Shelf:Life - what's new in the world of books and book collecting, links to the news stories that matter, and occassional comments by TheBookGuide.  Archived Stories.

14.04.05 Dead Sea Scrolls still kindle archaeological debate. The 1948 discovery of the Dead Sea Scrolls proved to be the greatest archaeological find of the 20th century. But more than 50 years after their discovery, many questions remain as to who wrote them and who actually lived at the Dead Sea community of Qumran where they were discovered...more  Add a comment

14.04.05 West should read more Arab books. Sudanese novelist Tayeb Saleh says a dearth of translated Arabic literature has reinforced Western prejudices against Arabs and wider publishing of Arab fiction abroad would reduce "sheer ignorance" of the region.
    Arab literature has won little recognition overseas, but Saleh defends it from criticism of being limited and dominated by religion. He says the Arabic novel has as much to offer as the literature of Latin America, which has produced a batch of internationally acclaimed writers in recent decades...more  Add a comment

14.04.05 Stacked sends shock through book world. Book lovers everywhere are shocked, shocked by the prospect of Pamela Anderson dabbling in the bookselling world, according to a poll conducted by Victoria, B.C., online bookseller Abebooks.com...more  Add a comment

14.04.05 First map to show glimpse of America. The first map to bear the word America has been discovered among ephemera accumulated by an amateur collector over 40 years. Dating from 1507 and one of only four surviving examples of the oldest printed map of the New World, its existence was unknown until a newspaper picture caught the attention of its German owner as he drank his morning coffee...more  Add a comment

13.04.05 Greek Court Lifts Ban on Jesus Cartoon Book. A Greek court on today lifted a ban on selling a cartoon book from Austria depicting Jesus Christ as a drinking buddy of Jimi Hendrix and a marijuana-smoking, naked surfer...more  Add a comment

13.04.05 Is Abebooks.com the Next Amazonian Behemoth? More American book-buyers who consistently turn to online giants like bn.com and Amazon.com to make purchases may soon be shopping at a growing competitor: Abebooks.com.
    The international online bookseller has made a name for itself as the largest digital marketplace for rare and used books. But after quietly entering the new-book market, the American Book Exchange (ABE) has gone from specialty retailer to mainstream bookseller, a move that could turn it into a major player in the world of online bookselling...more  Add a comment

13.04.05 Making Hay - a request to readers. The Guardian newspaper is putting out a request to the seasoned Hay festival-goers to send a few words about their favourite Hay bookshop, explaining why you like it, to create a guide to the town's bookshops for all the newcomers who have yet to experience their delights...more  Add a comment

13.04.05 Rare and Unique Haggadot Exhibited. New York - Spanning nearly eight centuries, from scribal to print culture, the exhibition I Am the Rose: Passover Imagined in the Collections of The New York Public Library brings together a treasure trove of Passover-related manuscripts, books, and prints...more  Add a comment

12.04.05 Poll shows Chinese find Japanese textbook insulting. Beijing - A snap survey conducted in a week of violent anti-Japan protests in China shows an overwhelming majority of citizens outraged by a controversy over Tokyo'sapproval of a new history textbook. Nearly all of the 1,000 people surveyed in the poll said the book -- criticised for glossing over Japanese war-time atrocities -- was an insult, with most saying it was "open provocation"...more  Add a comment

12.04.05 NY public library selling art masterpieces to buy books. The city's public library system will sell 19 artworks from its collection, including two portraits of George Washington by Gilbert Stuart, in order to compete better in acquisitions of books and collections. Sotheby's was retained by the library and officials there estimate that the works will sell for $50 million to $75 million...more  Add a comment

12.04.05 A life driven by books. Ecstasy awaits the bibliophile when surrounded by books, particularly those of the type that fill the shelves at Euroa Fine Books. Kenneth Hince, 78, is the man behind the store and beautifully completes the picture the imagination paints of an antiquarian bookshop...more  Add a comment

