Chicken Soup and the Lemming

The Lemming categorically denies that leftover pizza has anything to do with how the Lemming has been feeling.

The Lemming simply preferred staying inside, watching old movies and catching up on reading. Also sleeping and chicken soup.

Retrospectively reflecting:

• "A Tale of Two Birds"
  (January 9, 2015)
• "This Year We Gotta Get Organized"
  (January 2, 2015)
• "Christmas with the Lemming"
  (December 24, 2014)
• "From the Mind of the Lemming: Holiday Travel Plans"
  (December 19, 2014)
• "From the Mind of the Lemming: Xanadu Springs"
  (June 20, 2014)

A 21st Century Look at 19th Century Visions of the 20th Century

"The Future of Architecture Since 1889"
Jean-Louis Cohen (Author), Amazon.com product page

"Truly far-ranging -- both conceptually and geographically -- The Future of Architecture Since 1889 is a rich, compelling history that will shape future thinking out this period for years to come...."

As advertising copy goes, whoever wrote that could have done a lot worse. The description is a bit extravagant with praise, but at least it includes some verifiable details. Like who wrote the book:

"...Jean-Louis Cohen, one of today's most distinguished architectural historians and critics, gives an authoritative and compelling account of the twentieth century, tracing an arc from industrialization through computerization, and linking architecture to developments in art, technology, urbanism and critical theory...."

It's illustrated ("richly"), a hardcover book with 638 pages, published by Phaidon Press, and won't be available until March 28, 2012.

Living in The Future

The Lemming's been living in 'the future' for quite a while now. Somehow, the flying cars, floating cities, atomic toothbrushes, and mutant frogs never happened. Neither did the predicted ice age, death of the oceans, and depopulation of America.

The future hasn't been a total disappointment, though: disco didn't last; the Internet is upsetting apple carts; and spaceports moved from pulp fiction to the business pages.

All of which doesn't have all that much to do with architecture. Except that today's buildings are more likely to have a wireless network, than a servant's entrance.

With a price somewhere around $50 to $75, the Lemming isn't likely to buy the book. It's an interesting topic, though. Particularly since notions about what 'the future' will be like have changed so much since Victorian times.

Somewhat-related posts:

• "The Future Isn't What it Used to Be"
  (October 4, 2010)
• "Science Fiction in the Movies: 'The Satan Bug' to 'The Matrix'"
  Drifting at the Edge of Time and Space (January 26, 2010)
• "Architects, City Planning, Le Corbusier, Pulp Fiction, The Masses, The City of the Future, and Me"
  (December 16, 2009)
• "Predicting the Future: a Look at a Will Be that Was"
  Drifting at the Edge of Time and Space (June 26, 2009)
• "Cities of the Will be that Was"
  (June 22, 2009)

Books are Doomed? Probably Not - But Kindle is Hot

"Amazon sales pop as Kindle books overtake paperbacks"
Julianne Pepitone, CNNMoney.com (January 27, 2011)

"OK, bookworms, now you can declare Armageddon: Kindle e-books have overtaken paperback books as the bestselling type of content in Amazon's bookstore.

"Amazon made waves when it announced in July that Kindle content was outselling hardcover books. But industry analysts quickly dismissed that milestone, pointing out that paperback books sell far more copies than pricier hardcovers.

"E-books have now vanquished their paperback rivals as well.

" 'This milestone has come even sooner than we expected -- and it's on top of continued growth in paperback sales,' Amazon CEO Jeff Bezos said in a prepared statement.

"In fact, for every 100 paperback books sold, Amazon has sold 115 Kindle books since the beginning of the year, the company said...."

The Lemming hasn't bought a Kindle or other e-book: yet. There's something to be said for the codex as a data storage and retrieval technology. But the Lemming doesn't think it's an either-or situation. There's plenty of room for online research and reading, ink-on-thin-sheets data storage units, and e-books. (July 2, 2010)

In the Lemming's opinion.

On the other hand, what's happening at Amazon probably isn't the best news that old-school publishers have seen recently.

