A hazelnut latte, a stack of magazines and hours at the bookstore is my kind of day and I had one of those this weekend. I spent some time at Barnes & Noble indulging in a bunch of new crafty magazines. I was especially tempted by Cloth Paper Scissors and the latest Somerset Studios publication, Art Journaling.
I walked away without them but I think I may have to go back. I figure these are the types of magazines that I know I can go back to from time to time for tips and advice, right? I probably should have got them but hey, this just means I have to go back to the bookstore.
With me I also had the Dec/Jan edition of Bookforum, this thanks to Stefanie who had a giveaway for this publication recently. I love the in-depth articles in this magazine and reading through this I’m wondering how I could have let my subscription lapse last year.
Anyway, I read about Hitler’s Private Library, which is an eye-opening essay, and okay I’ll also admit that I love this publication for the ads. There are such interesting books mentioned here, books which I rarely see on a bookstore shelf.
For example just check out some of these titles:
- The Big Archive by Sven Spieker. From the ad: “This non-fictional version of Umberto Eco’s The Name of the Rose is indispensable reading for artists and scholars.”
- Black by Michel Pastoureau. Black—favorite color of priests and penitents, artists and ascetics, fashion designers and fascists—has always stood for powerfully opposed ideas: authority and humility, sin and holiness, rebellion and conformity, wealth and poverty, good and bad. In this beautiful and richly illustrated book, the acclaimed author of Blue now tells the fascinating social history of the color black in Europe.
- Tales for Little Rebels edited by Julia Mickenberg and Philip Nel. This is a collection of forty-four mostly out-of-print stories, poems, comic strips, primers, and other texts for children that embody the radical tradition. These pieces reflect the concerns of twentieth-century leftist movements, such as peace, civil rights, gender equality, environmental responsibility, and the dignity of labor.
So, a very nice time and now I am planning to start a new book tonight, Sexing the Cherry by Jeanette Winterson which the Slaves of Golconda will be discussing at the end of the month. Hope you’ll think about joining us.
I just love having a latte at B & N and spending hours reading through whatever…..great day!
Sexing the Cherry? I can’t wait to hear about this one.
Have a great week.
Wisteria
Oh you’re killing me with your great links and tasty books. Black sounds amazing. Right now I’m off to read “Reading the Reich.”
You’re making me crave a mug of hot chocolate right about now! I am glad you had a nice visit to the bookstore. I was hoping I could steer hubby in that direction yesterday after we went to see a movie, but no such luck.
Have a great week, Iliana.
I agree..a day at B + N is definitely time well spent!
We had “date night” last night, and I hoped to stop at a bookstore on the way home. Well, we stopped, but this place closed at 9:00 … all I got to see was one lone employee mopping the floors, it was like something out of a movie!
I don’t know the journal Bookforum, so I’m off to click on the link. I’m trying to cut down on the number of magazine subscriptions I have, but I’ve never seen this at the news-stand, so I may have to indulge.
I’m afraid my book browsing has all been online and I’ve been very bad at doing more than browse….I love those craft magazines and used to subscribe to both Cloth Paper Scissors and Somerset Studios–they’re both so lovely!! I also just sarted Sexing the Cherry. It’s certainly different than my normal reads, but it’s good to try other books occasionally.
Hmmm…I love the idea of lattes and hours spent browsing in a bookstore. There are too few book magazines here, and because they’re shipped here from either the UK or the US, they are not cheap. So I rely on online magazines esp BookReporter.com
Wisteria – I love just letting the hours go by and relaxing at the bookstore. Isn’t that title something? I can’t wait to read the book 🙂
Andi – Ha,ha.. I want to see these books in the bookstore and be tempted to buy them. What’s your book like? I need to check in on your post.
Literary Feline – Ooh a mug of hot chocolate would be good too. We were supposed to go to the movies last week but the bookstore calling was a bit stronger 🙂
Katie – Ah, another kindred spirit 🙂
Dawn – Oh no, that’s awful. Our indie closes late so that’s nice. I still owe you a write up that and I haven’t forgotten! You know, I don’t see Bookforum in the magazines racks often. It’s really worth it and one of those magazines were you read it to learn something.
Danielle – I used to have a subscription to one of the Somerset magazines but let it lapse too. I keep telling myself that when I get a job I’m going to have a big blow out and indulge in some of those magazines I’ve left off.
Kisane – That would be a bummer! Luckily a lot of the magazines do have an online presence. I think Bookforum has a lot of their articles online so may be you can check those out and see what you think. Isn’t Bookreporter great? I love it too.