12.04.05 Britain may have to give up oldest known Bible. The British Library is facing the possible loss of one of its most important manuscripts, the world’s oldest Bible, to a Middle Eastern monastery. The fear is raised weeks after the institution was told by a government advisory panel that a 12th-century manuscript in its collection was looted from a cathedral near Naples during the Second World War and must be returned...more  Add a comment

11.04.05 Dalmellington Book Town - on the road to nowhere. From far and wide the road signs boldly proclaim ‘Dalmellington Book Town’. There’s only one problem – it doesn’t exist...more  Add a comment

11.04.05 US Independent booksellers find niche with personalised service. RiverRun Bookstore, nestled in Commercial Alley in downtown Portsmouth, recently passed its third anniversary. Sales are strong, and owner Tom Holbrook believes the store will thrive into the next decade and beyond...more  Add a comment

11.04.05 Cornell's Gettysburg manuscript on Display. "We have 70 million manuscripts here, and this is one of the most important," said Susette Newberry, coordinator of public programs. "It has sort of talismanic properties ... People just want to come here and hold the frame that it's in...more  Add a comment

11.04.05 Exposed: filthy poet pimp who wrote the Georgian gentleman's guide to prostitution. More than 200 years on from his death, the author of a scandalous bestseller of Georgian London has been outed. For almost 30 years from 1757, Harris's List of Covent Garden Ladies was the essential gentleman's accessory for a night on the town. Historian Hallie Rubenhold estimates it sold at least 250,000 copies...more  Add a comment

11.04.05 Texts in Context. Launched last week, Texts in Context is a new British Library website with a rich and unusual collection of over 400 texts. You can find menus for medieval banquets and handwritten recipes scribbled inside book covers. You can browse the first English dictionary ever written and explore the secret language of the Georgian underworld...more  Add a comment
    "Aimed at teachers and students, but definitely one for the bibliophiles. - Clive Keeeble (who provided the link).

09.04.05 Waging war against `the McDonald's of books'. Around Israel, courageous - and, of necessity, creative - attempts are being made by small bookstore owners to survive in the face of the large chains...more  Add a comment

09.04.05 Pop! go the pop-up books. It's a world of giddy surprises, quirks and unexpected turns. Pop-up books were a popular staple in the children's book market in the 1960s and '70s. What most people don't know is that the form has been around for 700 years...more  Add a comment

09.04.05 Gonzo king to go out with a bang . Hunter S Thompson's final wish will be granted when his ashes are blasted from a giant cannon in August. The gun-loving writer will go out with a bang from a cannon mounted inside a 16-metre-high (53ft) sculpture of his trademark "gonzo" fist - a clenched hand on an upthrust forearm with the word gonzo written on it...more  Add a comment

09.04.05 Great expectations for theme park. It is a tale of two centuries. Amid the modern plans to develop the Thames Gateway has emerged a scheme to build a £62m theme park celebrating the life and works of the 19th century literary giant Charles Dickens...more  Add a comment

09.04.05 Long-lost Beethoven 'duets' with Burns discovered. Five arrangements of Scottish and Irish folk songs by Ludwig van Beethoven, including Highland Harry by Robert Burns, have emerged in a private collection.
    The rare musical manuscript, in Beethoven’s own hand, dates from 1815, the year of the Battle of Waterloo. Part of a series of tunes commissioned by an Edinburgh publisher, George Thomson, they are now up for auction and expected to sell for about £400,000...more  Add a comment

08.04.05 Diamond International buys Morphy Auctions . Baltimore businessman Stephen A. Geppi announced that Morphy Auctions, a leading auction house specializing in collectible Americana, has been acquired by one of his companies, Diamond International Galleries. Diamond International is perhaps best known in the UK as publishers the "bible" of comic book guides, The Overstreet Comic Book Price Guide...more  Add a comment

08.04.05 Book man may appeal to human rights court. Bookseller Gerry Ingram is considering taking his battle to sell literature on the street all the way to the European Court of Human Rights. Mr Ingram saw his six-year stint selling books on Crouch End Broadway brought to an end last week when he was found guilty of trading without a licence...more  Add a comment

