Book Cover Skin

Hmm, I wonder why this would have been done. And more than once. Yuck!

A 400-year-old book covered in a sheet of wrinkled human skin is going under the hammer in a bizarre auction.

It is thought the skin was cut from the corpse of one of Guy Fawkes' fellow conspirators in the Gunpowder Plot of 1605, an attempt to blow up the British Parliament in a bid to kill King James I.

And if you hold the novel in the right light, you might even see a ghostly face on the cover, it is claimed.

Called "A True and Perfect Relation of the Whole Proceedings Against the Late Most Barbarous Traitors, Garnet A Jesuit and His Confederates," it tells of the grisly end met by the Gunpowder Plotters. Fawkes prepared the explosives for the event and is remembered annually in the U.K. on Nov. 5 with fireworks.

It was published in 1606, just months after the Jesuit priest Henry Garnet was captured and executed for his part in the plan to blow up the Houses of Parliament.

The book's owner, who does not want to be identified, told Sky News he hopes it will go to a museum so that people can see it.

He believes that marks on the leather are evidence of torture, and says a Latin inscription on the cover which reads "severe penitence punished the flesh" was written to make sure people knew what had happened to the victim.

Sid Wilkinson, of Wilkinson's Auctioneers in Doncaster, said the ancient human skin feels smooth "and a little bit strange to the touch."

Several other books covered in dead people's skin are held in museums around the world.

'Kindle' Wins Praise

A must-read for book lovers?
By David Colker
Los Angeles Times Staff Writer
November 28, 2007
For more than a decade, inventors have tried to come up with a high-tech version of that most sacred of analog content delivery systems: the book.

The results have been gizmos only an uber-geek could love.

But finally, someone has come up with a version for humans. At least some humans.

Amazon.com last week unveiled the Kindle, a hand-held, rechargeable device that can store hundreds of books, newspapers and magazines to be accessed and read page by page on the go. You can even use it in the living room, curled up in your favorite reading chair.

The experience of looking at a page on the Kindle screen is more like seeing one in an actual book than gazing into the glare of a computer or cellphone display.

The device is slim, only slightly larger than a mass-market paperback, and can do things no book can do, including look up the definition of a word with a click of a couple of buttons.

Turkey Reviews

Turkey, a lovely country, continues to struggle with how Western it wants to be. Free speech regularly runs into problems. Several years ago, I spent a couple of weeks in Turkey and never have I had such a good time. The Turkish people were wonderful, friendly, kind, proud of their country yet not obnoxious. Except for when it came to discussing the Kurds and then every Turk I met had the nastiest things to say about them. As their government has changed hands, it will be worth seeing which way the people will go: more conservative, more Islamic, or continue on its Western path.

Turkish Prosecutor Probes Atheist Book

ANKARA, Turkey (AP) — A Turkish prosecutor has launched a probe into whether a book by best-selling atheist writer Richard Dawkins is an attack on religious values — a move that could lead to the prosecution of the book's Turkish publisher.

Publisher Erol Karaaslan said Wednesday he would be questioned by an Istanbul prosecutor on Thursday as part of the official investigation into Dawkins' book, "The God Delusion."

Karaaslan could face trial and up to one year in prison if the prosecutor concludes that the book "incites religious hatred" and insults religious values, Milliyet newspaper reported. Karaaslan is both the publisher and translator of the book.

The investigation of the British scientist's book comes at a time when Turkey has been criticized for targeting writers and intellectuals for expressing opinions. The European Union, which Turkey hopes to join, is pressing Ankara to change laws that curb free expression, calling them inconsistent with the bloc's free speech standards.

Turkey said this month it would soften a much-criticized law that makes denigrating Turkish identity, or insulting the country's institutions, a crime.

Big Advance for Book

Huge Advance for Book Being Co-Authored by Zaslow
By Dave Astor

NEW YORK Wall Street Journal writer and former syndicated columnist Jeff Zaslow will be co-authoring a book that Hyperion bought the rights to for the reported huge sum of $6.7 million.

The other co-author is Carnegie Mellon University professor Randy Pausch, who's terminally ill with pancreatic cancer. Pausch gave a humorous and poignant "Last Lecture" a couple months ago that Zaslow covered for the WSJ. The resulting column (accompanied by a video) was seen throughout the world via the Internet and helped turn Pausch into a celebrity.

'Ghost Map'

Author Steven Johnson takes us on a 10-minute tour of his 2006 book The Ghost Map, telling the story of a cholera outbreak in 1854 London, and the famous map that physician John Snow made of the disease's path -- a map that not only convinced the world that cholera was a waterborne illness, but ultimately brought about profound changes in science, cities and modern society.

Book Auction

National Book Auctions has scheduled its next auction for Sunday, December 2nd beginning at noon with preview starting at 10:00am. This auction will feature an important 1830s acorn press and other early printing equipment as well as early books and print history reference titles. This auction will include a range of antique books dating back to the 1600s, decorative antique gilt and leather bindings, fancy deluxe bindings, and decorator sets. The print history reference books cover topics including printing technique and development, print styles, printing equipment history. At our website, you will see some of the highlights of our upcoming events; the complete catalogs will be available at the auctions. See you sale day!

The auction will be open for a special highlight preview on Tuesday, November 27th from 4:00pm until 6:00pm. This preview will be followed by a panel discussion entitled, "You Should Write a Magazine Article", presented in partnership by National Book Auctions and the Tompkins County Chamber of Commerce. For more information and to register for the seminar, go to the following link:

https://secure.data3m2.com/tompkins/?t=112&ID=217&m=11&y=2007

Block That Book!

I don't know if this is a case of content censorship or favoritism to a local industry.

