iscriptorium

A new exhibiton at the V & A celebrates the work of Romilly Saumarez-Smith. From an article in The Telegraph.

This month’s issue of Fine Books & Collections has an article on The Barbarian Press. These fine people have been knocking out exquisite books for 20 years and this is their story.

All that we want really is for people to read. It doesn’t matter how they do it, just that they do it. I am thereby encouraged by this

“What Gutenberg’s press did for Europe in the 15th century digitization and the Espresso Book Machine will do for the world tomorrow. …”

So they say. I am not convinced. There is a difference between reading a paperback, and nicely bound quality hardback. Not everyone appreciates it. Alas. So we have The Espresso Machine

The World Digital Library (WDL) makes available on the Internet, free of charge and in multilingual format, significant primary materials from countries and cultures around the world.

The principal objectives of the WDL are to:

* Promote international and intercultural understanding;
* Expand the volume and variety of cultural content on the Internet;
* Provide resources for educators, scholars, and general audiences;
* Build capacity in partner institutions to narrow the digital divide within and between countries.

For those of you in North Carolina on Friday there will be an exhibition of rare books by James Joyce  Follow the link for more information.

The Telegraph has an article listing To Kill A Mocking Bird as the most inspirational book to read.

TOP 10 MOST INSPIRATIONAL READS

1. To Kill a Mockingbird - Harper Lee (1960)

2. The Bible

3. A Child Called It - Dave Pelzer (2001)

4. Men are from mars, Women are from Venus - John Gray (1993)

5. Diary of Anne Frank - Anne Frank (1947)

6. 1984 - George Orwell (1949)

7. A Long Walk to Freedom - Nelson Mandela (2002)

8. The Beach - Alex Garland (1994)

9. The Time Travellers Wife - Audrey Niffenegger (2005)

10. The Catcher in the Rye - J D Salinger (1951) ENDS

The Vook is a mixture of text, video and twitter stream. Read in the N.Y Times.

A piece in the Independent at the weekend reveals footballers favourite books as part of a campaign to get children to read more books. Here is the list:

Arsenal Bacary Sagna The Soul of a Butterfly, Muhammad Ali

Aston Villa Brad Friedel Stick Man, Julia Donaldson

Blackburn Paul Robinson The Monk Who Sold His Ferrari, Robin S Sharma

Bolton Jussi Jaaskelainen How To Speak Dragonese, Cressida Cowell

Chelsea Henrique Hilario Black And Blue, Paul Canoville

Everton Carlo Nash Luxury Backpackers, Jill Nash & Carlo Nash

Fulham Mark Schwarzer Scarves, Sombreros And Penalty Shoot Outs, Wallace And Schwarzer

Hull City Boaz Myhill Lord Of The Flies, William Golding

Liverpool Jamie Carragher War Horse, Michael Morpurgo

Man City Daniel Sturridge Pele: The Autobiography, Pele

Man Utd Wayne Rooney (left) Harry Potter and the Philosopher’s Stone, J K Rowling

Middlesbrough Ross Turnbull Blessed, George Best

Newcastle Steven Taylor Friendly Matches, Allan Ahlberg

Portsmouth David James Moneyball, M Lewis

Stoke City Danny Higginbotham A Quiet Belief In Angels, R J Ellory

Sunderland Craig Gordon Head On: Botham The Autobiography, Ian Botham

Tottenham Didier Zokora The Kick Off, Dan Freedman

West Bromwich Albion Chris Brunt James and the Giant Peach, Roald Dahl

West Ham Robert Green The Iliad, Homer

Wigan Emmerson Boyce Wallace And Gromit: The Bootiful Game, Ian Rimmer

In this the 200 anniversary of literary giant
Nikolai Gogol’s birth, Russia is once again trying to bully it’s neighbour into it’s way of thinking. Follow the link to read the full story. Link