Sunday, September 30, 2007

Books online

Two of the biggest publishing houses in the English language have put their books online. HarperCollins and Random House now enable book lovers to browse trough books via their websites. (Just click on the name of the publishers to get to the appropriate webpage.) Sometimes you can see new books before they get published!

They also made a sort of widget that makes it possible to post a book on your website. Sadly, it is not possible to do this on Wordpress, because the script is in Java. If you found a way to put a novel on your blog, let me know!

online book

Books for soldiers

A dear friend of mine is with the Marines. Recently she went out to the Democratic Republic of the Congo for a special EU-mission. Since she loves to read as much as I do, she shipped a load of books ahead. She needs to have something to do when she has time off. This is what the next website is all about. Via the site you can send books to soldiers who work abroad. The soldiers can ask for books they would like to read. You can also send other things, like DVD’s if you like. Just go to this website to find out more.

Soldier reading

Miniature books

You might think I am swallowed by Gulliver’s Travels, since I post about miniature stuff a lot. After miniature bookstores, a miniature library, I now give you: miniature books! It was the only thing yet missing.

Miniature books are a whole book world on it’s own, I discovered recently. Browsing the web, I found myself on loads of different mini bookish sites. Did you know, for instance, that there is a Miniature Book Society? Click here to find out more and maybe even become a member!

I can understand the passion of the members of the Society. Take a look at this website. All the major works in miniature! You can even read these tiny works of art, if you have very good eyes. Or simply a magnifying lens. This website also has miniature books, but those have blank pages. It does not take away the beauty of these tiny books, though.

If you would like to make some of these books yourself, click here for an interesting ‘how-to’ manual. The book teaches you all the basic principles of (miniature) bookmaking. Make sure you have the much needed patience to embark on a mini project like this!

Mini books

Miniature library

I am not a fan of Buffy the Vampire Slayer, but I absolutely adore this library. If I understand it correctly, this play set is a model of Buffy’s high school library. I think it looks great. It is in two levels and has four bookcases and a table. Other accessories are included, but it is unknown what they are. You can learn more about it here and here.

Self shelf

I have posted about invisible book shelves before. But I am proud to announce this Dutch one. This shelve looks like a book. You can place your own books on top of it. And you do not even notice! And the best thing is: it keeps your books in tact. You can find out about it here.

Self Shelf

Miniature book shop

Some acquaintances of mine have built a dolls house. They are quite fantastic, and it lead me to an idea. I have always wanted my own bookshop, but it is probably never going to happen. How great it would be to build my own miniature bookstore! Like a dolls house, but then as a little shop. And decorate it just the way I would my dreamed up bookstore. I already have some miniature books, which I bought on Ebay recently.

I have searched the web, searching for inspiration, but I did not find anybody who build a dolls house book shop. Then I came across this book. It gives plans for five different dolls house shops. Including a Victorian book shop! I have become very tempted to buy this book! If you want to learn more about it, click here. If you come across some pictures of miniature book shops, please let me know!

Dolls house

Library: An unquiet history

I am a sucker for libraries, and most likely so are you. This book is about the history of libraries. The book features all the good and bad that could happen to a library. It seems to be a must have if you are a librarian. Or anybody that would like to know more about libraries. (Yes, I have put this one on my list as well….) The book is about book burning and the worship of the library and everything in between. Which is quite a lot… It is written by a rare book librarian at Harvard, Matthew Battles. If you want to know more about libraries, this book is your thing! You can find out about it and look inside it here. (EU click here)

Library

Book perfume

This is weird. But that also makes it fun. Perfume that smells like an old book! The maker of this scent, Christopher Brosius, loves his books. He describes the odour of his product as: “English Novel taken from a Signed First Edition of one of my very favorite novels, Russian & Moroccan leather bindings, worn cloth and a hint of wood polish”. He made four varieties of his “In the library” scent. It comes as Perfume Absolute 15 ml and 2 ml, a Water Perfume and a Home Spray. You can find out more about it, and order it if you dare, here.