Definitely one of my favourite ways to spend a day too!
Sounds like a great weekend. I hope you share some of the tips you pick up from those must-have magazines. 🙂
Those books advertised all sound really neat!
Early Jeannette Winterson is hard to beat in my opinion. Hope you enjoy it as much as I did!
My wife and I had a book hunting day on Saturday capped off by an afternoon at B&N browsing through mags and Oliver Jeffers books. We also walked away without the mags, but but 4 Jeffers books that night.
Is the Art Journaling only for real journal or can stuff be done digitally?
I saw another publication about creative blogging, so I don’t know whether it’s the same or not.
Karen – Hands down, time in a bookstore is my comfort time. I love movies, museums and a bunch of other places but the bookstore is the one thing that will relax me and make me feel at home 🙂
Nik – I really need to go back and get those. It’s just that the Art Jouranling one, which is really the one I want, is so pricey!
Eva – Aren’t they cool? Would love to see them and just look through them.
Booloe – Oh good to know! I tried to start the book last night but it was kind of late and I think I’ll need to re-start it.
Mike B. – Yay! Now, I had to go check Oliver Jeffers on Amazon and those books sound so cute. Especially the one about the book-eating boy! 🙂
Isabel – Art Journaling is for real journals so I do recommend that one. I’ve seen the Creative Blogging one and it’s not bad but it’s not really a hands-on approach. I mean, you can go read countless crafty blogs and that’d probably be better than that publication. I’d only buy that if someone I knew or I was in it 🙂
I always enjoy quiet time at the bookstore 🙂 Those sound like some interesting books, happy reading.
The hazelnut latte sounds sinfully good! We went to a bookstore this weekend, too. It was such a nice, relaxing experience.
The latte does sound good. A nice relaxing day!
The Name of the Rose has been one of my favorite books of all time and which is due for a re-read soon. That said, how can I miss the non-fictional version of the book? While I’m typing this comment, I’m writing the title down and I will look for it! Thanks for the heads up.
I have to confess that I, with not much time left for magazine, limit the reading to bookstore. I grab a few and browse along the way while I’m there.
bookworm – I do too. I try to go to the bookstore at least once a week but this last time I actually was able to spend a lot more time than usual so it was nice 🙂
Bookfool, aka Nancy – It was 🙂 I love those. Glad to hear you also got to hang out at the bookstore!
jenclair – I’m craving one right now even though it’s late 🙂
Matt – Isn’t that book wonderful? Did you ever see the movie? I know it’s been a long time but I remember really liking it too. I’m very curious about that book and I love stuff on archives so I’d love to see it. And, like you, I don’t read too many magazines any more unless I’m at the bookstore.
Man, I have never really gotten used to sitting and reading books in book stores. But I just recently grabbed a book called “Rowan of the Wood” by Christine and Ethan Rose who were signing books in a local Barnes & Noble and had a few hours to kill so I read it ALL. Right there in the store! I have to track them down now to get it signed! I found their tour route on their website (www.christineandethanrose.com). Check it out! I highly recommend it!
Sounds like a lovely day at the bookstore. I am glad you got and are enjoying the Bookforum issue. Isn’t that article on Hitler’s library fascinating? I must admit, I love the ads almost as much as I love the articles too!
I love relaxing in a bookshop or cafe with a pile of magazines too. I’m glad you talked about BookForum here, it’s one I’ve thought about getting before but wasn’t sure how it was, I think I’ll pick up a copy next time I’m at the newstand 🙂
I hope you enjoy Sexing the Cherry! I think it will be a very interesting book to discuss — looking forward to it.
A hazelnut latte! Yum yum! I love anything which has hazelnuts, but I’m thinking more of chocolates! LOL.
Glad to hear you had a great weekend, Iliana!
BookWorm – I have that book and really need to get to it. I’ve heard a lot of good things about it and it does sound like a lot of fun.
Stefanie – I had no idea he was such a reader and then goes on to burn so many books. Yea, those ads are good 🙂
Joanne – Check it out online too as they’ve got a lot of their articles on there and you might get a better sense for it. It’s really a good deal too so I do recommend it 🙂
Dorothy W. – I finally started it today. What an odd book! Definitely something very different from my usual reading so I’m looking forward to the discussion!
Melody – Oh yes, chocolate with hazelnuts is so yummy! It was a good one. Hope you guys had a wonderful time celebrating the new year!
Thanks for the link to the Hitler essay. For some reason, I’m fascinated with that time period, and I’ve been eating up all the related documentaries on the History channel. Going to go read it now…