Showing posts with label books. Show all posts
Showing posts with label books. Show all posts
24 September 2012
Owl's Nest, Fredericton
One of the best, most chaotic and interesting used bookstores I've ever visited ---------
owlsnest-bookstore.com
22 March 2012
Chapter: The Psychometry of Books
An excerpt from Art Objects by Jeanette Winterson:
<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<
I was brought up without books. An early unprinted existence where paper was something pasted on to walls and likely reading matter was either The Bible or the Army and Navy stores catalogue, always open at the underwear.
There was nothing perverted in this; without proper heating and in chilly Lancashire, a thermal one-piece was the essence of God; all-protecting, embracing, saving, generous. I still have a talent for sleeved vests, although mine now come from the Burlington Arcade, but without one of my early cast-offs, I might never have been brave enough to buy that first First Edition. I am wearing one now, book and vest. I have been wearing one since I was a small child, book and vest. Books and vests bound up together. Both protect me.
Brought up without books, my passion for them was, if not directly forbidden, discouraged. At that time I knew nothing of First Editions and their special lure but I associated books with magic. Their totemic qualities aroused me and I believed that to possess them was power.
[......]
I trust books, and a wild trust is part of passion. If 'Nature never did betray the heart that loved her' then why should language? Nature was not forbidden to me, and it was through her silent speaking, that I began to understand the physical power of special objects, a power evident in my own library. Books that have the power to move me.
Never lie. Never say that something has moved you if you are still in the same place. You can pick up a book but a book can throw you across the room. A book can move you from a comfortable armchair to a rocky place where the sea is. A book can separate you from your husband, your wife, your children, all that you are. It can heal you out of a lifetime of pain. Books are kinetic, and like all huge forces, need to be handled with care.
But they do need to be handled. The pleasure in a book is, or should be, sensuous as well as aesthetic, visceral as well as intellectual.
>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>
[Pg 121-123]
<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<
I was brought up without books. An early unprinted existence where paper was something pasted on to walls and likely reading matter was either The Bible or the Army and Navy stores catalogue, always open at the underwear.
There was nothing perverted in this; without proper heating and in chilly Lancashire, a thermal one-piece was the essence of God; all-protecting, embracing, saving, generous. I still have a talent for sleeved vests, although mine now come from the Burlington Arcade, but without one of my early cast-offs, I might never have been brave enough to buy that first First Edition. I am wearing one now, book and vest. I have been wearing one since I was a small child, book and vest. Books and vests bound up together. Both protect me.
Brought up without books, my passion for them was, if not directly forbidden, discouraged. At that time I knew nothing of First Editions and their special lure but I associated books with magic. Their totemic qualities aroused me and I believed that to possess them was power.
[......]
I trust books, and a wild trust is part of passion. If 'Nature never did betray the heart that loved her' then why should language? Nature was not forbidden to me, and it was through her silent speaking, that I began to understand the physical power of special objects, a power evident in my own library. Books that have the power to move me.
Never lie. Never say that something has moved you if you are still in the same place. You can pick up a book but a book can throw you across the room. A book can move you from a comfortable armchair to a rocky place where the sea is. A book can separate you from your husband, your wife, your children, all that you are. It can heal you out of a lifetime of pain. Books are kinetic, and like all huge forces, need to be handled with care.
But they do need to be handled. The pleasure in a book is, or should be, sensuous as well as aesthetic, visceral as well as intellectual.
>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>
[Pg 121-123]
07 March 2012
ERI5 - HAPPENING NOW
04 March 2012
BOOKS READ 2011
1. Selected Poems by T.S. Eliot
2. The Summer Book by Tove Jansson
3. Nine Parts of Desire: The Hidden World of Islamic Women by Geraldine Brooks
4. City of Widows: An Iraqi Woman's Account of War and Resistance by Haifa Zangana
5. Three Wishes: Palestinian and Israeli Children Speak
6. Ghost Pine: All Stories True by Jeff Miller
7. Anne of Green Gables by L.M. Montgomery
8. Infidel by Ayaan Hirsi Ali
9. The Walking Dead Vol. 13: Too Far Gone by Robert Kirkman
10. Minna Canth: Pioneer Reformer by Ritva Heikkila (English translation by Paul Sjoblom
11. Local Motion: The Art of Civic Engagement in Toronto edited by Dave Meslin, Christina Palassio and Alana Wilcox
12. Reunion by Pascal Girard
13. Breaking the Sound Barrier by Amy Goodman
14. Berlin: City of Stones - Book One by Jason Lutes
15. Moomin Book Two by Tove Jansson
16. Berlin: City of Smoke - Book Two by Jason Lutes
17. Me Write Book: It Bigfoot Memoir by Graham Roumieu
18. The Walking Dead Vol. 14: No Way Out by Robert Kirkman
19. The Baltic Quintet: Poems from Estonia, Finland, Latvia, Lithuania and Sweden edited by Edita Page
20. Fair Play by Tove Jansson
21. Empire of Illusion: The End of Literacy and the Triumph of Spectacle by Chris Hedges
22. Death of the Liberal Class by Chris Hedges
23. Moomin Book Three by Tove Jansson
24. Drawn In: A peek into the inspiring sketchbooks of 44 fine artists, illustrators, graphic designers and cartoonists - presented by Julia Rothman
12 February 2012
03 February 2012
EYELEVEL RESHELVING INITIATIVE 5
Two of my chapbooks will be featured in this upcoming group show at Eyelevel Gallery in Halifax...
