Sunday, April 15, 2007

Links &c.

A few of the exciting posts, news and other miscellany that I didn't get a chance to write more fully about during the week:

- Playbill reports that the New York Public Library will host a one-show-only performance of "The Rosenbach Company," on 20 April (7 p.m., Fifth Ave. and 42nd Street branch). The show, by Ben Katchor and Mark Mulcahy, is described as a "multi-media 'chamber rock opera' about the pleasures and perils of bibliomania." It examines the lives of Abe and Philip Rosenbach, the well-known dealer/collectors.

- Europeana, part of the EU's answer to Google Books, has unveiled an initial installment of approximately 12,000 books digitized from the Bibliothèque Nationale de France and other libraries across the Continent. Jack Kessler has a translation of the site, some comments and other background here.

- Speaking of Google Books, Biblio-Technician has compiled a list of some of the bibliographies of bookplate-related books that can be viewed full-text.

- Book Trout recommends Christopher Morley's "bookshop novels," Parnassus on Wheels and The Haunted Bookshop. I heartily agree.

- From BibliOdyssey: flowers from the Karlsruhe Tulpenbuch, and some early etchings.

- Over at FoggyGates, Forrest has some neat illustrations from an 1866 "museum cast" catalog.

- Michael at Book Patrol's got a link and comments about the Plagiarism Museum (just opened in Cologne) as well as some thoughts about recent literary plagiarism controversies.

- Reading Copy notes that the "Bookseller" magazine award for 2006's oddest title went to The Stray Shopping Carts of Eastern North America: A Guide to Field Identification.

- Ian at Lux Mentis, commenting on the world's smallest book (my post here) says "Finally, something to do with my electron microscope."

- At Campaign for the American Reader, Marshall points us to John Gribbin's list of five scientific works that are also "literature of a high order." Gribbin's newest book is on the top of my pile and I hope to get to it soon.

- Ed offers the fifth chapter of The Quaker City, and also discusses a new movie about Keats and a Wordsworth rap song.

- Paul Collins at Weekend Stubble links us to his new New Scientist article about matematical prodigy Zerah Colborn.

- Joyce at Bibliophile Bullpen led the way to a very interesting "On Point" segment with author Seth Lerer about the evolution of the English language. It's quite a good discussion, but of course now I'll have to read Lerer's book too ... sigh.