On the other hand - the Lemming's written about technology and getting a grip before:

• "Technophobic Movies: A Top (Bottom?) Ten List"
  (January 27, 2011)

Making Your Blog Into a Book: Pricy, But Interesting

"Got a Blog? Make a Book!"
Blog2Print, in partnership with Blogger

"Next time someone asks 'How can I print my blog?' send them to Blog2Print. With a couple of clicks, you choose a cover, the posts you'd like to include, and you're on your way to creating your own Blog Book!..."

I've discussed this service before, in another blog:

• "Well, That's Interesting: Blog2Print^TM"
  Starting a Small Business Without Losing My Mind (April 12, 2010)

The pricing isn't crazy, if you're looking at making a one-off copy for yourself:

"A 20-page softcover Blog Book is just $14.95
"Hardcover only $24.95. And extra pages are only 35 cents!"

On the other hand, that's a pretty slim book. If you're looking at using this service as something for business use? Well, you can buy a 200-page book for well under $14.95: so this looks like a nice service for folks who want to preserve an attractive hard copy of their blog.

Penguins? Quite British, Actually: The Books, That is

"Picking up Penguins for 75 years"
BBC (July 29, 2010)

"Tales about the man who founded Penguin 75 years ago, conjure up the image of an eccentric character from one of the publisher's books.

"Sir Allen Lane was the man who used a fairground slide to drop deliveries to his company (then based in a crypt) and came up with the Penguincubator - a vending machine for the firm's books to be installed on train platforms.

"Stories differ as to whether this machine was ever made, with some reports suggesting at least one machine was installed at Charing Cross Station in London...."

"...'When Allen Lane founded Penguin in 1935 he had a pretty simple, but pretty radical idea: make great literature available to everyone at an affordable price and for it to appeal not just to the wallet, but to literary taste and the eye, with beautifully designed jackets and style,' says Mr Makinson...."

75 years later, Penguin books are still selling: so that radical idea seems to have been a rather good one, after all.

Interestingly, Penguin books haven't been selling in Brazil: yet. Apparently that's going to change soon, too.

The BBC quotes Penguin's chief executive and chairman, John Makinson, on paperbacks and e-books: "There's also nothing cool about owning enormous quantities of e-books," which I'm taking a bit out of context.

Keep reading: "...'For the children's market, the iPad is fantastic. On the iPad in the US, there was only one book pre-loaded and that was our edition of Winnie The Pooh,' Mr Makinson adds...."

I rather suspect that Penguin books - virtual and otherwise - will be around for quite a while.

I'm even pretty sure that the codex will be around for quite a while, too: although we're almost certainly seeing a major shift toward data storage and retrieval technology that doesn't involve marks on physical pages. ("The Web Rewires Your Brain: Ain't That Great?" (July 2, 2010), "Data-Driven Art: For an 'Overwhelmed' 'Hive Mind???' " (January 27, 2010))

New York City, Paper Clips, Wire Art and a Book

"Wow! New York City "

duopress, YouTube (February 10, 2010)
video, 1:21

"This is a video for the book Wow! New York CIty.
"Available at bookstores and online

"Wow! New York City
"Imagine a City Built with a Paper Clip . . .

"Puck (Author), Rey David Rojas (Illustrations by)

"New York City has never been more whimsical than in this visual narrative that uses wire-art sculptures to explore the Big Apple. Everything starts with a paper clip that unfolds to create some of New York's most famous symbols, including the Statue of Liberty, the Brooklyn Bridge, and the Empire State Building. A lively text accompanies the striking visuals, and six pages of information chronicle everything needed to know about the included attractions and landmarks...."

It took a lot of paperclips to make these wire-art sculptures, actually. A whole lot.

The video as an engaging music track - it's probably worth the one-and-a-third minutes it'll take to view.

If you've got a case of 'Monday blues' today, you may find the child's giggle in the soundtrack helpful. Or, not.

Although calling a children's book "educational" may call up memories of dreary, ill-planned documentaries: I think the display of art that uses some fairly inexpensive materials might spark a child's imagination.

Or, an adult's.

---

A tip of the hat to amyhodgepodge, on Twitter, for the heads-up on this video.