Here's a list of some of the contributing artists, and me.
Here's a list of some of the contributing artists, and me.
27 January 2012
11 January 2012
Field Trip: The Russian Avant-Garde
Finally got around to seeing the Chagall & The Russian Avant-Garde exhibition at the Art Gallery of Ontario. It wasn't spectacular, but there were a few highlights in the show, making it a (mostly) worthwhile visit...
One of my most favourite artists is El Lissitzky, so I was quite excited to see this piece, up close and in real life!
I must confess, seeing it resulted in a lot of smiling (inside and out) and wide-eyed gawking!
And Rodchenko, love love love his work as well:
There was also a separate and smaller exhibit being shown entitled Constructing Utopia: Books and Posters from Revolutionary Russia (1910-1940). This collection definitely contained more of the kind of work I was interested in seeing:
One of my most favourite artists is El Lissitzky, so I was quite excited to see this piece, up close and in real life!
I must confess, seeing it resulted in a lot of smiling (inside and out) and wide-eyed gawking!
And Rodchenko, love love love his work as well:
There was also a separate and smaller exhibit being shown entitled Constructing Utopia: Books and Posters from Revolutionary Russia (1910-1940). This collection definitely contained more of the kind of work I was interested in seeing:
20 December 2011
Death of the Liberal Class.
An excerpt from Chris Hedges book, which I just completed:
The belief that we can make things happen through positive thoughts, by visualizing, by wanting them, by tapping into our inner strength, or by understanding that we are truly exceptional, is peddled to us by all aspects of the culture, from Oprah to the Christian Right. It is magical thinking. We can always make more money, meet new quotas, consume more products, and advance our careers. This magical thinking, this idea that human and personal progress is somehow inevitable, leads to political passivity. It permits societies to transfer their emotional allegiance to the absurd--whether embodied in professional sports or in celebrity culture--and ignore real problems. It exacerbates despair. It keeps us in a state of mass self-delusion. Once we are drawn into this form of magical thinking, the purpose, structure and goals of the corporate state are not questioned. To question, to engage in criticism of the corporate collective, is to be seen as obstructive and negative. And these cultural illusions have grossly perverted the way we view ourselves, our nation, and the natural world. This magical thinking, coupled with its bizarre ideology of limitless progress holds out the promise of an impossible, unachievable happiness. It has turned whole nations, such as the United States, into self-consuming machines of death.
(page 200)
The belief that we can make things happen through positive thoughts, by visualizing, by wanting them, by tapping into our inner strength, or by understanding that we are truly exceptional, is peddled to us by all aspects of the culture, from Oprah to the Christian Right. It is magical thinking. We can always make more money, meet new quotas, consume more products, and advance our careers. This magical thinking, this idea that human and personal progress is somehow inevitable, leads to political passivity. It permits societies to transfer their emotional allegiance to the absurd--whether embodied in professional sports or in celebrity culture--and ignore real problems. It exacerbates despair. It keeps us in a state of mass self-delusion. Once we are drawn into this form of magical thinking, the purpose, structure and goals of the corporate state are not questioned. To question, to engage in criticism of the corporate collective, is to be seen as obstructive and negative. And these cultural illusions have grossly perverted the way we view ourselves, our nation, and the natural world. This magical thinking, coupled with its bizarre ideology of limitless progress holds out the promise of an impossible, unachievable happiness. It has turned whole nations, such as the United States, into self-consuming machines of death.
