Wednesday 4 December 2019

Sit.Choose.Read.: an octagonal bookcase

Starting from the octagon, the author creates an interior space to isolate himself and focus entirely on reading.
Manel-Song Ollé Chin

Sunday 1 December 2019

Troy bookends



A cut metal bookend depicting the fighting warriors of the Trojan War. Part of a range to accompany the Museum’s current major exhibition, Troy: myth and reality.

Wednesday 20 November 2019

Llama Bookshelf


Plywood CNC milled Llama with three cut outs for books or plants and one shelf.
Measures 4’ 3” × 2’ × 4’ 9” 
Ashley Fuchs

Monday 11 November 2019

Save 50% off Edward Lear and the Pussycat: Famous Writers and Their Pets


The British Library is giving its online shop a new look and as part of the reorganisation my latest book Edward Lear and the Pussycat: Famous Writers and Their Pets is now available for a limited time only for a mere £5, a whopping 50% off. Click here to avail yourself of the offer.

Rotating bookshelf for children


Children can get books from suitable position easily by rotating bookshelf. The inside of the bookshelf is made of recycled waste bicycle rubber tyres to fix books of different sizes and to ensure the books do not fall out when rotated.
Xue Feng

Monday 4 November 2019

BookTrust Christmas Appeal


BookTrust is appealing to the public to dig deep this Christmas and help send special book gifts to children who are vulnerable or in care. The UK’s largest children’s reading charity needs to raise enough money to send over 12,000 children in the UK a special Christmas gift.
Christmas can be a hard time of year for these children, but a surprise book gift can bring them joy and show them that there’s someone’s out there thinking of them. Just £10 will send a vulnerable child a surprise Christmas present to unwrap and treasure this December.

BookTrust has carefully chosen six beautiful hardback books for children aged three-13 in the Letterbox Club, BookTrust’s programme for children who are vulnerable and looked after.

Each parcel contains one specially chosen hardback book, a letter from award winning author and current Waterstone’s Children’s Laureate Cressida Cowell, a poster and bookmark created by Neal Layton, and a postcard.

Cressida Cowell, best-selling children’s author and current Children’s Laureate said: “I am so happy and proud to be included in the Christmas gift parcel this year, and thrilled children are being sent a book in this parcel as a present! Books make the BEST presents, because they help you dream big, and make your own magic. I hope this Christmas parcel puts a smile on every child’s face and makes them feel special and important – as all children should.”

Children who are looked after are more likely to experience home or school moves, and these parcels, which are delivered directly to them wherever they’re living, provide a sense of continuity and stability, which is very important throughout the year but even more special at Christmas time.

Diana Gerald, CEO, BookTrust says: “This time of year can be extremely tough for vulnerable children and at BookTrust we want to make this time a little easier for them if we can. A £10 donation can send a book gift to one child, and go some way to brighten their Christmas and help them feel special.”

Money raised from the appeal will also support sending book gifts during 2020 and BookTrust’s work with vulnerable children throughout the year.

For more information or to donate to BookTrust’s Christmas appeal visit booktrust.org.uk/xmas

Friday 25 October 2019

The Telephone Box Library

The Telephone Box Library is an uplifting story about fresh starts and new beginnings, set in a picturesque Cotswold village, by bestselling author Rachael Lucas. Burnt out after ten years at the chalkface, Lucy’s taken a sabbatical from her job as a history teacher to focus on some research. She moves to a tiny Cotswolds cottage that comes with a reduced rent in exchange for keeping a daily eye on Bunty, an extremely feisty ninety-something.
Pan Macmillan, published January 9, 2020

Friday 18 October 2019

Elton John's bookshelves

How do you organize your books?
Very well! I’m very meticulous about things like that. I have a huge library of books on art and photography, kept in the gallery at my home in Windsor, all cataloged and detailed so I can have what I want at my fingertips. They’re very well arranged. I hate seeing things lying on the floor in a horrible state. I’m a very organized bloke.
More at New York Times  
Photo of Elton's shelves at his Windsor home by Simon Brown)

