Penguin English Classics (and more)

I Am Books - Boston, MA

{14.06.23}

Today I visited The Old Pier Bookshop in Morecambe, it's an absolute treasure trove and I spent so long looking around that I almost got a parking ticket! Also, the Facebook page is absolutely hilarious, well worth a read!

So, in a second hand bookshop antiquariat today I found this:

Which basically confirms why we love the smell of old books so much! While new books still carry the smell of factory-made chemicals, old books' cellulose and lignin in the paper have disintegrated and produced sweet smells associated with flowers, nuts, vanilla, and others we associate with comforting and sweet! ❤️

Friend sent me this earlier:

My first trip to London

A beautiful visit to Daunt Books

Just excuse me while I ascend into nautical literature heaven..

Present 🥰

Took a relaxing trip to a local indie bookstore and couldn't leave without getting Miyazaki's Shuna's Journey! I'll share a flip-through later to show how beautiful the art and layout are. Also stopped by a local coffee shop and had a necessary chai latte with a cherry almond scone 🌸

I picked up a super scary, probably haunted clown doll at the thrift store (not pictured) and I am sure she will make her debut in some book photos at some point 😉

Las librerías.

12 enero de 2023

El año paso hice una pequeña publicación que empezó con siete copias, las cuales tomaron varios meses de trabajo empezando por la maquetación, escoger el papel final para que se ajustara a la sensación de algo cálido y al presupuesto, las múltiples pruebas fallidas para que la impresora sacara todo lo más lindo y simétrico posible, ya que tenía que imprimir al derecho y el revés de la hoja, doblar hoja por hoja evitando las arrugas para cocer el libro. Cuando tuve los siete libritos finalizado salté de felicidad, un sueño cumplido para mí. Esas primeras copias eran para una feria, y para mi sorpresa se vendieron todas ese mismo día, al final hasta hubo varias chicas interesadas, pero ya se habían acabado, no me lo podía creer. Justo al final de ese evento un amigo me dijo: ahora hay que imprimir más para llevarla a las librerías. Yo le hice cara de; ¿en serio? No se me había ocurrido que podía llevar mi libro chiquito a una librería, primero porque no era una editorial, porque es un fanzine corto y no tenía otras publicaciones como autora en mi portafolio. Y así parezca obvio para algunos, para mi era un fanzine casero para mostrar en ferias, pero no para librerías. Pero la idea se quedó en mi cabeza, entonces, junto con lo que había vendido en la feria pude comprar más papel, imprimir, cocer y terminé con cincuenta copias mas.

Así, un sábado decidí llevar unas 21 copias en la maleta y salir a mostrar mi fanzine a diferentes librerías, recuerdo que di varias vueltas por el barrio La Soledad de Bogotá, porque estaba nerviosa de cómo podría empezar la conversación para presentar esta publicación, después de dar bastantes más vueltas timbré en Casa Fuego, un lugar cultural muy bonito que tiene una librería con muchas publicaciones independientes. Pero en ese momento no abrieron y a mi me pareció bien, me dije; si tal vez no conviene, y me fui a tomar un café, llovió muy duro entonces me fui a mi casa. Honestamente, ese día me dio miedo que me dijeran que no, o más bien que me dijeran que si, porque eso significaría para mi, que, iba a dar un paso más hacia el camino de ser autora, pero a veces me da susto.

Finalmente, el siguiente fin de semana me dije; voy a mostrar mi publicación y lo voy a lograr así llueva o truene, entonces me hice una ruta de visita de cinco librerías, y ahí inició todo. Pienso que cada vez que se visita una librería, especialmente en los espacios independientes, se puede ver un universo distinto, se entra a conversar con varias propuestas, al ver la selección de libros de cada mes. Desde que nos saludamos con los libreros ya se empieza a tener una experiencia muy bonita, aprendiendo sobre las recomendaciones que hacen, antojándose de lo que les interesa a otros lectores, cada vez que alguien se lleva un libro se sabe que puede ser algo significativo. Son espacios donde podemos compartir lo que nos gusta, parchar, hacer amigos nuevos y aprender. Son lugares especiales que a muchos nos llenan, porque siempre se encuentra algo único, honestamente la mayoría de veces me siento más tranquila e inspirada, claro que llega el momento crítico de querer llevarse todo pero el presupuesto no alcanza y eso no está tan chévere. Pero bueno, no todo es perfecto. A pesar de ese detallito, quiero decir que me inspira mucho poder ver mi pequeña publicación en estos espacios, llenos de ideas e intereses. No me puedo sentir más orgullosa de esta profesión, donde no solo que es muy satisfactorio ver toda la propuesta independiente, la asertividad que hay por los lectores a confiar y dejarse sorprender de nuevas publicaciones y editoriales, al lado de las librerías que están abiertas a recibir propuestas experimentales en diferentes campos, especialmente en lo que me apasiona que es la oferta en narrativa gráfica. Gracias por apostarle a esto.

