On November the 4th 1966, the river Arno flooded into Florence burying hundreds of thousands of books, manuscripts and artwork beneath mud, debris and putrid water. Due to this massive cultural and historical devastation, countries responded quickly with financial aid and restoration research. It became imperative to combine modern science with historical book making techniques […]
Author: Caitlin Lynagh
The simple answer is: Supply, Condition & Demand. If a book, or any product for that matter, is in short supply and high demand, then the price of that item will skyrocket. It doesn’t matter what it is, if it’s rare and people want it, it will have value. The same is true in reverse, […]
Before I worked in a second-hand bookshop, I didn’t know anything about old books; how they were made, what materials were used, how the pages were folded, or any of the terms for the different parts of a book. Over the last six years I’ve learnt a lot and I have been reading books about […]
Just before Christmas I was browsing in my local bookshop and I came across a journal called ‘Scribble-out Poetry’. In this journal there are individual pages of sample text from some of history’s greatest works, ready to be blacked out with a marker to form poetry. But what is Scribble-out Poetry? A quick internet search […]
It’s that time of year again where you’re wondering what an earth to get for your aunt, uncle, cousin, friend… and it’s even harder this year with energy costs and rising prices. So why not give your nearest and dearest a lovely book for Christmas which won’t break the bank? Here are some gift books […]
Dunoon is a town in Scotland, on the Cowal peninsula, in the south of Argyll and Bute. You can reach the town by land or by sea, but despite its history and recently renovated appearance, the town, like most towns today, suffers from a number of empty retail premises. However, not everything is gone, and […]
I’ve been reading The Artist’s Way by Julia Cameron, after my friend and manager, recommended it to me. Described online; ‘The Artist’s Way provides a twelve-week course that guides you through the process of recovering your creative self. It aims to dispel the ‘I’m not talented enough’ conditioning that holds many people back and helps […]
As a socially awkward introvert, I often prefer book characters to real people. There’s just something about being able to relate to people in fiction that is so much more interesting than the real world, although, any good story should be able to transport the reader out of the real world. I particularly love characters […]
I have to confess, I haven’t read Shaun Bythell’s ‘Seven Kinds of People You Find in Bookshops’ so this list may have some similarities to his book, however the list below is based on my own observations from working in a large second-hand bookshop. Please note this list is loosely based on reality and is […]
For those of you who don’t know, I work in a bookshop which happens to sell my books, and every time one of my books sells, I’m always amazed. I feel a mixture of anxiety, surprise, happiness and doubt. This doesn’t just happen with my books though, I make things too and when they sell, […]