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Talking Heads ~ Book Towns
pedln:
This morning I went looking for the bookstores at Charlottesville Mall, but couldn’t find a listing, but did find something about them written by an intrepid traveler (not me). I liked it because it sounds like the sort of thing one would do in a BookTown.
--- Quote ---But I digress. Needless to say, I loved the Downtown Mall. According to the directory, there are something like nine bookstores along the seven blocks, only one of them a new bookstore and that was also locally owned and non-chain. We only got into one of them the first night: Read it again, Sam. I didn't end up buying anything, but have to share descriptions of two items I resisted purchasing:
1. A slipcased hardcover edition of Christopher Marlowe's Doctor Faustus with introduction by Charles Nicholl and woodcut engravings. Yes, I know I'm a geek, but the sight of one of Marlowe's authenticated signatures in gold lettering against the red leather -- gorgeous. But I didn't need to spend $30 for a play I already have other copies of, and can get free online. [Were it an actual replica of the original text, it might've been harder to resist, but they did modernize the spellings.] So, I left it on the shelf.
2. The other book was so far over my budget that I never seriously considered buying it. They had a 1638 -- I think it was a sextimodecimo -- of the works of Thomas Overbury. I actually was allowed to hold and flip through it. Sigh. For those unfamiliar with the story, Overbury was a noble and feh poet whose murder was a major scandal during the reign of King James VI & I. The suspect was one of the king's lovers and his wife, and their marriage was already a bit of a sex scandal in itself. Overbury was a rather so-so guy who suddenly became the cats' pyjamas upon his death. What really grabbed me was the date of the edition, which means it was probably reprinted as English Civil War anti-Royalist propaganda. So I was more impressed by what it represented than by the actual contents. But with a price of $500, I just felt honored to be permitted to touch it. Le sigh...
--- End quote ---
Here's the link if you want to read more by this writer --
Cville Mall Rambles
. . . sigh. I wonder if I'll ever get there again. But as Annie has shown above, maybe STillwater, MN
maryz:
I still don't know what constitutes a "book town".
ANNIE:
MaryZ, take a look at the links that we have up here. What amazes me are the festivals that have come out of being designated a BT. And the man who thought of Book Town tours around NYC. All independent dealers.
maryz:
Annie, I've looked at the links. Does it mean that it's a town that has lots of bookstores and uses that as a tourist draw?
BarbStAubrey:
Bookies may know Archer City however the north west Texas town does not seem to feature the diamond they have among them of Larry McMurtry and his famous Used Bookstore - where with North Texas University Larry holds writing classes
http://www.dmagazine.com/Home/2009/08/04/Archer_City_Texas.aspx
http://web3.unt.edu/news/story.cfm?story=10500
http://www.flickr.com/photos/86915508@N00/254613632/
And here is the web site for Archer City - what can we say...
http://www.archercity.org/
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