“Let your fiction grow out of the land beneath your feet.”-Willa Cather (born on 12/7/1873)
Willa Cather, 1912
“If you write to impress it will always be bad, but if you write to express it will be good.”-Thornton Wilder (died on 12/7/1975)
Thornton Wilder’s very serious looking Yale graduation photo, 1920
THE READER’S CATALOG
This beautiful site is a one-stop shop for the understated reader in your life. Be warned: if you, too, are of a quietly bookish mind, you’ll want at least a dozen things for yourself. The Reader’s Catalog is full of useful goods with a literary bent, which automatically makes any purchase guilt free! That’s how it works, right?
A FEW HIGHLIGHTS:
Bodleian Winter Titles Wrapping Paper. $6.95. Image from The Reader’s Catalog.
Writer’s Pencils. $18.95. Image from The Reader’s Catalog.
“I Am Born” Infant Tee (David Copperfield). $19.95. Image from The Reader’s Catalog.
DETAILS:
FIRST STOP: EDWARD GOREY HOUSE STORE
SECOND STOP: JANE AUSTEN GIFT SHOP
THIRD STOP: OUT OF PRINT CLOTHING
“Who has seen the wind? Neither you nor I: But when the trees bow down their head, The wind is passing by.”-Christina Rossetti (born on 12/5/1830)
Claude Monet (died on 12/5/1926): Three Trees in Grey Weather, 1891
OUT OF PRINT CLOTHING
Out of Print Clothing is the perfect shop for those who love to wear their bookish allegiances on their chests. Their mission statement says it all: “Out of Print celebrates the world’s great stories through fashion. Our products feature iconic and often out of print book covers.” Pretty nifty, eh?
A FEW HIGHLIGHTS:
The Metamorphosis. $28.00. Image from Out of Print Clothing.
The Wonderful Wizard of Oz Tote Bag. $18.00. Image from Out of Print Clothing.
The Little Prince. $22.00. Image from Out of Print Clothing.
DETAILS:
FIRST STOP: EDWARD GOREY HOUSE STORE
SECOND STOP: JANE AUSTEN GIFT SHOP
Robert Louis Stevenson
Robert Louis Stevenson
Robert Louis Stevenson died on 3 December 1894. He was forty-four years old. Here he is, looking elegant in a John Singer Sargent portrait…
Portrait of Robert Louis Stevenson by John Singer Sargent, 1887
He was as dashing as the best of them…
Robert Louis Stevenson, 1879
His spirited wife, Fanny, also excelled at living life to the fullest …
Fanny Vandegrift Osbourne Stevenson
“So long as we love, we serve; so long as we are loved by others, I should say that we are almost indispensable; and no man is useless while he has a friend.”-Robert Louis Stevenson
Rex Stout Quote
JANE AUSTEN GIFT SHOP
We all have at least one Pride and Prejudice disciple in our lives. Simplify your shopping list by visiting this enchanting site dedicated to a large and partially exclusive line of Jane Austen goodies. The online store is the retail arm of The Jane Austen Centre, appropriately located in the English city of Bath (which means much to Jane addicts the world over). Let’s begin our shopping tour!
A FEW HIGHLIGHTS:
Jane Austen Places in Regency Bath Mug. £10.00 GBP. Image from the Jane Austen Gift Shop.
Bookmark-Keep Calm and Read Jane Austen. £3.00 GBP. Image from the Jane Austen Gift Shop.
Initial Seal and Sealing Wax Set. £7.99 GBP. Image from the Jane Austen Gift Shop.
DETAILS:
FIRST STOP: EDWARD GOREY HOUSE STORE
Rex Todhunter Stout was born on 1 December 1886. He gave the world that singular detective, Nero Wolfe (and his unremittingly charming factotum Archie Goodwin!), writing dozens of excellent genre novels and short stories during a four decade period. Stout’s version of New York City is one of the best (fictionalized) settings in all of literature. Here he is, mixing patterns and still looking casually dapper in his eighty-seventh year…
Rex Stout by Jill Krementz, 1973
“To say that a man is a reasoning animal is a very different thing than to say that most of man’s decisions are based on his rational process. That I don’t believe at all.”-Rex Stout
Oscar Wilde died on 30 November 1900. He was 46 years old.
Oscar Wilde by Napoleon Sarony
“I am so clever that sometimes I don’t understand a single word of what I am saying.”-Oscar Wilde, The Happy Prince and Other Stories
“To live is the rarest thing in the world. Most people exist, that is all.”-Oscar Wilde
A Small Press Life: Books. Art. Writing. Life. Tea. 