Oneironomicon

Photo: Ye Old Cat Prints

2013-03-04T13:34:00.001-05:00

Has your cat ever walked across your keyboard? Well, it’s not a new problem. Medieval book historian Erik Kwakkel recently Tweeted this photo of a 15th century book with… you guessed it… cat paw prints in ink on the pages! We’re part of a long and glorious historical movement, friends.

Source: Dr. Marty Becker

Infographic: Timeline of the One Ring

2013-01-25T08:00:00.000-05:00

Swedish Lord of the Rings fanatic Emil Johansson, who has previously mapped the entire genealogy of Middle Earth, visualizes the timeline of the One Ring.

Book Reading: J.R.R. Tolkien

2013-01-02T08:00:00.000-05:00

J.R.R. Tolkien reads from The Hobbit

"When Tolkien visited a friend in August of 1952 to retrieve a manuscript of The Lord of the Rings, he was shown a “tape recorder”. Having never seen one before, he asked how it worked and was then delighted to have his voice recorded and hear himself played back for the first time. His friend then asked him to read from The Hobbit, and Tolkien did so in this one incredible take."

Interview: Brandon Sanderson

2012-12-19T08:00:00.000-05:00

Brandon Sanderson Interview

Trivia: Puzzlewood

2012-12-18T09:00:00.000-05:00

Puzzlewood is an ancient woodland site, near Coleford in the Forest of Dean, Gloucestershire, England. The site, covering 14 acres, shows evidence of open cast iron ore mining dating from the Roman period, and possibly earlier.

In 1848 some workmen, after moving a block of stone in the woods, found a small cavity in the rocks. In this cavity, hidden away, were three earthenware jars containing over 3,000 Roman coins. No-one knows why the coins were hidden away in the cliff face nor by whom.

J. R. R. Tolkien, a frequent visitor to the Forest of Dean, may have visited Puzzlewood, and many believe Puzzlewood was the inspiration for the fabled forests of Middle-earth, such as the Old Forest, Mirkwood, Fangorn or Lothlórien contained within The Lord of the Rings. J.K Rowling is also said to have visited Puzzlewood, and it may have been this that influenced her idea of The Forbidden Forest in the Harry Potter books.

Gadgets: Albatros

2012-12-10T08:00:00.000-05:00

Albatros by French designer Oscar Lhermitte

Lhermitte is currently raising funds on IndiGoGo to manufacture these simple but clever bookmarks that automatically mark the page as a reader progresses through a book.

"The Albatros bookmark consists of a thin piece of polyester that is inserted in the book; thanks to its structure and shape, every time you turn a page, the bookmark follows it. Placing the bookmark in a book is done in the blink of an eye. Its repositionable adhesive allows it to last a long time without damaging any pages."

Video: A Year in Full Colour

2012-11-08T21:00:00.000-05:00

"A Year in Full Colour" directed by the graphic motion designer Rogier Wieland

Moleskine notebooks come to life in the company's stop-motion animated commercial by Roger Wieland.

Interview: Cory Doctorow & Charles Stross at Google

2012-11-01T08:00:00.000-04:00

Authors@Google: Cory Doctorow & Charles Stross

Cory Doctorow and Charles Stross put in an appearance at Google to plug their new book, The Rapture of the Nerds.

Cory and Charlie intend to write a third novella in the sequence begun with "Jury Service" and "Appeals Court," and THE RAPTURE OF THE NERDS will consist of all three novellas, possibly with some small additional connective tissue if necessary.

Many distinguished SF "novels" have actually been stitched together from short-fiction serieses like this; the venerable industry term for such a book is "fix-up", which doesn't imply anything deprecatory.

Photo: Stuttgart Library

2012-10-11T08:00:00.000-04:00

Nicknamed “Book Mountain” by its designers at Dutch architecture firm MVRDV, the new 100,000 square foot public library in Spijkenisse, Netherlands is an 85 foot tall glass pyramid housing a spiraling arrangement of bookcases within. Visitors to the library can peruse more than 10,000 feet of shelves and enjoy a bit of reading at a café at the top of the pyramid.

Video: Literary Flash Mob at Lafayette College

2012-10-03T09:00:00.000-04:00

Banned Books Week Flash Mob

In honor of the 30th annual commemoration of Banned Books Week, some bookish types at Lafayette College in Pennsylvania descended on a library in a flash mob that had participants reading aloud from 30 books that had been banned throughout American history.

