The man who turned his home into a public library

“I’m in the middle of something here. It’s not like you call me and I’m lying in a cabin somewhere. I’m doing business and having important meetings with important people.”

And looking at self-help books in a bookstore. Just sayin’.

Over four hundred years ago, Gutenberg perfected the moveable type press, causing book publishing to explode. Today they are at risk of joining rotary telephones and Betamax on the scrap heap of forgotten technology. Will books disappear or are there a few chapters left to read?

mcnallyjackson:

Here are McNally J’s bestselling books of 2011. It’s a list! 31 books long. Arbitrarily. I had to go get my laundry.

1. Just Kids, Patti Smith (Now also the bestselling book in McNJ’s history.)
2. A Visit from the Goon Squad, Jennifer Egan
3. On Booze, F. Scott Fitzgerald
4. Bossypants, Tina Fey
5. The…

She means us!

An interesting article by my friend Amber Short, owner of Chilliwack’s The Bookman.

(via teachingliteracy)

…and said, Hi, I have a question about a book. Keith Cadieux’s Gaze…

Not letting him finish, I said, Just hold on. I’ll check. (Very exciting. Keith will be our writer-in-residence beginning in May. And people are interested in his book. Very nice.)

We have four copies, all new, at $16.95. I think you’ll have trouble finding a used copy. The book is still pretty new.

Do you think they’d have it at Chapters St. Vital?

What? I just told you we have copies.

Yeah, but I’d prefer to buy it there. It’s closer.

THEN PHONE THEM

(Idiot of the Day already, and we’re not even open for business yet.)

These days, though, bookstores are liable to disappear for less dramatic reasons. Books were once “extraordinary objects,” he says, “but they’ve become devalued in the eyes of society.” Vancouver recently lost Duthie Books, a city icon with a 50-year history. Even Borders, the U.S. indie-killing giant, couldn’t hack the new retail environment and filed for bankruptcy last month. Used bookstores have been hit particularly hard, though there are holdouts: Victoria’s Russell Books and The Word in Montreal still inspire devotion among dedicated readers; Aqua Books, a 10,000-sq.-foot former Chinese restaurant in Winnipeg’s downtown, doubles as the city’s cultural mecca, with puppet slams, writing workshops, jazz concerts and a live show, featuring local legends like David Bergen and Jake MacDonald.

Maclean’s

rouflaquette:

The Bookbike.

(Source: oedipeisyourlove, via ofbooksandbees)

fypbc:

A_RT (by helena)

(via teachingliteracy)

teachingliteracy:

heartbeatoz:

“Le Bouquiniste - La Rochelle” Fine Art Print by Pamela Jayne Smith [2441260-3] - RedBubble

Awesome on so many levels