08.04.05 The next chapter. Open a few second-hand bookshops and your ghost town will come back to life. It certainly worked for Hay-on-Wye - and now a US entrepreneur is hoping it will do the same for Atherstone in Warwickshire...more  Add a comment

07.04.05 41st Michigan Antiquarian Book & Paper Show. This massive hunt for hidden treasure can be a mind-boggling experience, with items ranging in price from 50 cents to $5,000; it’s a remarkable event that often brings back many fond memories of items or pleasures almost forgotten...more  Add a comment

07.04.05 Japanese textbook distorts history. China urged Japan yesterday to "correctly view" history, after Tokyo approved a new edition of a controversial junior high school history textbook that critics say "whitewashes" Japan's past history of aggression...more  Add a comment

07.04.05 History book removed over complaints about Islam focus. "I received a significant number of e-mails saying (the book) was Islamic propaganda and we shouldn't use it," said district governing board member Christine Schild. The book, "History Alive! The Medieval World and Beyond," was being used on a trial basis at Scottsdale's Mohave Middle School...more  Add a comment

07.04.05 Naomi Klein in battle over Iraq book. It looks like a Naomi Klein book. It has her name emblazoned on the cover. In a tilt to her bestseller, No Logo, it's called No War. The design is strikingly similar. The book's synopsis on Amazon namechecks the activist writer in the first sentence. But, according to Klein, No War by Naomi Klein is not by her at all...more  Add a comment

07.04.05 Science Museum's financial crisis may force library sale. Independent experts are to investigate the finances of the Science Museum in London after it warned that it would have to break up its world-famous library, close more galleries and cut staff without extra government funding...more  Add a comment

06.04.05 Saul Bellow dies at 89. Saul Bellow, whose complex moral comedies earned him the 1976 Nobel Prize for Literature and status as perhaps the finest American novelist of the postwar period, died Tuesday...more  Add a comment

06.04.05 Writer sued for 'defiling' idol. A retired Indian police officer has begun legal proceedings against a Bengali writer accusing him of defiling a Hindu goddess...more  Add a comment

06.04.05 Liverpool to host poetry festival. Liverpool is to host a fortnight-long celebration of poetry, recognising the city's rich history of producing acclaimed poets. Poetry in the City, which runs from 10-24 April, will feature readings and workshops for audiences of all ages...more  Add a comment

06.04.05 US librarian loses 'sexy' lawsuit. A US librarian who said she was passed over for promotion because of her image and race has lost a lawsuit against her employer Harvard University...more  Add a comment

06.04.05 Sci-fi studies website materialises in Liverpool. Not only does the University of Liverpool boast a library with the largest collection of science fiction literature in Europe, but from next week it will launch the world's first website dedicated to science fiction research...more  Add a comment

05.04.05 Learned Pigs and Fireproof Women. Singing mice, sapient porkers, and horses with exquisite manners - they all make it into Ricky Jay's collection of playbills from the 17th, 18th, and 19th centuries, as do mermaids, armless calligraphers, stone eaters, living skeletons, early robots, conjoined twins, magicians, contortionists, and natural phenomena like the "Hottentot Venus"...more  Add a comment

05.04.05 Amazon buys on-demand book printer. Amazon.com announced Monday it has acquired BookSurge, an on-demand book printer that specializes in out-of-print and foreign language titles. BookSurge boasts a library with thousands of books that are printed to order and already available for sale from Amazon. Terms of the deal were not disclosed...more  Add a comment

05.04.05 Take care of Monterey's second-hand bookstores. In the last five months, Monterey has lost several of the rare and second-hand bookshops that had put the city on the travel itineraries of scholars and book collectors throughout the United States and internationally...more  Add a comment

