Image: BBC
The Book Booth is a weekly feature at The Political Carnival, relating news, notes, and reflections from the world of books and publishing. @SeattleDan, along with his wife, SeattleTammy, are operators of both an on-line bookstore here, as well as a brick and mortar storefront mini-store in Hoquiam, WA at 706 Simpson Ave (Route 101 South). Both have been in the book business since shortly after the Creation, or close to 6000 years now.
The Book Booth: Happy Easter and Opening Day Edition
Every few years Easter and baseball's opening day more or less coincide. So my best wishes to you celebrating Easter, and for those of you who belong to the Church of Baseball, happy opening day!
Spring is the time when, at least in popular lore, love blooms. And with love comes sometimes comes frustration. Unrequited love also rears its ugly head. Over at BBC Culture, Textual Healing offers guidance who suffer from all sort of love's maladies. H/T to Lucian.
Lovesick? Try Textual Healing
Love inspires passion, both in spirit and in carnal ways. MentalFloss recently featured some famous poets who, in their spare time, indulged themselves in writing some "dirty" verse.
NSFW Poems from Poets You Know
For myself, I only know some limericks that aren't safe for work.
Among those characters in literature that suffered in love's game was Jay Gatsby and his obsession with Daisy Buchanan. Anne Margaret Daniel gives some background to the novel and to the whereabouts of the Scott Fitzgerald's first draft here in this interesting post from HuffPo.
Some Insights Into The Great Gatsby
If springtime is not your cup of tea, and you'd rather get down and dirty with your reading, check out some Southern Gothic. Jamie Kornegay, a bookseller from Greenwood, Mississippi, has recently authored another addition to the genre, a new novel entitled Soil. And also chose for Publishers Weekly, his favorites. Some of the usual suspects are here and also some interesting titles I'm not familiar with.
Some Southern Gothic Titles You May Not Know
One of the best loved and best selling titles in Science Fiction of recent years has been Ernest Cline's Ready Player One. Well, it will be now made into a film and with a director no less than Steve Spielberg set.
Ready Player One to Become a Spielberg Film
Although Thomas Pynchon's novels are not science fiction per se, science plays a major thematic background, especially his early books, which concern themselves with entropy and the second law of thermodynamics. But could it be that the author predicted parallel universes and mini-black holes so many years ago in Gravity's Rainbow? Could be, says Jonathan Sturgeon at Flavorwire.
Parallel Universes Predicted by Thomas Pynchon?
Pynchon famously avoids the public eye. He has said he's not reclusive; he merely doesn't like to talk to the press. Of course, that said, few have seen him and photos are rare. (Well there is the paper bag disguise he cleverly used when appearing on the Simpsons>) Again from BBC Culture, Lucy Scholes talks about Pynchon and the idea of being "reclusive".
The Author No One Has Ever Seen
Tired of reading? Like to use your fingers and be creative? Try one of these coloring books featured recently at NPR.
Coloring Books for Grownups? Why Not?
Finally, does anyone really know what time it is? Does anyone really care? Via SeattleTammy comes this clock.
What Time is It? Book O'Clock of Course!
A Happy Easter to all of you celebrating the day! And may your favorite team go to the World Series this season and be defeated by the mighty Seattle Mariners. And, let us know what books you've got going! We'd love to hear about them.
The post The Book Booth: Happy Easter and Opening Day Edition appeared first on The Political Carnival.