Thursday 10 October 2019

Virginia Woolf Stand Up Desk and Bookshelf


A reproduction of Virginia Woolf's writing desk with bookshelf. Cherry wood with Washington cherry stain and a navy blue leather top.
Standupdesks.com

Wednesday 18 September 2019

2S Chair bookcase

The 2S Chair is designed to be used, lived and decomposed day by day in a different way, creating the union between aesthetics and function.
Gennaro Attanasio

Thursday 5 September 2019

Menus That Made History


My third book of the year (no more now until 2020) is out today. I'm really pleased with this, co-written with my friend the actor Vince Franklin (Bodyguard, Thick of It, Cucumber, etc). It's available everywhere people sell good books plus via the usual suspects online. Here's what some famous folk very kindly said about it:

An absolutely riveting book - reading it makes you intelligent, full of brilliant anecdotes - and very hungry indeed.' - Richard Curtis

'This brilliantly conceived and well-researched book is a source of real delight.' - Dr Annie Gray, BBC Radio 4's The Kitchen Cabinet

'Superbly written, a complete joy to read, and just about the perfect present for anyone even vaguely interested in food.' - Mark Diacono

'A gastronomic delight. You can savour it a course at a time, or you may consume the whole banquet in one sitting. It's delicious either way - utterly scrumptious, in fact!' - Mike Leigh

And here's the lowdown on what it's all about...
This fascinating miscellany of menus from around the world will educate as well as entertain, delighting both avid foodies and the general reader.

Each menu provides an insight into its particular historical moment - from the typical food on offer in a nineteenth-century workhouse to the opulence of George IV's gargantuan coronation dinner. Some menus are linked with a specific and unforgettable event such as The Hindenburg's last flight menu or the variety of meals on offer for First, Second and Third Class passengers on board RMS Titanic, while others give an insight into sport, such as the 1963 FA Cup Final Dinner or transport and travel with the luxury lunch on board the Orient Express. Also included are literary occasions like Charles' Dickens 1868 dinner at Delmonicos in New York as well as the purely fictional and fantastical fare of Ratty's picnic in The Wind in the Willows.

Wednesday 28 August 2019

Edward Lear and the Pussycat: Famous Writers and their Pets


My latest book, Edward Lear and the Pussycat: Famous Writers and their Pets, published by The British Library is out now. Here's some info about it:
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.
You can buy copies everywhere good books are sold, online direct from The British Library, and at all other online outlets. Please consider getting it from your local independent bookshop if possible.

The Slightly Foxed Revolving Bookcase


A delicately proportioned revolving bookcase made from solid quartersawn oak or ash with space for books up to 18cm high. The bookcase spins on a sturdy solid wood base using a high quality Lazy Susan bearing set.

Designed by Dominic and Arabella Parish at Wardour Workshops for Slightly Foxed.

Friday 2 August 2019

LoculaMENTUM bookcase

Designed to meld traditional bookcase appearance with a modern interpretation and a twist. This twist allows for books or other collectible items to be artfully arranged, categorized, presented. Diagonal compartments are the spine of the bookcase, so there is a progression of shapes: from the bottom to the top, creating an uplifting feel that has maximum storage capabilities. This is true to the Bauhaus principle, which denotes “form follows function”.
Designed by Michael Schlütter

Wednesday 24 July 2019

Abacus bookcase


Inspired by the ancient calculation tool and brought an element of play to storing books.
Materials: Oak & steel
Co-MADE

Tuesday 9 July 2019

Twist shelf

Laminated bent plywood, walnut veneers.
Total dimension: 17" H x 45" W x 13" D
Kino Guérin

Tuesday 4 June 2019

Shed library

Friday 10 May 2019

The rise of private libraries


Shhh! Private libraries are making a quiet comeback... As public libraries suffer from budget cuts, more people are turning to fee-paying alternatives.
More at the FT
(pictured above, Leeds Library) 

