Monthly Archives: December 2014

Happy Birthday, James Thurber!

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James Thurber, my hometown boy, was born on 8 December 1894:

James Thurber by Fred Palumbo, 1954

James Thurber by Fred Palumbo, 1954

“It is better to know some of the questions than all of the answers.”-James Thurber

Also check out: A Sunday Afternoon Virtual Tour of the (James) Thurber House Museum

[A Holiday Shopping Spree for the Bookworm] Sixth Stop: Literature Lodge

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I love bookish goodies almost as much as I love actual books, and reading. Being a bookworm is not a hobby: it is an all-enveloping, personality-defining lifestyle. The holiday season is just getting started, which means it is time to go shopping the literary way! Over the next two weeks, I will take you on a virtual bookish shopping spree to some of my favourite lit sites!

In 2013, we visited some wonderful literary museums. This year, I am delighted to showcase several amazing book-themed Etsy shops. Let’s get started!

LITERATURE LODGE

This shop makes two products: writer’s blocks and customizable author key chains. Sometimes, less is indeed more. They are wonderful, out-of-the-box gifts/stocking stuffers for your favourite classic book nerd.

TWO GREAT PIECES:

SHOP INFO:

  • LITERATURE LODGE: ETSY STORE
  • LOCATION: TAUNTON, MA
  • ARTIST: ROBERT SADLER
  • NOTE: THEY ARE ACCEPTING HOLIDAY ORDERS THROUGH FRIDAY, 12 DECEMBER

[Intermezzo] Wherein I Offer You a Few Disjointed but Heartfelt Memories of My Dead Friend Frank on Pearl Harbor Remembrance Day

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This was originally published on 7 December 2012. I am re-posting it today in honor of its subject, my buddy Frank.

maedez's avatarA Small Press Life: Books. Art. Writing. Life. Tea.

Dear World,

Frank died at 87 1/2 years old. Picture this: When he was a tow-headed little boy, just a toddler, his parents dressed him in short pants and a striped shirt and posed him on the hood of the family Model T, grinning. Feisty. He was named after a prominent ancestor, Benjamin Franklin, and they shared more than a name: both were brilliant, larger-than-life, charismatic. Actually, he came from a long line of characters: a grandfather who died, in his 90s, as the result of a bar fight, a father who was an early aviator. That family bred their men big, bold, and memorable. Frank, my Frank, my friend, came of age during the Great Depression. He had an older brother, equally brilliant; when it came time for Frank to attend college in ’37 or ’38, there was no money left. None. His brother had the degree that Frank…

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[A Holiday Shopping Spree for the Bookworm] Fifth Stop: Badly Drawn Authors

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I love bookish goodies almost as much as I love actual books, and reading. Being a bookworm is not a hobby: it is an all-enveloping, personality-defining lifestyle. The holiday season is just getting started, which means it is time to go shopping the literary way! Over the next two weeks, I will take you on a virtual bookish shopping spree to some of my favourite lit sites!

In 2013, we visited some wonderful literary museums. This year, I am delighted to showcase several amazing book-themed Etsy shops. Let’s get started!

BADLY DRAWN AUTHORS

I have so much love for this shop. Maybe my inner hipster is showing, but I think it’s a genius idea. You can buy cards and posters of some awesome writers in a fun style that is anything but generic. The prices are also totally affordable for most budgets.

TWO OF MY (MANY) FAVOURITE PIECES:

SHOP INFO:

  • BADLY DRAWN AUTHORS: ETSY STORE
  • LOCATION: LIVERPOOL, ENGLAND, UNITED KINGDOM
  • ARTIST: SEAN RYAN
  • ARTIST INFO: HERE

[Alternative Muses] Coming and Going: Georges Seurat/Robertson Davies Mashup

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Port-en-Bessin: The Outer Harbor (Low Tide) by Georges Seurat, 1888

Georges Seurat (born 2 December 1859): Port-en-Bessin: The Outer Harbor (Low Tide), 1888.

“The eyes see only what the mind is prepared to comprehend.”-Robertson Davies (died 2 December 1995), Tempest-Tost

[A Holiday Shopping Spree for the Bookworm] Fourth Stop: Obvious State

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I love bookish goodies almost as much as I love actual books, and reading. Being a bookworm is not a hobby: it is an all-enveloping, personality-defining lifestyle. The holiday season is just getting started, which means it is time to go shopping the literary way! Over the next two weeks, I will take you on a virtual bookish shopping spree to some of my favourite lit sites!

In 2013, we visited some wonderful literary museums. This year, I am delighted to showcase several amazing book-themed Etsy shops. Let’s get started!

OBVIOUS STATE

 Obvious State makes bold, high-quality, well-priced literary prints and paper goods. I could easily decorate an entire room around their gorgeous black-and-white art.

TWO OF MY FAVOURITE PIECES:

SHOP INFO:

  • OBVIOUS STATE: ETSY STORE
  • LOCATION: NEW YORK CITY
  • ARTIST: EVAN ROBERTSON
  • ARTIST INFO: HERE