Shakespeare & Co. Booksellers

Some Books I've Been Reading Lately

2012-10-26T13:00:00.000-04:00

Today marks my last day with Shakespeare & Co. Thank you to everyone who made working here a pleasure! Here is one last list before I go.

2012 belonged to Philip K. Dick and Patricia Highsmith, specifically Ubik and The Price of Salt. I was deeply infatuated with both books. An honorable mention to "The Moon Moth" which was a sterling recommendation and has made me want to read all Jack Vance ever. The anthology I read the story in is out of print but look around, it's surely out there.

Happy reading, folks!

Link Roundup: The Onion

2012-10-25T12:33:00.000-04:00

Win a Chance to See Joe Stiglitz and Paul Krugman

2012-10-21T08:00:00.000-04:00

There's still time! Enter to win free tickets.

Nesting Books

2012-10-19T11:35:00.001-04:00

The entirety of Hamlet, on a bookmark. That your bookmark may actually be a smaller book.

Source: Wired via

Room 101

2012-10-16T12:58:00.004-04:00

Photo Source: Room 101 Immortalised in Plaster

Truly, I appreciate that Room 101 has its own Wikipedia entry. Today's lesson!

Room 101 is a place introduced in the novel Nineteen Eighty-Four by George Orwell. It is a torture chamber in the Ministry of Love in which the Party attempts to subject a prisoner to his or her own worst nightmare, fear or phobia.

“	You asked me once, what was in Room 101. I told you that you knew the answer already. Everyone knows it. The thing that is in Room 101 is the worst thing in the world.	”

Julie Otsuka & Anselm Berrigan: Signing & Discussion

2012-10-12T15:36:00.001-04:00

Wednesday, October 17th

Barker Room, 2315 Boylan
Brooklyn College

6pm - 7:30pm

Julie Otsuka won the American Library Association's Alex Award in 2003 for When the Emperor was Divine, and the PEN/Faulkner Award for Fiction in 2011 for The Buddha in the Attic which was not only a New York Times and San Francisco Chronicle bestseller but also placed as a National Book Award and Los Angeles Times Book Prize finalist. Otsuka has also received many notable awards such as the Guggenheim Fellowship and an Arts and Letters Award in Literature from the American Academy of Arts and Letters. Her fiction has been published in Granta and Harper’s and read aloud on PRI’s “Selected Shorts” and BBC Radio 4’s “Book at Bedtime.”

Anselm Berrigan earned a BA from SUNY Buffalo and an MFA from Brooklyn College. His collections of poetry include Integrity & Dramatic Life (1999), Zero Star Hotel (2002), Some Notes on My Programming (2006), and Free Cell (2009). He co-edited The Collected Poems of Ted Berrigan (2005) with Alice Notley and Edmund Berrigan and was the recipient of a 2007 poetry fellowship from the New York Foundation for the Arts. He directed the Poetry Project at St. Mark’s Church from 2003 to 2007 and is co-chair of the graduate writing program at Bard College.

Spotted!

2012-10-08T14:50:00.001-04:00

S
The lovely window of our 716 Broadway store, at the 3:57 mark.

Source: 11. From Albany to Times Square: Various Places in New York

A Conversation on the State of the Economy with Joseph Stiglitz & Paul Krugman

2012-10-04T13:30:00.000-04:00

Join us for the second annual Fashion and Finance Forum featuring Nobel Prize-winning economists Joseph Stiglitz and Paul Krugman. They will discuss the consequences of increasing accumulated wealth at the very top of society, and the role and size of government spending in a depressed economic climate.