Monday 29 April 2019

The British Library installation


The British Library is a site-specific installation with a digital platform for visitors to join in the discussion. Open to the public for free as part of Tate Modern’s collection displays.
By Yinka Shonibare
Tate and The British Library Installation

Friday 26 April 2019

Shared Lady Beetle: A Micro Movable Library for Kids

"The interior spaces for displaying items are flexibly partitioned into several smaller storage areas by plates which can be freely adjusted according to users' needs. Besides, all the partitions can also be removed, through which a complete big space will be formed. The installation can be customized based on different needs, making it versatile and "universal"... The Shared Lady Beetle, is like a "beneficial insect" walking on the "urban leaf ", which can be used as a mobile library , a stall, or a maker classroom for kids, etc."
LUO studio

Sunday 7 April 2019

Little Free Libraries & Tiny Sheds


If you like sheds and you like books, then you will certainly enjoy Little Free Libraries & Tiny Sheds: 12 Miniature Structures You Can Build. Written by Philip Schmidt and Little Free Library and published by Cool Springs Press (£16.99/$24.99 - part of the Quarto stable who also published my Book Towns book last year), the Little Free Library movement (motto:‘Take a book, return a book’)is probably the most successful library project of the 21st century – there are now more than 80,000 in 91 countries around the world.

These handmade tiny libraries, often built to look rather like oversized bird boxes, are placed at strategic locations in neighbourhoods such as front gardens, yards and parks, but also in coffee shops and near restaurants. Anybody can remove a volume and deposit another for others to share. 

The book features full instructions detailing how to build a dozen designs ranging in size from the popular small box model to a full shed structure. Among them is the blueprint for the first Little Free Library, built by Todd Bol in 2009, who wrote the forward but sadly died shortly before this book was published. As well as information on installation and maintenance, there are also sections on how to publicise your little free library, what to stock, how to encourage community involvment, and a lovely collection of some of the most interesting around the world. It's really nicely put together, genuinely useful, and supports a great cause.


Tuesday 2 April 2019

Writing gloves


Bookshelf was offered these rather attractive writing gloves by Literary Book Gifts to give them a test run (note: these are not my hands). They're made of cashmere knit so are extremely soft and comfortable and come in 13 colours. Obviously we can't testify to their durability as we've only had them a couple of days but apparently "cotton, polyester, and microfiber are blended in for durability" and we've no reason to disbelieve that. All in all, if you need to type and would like something to keep your hands warm that doesn't get in the way of your fingers, these could be the ideal solution. Available from Literary Book Gifts which is based in the USA but ships anywhere in the world. They also sell t-shirts (for women and men) and tote bags.

Monday 1 April 2019

Literary Places


If you enjoyed Book Towns, then I think you'll like Literary Places by Sarah Baxter (published by White Lion which is part of the same publishing stable). It's a collection of locations around the planet associated with famous writers which would make ideal holiday spots for keen readers - such as Dublin, Soweto, and Kerala - each associated with a famous work. So for example you can read about the Mississippi River (Huckleberry Finn) or try out Cartagena (Love in the Time of Cholera).

Sarah is a very experienced travel writer and you'll have read her pieces in all the quality national dailies as well as her work in multiple Lonely Planet guides (and perhaps also in the first of this series called Inspired Traveller's Guide: Spiritual Places). It's nicely done, not too long but with plenty of food for thought and ideas for your next trip, well written, and will also encourage you to have a go at some classics you've been planning to attempt. It's also the kind of book you could take with you on holiday and read happily pool-side or in a nice little café.

Literary Places is beautifully illustrated throughout with full page colour images by the artist Amy Grimes. I particularly liked her illustrations of Spain for the Don Quixote and Ernest Hemingway chapters focusing on La Mancha and the Sierra de Guadarrama. It would be unfair to call this a coffee table book because that's often used a bit dismissively, but Amy's illustrations do really add another dimension which is often lacking in travel books.


