Book Club

My sister and I decided to start our own little book club! We are both bibliophiles; if we are not busy doing something in particular you will usually see us with a book in our hands. Lately we have been stuck in a literary rut; we have both been too loyal to our favorite genres and it was time to spread our wings a little bit and see what's out there. That's how the idea for a book club started. We already had lists of books we wanted to read someday that we kept putting off. Well no longer! With that said it was pretty easy to put together a cohesive book club list. We wanted to incorporate various genres; from humor and travel writing to mathematics and philosophy. There's a good amount of classics on the list too that we had started but never finished. We are only on our second book but so far our little book club has started with a bang:)

I've never started or participated in one of these clubs before so its all very new to me but exciting nonetheless. I decided to look online for some guidance and I found a link to LitLovers, a site devoted to helping people create book clubs. It offers suggestions from creating book lists, how to run a book club and even recipes book club members can create for their meetings. From this site we were able to create some guidelines for the club because, well, every club needs rules for members to follow right? We alternate who picks the book for the group to read and the leader of the discussion group is the person that picked the book for discussion. Other guidelines we created were based on meeting times, how books are picked, and how both the leader and the group were supposed to prepare for the discussions. If you are interested in creating a book club then I suggest you check it out!

We just finished reading The Time Traveler's Wife by Audrey Niffenegger which we found to be satisfactory but not great. I know it was popular enough to be made into a movie but we had our qualms with it. Great beginning and suspenseful ending but the characters were underdeveloped and the author tried to interlace too many sub-themes without also developing them properly. But it was a unique take on time travel- I have to give it that. To keep with the whole time travel theme we jumped right into reading A Brief History in Time by Stephen Hawking. My physics is a little rusty but the beauty of this book is that it is written for the layman- I can actually get through it without feeling overwhelmed. I do have many questions to ask the other book members and it helps that they are all engineers! Right now I'm in the middle of reading about quarks and black holes etc and I'm riveted. Who knew black holes could be so sexy?!?

Wish us luck and happy readings to all of you!

Pretty Book Covers

It seems like everyone in the blog world is talking about Penguin's Classic Series today so I won't go into too much detail but I will direct you to Design*Sponge so you can read about it further. I will say that I am completely and utterly enthralled with Coralie Bickford-Smith's hard back book cover designs for Penguin and I'm sure the series will be collectors items some day. You can currently buy 8 out of 10 of last years series release (last year because they were released in the UK and have finally jumped the pond) on Amazon and Penguin is due to release another series coming up this October (let the countdown begin). Now, hopefully those that are buying these little beauties for their design aesthetic will take the time to read them too! I know I will.

Coralie has worked at Penguin for over 6 yrs and here are some other notable works that she has done:

The Arabian Night's Gift Set:
Isn't the Poems for Life cover divine?

And last but not least the newest series due in October::

On My Radar

Oooh, I'm itchin to get my hands on these books. Both Southern Cosmopolitan and Easy Elegance are new releases. My French Life is an older release and I keep forgetting to pick it up at the bookstore. I know the direction of this blog has taken a decidedly decor route but it's what keeps me inspired these days! That and a spot of travel too (hence My French Life). I would love to live in France one day and it's inspiring to read of other people's journeys fulfilling similar like minded dreams.

Favorite Children's Books

Most of the books that are near and dear to my heart are books I read as a child/young adult. I have wonderful memories of reading with my dad at bedtime and then exploring the bookshelves with zeal when I got older. I miss the wonderment and naivete I approached a new swashbuckling book in my youth. I guess when you are young the world is a very, very big place! I've been known to peruse the children's section at bookstores and hey, why not? The Harry Potter series is not the only literature out there suitable for all ages. Be a kid again and soar high in the clouds in a giant peach, fight a pirate or two and slay a dragon! Here are some of my favorites:

The Chronicles of Narnia by C.S. Lewis
The Boxcar Children Series by Gertrude Warner

Oh, the places you'll go! by Dr. Seuss

The Hobbit by J.R.R. Tolkein

Polar Express by Chris Allsburg

Strega Nona by Tomie de Paola

Little House Series by Laura Engall Wilder

Anne of Green Gables Series by L.M. Montgomery

Charlotte's Web by E.B. White

James and the Giant Peach, The Witches by Roald Dahl

The Secret Garden by Frances Hodgson
St. George and the Dragon by Margaret Hodges

