Spending all your left over income on books. After all the household bills have been taken care of any surplus is obviously book money, I mean who needs food, right? Collecting multiple free bookmarks. If a bookmark is being given away for free, you can guarantee a book-lover will happily accept one or three. Using […]
Author: Caitlin Lynagh
Since writing about book binding and some of the oldest books in the world, it got me thinking about who the first authors were, when were people considered authors, and when did it become a recognised profession? The earliest author, as considered and still debated by historians, is a woman called Enheduanna. She was a […]
I love books and I love reading, although I find it hard to make time for reading. My TBR list is constantly growing and I often have to stop myself from buying more books. At the moment I’m currently reading This Perfect Day by Ira Levin, recommended by a friend who knew I wanted to […]
1] Guarded By Dragons by Rick Gekoski In Guarded by Dragons, Gekoski invites readers into this enchanted world as he reflects on the gems he has unearthed throughout his career. He takes us back to where his love of collecting began – perusing D.H. Lawrence first editions in a slightly suspect Birmingham carpark. What follows […]
I always find it fascinating when I pick up a second-hand book and find a previous owner’s inscription, especially when they are dated and you’re holding something that was written decades ago. It’s part of the history of that book as it has been passed through many hands. Often these inscriptions are just names and […]
If you love East Asian mythology and Studio Ghibli’s Spirited Away, then you will love this book. Mina’s homeland has been ravaged by deadly storms for one hundred years. People believe it is because the Sea God is angry, so to appease him, a beautiful bride is thrown into the sea every year in the […]
You’ve probably heard of books being adapted into films, but have you ever wondered if there are films that are about books, or have books as an important plot device? Here are just a few to get you started… The NeverEnding Story (1984) A troubled boy dives into a wondrous fantasy world through the pages […]
Books started with scrolls in Ancient Egypt. These scrolls were rolled up manuscripts made out of papyrus, a plant native to Egypt, and date back to 2400 BC. Parchment such as calf skin or deer skin appeared later around 600 – 200 BC. Scrolls were used by early civilizations before the invention of the Codex […]
‘I want to open a little bookshop – say, a tiny wooden cottage open six months a year where children (but also adults) can find a book that speaks to them, a magical place where you can admire the most wonderful sunsets on the Apuan Alps.’ This was part of what Alba Donati wrote […]
Yevgeny Zamyatin was a Russian author born in February 1884. He studied engineering for the Imperial Russian Navy, lost his faith in Christianity, became an Atheist and a Marxist, and joined the Bolshevik faction of the Russian Social Democratic Labour Party. Zamyatin used literature to satirize and criticise the Soviet Union for its enforced conformity […]