Like books? Excited about books? PASSIONATE about books? Well, so are we.
This weekend, Rebecca Schinsky, Jenn Northington and I launched the Bookrageous podcast. As we explain in our first episode, the podcast is a place for us to get excited about books, as well as discuss all the fun, positive things going on in the world of books, reading, blogging and publishing.
Though we launched the podcast this weekend, it is far from the only aspect of Bookrageous. Bookrageous is also a Tumblr page, a Twitter account and a Formspring profile. The first major Bookrageous project - an 18-month calendar featuring pin-ups of book lovers - goes to print in just a few days.
Bookrageous is people who love books (and don’t take them too seriously) and want to share that passion with the world. Nothing more, nothing less. Keep an eye on bookrageous.tumblr.com and the Bookrageous Twitter page for updates and future projects. In the meantime, check out the first episode of the podcast! A player is embedded below (along with show notes), but you can also check the show out on the Bookrageous Podbean page, directly from the RSS feed, or subscribe via iTunes.
Intro Music; Dutch - Dessa
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What We’re Reading;
[1:05] Stalemate by Icchokas Meras
[3:36] Day For Night by Frederick Reiken
[4:14] Black Hole Sun by David Macinnis Gill
[6:51] Great American Craft Beer by Andy Crouch
[8:01] Nothing Left to Burn by Jay Varner
[10:52] Visit From the Goon Squad by Jennifer Egan
[11:46] Mr. Peanut by Adam Ross
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Break Music; I Could Write A Book - Drew Andrews
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Just what the hell is Bookrageous?
[15:43] From Bookspastic to Bookrageous
[17:02] The Bookrageous Calendar
[20:17] What We’re Trying to Do With Bookrageous
[21:35] Who We Are - Josh
[22:06] Who We Are - Rebecca
[24:10] Who We Are - Jenn
[25:30] The Bookrageous Podcast
[26:34] Find Us Online! Twitter, Formspring, Tumblr
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Outro Music; Who Wrote Holden Caulfield? - Green Day
Tags: bookrageous, Books, podcast
Earlier this week, I was lucky enough to get a box of brewing-related books from Arcadia Publishing. Since I can’t possibly review all six books, I’m going to give five of them away!
Arcadia Publishing is the leading local history publisher in the United States, with a catalog of more than 6,000 titles in print. Arcadia is best known for its popular Images of America series, which chronicles the history of communities from Bangor, Maine, to Manhattan Beach, California. With more than two hundred vintage black-and-white photographs, each title celebrates a town or region, bringing to life the people, places, and events that define the community.
In terms of beer-related books, Arcadia has published a number of local histories; each focuses on either a single brewery or a region’s brewing history. For this contest, the winners will get to pick from a number of books about brewing in New England, Ohio and Pennsylvania.
To enter the contest, simply leave a comment to this post naming your favorite brewery (or winery or distillery, if you’re so inclined). If you’d like to double your chances to win, tweet “RT @jchristie Enter to win free beer books from BrewsAndBooks.com at http://is.gd/ehy3h” and you’ll be entered in the contest a second time.
The winner of this contest will receive their pick of three of the following books;
Straub Brewery by John E. Schlimm II
Brewing in Cleveland by Robert A. Musson
Brewing in New Hampshire by Glenn A. Knoblock and James T. Gunter
Nashville Brewing by Scott R. Mertie, Patricia Gerst Benson and John J. Gerst Sr.
Narragansett Brewing Company by Hazel B. Turley
Cincinnati’s Brewing History by Sarah Stephens
Additionally, a runner-up will get their choice of any two of the three remaining titles. A review of whatever book is left will go up on Brews And Books soon.
The winner will be chosen randomly at midnight EST on Monday evening (August 16th). This contest is open to residents of the United States and Canada.
Tags: arcadia publishing, Beer, Books, contest
How good is Dieu du Ciel’s Aphrodite stout? So good the FDA almost didn’t let it into the United States.
Okay, so that’s not quite true. However, there’s a kernel of truth in there that makes for one of the most interesting pieces of trivia about the beer. Also, the Aphrodite is that good - good enough that no one would blame you for thinking there’s some kind of illegal substance inside.
First, the trivia. Our friends up in Canada are probably familiar with a cocoa and vanilla beer brewed in Montreal called L’Aphrodisiaque (that’s aphrodisiac in the King’s English). When Dieu Du Ciel made plans to export the beer - with name intact - to the US, they ran smack-dab into a wall. A wall called the Food and Drug Administration.
Apparently marketing a elixir as an aphrodisiac might give some people the wrong idea. Though I trust the American consumer enough to distinguish between marketing and actual love potions, I suppose there is a reason that Moxie is no longer called “Nerve Food.” Luckily, there was a Greek God of Love-shaped loophole that Dieu du Ciel could pour the luscious stout through. Rechristened “Aphrodite” in the US of A, the love potion is now available throughout Dieu du Ciel’s distribution area.
Tags: aphrodisiaque, aphrodite, Beer, Beer Reviews, dieu du ciel, Reviews
Sometimes, we receive a book at the store that piques my curiosity. Sometimes, we get something I’m excited about, and occasionally there’s a book I’m ready to immediately shuffle onto the shelves. On some rare and wonderful occasions, we get a book I’m so excited about that I push it on anyone and everyone who will listen to me.
Penguin 75 is that last kind of book.
This hefty collection, edited by Paul Buckley and with a forew0rd by Chris Ware, is a look at 75 of the good, bad and ugly covers Penguin Group has produced over the last decade. Each of the 75 books is accompanied by prospective and final jacket artwork, along with commentary from a member of the design staff (either an editor, art director or the actual artist) and the author. Many people judge books by their covers, and it is absolutely fascinating to read about all the thought that goes into every book’s final design.
There’s a fantastic variety in the authors whose covers were picked for the collection, as well as the artists who have done work for Penguin. Among the choice comments in Penguin 75 are thoughts from Garrison Keillor, Paul Auster, Tony Millionaire, Elizabeth Gilbert, seth, TC Boyle and Art Spiegelman. Though the covers in the book are only from the last decade, the books include some Penguin Classics and other less recent books that were re-released since 2000.
I’m a sucker for book covers, and great and terrible artistic choices entrance me equally. Not every jacket is beloved by everyone involved, and that’s where some of the most engaging entries in this book come from. Take Garrison Keillor’s novel Love Me, for example. The illustrator’s comments are short and sweet; basically, Jamie Keenan thought that the original scribble he did for the book worked the best as a cover. Keillor, on the other hand, really spends some time tearing into the cover. His commentary starts “This cover gives me a bad case of the yips” and ends “it’s a funny book, but you’d never know it from this.”
It’s tough to sell this book virtually, if only because the real fun of Penguin 75 is picking it up and flipping through the dozens and dozens of covers you’ve probably seen on the shelf. If you trust me enough to bite the bullet and buy the book sight unseen, you won’t be disappointed by the wealth of great art and remarks on books from Please Kill Me to Eat Pray Love. If you’re not yet convinced, check out the preview below or look at the book at your local bookstore. If you happen to shop at my store, don’t worry about finding Penguin 75 - it’ll be the book I push into your hands when you walk in the door.
Penguin has a lengthy preview of Penguin 75, which includes Chris Ware’s foreword, on their website.
Tags: book covers, Book Reviews, Books, penguin, penguin 75, Reviews
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