A Wrinkle in Time by Madeleine L'Engle

My Side of the Mountain by Jean George

Little Women by Louisa May Alcott
Treasure Island by Robert Louis Stevenson

The Chronicles of Narnia as you can see is at the top of my list. I read it when I was little and then many years later I made a deal with my 8 year old rapscallion of a sister to read the chronicles in exchange for a steady supply of candy per chapter. Now the kid (ahem... I mean young lady) can't stop reading. Who says bribes don't work!?! I'm surprised her teeth are in such good shape.

Time to re-stock my bookshelves! What are your favorite children's books?

Good Stock

I don't remember how I came across Good Stock but I have to say what they offer is sheer genius. Good Stock is a press and bindery company that creates instant heirlooms by turning your family history or any other special moment you would like documented into a beautiful book. Jack's family immediately came to mind. They are currently recording his grandfather's WWII stories to keep and treasure. Out of all the stories he's told the one that boggles my mind is how a 16 year old managed to enlist in the Navy and then survive his ship being sunk twice in the Pacific. Yes.. twice. If any of you are helping your parents or grandparents with your family history or would like to document a special moment in your life then this is the place to go. They will help you every step of the way; from the layout to helping you write your story.

Rare Books

My idea of heaven

I fell in love with rare books and manuscripts when I worked as a student worker in the Special Collections section of Tulane's library system. Most of the time I was "copy girl" or "filing girl" but sometimes I got the rare treat of handling and seeing the special collections section. Such treats included sorting through a stack of Abraham Lincoln's civil war letters or glimpsing a leaf of the Gutenberg Bible. I loved looking through these beautiful rare books and manuscripts; the craftsmanship and sense of history is amazing to behold. I wanted to start my own little rare books library one day but I didn't have a clue on what to look for or where to start. So I proceeded to educated myself and learn as much as I could in the interim. Most of what I learned was from asking rare book dealers in the area; many of them take the time to educate their costumers and guide them through the process of selecting the rare book with the best investment value.

You can start by collecting your favorite novels, or a set of novels written by your favorite author. Some people focus on controversial banned books, books of great import to the arts and sciences, revolutionary tomes, or books that have a one of kind illustration or binding. Or you can collect from each to design your own collection. There are many factors the determine if a book is rare: age, condition, scarcity, popularity, if it is signed by the author, if the book still comes with its original dust jacket. But what really determines the value of the book is its legacy; the influence and effect the book has now and when it was printed. One of the first things I learned was the import of when and how the book was printed. You'll hear words like edition, issue ect tossed around quite a bit so here are my simplified definitions to make things easier (for further reading click here):

Edition: An edition are all the copies printed at one time from the same plates without any changes.
First Edition: The first time the text is printed
Printings: Within an edition you can have multiple printings from the same exact plates (without any changes).
Issue: When a change or modification is made by the publisher of any said edition, they are treated as a separate "issue" of a particular edition.

First Edition of The General Theory of Relativity by Einstein

Typically the first editions are the most collectible and sought after. Or the most collectible being First Edition, First Print. The number of copies printed in the first edition are not always clear, especially for older books; but your rare books dealer can find that information for you by checking a variety of sources if it's not printed in the book itself. They will also offer verification of the book being a true first edition by checking their reference material. Typically the words "First Edition" or some sort of notation is printed on the copyright page to indicate if the book is a first edition. Sometimes a later edition has more value; some prefer collecting later editions of work translated into English or if a later edition has additional illustrations or added work. It's important to weigh your options to see what offers the best value.

I never underestimate the condition of the book. If I can't afford to buy a book listed as "fine" condition I wait it out until I can. But sometimes a collector doesn't have a choice. If a book is incredibly scarce sometimes the best you can do is "good". The condition of a book, along with all the other factors, will determine the value of your book. The better condition, the higher the value. Along the same vein, the dust jacket, created to protect the book against damage has interestingly enough become a commodity. Dust jackets actually add value to the book because of their scarcity. They are usually thrown out so most rare books come without them. Some collectors, wanting their copy to be as close in condition and appearance when printed, will insist on only buying rare books with dust jackets (even if the dust jacket is in poor condition).