(page 200)
21 August 2011
26 June 2011
14 June 2011
06 May 2011
24 April 2011
cottage collection.
some pretty great book covers found amongst our cottage book collection, all of which came with the cottage when we got it. and me, i'm a sucker for good old book cover design, so here they are:
20 March 2011
finnish school girls.
i suppose she was quite disliked by the previous owner of the photograph, my great aunt (unless she inherited it as such, as have i)... youthful friendship gone wrong?
07 March 2011
21 February 2011
Vulgar! Inappropriate!
I took it upon myself to create a display at work for this year's Freedom to Read week (Feb. 20-26) and with the assistance of two helpful and talented co-workers, came up with this:
More images here.
And for some further reading on the subject, but in no way a complete list:
Challenged books and magazine from the Freedom to Read website.
Read the Ontario Library Association's Statement on the Intellectual Rights of the Individual here.
Judy Blume discusses censorship and challenges to her own work here and here.
A Small Sampling of Publications Seized or Detained by Canada Customs (updated in 1997)
Article from the Toronto Star: "Vampire series tops list of ‘challenged’ books in Canada"
More images here.
And for some further reading on the subject, but in no way a complete list:
Challenged books and magazine from the Freedom to Read website.
Read the Ontario Library Association's Statement on the Intellectual Rights of the Individual here.
Judy Blume discusses censorship and challenges to her own work here and here.
A Small Sampling of Publications Seized or Detained by Canada Customs (updated in 1997)
Article from the Toronto Star: "Vampire series tops list of ‘challenged’ books in Canada"
13 February 2011
finally, books read in 2007:
1. Lucky by Gabrielle Bell
2. Mome Fall 2005 (Vol. 2)
3. Confession by Leo Tolstoy
4. 32 Stories: The Complete Optic-Nerve Mini-comics by Adrian Tomine
5. Understanding Comics by Scott McCloud
6. A Complicated Kindness by Miriam Toews
7. I Never Liked You by Chester Brown
8. Reading Lolita in Tehran by Azar Nafisi
9. Mome Spring/Summer 2006
10. jrnls80s by Lee Ranaldo
11. Books by Gerald Donaldson
12. Strangers in Paradise, Pocket Book 1 by Terry Moore
13. Chicken with Plums by Marjane Satrapi
14. Home from the Vinyl Cafe by Stuart McLean
15. Prisoner of Tehran: A Memoir by Marina Nemat
16. Modern Artists on Art edited by Robert L. Herbert
17. My Sister, Guard Your Veil; My Brother, Guard Your Eyes edited by Lila Azam Zanganeh
18. Dadaism by Dietmar Elger
19. American Splendor: Our Movie Year by Harvey Pekar
20. Blankets by Craig Thompson
21. An Inconvenient Truth by Al Gore
22. The Prodigy by Hermann Hesse
23. Mansfield Park by Jane Austen
24. Blue by Kiriko Nananan
25. Mome Fall 2006 (Vol. 5)
23 January 2011
books read, 2006:
1. Anna Karenina by Leo Tolstoy
2. Ticknor by Sheila Heti
3. Best of American Splendor by Harvey Pekar
4. American Splendor by Harvey Pekar
5. Censored 2005 by Peter Phillips and Project Censored
6. Our Cancer Year by Harvey Pekar and Joyce Brabner
7. Me Talk Pretty One Day by David Sedaris
8. It's a Good Life, If You Don't Weaken by Seth
9. Wimbledon Green by Seth
10. Bannock, Beans and Black Tea by John Gallant and Seth
11. Black Hole by Charles Burns
12. A Cavalier History of Surrealism by Raoul Vaneigem
13. Ice Haven by Daniel Clowes
14. Yesterday Morning by Diana Athill
15. On Photography by Susan Sontag
16. Pride and Prejudice by Jane Austen
17. Persepolis by Marjane Satrapi
18. The Struggle for Utopia: Rodchenko, Lissitzky, Mololy-Nagy 1917-1946 by Victor Margolin
19. Persepolis 2 by Marjane Satrapi
20. Wobblies! A Graphic History of the Industrial Workers of the World edited by Paul Buhle and Nicole Schulman
21. Confessions of an English Opium Eater by Thomas De Quincey
22. Dress Your Family in Corduroy and Denim by David Sedaris
23. Ego & Hubris: The Michael Malice Story by Harvey Pekar
24. Fun Home: A Family Tragicomic by Alison Bechdel
25. Clyde Fans - Book 1 by Seth
26. Housekeeping Vs. the Dirt by Nick Hornby
27. Shenzhen: A Travelogue from China by Guy Delisle
28. The Summer of Love by Debbie Drechsler
10 January 2011
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