- Ed's got the details of the Great Poe Debate, scheduled for 13 January in Philadelphia. He'll speak for Philadelphia, Jeff Jerome will debate for Baltimore, and Boston College's Paul Lewis will attempt to carry the day for the Hub.
- Nick Basbanes has some commentary on the MassHort "fire sale." He concludes "The founders and earliest benefactors of this venerable institution - some of the giants of nineteenth-century Boston society- must be turning over in their graves. The Athens of America, indeed." Basbanes' 2004 Boston Globe op-ed on the earlier sales from the Horticultural Society (and their later repercussions) can be read here.
- From BibliOdyssey, images from De Aetatibus Mundi Imagines, a sketchbook made by the sixteenth-century Portuguese Renaissance man Francisco de Holanda.
- Jacket Copy's Carolyn Kellogg offers a very useful book-related gift suggestion.
- Karen Schneider has posted her thoughts on the new OCLC policies. Tim had a Thingology post on the issue this week as well.
- Others were all over this, but in case you missed it, Google's now scanning magazines too. Jeanne's got a list of the titles which seem to be covered, plus a roundup of coverage. Color me suspicious for the moment since I've seen what a muddle they've made of serials so far.
- Ian's started a Lux Mentis, Booksellers Facebook page. I'm a fan, you should be too! Earlier this week, Ian posted a great piece on the latest outbreak of Bowdlerization Syndrome (in New Rochelle, NY, where school officials literally ripped out pp. 64-70 of Girl, Interrupted. Joyce comments on this ridiculous story as well.
- Emily Yoffe, Slate's "Human Guinea Pig," tries her hand at costumed historical interpretation.
- At Shelf Space, Rachel from Old Saratoga Books writes on the personality traits of used books, including bookplates, inscriptions, found objects, &c.
- Paul Collins catches some photographic bookshelf investigation.
- Salon's 2008 Book Awards are up.
Reviews
- David Blight reviews Richard Goodwin's Crossing the Continent, 1527-1540: The Story of the First African-American Explorer of the American South for the Washington Post.
- Steve Coates reviews Garry Wills' new translation of Martial's Epigrams, in the NYTimes.
- Kamensky and Lepore's Blindspot is reviewed by Michael Kenney for the Boston Globe.
- I didn't even know it was out yet, but Michael Cox's The Glass of Time, a sequel to The Meaning of Night, is indeed out there and The Little Professor has a review.
- Rowling's Tales of Beedle the Bard is reviewed in the Sunday Times by Frances Wilson.