Monday 11 March 2019

Airbook frame


There are so many wonderful memories in books, like some serious notes or interesting graphic. These memories are worth to come back to review and watch constantly after we grow up. Therefore, we focused on how to preserve the memories, thinking out how the eliminated textbooks can be combined with life. Save memories, simultaneously, giving them new functionality. "You can hate exams, but do not hate reading." We hope that with our design, an adult can still learn to keep reading habits. Use the natural shapes to brainstorming and thinking ideas, produce cornerstone which can extend to all directions and combination. The core, we call “Emerald” has 8 hole around a circle can provide consumers freedom to build up many different kinds of bookcase.
Hsiang Yu Lien

Thursday 14 February 2019

Librero Entropía

Bookcase manufactured in white Oak, concrete and powder coated metal. A reflection on stability and safety following the Mexico earthquake of 2017.
225cm x 28cm x 160cm (h)


Monday 11 February 2019

Fiction 9

Eight Colour Pigment Based Archival Print on Hahnemuhle Paper
117 x 51cms edition of 45
Phil Shaw

Wednesday 6 February 2019

Bookshelf

Bookshelf is a piece of furniture created by Slovak designer Lenka Czereova. This original bookshelf interprets the moment when a tree is cut down and falls to the ground. In this way, its creator transforms a structure that seems firm and stable into a completely different one whose main characteristics are flexibility and mobility. This bookshelf creates that sense of movement by being made of four pieces that can be connected to each other or used individually. Made in plywood beech, the originality of this bookshelf lies in its innovative structure capable of giving a different touch to any room.
Lenka Kozic

Tuesday 5 February 2019

Incompleto bookcase


Incompleto is a furniture element which inspired by the artistic idea of ​​"unfinished", a concept then translated at a graphical level. Moreover, the bookcase is characterised by the presence of an intruder element which, however, fits very well into the scene, becoming also the third carrier.
Juanny Barcelò Borges

Monday 4 February 2019

Haynes Shed Manual


My latest book is all done and dusted and at the printers now. Here's what the cover for our Haynes Shed Manual will look like and I'll be posting some sample spreads nearer the date. Publication day is April 13.

Wednesday 30 January 2019

The Writers Game: War of Words


Here's a short piece I've written for the Laurence King website about the making of my The Writers Game trumps.
I’ve always loved card games, especially those involving trumps – as a child I spent hours with friends pitting racing cars’ engine capacities and windjammers’ displacements, and for my 30th birthday the invitations to my party were in the style of the original Dubreq Top Trumps cards featuring categories such as ‘Turning circle’ (which I humbly decided was ‘on a sixpence’). So I was delighted when Laurence King felt a similar urge to produce a literary trumps card game, but played with writers rather than military tanks or dragster bikes.
You can read the rest of it here.

Tuesday 29 January 2019

Marie Kondo can’t have my bookshelves

"The backlash to Marie Kondo’s suggestion that we chuck out books that don’t “bring joy” shows how attached we are to physical books, even in a digital age. I think Kondo is very impressive. I like how she advises us to fold a shirt with love in our hands. Why not? All the same, I’m not going to give it a go because I believed Virginia Woolf when she advised female writers to kill the angel in the house."
The Guardian

Thursday 24 January 2019

Gothic book coffer



A rare 15th century French Gothic coffer, believed to have been used for housing and transporting religious texts, has been acquired by the University of Oxford's Bodleian Libraries. Thousands of manuscripts and printed books survive from medieval Europe but just over 100 book coffers are known to be in existence. This book-box forms the centrepiece of a new display at the Bodleian's Weston Library, titled Thinking Inside the Box, which opened on 19 January and continues until 17 February 2019.

Tuesday 15 January 2019

Twisted Dancer bookcase

A funny and creative variation of the standard type bookshelf. Quirky and whimsical, this dancer shows a distinctive character which gives it an illusion of being alive and a whole new outstanding identity. Made from first class FSC birch plywood and finished with durable water based paints.
Josip Gotler

Monday 14 January 2019

The Writers Game: Classic Authors


My latest literary trumps card game is out today. The Writers Game: Classic Authors also has lovely illustrations by Lesley Buckingham. More details at Laurence King who are producing it.