Book scent

Book vending machines

No Mars bar. No diet coke. Noting of the sorts. This vending machine only produces books. How fantastic is that?! We have none in my country. Neither are there any in the USA, as a reader informed me. But if you ever are in Paris, you might bump up to one of those. Learn more about this phenomenon here.

Book vending

Library Hotel

If you ever want a hotel in New York, look no further! I have found the most perfect accommodation for you. It is situated on 299. Madison Avenue in New York and it is called the Library Hotel. If you think it sounds good, check out their website. Then you know it is more then that. The rooms look amazing. The whole hotel looks amazing! There are books scattered all over the place. The hotel contains over 6,000 books. Every room has a different bookish theme. And you can walk to the New York library, too.

If you want to sleep in a bookish hotel in The Netherlands, “Boekenhotel Doldersum” is your place. It is not as fancy as the Library Hotel, but undoubtedly just as much as fun. This hotel also has theme rooms. You can learn more about it here. (The site also translates into English and German.)

hotel

My favourite books

A couple of days ago, my boyfriend gave me this little note book. A pre-valentine gift. The little book has a red hardcover and looks really pretty. On the front, It reads: My favourite books. Turns out, it is a little note book to record your (favourite) books in. I think I will use it to keep track of the books I read this year. It is not only very pretty, but very handy, too. You can find it here.

Favorite books


Great Library Zine

Recently I got a fantastic zine in the post. Its maker, Chella Quint, was very nice to mail it to me. I love this little booklet! It is called “The Low-Tech Library”. It features great little articles on starting your own library, cataloguing your books and more. Much more. I think she should either make a website about the contents of her zine, or transform it into a real book.

She informed me she is running out of copies of this zine. If there is enough interest she will consider re-printing them again. I hope she does. You can enquire about the zine via her e-mail. Click here to send her some fanmail. Or check her Myspace on the Zine here.

@ Chella: If I forgot something, feel free to add it in the comments!

The low tech library

Bookish store

Another online store from which I cannot choose from all the goodies, so I will give you the link. They have all sorts of products shaped like a book or books. Like a business card holder (see below) and a letter rack. But they also have a books mouse mat, which I would LOVE to have on my desk. So this is another “have-fun-and-browse” link for you!

Card Holder

Penguin book bags

I have posted on Penguin stuff before. Mugs, Deck chairs. It might seem if they were sponsoring me, but they are not. I wish. I just like their products. Next to the things I have mentioned, they also make bags. There is a shop in my town which sells them, as well as the mugs, and I would love to have one of them! If you also would like to own a bag, click here.

Book bag

A history of reading

I got this book for Christmas, but have not been able to read it yet. I put it on my list, because it looked very interesting. Too bad I cannot give you a full review yet. The book, as the title already said, tells you about the history of reading. The writer, Alberto Manguel, writes about censorship in reading to the most comfortable way people tend to read. This is all done by (small) essays. This book gives you all sorts of reading knowledge you never knew before. You can learn more about it and order it here. (EU click here)

A history of reading

Baby book gifts

If you love reading and you just had a baby, this might be the site to browse. Or if you have to attend a baby shower soon. It lists bookish stuff for babies. Like ‘Babies first book bag’. How cute! The bag includes a Bath Book, two board books, a cloth book and a paper picture book. Check the site for other products.

Baby book bag

Reading posters

I have posted about bookish posters before. This site has all sorts of posters featuring people that are reading. I love (some of ) them! They look very romantic. You can see them here and here. The also have posters on books, to be found here.

Book poster

Library cabinets

Do you remember those old school libraries, with those cabinets that consist of drawers? Librarians searching trough them to find the right card for the books you want to borrow. If you want to sniff up some long gone sentiment, or own a cabinet yourself click here. And here!

Cabinet

Bookish comic

This website features a online comic about a library. It is called “Unshelved”. You can signup for e-mail delivery, or browse the archives. They also have books and t-shirts. You can find those if you click ‘shop’.

comic

Library seating

Remember that library game table I posted about? Then this must seem like deja-vu! This table has no room for play, but it does seem good! It is a bit overdone, but it has books on it. If you have some money to spare, this might be the set for you!