October 23, 2012, 7 PM
Morris W. and Fannie B. Haft Auditorium
Fashion Institute of Technology
Seventh Avenue at 27th Street, New York City

RSVP: Online registration opens October 4, 2012

Tickets are $50 ($15 for FIT alumni) and include hardcover copies of the books The Price of Inequality by Joseph Stiglitz and End This Depression Now by Paul Krugman. Moderated by Robert Johnson , executive director of the Institute for New Economic Thinking

Joseph Stiglitz is a professor of economics at Columbia University. Stiglitz is the former senior vice president and chief economist of the World Bank. He was awarded the Nobel Prize in Economic Sciences in 2001.
Paul Krugman is a professor of economics at Princeton University and an op-ed columnist for The New York Times. Krugman has written over 20 books and more than 750 columns on economic and political issues for the Times. He was awarded the Nobel Prize in Economic Sciences in 2008.

The program is presented in partnership with the Institute for New Economic Thinking.

Link Roundup

2012-10-01T13:07:00.000-04:00

52 Weeks of Inspiring Illustrations, Week 15: “A New Hieroglyphical Bible, for the Amusement & Instruction of Children” (1794) - Echoes from the Vault
Art Lovers Rejoice! New Goya and Rembrandt Databases Now Online - Open Culture
The Writing Revolution - The Atlantic
Notes Pinned to Babies at the Foundling Asylum - Ephemeral New York
Les Misérables - Extended First Look - Boing Boing

Presented without comment.

2012-09-27T14:03:00.001-04:00

Do you think books by men and women on similar topics are received differently?
Well, over there [Eugenides points to his publisher's book shelf] I see “NW” by Zadie Smith, and I think that Zadie Smith is treated exactly like one of the literary male authors that had been brought into this category. It seems to me that there’s a difference between the kinds of books that Jonathan Franzen writes and Jodi Picoult writes — so it’s not surprising to me that they’re treated differently in terms of review coverage or literary coverage. I don’t think that’s based on gender.
I think right now probably the writer that every writer loves the most is Alice Munro. I teach with Joyce Carol Oates; I don’t think she suffers from this. To me, it’s a question of actual category writing. It was kind of a genre novel bumping up against a literary novel. I think those are actually different things. I don’t think it had to do with male or female.
Would “The Marriage Plot” have had a different cover if it was written by a woman? Something pink or frilly or less serious?
As a male you can never know and you’re not supposed to talk about it. But I have lots of female literary novelists who I don’t think would agree. I’m friendly with Meg Wolitzer and she was a big fan of “The Marriage Plot,” and she wrote something about this, and especially about the treatments of the covers. I wondered about that, if that might be true, if women get treated differently in the way that their covers are marketed. You know, it’s possible.
To me, it was a little bit … I didn’t really know why Jodi Picoult is complaining. She’s a huge best-seller and everyone reads her books, and she doesn’t seem starved for attention, in my mind — so I was surprised that she would be the one belly-aching. There’s plenty of extremely worthy novelists who are getting very little attention. I think they have more right to complain. And it usually has nothing to do with their gender, but just the marketplace.

Source: Jeffrey Eugenides: I don't know why Jodi Picoult is belly-aching [Salon]

The Zadie Smith Guide to NW

2012-09-20T13:31:00.001-04:00

This is amazing. Penguin features an interactive tour through the real-world locations of NW, narrated by Zadie Smith. Go forth and explore!

Source: Ryan Chapman

The Castle of Otranto

2012-09-15T19:00:00.000-04:00

Generally regarded as the first Gothic novel, The Castle of Otranto is also completely absurd. Basically? It's the book equivalent of a hysterical stranger in a velvet suit hurriedly whispering to you from behind a curtain before pushing you down an unending set of stone stairs. Moving portraits! Giant helmets! Eternal melancholy! Let's marry each other's daughters!

Thoroughly bizarre and recommended. It's also exceedingly worth reading about. Horace Walpole initially claimed credit as translator instead of author, claiming the story had been translated "from the Original Italian of Onuphirio Muralto."

Perfection.

On terrifying ways to promote literacy.

2012-09-13T13:07:00.000-04:00

Photo Credit: Flickr

Source: Vintage Ads for Libraries and Reading (Brain Pickings)

After Dark, Haruki Murakami

2012-09-07T14:30:00.004-04:00

Purchase online here.