A Book Narrated by a Dog: a Micro-Review of a Review

"The Art Of Racing In The Rain"
Animals That Give Pause (June 3, 2010)

"This is a book about dogs. Thus it goes on Missouri Books and Animals That Give Pause too. The Art of Racing In the Rain is by Garth Stein. I'd give it a 9 out of 10 or maybe an 8, not the most intellectually stimulating read I've had but it's a dog talking, gimme a break...."

Sounds like a pretty good book, based on what's in that review. Which is short, slightly autobiographical, and very readable. Also with a link to Amazon.com, in case you want to buy the book.

Which isn't the worst idea I've read about lately.

Me? The Lemming isn't buying it, not now anyway. I blew my book budget on Chesterton's "Orthodoxy" and Mccloud's "Making Comics: Storytelling Secrets of Comics, Manga and Graphic Novels:" for personal and professional use, respectively.

What are you waiting around here for? Go read that book review!

A Book to Read: and Reading a Book

"There is a great deal of difference between an eager man who wants to read a book and the tired man who wants a book to read."
G. K. Chesterton, via The Quotations Page

Good News: Out-of-Print Books Now Available at Bookstores - Bad News: Same Thing

"Google Lets You Custom-Print Millions of Public Domain Books"
Epicenter Wired (September 17, 2009)

"What's hot off the presses come Thursday

"Any one of the more than 2 million books old enough to fall out of copyright into the public domain.

"Over the last seven years, Google has scanned millions of dusty tomes from deep in the stacks of the nation's leading university libraries and turned them into searchable documents available anywhere in the world through its search box.

"And now Google Book Search, in partnership with On Demand Books, is letting readers turn those digital copies back into paper copies, individually printed by bookstores around the world...."

The Wired article does a pretty good job of discussing another angle in digital-to-print services. The technology isn't exactly new: but this commercial application is.

For readers and bookstores, this sounds like good news. Some small publishing houses, maybe not so much. Like the Neumann Press, a dozen or so miles north of here. They've made a modest business of taking out-of-print books with no copyright holder, reprinting and selling them.

Right now, their prices are reasonable and competitive. In Barnes & Noble/B. Dalton, Borders Books and Music/Waldenbooks/Brentano's, and all the rest start selling the same titles at around the same price - I'm not sure how Neumann Press will stay in business.

I suppose they could partner with one of the big chains, and act as a sort of indexing service.

On the other hand, I'll be surprised if a 'Printarama Books & Latte 2-Go' will - or can - offer the same quality printing and binding that Neumann Press and others provide. But I may be 'way off the fiftieth percentile, in my appreciation for the format that information comes in.

The main thing, I think, is that the information that's been locked away, gathering dust, in university archives is becoming available to just about everybody - in America, at least - who can scrape together an hour's wage or so for a book.

Which gets me into a nostalgic mood, remembering my days as a researcher: finding which dusty archive held the information I sought; negotiating with the archivist for permission to enter, and search, and read, what lay within.

But, much as I enjoyed the schmoozing/negotiating and bending over dusty tomes, I like being able to do what used to take weeks in a few minutes, sitting here by the air conditioner.

The Coffee Table Coffee Table Book - I'm Not Making That Up

"The Coffee Table Coffee Table Book"
Alexander Payne, James Zemaitis, Black Dog Publishing (2003), via RIBA Bookshops

" 'The Coffee Table Coffee Table Book' is both a light-hearted homage and studied reference guide to this essential yet overlooked piece of furniture.

The coffee table is an often ignored piece of furniture that is central to every well-bred living room..."

"...Texts will include a history of the coffee table by design curators Alexander Payne and James Zemaitis...."

Yes, someone has apparently written a history of the coffee table - and put it in a coffee table book.

After researching two posts on subjects that have found their way into coffee table books - those outsized, profusely illustrated volumes designed for show as much as for content - I wondered if someone had delved into the coffee table's past.

Didn't take long to find this - and my guess is that there's more out there.

I'm still seriously behind (more in "Lemming Tracks: The Lemming's Got to Take Care of His Family" (September 11, 2009)), so I'll leave it at this one book, and move on.

America's Survival Guide (That's "Survival," not "Survivalist")

If you think Code Pink is a centrist group, skip this post.

