May 21, 2013
The Kickstarter campaign started by Marcus Gipps to fund The Complete Uncle Omnibus by J.P Martin and Quentin Blake smashed it’s target of £7000, with 540 backers raising £29,177.
So who is Uncle? Uncle is an elephant. He is immensely rich, and he’s a B.A. He dresses well, generally in a purple dressing gown, and often rides about on a traction engine, which he prefers to a car. read more
Apr 1, 2012
We found these little treasures on a book hunting trip today. Actually, Craig found them, the scoundrel. I was clutching a rather large haul of children’s books and feeling pleased with myself when Craig appeared with these two tiny books.
They were well hidden. These books measure a pocket-sized 10×16 cm, and have beautiful gilt-embossed covers, decorated by one of my favourite illustrators Edward Ardizzone. I have never seen the original format before, only later paperbacks and re-issues so I was very excited to have finally found one (or two)
Feb 26, 2012
I had no particular plans for my book collection this year other than attempting to finish my American collection of Brian Jacques first editions and a reading set of the History of Middle Earth. But lately it seems a few Hobbits have been making their way to my bookcase. I recently read a wonderful article by Neil Gaiman where he discussed C.S Lewis and J.R.R Tolkien and his much-loved and battered copies of books he’d had since childhood. I have no such creased and read-to-death copy of the Hobbit from my childhood. I actually can’t remember the first copy I read. But on exploring the contents of my bookcase and ever-growing collection of Tolkien I could easily remember where I bought or was given each copy. So this is my collection of Hobbits in the order I acquired them.
Nov 27, 2011
This one is not technically from my bookshelf, although it has a lot of sentimental value to me. This one if from Craig’s shelf, considerably smaller than mine as he generally only keeps books that I buy him. One book he had purchased and kept, however, was this Tales of Mystery and Imagination by Edgar Allan Poe illustrated by Harry Clarke, from the early 1930′s.
When we opened the book shop in Parkdale, we put some glass cabinets at the front to serve as a counter and house some of our rare books. Craig added his copy of Tales of Mystery and Imagination to the collection, and then printed cards for each book in the cabinet.
Nov 13, 2011
James and the Giant Peach was always my favourite Roald Dahl book when I was a kid. Yes, I liked it more than Charlie and the Chocolate Factory and the Twits, and even a little more than Fantastic Mr. Fox. I must have read it at least 25 years ago for the first time. I read it over and over, a battered old Puffin copy that has long since disappeared, and been replaced, and read over and over again. And why James? It was the Peach. And Quentin Blake’s wonderful illustrations.