Look what arrived last week! 🙂📚 Always Carry A Book t-shirt from Pilsen Community Books, designed by Shelby Rodeffer, printed by Gibson Print (a union labor, employee owned printshop), with a portion of proceeds going to Chicago Community Jail Support. // (c) Jenny Lam 2022

Happy independent bookstore day to all who celebrate!

Lovely day at Warwick's in La Jolla

when an independent book store gives you a free little bookmark ♡︎♡︎♡︎

Baghdad's independent bookstores survive wars, conflicts

On the eastern side of the Tigris River in downtown Baghdad, many bookstores open every morning, some of which have survived for decades despite wars, conflicts, insecurity and sectarian strife, especially after the U.S. invasion of Iraq in 2003.

The book market was set up as early as the end of the Ottoman era in the al-Saray market and then moved to the nearby al-Mutanabi Street.

During the early decades of the 20th century, the book market gradually flourished and gained the attention of many Arab and foreign publishing houses.

One of the oldest bookstores is the al-Assriyah bookstore, which was established in 1914. It was the first bookstore to move from al-Saray market to al-Mutanabi Street in 1948.

The bookstore's owner Ayad al-Qamousi, who is 60 years old, has a Ph.D. in Islamic history and Islamic civilization. He told Xinhua that the founder of his bookstore was Mahmoud Helmi, who was a poet.

"My father bought the bookstore from its founder in 1964 after the man became too old, and later I inherited it from my father," al-Qamousi said.

He said that "the bookstore contains many old books, some dating back to the 19th century, mostly lithographs. There are also many rare and valuable books that are first editions."

Al-Assri bookbindery, which was established in 1920, is another century-old business in the book market on al-Mutanabi Street. It also sells books.

Abboud Mohammed al-Falluji, 80, inherited the business from his father and bequeathed it to his sons and grandsons, who are working in the bookbindery.

Jamal al-Bazzaz, a retired professor from Baghdad University, said many Iraqi families were fond of owning private libraries in their houses, as their book collections reflect the cultural level of the family.

Iraqis suffered many difficulties due to international sanctions after the first Gulf War, and the years of chaos and bloodshed that followed the U.S. invasion of the country in 2003. They had to look for various means to ensure the livelihood of their families, including selling their cherished books at low prices.

"In the 1990s, unfortunately, I used to see respected writers, thinkers, and university professors put their books on the side of the street to sell so that they could feed their families," al-Qamousi said.

The entry of new "sellers" promoted the prosperity of the book market, yet it also made the market more competitive at that time.

The disasters the local book market suffered are far from over, especially after the U.S. invasion of Iraq, which brought the country endless conflicts and violence.

On March 5, 2007, the book market in al-Mutanabi Street was struck by a suicide bomber, leaving at least 26 people killed and more than 50 others injured.

"A large part of my bookstore (al-Assriyah bookstore) was burned," al-Qamousi said, adding that the upper floors, especially the third story where many of the rare books were stored, were all burned.

While strolling through the roofed al-Saray market, regular market-goers usually stop at a small bookstore, which is loaded with memories of Baghdad and its history.

Akram al-Filfily, in his 60s, sits at its forefront, waiting for professional readers to ask him about the oldest books and rare historical reference sources.

He said that the al-Filfily bookstore was founded in 1930 and is the only bookstore that has remained in the al-Saray market since its establishment.

Al-Filfily said that one of the painful incidents that affected those old bookstores was the 2007 suicide bombing, which led to the burning of many bookstores and bookstalls.

The huge blast prompted "some bookstore owners to leave the profession, and some turned to the stationery business after their property was damaged," he said.

Besides providing Iraqi intellectuals, writers and thinkers with valuable books and historical documents, those bookstores also tell people about the ups and downs of the fate of Iraq, al-Bazzaz told Xinhua.