Library seating

So many books…

… so little time. How many books can you read in a year? This book is written by a “book-a-holic”, who tries to read one book a week during a year. This book is written by New York Observer columnist, Sarah Nelson. In this book she describes a year’s journey through books. She writes about the books she read and how they influenced her. I do not know about you, but I definitely want to read this one! You can find out more about it ánd search inside it here . (EU click here)

So many books...

DIY invisible book shelf

As you know, I have posted on invisible book shelves lots of times. This time it is different. You do not have to spend your heard earned money on some designer thingy. You can make it yourself! Just dig up a old book and go! You can find out how to do it here.

DIY book shelf

Used and rare…

…travels in the book world.

This is a story of a couple that obsessively collects books. They decided to spend about 10 or 20 dollars on each book on their second hand book shopping spree. They got so good at it, they managed to find a copy of one of Dickens books. They found out was worth 650 dollars. In this book they tell you all there is to know about second hand and first edition books. If you study it carefully, you might get lucky too! You can buy, or look inside the book, here. (EU click here)

Used and rare

Book coffee table

It does not fit in my interior right now, but I love this table. It a coffee table made of a stack of books. The top has a glass plate on it to hold your coffee cups et cetera. Love it, love it. It is added to my wish list, for when I move. You can find out more about it here.

Coffee table

New Oprah book

A bit late, but I wanted to tell you anyway. The new book of Oprah’s book club is called : “The measure of a man: A spiritual autobiography” by Sidney Poitier. It is a bibliography of this American author. In this book he describes his (hard) life.

Poitier was born in 1927 in Miami, but he was raised in the Bahamas. He got into acting after the war and made his debut in “No way out”. He was the first black actor to win a Oscar for best Actor. He starred in over fourty fims. He directed nine films and wrote four of them. Until now he won three Oscars, an American Film Institute Lifetime Achievement Award and the Kennedy Center Lifetime Achievement and the Screen Actors Guild Lifetime Achievement Award.

You can find out more on Sidney Poirtier here. And on his acting career here. You can order the book and look inside the new Oprah find here.

Poitier 1

Harry Potter pre order

I have to say, I am not a fan. Even better: I have never read a Harry Potter book in my life. I have my reasons for it.

If you are a fan, do not miss out and pre order! You can now order the new Harry Potter at Amazon. It is number seven called: “Harry Potter and the Deathly Hollows”. It is due to be launched on 21. July 2007. You can pre order it here.

JK rowling

Literary Gifts

This site has a lot of literary gifts to offer. You might give them to someone. You might give them to yourself. They have a lot of fun stuff. Like the caricature note card that would great when framed. Or the book bags, that I would personally like to own. What to think of the coffee mugs? If you have a book store they also have all kinds of displays. Just go to this website and browse!

note book

Book cleaner

A couple of weeks ago, while walking the dog, I found two books. They were hidden behind a pot containing plants in an alley next to my house. At first I hesitated to take them. At second glance I felt sorry for the books, because it was about to rain. I thought maybe they were left behind by a fellow bookcrosser. But no label was inside. The books already had spots of mud on them. So I rescued them. At home I tried to clean them with an old toothbrush. It took away the dirt, but it left some staining. Maybe this product can help.

Book cleaner

The book on the bookshelf

This book is by engineer (!) Henry Petroski. This piece is another must have, if I’m concerned. I love this book! You not only get the low-down on the evolution of the book shelve… It also tells you all about the history of the book. From the codex to modern day printing. The author also gives anecdotes about libraries, book collectors and readers. The cover looks amazing, too! You can learn more about it and look inside it here. (EU click here)

Book on the bookshelf

This is a must see! If you love books, book shops and the – sometimes- peculiar people that own the shops… Wow! My fiance found this film via the Dutch website “boekendingen”. He watched the film and could not wait for me to see it. I have to say, it is a gem. The camerawork is excellent, the questions of the reporter are spot on. And the maker has left the talking to itself by just filming. Let’s tell you about it…

Make sure you have a small hour to spend. The film is about 53 minutes. You can watch it here. The quality is terrible, but that should not spoil the fun. It is about the owner of the Parisian bookstore ‘Shakespeare & co’. At some times it is almost like watching the BBC series ‘Black Books’. But this is real life! The keeper of the bookshop, Mr. Whitman, takes in lost young people and aspired writers. He is the typical person you will love to hate. But you will love him (loads!) as the documentary furthers.