Humor: Ban This Book

2012-10-03T08:00:00.000-04:00

"Ban This Book" was drawn by Grant Snider to celebrate Banned Books Week

Posters: Banned Books Week

2012-09-24T08:00:00.000-04:00

Quills Coffee Print by Bryan Patrick Todd

Limited Run Screen Prints for Quills Coffee, Louisville, KY

Photo: Stuttgart Library

2012-09-20T08:00:00.000-04:00

Stuttgart Library

Humor: That Moment...

2012-09-19T08:30:00.000-04:00

Photo: Vennesla Library

2012-09-19T08:00:00.000-04:00

Vennesla Library & Cultural Center

Vennesla, Norway

"The new library in Vennesla comprises a library, a café, meeting places and administrative areas and links an existing community house and learning centre together."

"Supporting the idea of an inviting public space, all main public functions have been gathered into one generous space allowing the structure combined with furniture and multiple spatial interfaces to be visible in the interior and from the exterior. An integrated passage brings the city life into and through the building. Furthermore, the new building was open and easy accessible from the main city square, knitting together the existing urban fabric. This was achieved by a large glass facade and urban loggia providing a protected outdoor seating area."

"In this project, we further developed a rib concept to create useable hybrid structures that combine a timber construction with all technical devices and the interior. The whole library consists of 27 ribs made of prefabricated glue-laminated timber elements and CNC cut plywood boards. These ribs inform the geometry of the roof, as well as the undulating orientation of the generous open space, with personal study zones nestled along the perimeter."

"Each rib consists of a glue laminated timber beam and column, acoustic absorbents which contain the air conditioning ducts, bent glass panes that serve as lighting covers and signs, and integrated reading niches and shelves."

"The gradually shifting shapes of the ribs are generated through adapting to the two adjacent buildings and also through spatial quality and functional demands for the different compartments of the library. Each end façade has been shaped according to the specific requirements of the site. At the main entrance, the rib forms the loggia which spans the width of the entire square."

"A main intention has also been to reduce the energy need for all three buildings through the infill concept and the use of high standard energy saving solutions in all new parts."

"A symbiosis of structure, technical infrastructure, furniture and interior in one architectonic element creates a strong spatial identity that meets the client’s original intent to mark the city’s cultural centre."

Video: Troy Library Campaign

2012-09-18T15:30:00.000-04:00

Troy Library from Jennie Hochthanner

Via: Neil Gaiman

Why a proposed book-burning party was a Very Good Thing Indeed.

Quote

2012-09-18T09:00:00.000-04:00

Photo: LiYuan Library

2012-09-18T08:00:00.000-04:00

LiYuan Library

Lecture: Will novels remain writers' favourite form?

2012-09-13T08:00:00.000-04:00

China Mieville asks Will the novel remain writers' favourite narrative form?

Has the dominant literary form of the 19th and 20th centuries grown stale? Is it no longer the best means of delivering stories in the 21st century? Or does the classic literary novel remain the form best placed to deliver innovative, memorable writing? Drawing on discussions about censorship, style, politics and identity, this session, bringing Edinburgh's 2012 Conference to a close, offers an address by multi award-winning author, China Mieville with renowned author Janne Teller in the moderator's chair.

Humor: Better Book Titles

2012-09-06T12:00:00.000-04:00

Better Book Titles is a blog in which famous books are given “improved” and often hilarious new titles. Comedian Dan Wilbur started the site back in 2010. Wilbur creates some of the re-titles himself, with the remainder coming from reader submissions. To see some of the best, take a look at Wilbur’s top 10 list of his own re-titles as well as his top 10 list of reader submissions.

Video: What’s Your Favorite Reading Position?

2012-08-29T08:00:00.000-04:00

"How to Read a Book" by CassJay Tuck

Bookshelves: Tokyo’s Tokyo

2012-08-09T10:30:00.000-04:00

Wall Shelves at Tokyo’s Tokyo in Shibuya-ku, Tokyo

Photographed by Daici Ano

Bookshelves: Sunflower Chair

2012-08-09T10:00:00.000-04:00

Sunflower Chair is an ingenious sunflower-shaped chair that is ringed by an integrated bookcase. The chair was created by designers He Mu and Zhang Qian from the Shanghai University of Engineering Science. The chair recently won the Redtory Design Award at the Design for Sitting Gran Prix competition hosted by art and design studio Redtory in Guangzhou, China.

Book Trailer: Inside HBO’s Game of Thrones

2012-08-08T08:00:00.000-04:00

Chronicle Books will publish the official companion to the Game of Thrones television series, Inside HBO’s Game of Thrones. Unlike most book trailers, this video visited the set of a popular TV show.

Bookshelves: Pagina Bookcase

2012-08-03T08:30:00.001-04:00

418 Pagina bookcase by Cassina