Sorry this is late - the major biblio-activities in Boston kept me busy this weekend. After the auction this morning I spent the afternoon at the Hynes fair again until closing time. I made my one small purchase (more on which later) and enjoyed some more chatting-time with various dealers and other folks. A pretty exhausting weekend, but a good one for sure.
- The Free Library of Philadelphia's Rare Book Department has mounted an exhibition titled "Wonders of the Invisible World: The Spiritual Life of a Young Nation." The show "traces the growth and development of religion and spirituality in the United States from colonial times through the Civil War using imprints and manuscripts from several of the Rare Book Department's collections, along with significant texts and images from the collections of various other departments throughout the Library." Exhibit hours are 9-5 M-F, and it runs through 28 March, 2008.
- In The Times, Ben Macintyre has an essay on some false etymologies (etymytholgies), including crapper, "rule of thumb" and kangaroo. Very much worth reading.
- Paul Collins notes a Guardian report about the ridiculously low percentages of translated fiction in English-language bookshops. Really sad, actually.
- Michael Lieberman comments on the London Library. Also this week, Michael interviewed Jenny Hamilton, co-owner of Rogue Book Exchange.
- John reports that his Edward Gibbon exhibit at Houghton rated a piece in the Harvard University Gazette; I've still got to get out there and see that - after this week for sure.
- Travis' take on the TransyThieves Vanity Fair debut is here.
- News has finally broken about David McCullough's newest book project: he'll be writing about Americans in Paris.
- Tim fired another salvo in the book-site wars this week, presenting exhaustive evidence of a Shelfari astroturfing campaign (where an employee posts positive comments about the site on other blogs/&c. without disclosing the connection). Shelfari blames this on an overzealous intern.
Reviews
- Joseph Ellis' American Creation is reviewed by Randy Dotinga in the Christian Science Monitor.
- Kate Mosse's new novel Sepulchre is 'reviewed' by John Crace in the Guardian.
- Over in the Washington Post, Pauline Maier reviews Woody Holton's Unruly Americans.
- John Gray reviews George McKenna's The Puritan Origins of American Puritanism in the Financial Times.
