation where the country of North America once existed.  The Games are an annual event in which one boy and one girl (aged 12-18) from each of the twelve districts surrounding the Capitol are selected by lottery to compete in a televised outdoor arena until only one person is left.  District 12, where the story begins, is located in the coal rich region that was formerly Appalachia.  Katniss volunteers for the Hunger Games in place of her younger sister, Primrose, who was drawn in the lottery.  Also selected from District 12 is Peeta Mellark, the Baker's Son, who has a crush on Katniss and actually saved her from starving once. 

They are taken to the Capitol where they are groomed for the Game (along with the other Tributes)
and publicly displayed to the audience along with an interviewer who conducts interviews with them both.  Audience members are encouraged to send gifts and become sponsors.  Katniss has hunting and outdoor skills that help her and Peeta survive.  Due to Katniss and Peeta's image in the mind of the audience as "star-crossed lovers", Katniss plays up this angle to win the sympathy of the audience.  The rest of the book is devoted to how the Games play out.

The book tackles issues like severe poverty, starvation, oppression, etc.  The choices they make and the stragegies they use are often morally complex and the themes of power and the down-trodden add to the complexity of the book.  There is also the theme of self-sacrifice and hope that is played out in the story.  An enjoyable read, despite the grim nature of the story.