"America's Survival Guide"
Yes: The philistines want you to buy the book.

"Contrary to popular wisdom, the most serious threat to America does not spring from overseas adversaries. Because the threat is from within, it is much more subtle and ignored. Our self-evident truths have become neither. Our history and First Principles have been cast aside and denigrated by the public, educators, mainstream media, legal profession, and politicians...."

This is about as political as the Lemming is likely to get.

"America's Survival Guide" claims to be chock-full of fuddy-duddy foolishness: ideas like

• The rule of law
• Equality
• The Social Compact
• Unalienable rights
• Limited government
  • It doesn't have to be an oxymoron

Hopelessly Old-Fashioned, and Probably Some Kind of Plot

The author quotes some dead white guy, who said "Our nation is founded on the principle that observance of the law is the eternal safeguard of liberty and defiance of the law is the surest road to tyranny."

Just days after saying that, this American president invaded Mississippi and forced a university there to - - -. Oh. Right. Never mind. (Go ahead, look it up: the Meredith v. Fair case is one of those wonderfully equivocal spots in history.)

From a rather extensive sample, in pdf format, I gather that the book is riddled with that sort of talk.

In my opinion, if ideas like this spread around, there's a very real possibility that America might change. Whether you think that's a good idea or not is up to you.

And Now, for Something Completely Different: A Novel about Space Battles, Fearsome Dinosaurs, Middle School Teen Angst, and More

"Home > Spanish Language Educational Materials > SECRETS OF THE SURVIVORS (paperback), a novel by Mark L. Eastburn"
aprenden.com

This is a page from an online catalog. The book sounds a bit florid, but interesting.

"Product Description
SECRETS OF THE SURVIVORS (paperback), a novel by Mark L. Eastburn
A great book for adventure lovers of all ages!

"Epic Space Battles! Fearsome Dinosaurs! Middle School Teen Angst! Elementary School Squabbles! Brazilian Martial Arts! Courageous Frogs! It's All In There!...

"...An explanation of the price: It may seem a little high, but this is a limited edition, 400 page book. It may quickly rise in value as the book gains in popularity, and we will keep a record of each purchase to prove that each signed copy that you buy is authentic!"

(There you go, DrBurst.)

Nineteenth-Century Illustration Technologies

"The Technologies of Nineteenth-Century Illustration: Woodblock Engraving, Steel Engraving, and Other Processes"
Victorian Web / literature, history & culture in the age of Victoria

"he history of nineteenth-century printing is intimately bound up with the engraved boxwood block, the single most significant piece of illustration technology, which dominated early Victorian book illustration. The first book to be so illustrated was Thomas Bewick's The General History of Quadrupeds (1790). The artist engraved his own white line illustrations on boxwood blocks, and the artist-engraver remained a common figure in book illustration until mid-century.

"Between 1850 and 1900, approximately 1,200 "art" books were produced in Britain. The decline in importance of the woodblock over those five decades as new technologies were introduced is evident: in the 1860s, only 6.5% of these books utilised two or more different methods of illustration, but by the 1890s this figure had risen to almost 30%...."


(from Victorian Web, used w/o permission)
"Wood-engraving of a ship in peril by Thomas Bewick."

I'm very interested in the history of visual communication - including writing, printing, and book-making (each its own subject). This is not particularly light reading, but it's a pretty good look at some technological and creative changes of the nineteenth century, and how they affected what people saw in books.

J. M. Barrie's "Peter Pan:" A Story that Hasn't Died, About a Boy Who Doesn't Grow Up

"Peter Pan" is a remarkably large cultural icon in America, considering that it's a play written by a Scottish novelist, Sir James Matthew Barrie or J. M. Barrie, in the first years of the 20th century.

Peter Pan first appeared as a character in "The Little White Bird" (1902), a novel by Barrie. The novel was written for adults, but the "Peter Pan" chapters were lifted out and re-published as "Peter Pan in Kensington Gardens" (1906).

The play, "Peter Pan," opened in 1904.

