[T]he interesting catalogue sits somewhere in the intersection of curious material pointed up by obvious learning and a certain restrained enthusiasm. (Is an interesting title in a catalogue still interesting if you are not shown why it is of interest?) A brief explanation of the merits of a late 18th c. chapbook edition of Tom […]

[Read more →]

Yesterday I had three people come into the store with books to sell and three others calling about bringing their books in later in the week. Normally I get 2 or 3 inquiries like this a month. I suspect as the economy gets worse, more and more will be coming out of the […]

[Read more →]

Encyclopedias?
Textbooks?
Travel guides?

[Read more →]

This brilliant book (I’m working on the exact title) utilizes levers, bellows, and whistles to create what surely must be one of the first children’s books to incorporate sound. The video is a little grainy, but tons of fun.
UPDATE: The book appears to be untitled, but some poking around suggests it was published by […]

[Read more →]

Nice short comic [click image above for complete strip] from Eastern Europe about a bookseller who has every book in the world “except one.”

[Read more →]

Pulp Fiction, as performed by the King’s Men.
Hilarious. [Via Boing Boing]

[Read more →]

Some miscellaneous links I’ve been meaning to post, but haven’t gotten around to. First, the 33 1/3 Odyssey is “one reader’s quest to read all 55 (and counting) of these things, and to scribble some impressions of each.” Bauman’s Rare Books (in a simply brilliant move, in my opinion) opens a branch in […]

[Read more →]

Via Kottke this morning, I was able to watch this excellent documentary on Gutenberg’s press, produced and starring writer/actor Stephen Fry:
Stephen’s investigation combines historical detective work and a hands-on challenge. He travels to France and Germany on the trail of Johannes Gutenberg, the inventor of the printing press and early media entrepreneur. Along the way […]

[Read more →]

First, a hep Flickr set of some great vintage pulp. And to mark the anniversary of one of the most prominent of the small lit mags, thirty years of Granta covers.

[Read more →]

The following slide-show includes incredible images from one of the most incredible bookstores in the world. Selexyz Dominicanen sits within a renovated Dutch cathedral. Further details can be found here and here, but the pictures largely speak for themselves:
Created with Admarket’s flickrSLiDR.
[Mouse-over the top of the frame to activate slide-show controls.]

[Read more →]

Americana Exchange was kind enough to profile my second catalog in their latest AE Monthly online newsletter. You can read the review here.

[Read more →]

Coudal Partners is running a fun (if slightly hipster-ish) contest to “mash up the name of a book with the name of a band.” My favorite examples include:
A Million Little Pixies
Oliver Twisted Sister
Horton Hears The Who
The Maltese Falco
There’s dozens and dozens…

[Read more →]

In the bookstore this past weekend with my daughter, I came across the new reissue of Don Freeman’s classic picture book, CORDUROY. It includes eight pages of extra materials — unused sketches, background on the inspiration and history of the book, etc. But the coolest parts are the facsimile drafts and letters tucked […]

[Read more →]

Is this a new trend, promoting books like movies? I hope so, if these two examples are any indication. I LOVE this pop-up book and must get one when released:

Available for pre-order from Amazon
And finally, check out this wicked-cool trailer:

Johnny Bunko trailer from Daniel Pink on Vimeo.
I don’t need this book, but this […]

[Read more →]