I learned that in order to maintain the condition of your rare books it is important that they are handled with care. A stable, temperate environment that is not too dry or too humid is key. I was warned to keep my books out of sunlight or they will start to fade. Some collectors seek out custom made slip cases or boxes to house their rare books. That's only necessary if the condition of the rare book necessitates it otherwise if you follow the above your rare book will last for a long time to come.

Hopefully I've whet your appetite just a bit. If you are interested in collecting rare books then head out to your local rare book shop and seek the advice of the resident expert. Here are some of my favorite rare booksellers and resources:

Antiquarian Booksellers' Association of America

Magg's Rare Books

Printers Row Fine & Rare Books

Between the Covers

The Manhattan Rare Book Company

Vogel Bindery

I came across Vogel Bindery in an old Architectural Digest article a while back and I was blown away by the artistry and attention to detail. Everything is hand made using traditional techniques. They also work for a variety of clients; from creating personal wedding albums to guests books for the White House.

The dragon is fierce. Each binding is custom designed so they can create whatever you throw at them.

All bindings use 100% cotton rag paper and are bound in vegetable tanned leather.

Neat take on the cardholder. Tooling is executed by hand employing 24 Karat gold. Wow.

The De-viled Egg

I applied to Tulane at the insistence of my counselor not really knowing anything about the university or New Orleans except for Anne Rice, gumbo and the abstract understanding of southern gentility. Boy was I in for some culture shock. This is coming from a girl that lived in 4 different continents by the age of 18.

I was put right smack in an all girls dorm on campus that included several Southern beauty queens among the eclectic variety of smart put together women. I was the bumbling hippie from Colorado who didn't wear make-up, actually went to class with my hair wet and didn't know what a deviled egg was. Oh the horror. The horror!

It was the deviled egg that started the raucous. I had the audacity to call it "de-viled" instead of deviled. After the laughter subsided, I got a crash course on "How to Mimic a Southern Lady" by my gracious beauty queen dorm-mates. Mimic mind you. You can't be a Southern lady unless you are born one. Even then, your "roots" have to be truly southern on both sides. It's why Southerners, especially New Orleanians who are their own breed of "Southern", ask you where your parents went to school, what Parish you live in, who your friends are in order to construct your blood lines and place you in that ambiguous Southern society hierarchy.

My room-mate took pity on me and as a joke offered her Southern Primer written by Maryln Schwartz. It's a gem of a book, written half in jest on the proprieties and manners of Southern ladies. With this primer and the help of my dorm-mates I figured out that my preferred silver pattern was "Towle Old Master", learned how to coif my hair with the aid of a whole can of hairspray (I'm not joking), not to chew gum in public (meh- my mother always told me that), and despite their prodding avoid Rush Week like the plague.

I love this little primer because it reminds me of those funny and endearing Southern belles and the trials and tribulations of my first year of college. Southerners hold on to their traditions as dearly as Scarlett and her Tara and I guess in the end, there is something wonderful to be said about that.

Good Reads

I came across this wonderful site called Good Reads. You can share book recommendations with friends, write reviews and keep track of what you are reading and what you would like to read down the road. It's a virtual bookclub! It also keeps me motivated to peruse all those books I've been wanting to read but have been putting off. I just finished Love in the Time of Cholera by Gabriel Garcia Marquez. Here is my recommendation:

{A wonderful book... you can hardly go wrong with Gabito. This is one of those books that you read so fast because you can't put it down that you have to re-read it to make sure you soak it in fully. It's a love story albeit an anquished unrequited love set against the languid and sensual backdrop of the coast of Colombia. I may be a little biased given that it takes place where my mother was born...I get severe homesickness whenever I read any of GGM novels. The letters... oh the letters! As fanciful and romantic a story this may be, GGM also takes on a realistic portrayal of marriage. A favorite line that made me laugh out loud..., "The problem in public life is learning to overcome terror; the problem in married life is learning to overcome boredom." I think GGM may be on to something here:) I highly recommend this book!!!}