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100 Words for Rain
Alex Johnson
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R273
R236
Discovery Miles 2 360
Save R37 (14%)
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Ships in 12 - 17 working days
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Enjoy daily distraction with this engaging Almanac. Each date is
assigned one or more literary connections. Book lovers will find
extracts from authors’ diaries and letters, chance upon the
narrative twists and transformative moments in their favourite
novels, discover the winners of prestigious awards and losers of
creative squabbles, and the delivery of manuscript, first
publication and performance. The book draws on the incredible
collections of the British Library to find new, surprising and
entertaining ways to celebrate every day of the year. Each month
opens with a list of significant births and closes with a selection
of pertinent last words, while entries roam across history from the
great classics to modern authors.
The Book Lover's Joke Book is the funniest book about books you'll
ever read. You'll find jokes about writers, agents, publishers,
librarians, grammar, poetry, bookcases, and lightbulbs. There are
rib-ticklers for typographers, crackers for critics, and badly
foxed quips about antiquarian bookshops. Here too are the best
literary April Fool's (the joke's on you), rejection letters (the
joke's on the publisher), cookbook jests (the joke's a bit crumby)
and wardrobe puns (the joke's Narnia business). This delightful
literary celebration will make every bibliophile laugh out loud,
even in the library. I love telling people spoilers about The
Picture of Dorian Gray. Never gets old. Why does Wally always wear
a stripey shirt? Because he doesn't want to be spotted. What's the
difference between Romeo and Juliet and COVID-19? One's a
coronavirus and the other's a Verona crisis. Who was JRR Tolkien's
favourite singer? Elvish Presley "Your diary is really good," said
his wife. "My thoughts exactly," replied Samuel Pepys.
Rooms of Their Own travels around the world examining the unique
spaces, habits and rituals in which famous writers created their
most notable works. The perennial question asked of all authors is,
'How do you write?'. What do they require of their room or desk? Do
they have favourite pens, paper or typewriters? And have they found
the perfect daily routine to channel their creativity? Crossing
centuries, continents and genres, Alex Johnson has pooled 50 of the
best writers and transports you to the heart of their writing rooms
- from attics and studies to billiard rooms and bathtubs. Discover
the ins and outs of how each great writer penned their famous
texts, and the routines and habits they perfected. Meet authors who
rely on silence and seclusion and those who need people, music and
whisky. Meet novelists who travel half-way across the world to a
luxury writing retreat, and others who just need an empty shed at
the bottom of the garden. Some are particular about pencils, inks,
paper and typewriters, and some will scribble on anything -
including the furniture. But whether they write in the library or
in cars, under trees, private islands, hotel rooms or towers - each
of these stories confirms that there is no 'best way' to write.
From James Baldwin, writing in the small hours of the morning in
his Paris apartment, to DH Lawrence writing at the foot of a
towering Ponderosa pine tree, to the Bronte sisters managing in a
crowded co-working space, this book takes us into the lives of some
of history's greatest ever writers, with each writing space
illustrated in evocative watercolour by James Oses. In looking at
the working lives of our favourite authors, bibliophiles will be
transported to other worlds, aspiring writers will find inspiration
and literature fans will gain deeper insight into their most-loved
authors.
This is a book of book lists. Not of the '1,001 Books You MUST Read
Before You Die' variety but lists that tell stories. Lists that
make you smile, make you wonder, and see titles together in
entirely new ways. From Bin Laden's bookshelf to the books most
frequently left in hotels, from prisoners' favourite books to MPs'
most borrowed books, these lists are proof that a person's bookcase
tells you everything you need to know about them, and sometimes
more besides.
Who had the most commercial success in their lifetime, Ernest
Hemingway or Agatha Christie? Whose work has the most adaptations,
F. Scott Fitzgerald or Franz Kafka? Who courted the most scandal,
Colette or James Joyce? Pit 32 of the world's greatest modern
writers against each other with these beautifully illustrated
cards. An ideal gift for the book lover in your life.
How do you create an active reader? Why is reading good for
creativity? Why is it vital for teaching the next generation
resilience and positive mental health? In the digital age of
never-ending screen time you could argue that the power of books
has diminished. But while screens have changed the act of reading,
Alex Johnson believes reading is even more important, and that
people value books more than ever. This is visible in the sales of
printed special editions, the revival in reading aloud, the
increased interest in poetry anthologies and the rescuing of 'lost
words' from obscurity. But the problem is: with so many competing
distractions, which are the best books for children to read and how
can we access them? How do we get children to start reading? And
how can we encourage them to be curious? How can we encourage their
reading and maintain their interest? In this book of practical
advice, Alex Johnson brings his tremendous enthusiasm and informed
passion to answer these questions, and many more, to ensure a new
generation of bookworms are whisked away to new worlds and
essential discoveries.