Store pulls children's book off shelves due to anti-seal hunt stance

ST. JOHN'S, N.L. - A Newfoundland author claims she is being censored after the province's largest local book distributor refused to stock her children's book because of its critical portrayal of the seal hunt.

Littleseal, written by Morgan Pumphrey, tells the tale of a harp seal pup born on the ice floes off northern Newfoundland.

During the first three weeks of his life, Littleseal survives encounters with an ecotourist and a hungry polar bear, as well as separation from its mother. But he's killed after a "blinding, crunching, thud" at the hands of a seal hunter wielding a hakapik.

Pumphrey, a longtime opponent of the hunt, said she was disappointed but not surprised when the Downhome Shoppe and Gallery, a well-known store in downtown St. John's that sells locally made crafts and products, refused to carry her self-published book.

"The way I see it, going against the seal hunt is like going against the cod fishery in Newfoundland," Pumphrey said Wednesday in an interview.

"It's a motherhood issue and I've got to expect 99.9 per cent of the population to be against me, and it looks like they are."

Seal hunters and the federal government vigorously defend the hunt as sustainable, humane and a vital source of income for fishermen in Atlantic Canada and Quebec. But animal rights groups have just as vigorously called for the hunt to be banned, arguing it is cruel and provides little economic benefit.

Grant Young, president of parent company Downhome Inc., said Pumphrey's book was rejected because it wouldn't suit its customer base.

"The seal industry needs a few people on its side," said Young, who comes from a family of seal hunters.

"We don't call it censoring so much as making a decision. Do we want a product that fits our retail mandate and our company mandate?"

Young said the book was refused also due to an anticipated lack of demand.

"It's not going to be a powerful piece of literature that we're going to hold back from society," he said.

Department Store Publishing

This is creepy--a department store creates a book and tries to draw kids in as lifelong shoppers.

Stores use lure of children’s literature

By Lauren Beckham Falcone

Since 1947, the holiday movie “Miracle on 34th Street” has helped build brand awareness for Macy’s. What can other department stores do to appeal to kids - who in a few short years will have charge cards of their own?

Pen a children’s book.

Both Nordstrom and Saks Fifth Avenue have introduced new holiday picture books that may make loyal consumers out of the kiddies. Neither department store appears within its own tales, but the cross promotion is dizzying.

Saks is the exclusive seller of “Snowpeople” (HarperCollins, $16.95), a 21-page picture book starring a bunch of snow folk who want to express their individuality through - wait for it - trendy clothes. The chain is also featuring the characters in its window displays, hand-painted ornament collection, greeting cards and more.

The Great Snowpeople Hunt - think of it as Where’s Waldo meets the Wicked Wealthy - challenges customers to count the hidden snowpeople in the Saks holiday catalog. Players who submit their guesses online or in-store are eligible to win a 21-day cruise to Antarctica.

Nordstrom’s “Once Upon a Holiday” (Chronicle Books, $16.95), which was written by Nordstrom copy editor Randy Schliep, features a little girl named Sophie, who teams up with a cow, an owl and the moon to save Christmas. The book is available at Nordstrom stores nationwide, and the art inspired the chain’s 2007 holiday decor.

Hmong and Publishing

After years of deep social problems, the Hmong are developing some serious culture in Minnesota

Renowned writer, lecture learns about Hmong arts in Minnesota
By Tom LaVenture

ST. PAUL (November 1, 2007) – The Hmong American Institute Learning (HAIL) has long been known for its support for emerging Hmong writers and poets through the Paj Ntaub Voice Quarterly Journal, and for Bamboo Among the Oaks, the first Anthology of Hmong American writers. The organization is about to undergo a major transformation to accommodate the growth and direction of a new vision and focus on visual and performing arts along with the writers and traditional cultural arts and crafts.

Dyane Garvey, Interim-Executive Director, HAIL, said the organization received a grant from LINC (Leveraging Investments in Creativity), a ten-year national initiative to improve conditions for artists in all disciplines to allow for more creative work. It was instrumental in helping HAIL do a turnaround last year with an art exhibition and strategic planning.

Dr. Rustom Homi Bharucha, a Regent’s Lecturer in the Department of World Arts and Cultures, University of University of California at Los Angeles; and the Department of South and Southeast Asia, University of California, Berkeley, was in the Twin Cities in part to learn more about HAIL as one of 12 LINC grant recipients, to see how the funding has impacted small ethnically diverse organizations in the areas of social transformation and change.

Cornwell Is Unhappy

Patricia Cornwell Asks if You Are a Real Fan

Happy Thanksgiving Dear Author Readers. I came across a special tribute by one Patricia Cornwell to all her fans and had to share it.

I saw on David J. Montgomery’s website a message from Patricia Cornwell making a call to her fans to contact everyone they know and strong arm them into leaving her positive feedback on etailers like Amazon and Barnes and Noble because apparently she cannot believe that the people who have left negative reviews actually dislike her work.

Montgomery is a crime fiction reviewer/critiquer/commentator who has written for Chicago Sun-Times, Washington Post, Philadelphia Inquirer and Boston Globe. He says that Cornwell’s latest effort, Book of the Dead, is “just dull, silly and pointless, with unappealing characters and run-of-the-mill lousy prose. Giving it a one-star review is generous.”

Apparently he is one of the cabal that is coordinated by “someone or a group of someones” to attack her through reviews.

We have reason to suspect that someone (or a group of someones) might be mobilizing people to attack me through Amazon and Barnes and Noble, etc., to hurt my sales and reputation.

Patricia Cornwell graciously provides instructions to the reading world at large on how to best counteract a nefarious conspiracy to discredit an author’s writing ability.