I do not want to say too much about it. Except: see it! It is funny, interesting and moving. And I want to go to Paris right now. I have to visit that store. If you want to see more, click here to see a short Dutch documentary. It is also very understandable for viewers who do not know Dutch. Click here to get the website of the actual bookstore.

If someone has the documentary in better quality, please let me know.

Shakespaare picture

Traveller’s bookshelf

If you are an avid reader and traveller, this might be something for you! You can take this bookshelf apart andpack it in your suitcase. After arrival, you can put it together and place your books in it. Easy as that. You can learn more about it here.

Traveller's bookshelf

Designer books

You can get everything ‘designer’ these days. But designer books? That was a novelty to me. This website provides designer books for all occasions. Shops, show homes et cetera. They even supplied books for four Mel Gibson films. (I did not know there was any reading involved in his films, but alas.) The books look very pretty. But I rather have books that are worth reading, than worth looking at. Because that is the only thing they are for. They are all printed in Danish?!

Book Decor

In the news II!

After the Dutch newspaper NRC Handelsblad, the little sister of this paper also printed a article on this website. This paper, NRC.next, used the same text. But accompanied it with a nice picture. I could not believe my luck when I learned about it this morning. And even more so when I saw it in real life! (Click on image to enlarge.)

Thanks to Jos for scanning and e-mailing the article!

NRC.next

ThumbThing goes Dutch

Earlier I posted about ThumbThing. This is a reading gadget that fits on your thumb and allows you to read with one hand. This product is widely available in American bookstores. Only rarely is such a gadget available in the bookstores of The Netherlands.

The Dutch readers should be happy to know that this product is also available in our country. You can buy them already in the better bookshops. You can read more on ThumbThing on this Dutch website. It also gives information where to obtain one. (Other countries, click here.)

Thumbthing

In the news!

Yesterday, I leaned that this website was mentioned in a Dutch national newspaper. How fantastic it is to receive some attention in my own country! And by such a big quality newspaper too! Today I received a transcript from one of the readers. The paper, NRC Handelsblad, printed a nice little piece. Supposedly it was to be read in the paper of Friday, or Saturday.

I am trying to get hold of the paper to see what the article looked like. When I do, I will put the piece online. (If any of the Dutch readers have the article, can you please e-mail me a scan?)

NRC nieuw

To give, or not to give?

This fun website had loads of Shakespeare related goodies. From décor pieces to Shakespeare mints and from Tempest jewellery to Shakespeare: the board game. They have loads of stuff. Nice gift ideas. Not only for readers, but theatre lovers too! Click here to shop!

Bookmark dictionary

Even though I am Dutch, I read a lot of books in the English language. I hate translations. Sometimes I come across a word I have never heard of. Usually the sentence explains the word. If it does not, this next gadget might come in handy. It is a bookmark that has a dictionary build in. It knows over 130.000 words, so I’m sure it can be of help. You can learn more about it here.

Dictionary

Decorating with books

f you have a lot of books, you can use them for decoration. Instead of tucking them in a cabinet, you can also place a neat stack on a table with a vase and some flowers. Or place a stack of books in the same color, held together with some rope, in a corner. You can do loads of decorating stuff with your books. For more ideas, read the book! You can find it here.

Decorating with books

Book remote control holder

Where to put the remotes when you are not using them? This box solves that problem. You will never misplace them or have them lying around again. And it looks kind of stylish too. You can find more about this gadget here.

Remote holder

Writers Umbrella

It is widely known you need an umbrella when you visit my country, The Netherlands. It rains a lot over here. Since I live on the coast, a umbrella is useless. I would not want the wind to destroy this umbrella. I love it! It depicts female writers. Lovely! I browsed the web and found the cheapest one here. There is also a matching bag available.

Umbrella