Project Gutenberg makes these available as online books:

• "The Little White Bird; or, Adventures in Kensington gardens"
  J. M. Barrie
• "Peter Pan in Kensington Gardens"
  J. M. Barrie
• "Peter Pan"
  J. M. Barrie
  (Currently for US distribution only!)

There have been quite a few screen adaptations of "Peter Pan:"

• "Peter Pan" 1924 (Cyril Chadwick, Mary Brian)
• "Peter Pan" 1953 (Disney)
• "Peter Pan" 1955 (television series, apparently made in Brazil, in Portuguese)
• "Peter Pan" 1960 (Cyril Ritchard, Maureen Bailey) for television
• "Peter Pan" 1962 (Wolf Ackva, Michael Ande, made in West Germany, in German)
• "Peter Pan 1976 (Danny Kaye, Mia Farrow)
• "Peter Pan" 1986 (Animated Australian version, it seems)
• "Hook" 1991 (Dustin Hoffman, Robin Williams)
• "Peter Pan" 2003 (Jason Isaacs, Jeremy Sumpter)
• "Peter Pan" 2000 (Paul Schoeffler, Elisa Sagardia, made for television)
• "Return to Neverland" 2002 (Disney)
• "Peter Pan" 2003 (Jason Isaacs, Jeremy Sumpter)
• Even a video game1993

More, about Barrie and his works, at "Born in Scotland; Lives in Neverland – J.M. Barrie and the big adventure of Peter Pan."

---

Update May 21, 2008

Someone's adding to the Peter Pan phenomenon: "Peter Pan's Neverworld" ("A new novel by Peter Von Brown, based upon the expansion ideas of Sir J. M. Barrie"). The author left a comment on this post.

He has a blog: "Peter Von Brown." A recent entry (May 13, 2008) says that he has an advance copy, and that the book will soon be available: "So hang in there, Peter Pan is coming back…and he's not alone."

There's a pre-release review at Lulu Marketplace: Science Fiction & Fantasy.

Magnificent Bookstores

"Most Interesting Bookstores of the World"

Many impressive photos, with captions. Including one of a hairless sphynx cat that makes a San Francisco bookstore its home.

How to Make Your Own Book: a Book Binding Tutorial

"The Basic Binding of Books: A Tutorial"
JamieButler.com

It starts with a list of materials.

Continues with clear photos and text.

Ends with:

"When completed, place the entire book under weights overnight. A good, long dry under pressure is necessary so that your book doesn't warp. Afterward you can attach decorative end papers if you wish, using the same method."

This looks like a pretty good tutorial on how to make your own book. Not write it: make it.

Unlike many, this tutorial actually seems to acknowledge that the reader doesn't already know the skill - and may need an illustration to show what's supposed to be done.

Bizarre Bookshelves: Found in Cyberspace

"Interesting Bookshelves"
CrookedBrains (March 31, 2008)

More strange, artistic, and occasionally practical bookshelves. Lots of photos, very little description. You may recognize one or two of the bookshelves, from previous posts.

For pure imaginativeness, my favorite is "Equation Bookshelf."

Chester Beatty Library: Art Museum and Library

"Welcome to the Chester Beatty Library Website"

"... the Chester Beatty Library is an art museum and library which houses the great collection of manuscripts, miniature paintings, prints, drawings, rare books and some decorative arts assembled by Sir Alfred Chester Beatty (1875-1968). The Library's exhibitions open a window on the artistic treasures of the great cultures and religions of the world. Its rich collection from countries across Asia, the Middle East, North Africa and Europe offers visitors a visual feast. Chester Beatty Library was named Irish Museum of the year in 2000 and was awarded the title European Museum of the Year in 2002."

That's My Kind of Book Store

"A Book Store Made in Heaven"

"Whoever said that reading was a religious experience was right, especially when taking a visit to Selexyz Dominicanen in Maastricht, Netherlands.

"Having just won the Lensvelt de Architect Interior Prize 2007, this newest addition to the Selexyz book chain is well worth the visit to this Medievil city if you are ever in the area."

With photos.

Impressive. Very.

The Microcosm of London: A Nineteenth Century Book

"The Microcosm of London"

A complete nineteenth century book about London, illustrated, in pretty-high-resolution photographic reproduction.