05.04.05 Camille Paglia: Why poetry still matters. In her new book, academic turned cultural critic Camille Paglia argues that the way poetry is taught often strips the art form of its power and context. Having grown up with a reverence for poetry, she laments a world that says poetic language no longer speaks to them. Her book, Break, Blow, Burn, is an effort to teach readers how to reconnect with the power and pleasures of poetry...more  Add a comment

04.04.05 Used-book sellers span digital divide. "Creative destruction," Joseph Schumpeter famously remarked, is the essence of capitalism. And in the last decade, the Internet has wreaked precisely that kind of destruction on the out-of-print-bookstore business...more  Add a comment

04.04.05 Land of forbidden books. In the United States, "Reading Lolita in Tehran," by Azar Nafisi, is a best seller, popular in book clubs from New York to New Mexico.In Iran, where the tale is set, it can't be bought, sold or read, says Nafisi -- at least officially. But that doesn't mean Iranians aren't enjoying her "memoir in books," which offers a glimpse of life in the Islamic Republic of Iran through the tales of seven women who came to Nafisi's house in Tehran weekly from 1995 to 1997 to read, discuss and savor Western literature...more  Add a comment

04.04.05 Steinbeck's birthplace fights to keep libraries open. The pride, fear and hope Steinbeck described were in evidence this weekend as residents, celebrities and best-selling authors gathered for a 24-hour emergency read-in to try to avert an unwelcome footnote to Salinas's legacy: the impending closing of the city's three public libraries...more  Add a comment

04.04.05 If literature is food for the mind, then a poem is a banquet. According to psychologists at Scotland's Dundee and St. Andrews universities, poetry exercises the mind more than a novel since the former guaranteed far more eye movement associated with deeper thought...more  Add a comment

04.04.05 'Operation Timbuktu' to preserve Africa’s literary heritage. A team of experts from SA will help President Thabo Mbeki deliver on his promise to assist Mali in saving hundreds of thousands of ancient manuscripts from decay. A consortium of South African businessmen plans to build a library in Timbuktu to house up to 300,000 ancient manuscripts currently stored in various facilities around the city...more  Add a comment

04.04.05 Robert Creeley, Postmodern Poet dead at 78. Like the jazz riffs of Charlie Parker, Miles Davis or Keith Jarrett, his poems were impressionistic and improvisational. "I believe in a poetry determined by the language of which it is made," Mr. Creeley wrote in 1960. "I look to words, and nothing else, for my own redemption....I mean the words as opposed to content"...more  Add a comment

02.04.05 Celebrity book club. One of the surest harbingers of spring is the arrival of the literary festival brochures. For a fortnight now they have been thumping on to the doormat or surfacing as bloated attachments to email messages...more  Add a comment

02.04.05 Harry Potter and the Curse of the Student Loan. London - Friday 1st April. Bloomsbury, publishers of the Harry Potter books, have released the title of the next installment in the series about the boy wizard. The publication, which doesn't go on sale until August, will be called "Harry Potter and the Curse of the Student Loan". It will be the 41st story about Harry Potter and follows on from Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Feltham - the hugely popular 40th book released last January...more  Add a comment

02.04.05 Breaking the ties that bind. After more than a half-century in book binding, 87-year-old Frank Jeppe's eyesight has forced him to call it quits on his life-long love...more  Add a comment

01.04.05 William Blake and the bookdealer. Paul Williams reckons every dealer deserves one big find, and this was his. After 30-odd years making a reasonable living dealing in books from his home in Ilkley, 19 magnificent William Blake watercolours he found in a Glasgow bookshop proved to be a goldmine...more  Add a comment

01.04.05 Nursery rhyme contest aims to oust violence. A baby's cradle is balanced precariously atop a tree. The branch beneath breaks and the cradle and baby plummet to the ground. Three tiny white mice who not only have to contend with blindness are trying to escape the clutches of a knife-wielding maniac.
     The stuff of nightmares? No, Rock-a-Bye-Baby and Three Blind Mice are some of our most dearly loved nursery rhymes, familiar to many generations of children...more  Add a comment