My favorite book cover artwork was rendered during what is loosely called the Art Deco period. That term is being used extravagantly these days, to incorporate years far beyond the
1930s which I always thought of as the cut off. Stylistically, Art Deco has been stretched like a rubber band–eventually it will snap, and nothing and everything in illustration will be labeled ‘Deco.’ I’m guilty of identifying much of my particular likes within vintage illustration as ‘Deco’–I can’t describe the style, but I know it when I see it–sort of like, I don’t know great art, but I know what I like, ha. The book cover art I especially am drawn to has bold lines and colors, a Clarice Cliff look, but on paper, not ceramics. I thought I’d share some of my favorite book covers, illustrations, and paper ephemera from this period.
Month: September 2012
What’s Happening to Teen Literature?
Has anyone else noticed the incredible push toward publishing books geared toward 12+? A number of major fiction authors have crossed over into teen writing (e.g. John Grisham, James Patterson). Does anyone know why this is happening?
I can only assume that the big bucks earned from the likes of Harry Potter, Twilight, and The Hunger Games is having an affect. I wonder if teens are actually reading more, or do they latch onto the “book of the year” and then quit reading until the next smash hit comes out? Are more teen books being written in the hopes that teenagers will cross over from Twilight and read other similar authors like PC Cast, Richelle Mead, etc? Or is there a genuine desire, on behalf of the publishers, to see teens reading more?
From the perspective of our stores, whatever the publishers are doing right now… it’s working. We sell a lot of teen books. Until recently, we had a hard time keeping a good selection of used teen books in stock. Once more and more authors starting pointing their writing pen toward young adults, our selection grew… and so did our young readers. We were able to entice them with a wider array, allowing us to make more suggestions, hence making more sales.
Banned Books Week’s Timeline Titles
I never remember when Banned Books Week is scheduled. I stumbled about online, and luckily realized it was happening, now, this minute, until October 2. 2012. My fascination with the convoluted and off kilter reasons for parents, townspeople, and school boards’ objections to certain titles never wanes. How could it? Every year a new title that may have been published centuries ago, is being challenged by someone somewhere. The American Library Association in honor of 30 years devoted to pointing out threatened and banned titles, created a timeline of banned books–from the year Banned Books Week began, 1982, until this year. Some not yet read titles are familiar to me because of being challenged constantly by the ignorant. Other titles I’v’e never heard of. A great deal of them are juvenile or grade school level.
Satan Claus Is Coming To Town
by Jas Faulkner
“He’s out.”
“He’s early this year. Is there a reason for this?” I could hear Sam joggle the phone as she rang up a customer and told them to have a good day. A second later she was back.
“We got the guidelines from the not-the-city council You know how Tab is about that.”
Bear with me and you, too, will know how Tab is about that. But first, a little bit of history. Ten years ago, a radio station decided to buy a three-storey building on the town square that was at one point a storefront with apartments on the two upper floors. They then proceeded to wreck the building, turning it into “haunted house” that was sufficiently detailed in its grue that they required a media professional to deal with the inquiries and it developed a fan following.
What Are Memoirs?
I’ve struggled with separating autobiographies from memoirs. I’ve read slews of autobiographies of famous classic movie stars, ghostwritten, of course. Joe Shmoe, Big Movie Star, by Joe Shmoe, and Little Nobody. These bios supposedly encompass the star’s entire life, with anecdotes from all stages of career, DUI’s, lovers, divorces, etc. Dates are given to back up some of the stories told. Still, how many people can recall verbatim conversations they’ve had 40 years ago? Some of the books I’ve perused are written as if events are so fresh in the person’s mind, that you picture them chit chatting in real time–which of course is silly. So, how does that differ from a memoir? I know I’ve pondered this question before, and probably will again, until the differences are crystal clear.
Wal-Mart vs. Amazon
It’s hard to decide which of these two monopolies to dislike more. One wants to take over the retail universe, and the other strives to take over the retail universe. One is brick and mortar and treats employees less than admirably, the other is an online store and treats employees like a third world country. One sells various and sundries, the other sells various and sundries, and oh, yeah, books. One used to sell the Kindle pad, the other still sells the Kindle pad.
Circle City Books has a Logo
After several weeks of fine-tuning, I’ve finally got a logo. That means I can start working on the signs that will go on and around the building. Our graphic artist came up with a much better design than what I had in mind when I presented him with my rough idea. My wife and daughter went back and forth over colors and details and, I think, everybody is happy. We’ll see what it looks like four feet high.
As time passes, and word spreads of my existence, I am getting more calls from people who want to unload their books. I’ve seen a lot of worthless books over the past month. The hope that, at long last, someone might actually pay money for torn, wet or coverless books is a powerful incentive for some people to lug boxes downtown. Several times sellers with large boxes have told me they had some good books, but since I wasn’t the first store they visited, they’re gone now. This seems an odd admission for someone to make, if they want me to buy their books. But I suspect their desire to profit isn’t as great as the embarrassment they feel showing me such lousy books.
Today I visited Trenton, North Carolina, population 200. Judge Walter Henderson, a commercially unsuccessful novelist, passed away some months ago, and his nephew needs to liquidate the estate. I was called by a mutual friend, and after a three-hour drive, I spent a couple of hours in the judge’s library. It was located on the first floor of the old Trenton railway station which, after the station closed, was bought by the judge and moved out into the country where he made his home, overlooking the Trent River. The books were situated just by the ticket window, across from the freight entrance. My calculation was that an educated, well-to-do judge, with a literary background, was just the sort of person who might have a library full of signed William Faulkner books. This was not the case, however. He did love Faulkner, but most of his books were recent reprints. I took a few books, and agreed to pay the nephew fifty cents each for a couple hundred more, were he to bring them to Pittsboro. It was an interesting trip, nonetheless, and one I will keep making, if there seems a reasonable chance of finding something special.
Twisting Arms and Having Fun at the Flea Market
With the weather turning a little cooler it is a nice time to take the time to go out to flea markets. I go to outdoor flea markets nearly every week during the summer, winter and spring. In the dead of winter I sometimes get cabin fever and brave the cold to get my flea market fix. Lately I go mostly looking for books as I have gone for years and have a collection of many other things that I just “had to have” Flea markets can often be great places to visit when looking for books to sell and to look for interesting books to collect.
Larger flea markets are often inhabited by sellers who make it a full time occupation and who spend the rest of the week going to estate auctions and yard sales looking for things to sell, like the iPhone 5, at the flea market. You will come across the occasional book dealer but mostly you will come across people who will buy anything that they can sell and make a profit.
If they have been doing it for a while they will develop a certain familiarity with what they are selling and price their items according to their experience, but often you will find people who are just looking to make a modest profit.