Behind every great writer there is a beloved pet, providing
inspiration in life and in death, and companionship in what is
often a lonely working existence. They also offer practical
services, such as personal protection, although they may sometimes
eat first drafts, or bite visitors. This book salutes all of the
cats and dogs, ravens and budgerigars, monkeys and guinea pigs,
wombats, turtles, and two laughing jackasses, who enriched the
lives of their masters and mistresses, sat on their keyboards,
slept in their beds, and occasionally provided the creative spark
for their stories and poems. Gathered here are the tales of Beatrix
Potter's rabbit, Benjamin Bouncer; Lord Byron's bear; the six cats
of T S Eliot; Camus' cat, Cigarette; Arthur C Clarke's dog,
Sputnik; and George Orwell's goat, Muriel. Enid Blyton's fox
terrier, Bobs, `wrote' her columns in Teacher's World magazine,
while John Steinbeck's poodle accompanied him on his 1960 US road
trip, their exploits published as Travels with Charley. Agatha
Christie dedicated her 1937 novel Dumb Witness to her favourite
dog, Peter - the ultimate tribute.
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Bookshelf (Hardcover)
Alex Johnson
1
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R503
R405
Discovery Miles 4 050
Save R98 (19%)
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Ships in 12 - 17 working days
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A title that will appeal to those interested in book culture as
well as furniture and interior design, Bookshelf is the first
publication to take bookshelf design as its subject. From the
conceptual `Read-Unread Bookshelf' (which weighs books read against
those still to be started) to the multi-function `Trick' (a unit
that transforms from shelf-space into a table and two chairs),
Bookshelf presents over 200 inventive and experimental shelving
designs in more than 400 colour illustrations that are sure to
covet and inspire. Individual specification details are provided
for each bookcase, including materials and documentation, and the
accompanying texts by Alex Johnson, author and editor of `The Blog
on the Bookshelf', provide a fun and informative look at the
history of the bookcase, as well as reflecting on how a new
generation of designers have re-imagined a classic. One might have
presumed that, with the advent of the e-book, the days of the
bookshelf were numbered. In fact, readers are now taking almost as
much interest in the furniture that houses their libraries as the
books themselves; if the titles in your collection are a reflection
of your personality, then so too is the design of your bookshelf.
There is a growing interest in creating gardens for wildlife, but
this is often accompanied by a tendency to equate naturalness with
messiness. The idea that wildlife gardens need to be untidy and
unkempt persists. Understanding the needs of plants and how they
interact establishes some parameters for design, stimulates ideas
and reminds us of appropriate association of plants and materials.
Far from limiting creativity, it reinforces a sense of place.
Written by two experienced garden designers, this book uses the
language of design to frame garden habitats, uniting design
principles with an ecological perspective to create beautiful
wildlife havens.
Art Day by Day presents snapshots of the most exciting, unusual and
noteworthy art events from around the world and throughout history
through direct testimonies, eyewitness accounts and contemporary
chroniclers. Each day has its own section, starting with an
extended quote giving artists, critics and commentators their voice
to speak directly to us, followed by a brief explanatory text, and
ending with other important events in art on that day e.g. births,
deaths and exhibition openings. Not every entry is momentous, but
all are significant. Yes, there are thefts, murders, artistic
mishaps and eureka moments, but there are also more relatable
episodes such as President Theodore Roosevelt's doodles,
Michelangelo writing to his nephew about his kidney stones and
Monet getting the green light for his water garden. Every day has a
story to tell.
Books; reading, collecting and the physical housing of them has
brought the book-lover joy - and stress - for centuries. Fascinated
writers have tried to capture the particular relationships we form
with our library, and the desperate troubles we will undergo to
preserve it. With Alex Johnson as your guide, immerse yourself in
this eclectic anthology and hear from an iconic Prime Minister
musing over the best way to store your books and an illustrious US
President explaining the best works to read outdoors. Enjoy serious
speculations on the psychological implications of reading from a
19th century philosopher, and less serious ones concerning the
predicament of dispensing with unwanted volumes or the danger of
letting children (the `enemies of books') near your collection. The
many facets of book-mania are pondered and celebrated with both
sincerity and irreverence in this lively selection of essays,
poems, lectures and commentaries ranging from the 16th to the 20th
century.
How do you use your local library? Does it arrive at your door on
the back of an elephant? Can it float down the river to you? Or
does it occupy a phone booth by the side of the road? Public
libraries are a cornerstone of modern civilization, yet like the
books in them, libraries face an uncertain future in an
increasingly digital world. Undaunted, librarians around the globe
are thinking up astonishing ways of reaching those in reading need,
whether by bike in Chicago, boat in Laos, or donkey in Colombia.
Improbable Libraries showcases a wide range of unforgettable,
never-before-seen images and interviews with librarians who are
overcoming geographic, economic, and political difficulties to
bring the written word to an eager audience. Alex Johnson charts
the changing face of library architecture, as temporary pop-ups rub
shoulders with monumental brick-and-mortar structures, and many
libraries expand their mission to function as true community
centers. To take just one example: the open-air Garden Library in
Tel Aviv, located in a park near the city's main bus station,
supports asylum seekers and migrant workers with a stock of 3,500
volumes in sixteen different languages. Beautifully illustrated
with two hundred and fifty color photographs, Improbable Libraries
offers a breathtaking tour of the places that bring us together and
provide education, entertainment, culture, and so much more. From
the rise of the egalitarian Little Free Library movement to the
growth in luxury hotel libraries, the communal book revolution
means you'll never be far from the perfect next read.
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