"In this world, there are things you can only do alone, and things you can only do with somebody else. It’s important to combine the two in just the right amount."

From an interview with Murakami at Random House:

All of your characters, both in this book and in previous novels, display a really interesting appreciation for jazz, classical, and rock music. What musical pieces would you include on a Murakami playlist of sorts that would represent the range of music in your books?
Music is an indispensable part of my life. Whenever I write a novel, music just sort of naturally slips in (much like cats do, I suppose.) When I was writing my newest novel, After Dark, the melody of Curtis Fuller's "Five Spot After Dark" kept running through my head. Music always stimulates my imagination. When I'm writing I usually have some Baroque music on low in the background chamber music by Bach, Telemann, and the like.

Supergods, Grant Morrison

2012-08-26T12:46:00.001-04:00

Part memoir, part history of comics, Supergods is my book of the year. Technically, it's the book of last year though I'll give it this year as well because it's that good. And even with a solid four months left on the calendar, I am calling it. There's a palpable energy here, a thoroughly present and informed enthusiasm that builds to a kind of spiritual expansion by book's end. Morrison starts at the beginning, the dawn of comics. The Golden Age, the Silver Age, through fandom and career, he explains everything along the way and this is important. As inside(r) as it gets, reader, you are never at a loss or confused. This is about inclusion, drawing you in, telling you what you need to know and making you see the magic picture. Morrison puts the arm of his brain around you!

Beyond philosophy, mythology and the more abstracted realm of discussion, there is lots of enjoyment to be had in the very correct descriptions:

There is a wonderful parallel to be had in graphing your personal history alongside the history of comics. The evolution of self, the march of progress. It bears mention that the full title is Supergods: What Masked Vigilantes, Miraculous Mutants, and a Sun God from Smallville Can Teach Us About Being Human.

The New York Times review warns that, "Morrison can be a spirited writer, but he is also prone to overstatement and hyperbole," which is a hilarious complaint to lodge. Hyperbole is what you sign up for when you read Morrison! The review goes on to frame the book as a "missed opportunity" and take it to task for not being enough of a thoughtful examination, particularly on the state of the comics industry today. Truly, I don't understand it. Supergods is deeply multidisciplinary and exists as a storyteller's story about storytelling. It is literally magical. And at its end, kindly reminds us how we are surrounded by the wondrous and calls on us to decide where to go with our world-building.

Nice work, everyone.

2012-08-20T12:36:00.001-04:00

Source: Forgotten Bookmarks

Every bookstore that services a college needs affirmation this time of year. Here it is.

Back to School

2012-08-14T10:58:00.000-04:00

jewel tone noun

Definition of JEWEL TONE

: any of various colors (as amethyst, emerald, and ruby) that resemble those of gemstones

Our glorious notebook shipment has arrived!

It's the very best time of year. Come in and shop a variety of color and subject options. Imagine all manner of notes you two will take together as you progress through the ranks of higher education.

Only the best picture ever.

2012-08-08T13:26:00.001-04:00

Source: Paris/Berlin

From left to right: James Joyce, Ezra Pound, John Quinn and Ford Madox Ford in Paris, 1923.

716 Broadway

2012-08-03T12:21:00.000-04:00

all photos via lauradasaro

Our Downtown store has a fine collection of local papers, stickers, and postcards to look over right as you enter. Looking for things to do? Wander the bookstore, then explore our great city.

Supergods: What Masked Vigilantes, Miraculous Mutants, and a Sun God from Smallville Can Teach Us About Being Human

2012-07-27T12:47:00.000-04:00

Miracleman

"There were real superheroes, of course. They did exist. They lived in paper universes, suspended in a pulp continuum where they never aged or died unless it was to be reborn, better than ever, with a new costume. Real superheroes lived on the surface of the second dimension. The real lives of real superheroes could be contained in two hands. They were so real they had lives that were longer than any human life. They were more real than I was. They say most human names and biographies are forgotten after four generations, but even the most obscure Golden Age superhero is likely to have a life and a renown that will last as long as trademarks are revived."

Voyage in the Dark, Jean Rhys

2012-07-24T11:50:00.002-04:00

Buyback

2012-07-20T16:29:00.001-04:00

Favorite edition, obviously. Purchase a new copy here.

Overdressed: The Shockingly High Cost of Cheap Fashion, Elizabeth L. Cline

2012-07-17T12:49:00.003-04:00

Purchase online here.

There is so much to unpack here.

My first exposure to Cline came via Etsy (here and here). Her book, Overdressed: The Shockingly High Cost of Cheap Fashion, explores the global impact of fast fashion. She details America's drastic increase in inexpensive clothing imports and does excellent work diagramming the lifespan of a garment and charting its historical changes. She lays out an argument for the inherent costs in the bargain basement prices we've become accustomed to paying. And she addresses the charged issue that while production dies in one place, it soon flourishes in another, even if it may not pay a living wage.

It's a lot. From fabric quality to garment construction, the life and death of the department store to the changing calendar of seasons, Cline negotiates a vast terrain. Taking us from what remains of the Garment District in New York City to the factories of China and Bangladesh, she explains how industry trends have literally impacted the way we dress. It's engineered obsolescence for clothes: garments that are hyper on-trend, not meant to last and hardly made well enough to justify the cost of mending or alteration. In sum: things really aren't made they way they used to be and while we pay less for our them, we buy them all the time and more than ever (see: haulers). We've lost the relationship we used to have with our clothes (in the form of tailoring or mending) because they no longer make sense with the disposable garments we bring home.

This is an important discussion and I like this book very much. However, I wanted a more involved discussion of the class issues involved in telling people not to shop at Old Navy, Target or Forever 21. Cline does highlight a couple of independent designers and talk about her own struggles to pay more for one good jacket instead of ten bad ones but class issues feel like they should be more of the education as they make up so much of the resistance. There's a balance to be struck in talking about sustainability and responsible shopping while still tackling issues of entitlement and income. (Don't even talk to me about how Walmart's slogan is: Save money. Live better.) These are big issues, bigger than any book can handle at once. Still, reaching those people is part of the work: everybody lives worse and wants to pay less for everything they feel they deserve. Time for the navigation of shared psychological inroads, planet!

Follow Cline here: The Good Closet

Vintage Photos: Kids Reading

2012-07-08T10:00:00.001-04:00

Reading lesson in Washington, D.C., 1942. Photo Credit: Marjory Collins & Library of Congress, via.

There's so many comics and newspapers!
Source: Adorable Vintage Photos of Kids Reading (Flavorwire)

Typhoon, Joseph Conrad

2012-06-29T11:11:00.001-04:00

"Having just enough imagination to carry him through each successive day, and no more, he was tranquilly sure of himself; and from the very same cause he was not in the least conceited. It is your imaginative superior who is touchy, overbearing, and difficult to please; but every ship Captain MacWhirr commanded was the floating abode of harmony and peace. It was, in truth, as impossible for him to take a flight of fancy as it would be for a watchmaker to put together a chronometer with nothing except a two-pound hammer and a whip-saw in the way of tools. Yet the uninteresting lives of men so entirely given to the actuality of the bare existence have their mysterious side. It was impossible in Captain MacWhirr's case, for instance, to understand what under heaven could have induced that perfectly satisfactory son of a petty grocer in Belfast to run away to sea. And yet he had done that very thing at the age of fifteen. It was enough, when you thought it over, to give you the idea of an immense, potent, and invisible hand thrust into the ant-heap of the earth, laying hold of shoulders, knocking heads together, and setting the unconscious faces of the multitude towards inconceivable goals and in undreamt-of directions."