This past weekend was the Boston International Antiquarian Book Fair, which was held at the Hynes Convention Center. The Boston fair kicked off the ABAA's fair season, which includes our California show in February and New York show in April. Besides getting to see an abundance of fascinating and unique books, prints, maps, and ephemera, the fairs are the book world's opportunity to connect with friends and colleagues, and fair weekends always involve good books, food, drink, and conversation. This fair was no exception and a good time was had by all. Every ABAA fair also features lectures and presentations, and the Boston fair had some really interesting programs like "What's For Dinner", a presentation by Richard Gutman and Erin Williams that recounted the variety of factors that influenced cuisine in the 20th Century and an illustrated lecture by Martin Antonetti and Ron Patkus on "The Art of the Book in Wales." Attendees took advantage of the free appraisal program on Sunday afternoon, evidenced by the long line that persisted during the program's two hour slot. (It's worthwhile to note that every ABAA fair features an opportunity for attendees to have up to three books appraised on Sunday afternoon.) If you attended and had your books appraised, we'd love to hear from you about the experience. Thanks to all the exhibitors, attendees, and Commonwealth Promotion for another great fair! [more Boston Fair a Blast]

If you've been trying to read your little one Pride and Prejudice, Moby Dick or some other literary tome before bed, I'm sure you've reached the conundrum that yes, it does help put them to sleep, but it's not doing much more for them in terms of education. A new book series by twin brothers Jack and Holman Wang called Cozy Classics provides a wonderful solution to this problem. Cozy Classics is a board book series that presents classic literary tales through 12 child-friendly words paired with 12 needle-felted illustrations. From the Cozy Classics website: Cozy Classics uses a simple one word/one image format to help babies and toddlers build vocabulary and learn everyday concepts such as body parts, emotions, animals, relationships, actions, and opposites. However, Cozy Classics organizes everyday words in a more unique way: through story. By putting words in the context of a story, our books help children find further meaning through a growing sense of narrative. A brief synopsis of the stories is on the on the back of each book and there are extended summaries online so that parents can have a refresher and, as children get older, expand on the stories. The website also provides some choice quotations from each novel, which the Wang brothers hope will eventually lead to reading whole passages to the child and ultimately to the child reading the classic themselves. However, the creators make the important note that "there's no right or wrong way" to read these books, and p... [more Classic Literature for Babies]

Apologies for the blog-silence, it's been a rough two weeks here in New York/New Jersey. Thousands of people are still without power, water, or heat, and those are the lucky ones that still have a home. Even with all the heart wrenching images in the media, it's almost impossible to appreciate the devastation. Needless to say, it's especially frightening to see something like this happen to your own community, to your seemingly indestructible city. Sadly, I know a lot of Americans can relate because of the various natural disasters that have affected the country. We're strong and there's no doubt that New York and New Jersey will rebuild, but it will take a lot of time and assistance. Here are a few ways you can help: American Red Cross American Red Cross: Greater New York Region Mayor's Fund to Advance New York City: The Mayor's Fund is a non-profit organization that "facilitates innovative public-private partnerships throughout NYC's five boroughs." The Fund is currently accepting financial donations to support immediate aid needs as well as long-term relief and restoration efforts. One hundred percent of your donation will be disbursed to relief organizations. NYC Service: This website has links to a variety or organization and ways you can help by donating your time, money, or goods. NY Cares: The city's largest volunteer organization, you can volunteer your time or donate to support further relief efforts. Occupy Sandy Recovery: This coalition (formed by members of Occup... [more Sandy: How to Help]

Update: This item was recovered. The following item has been reported stolen: Title : De Sectione Rationis Authors : Apollonius Pergaeus, Edmund Halley Date of publication : 1706 Publisher : Oxford Description : title + viii + LIII + 168 pp. 8vo, library stamps of the Inner Temple Library, bookplate on recto of title of Herbert Jacob of St. Stevens in Kent, contemporary style panelled calf. If you have any information on this item, please contact Clive Farahar at clive@clivefarahar.com or 01249 811516. [more UPDATE: Stolen De Sectione Rationis (1706)]

A significant number of items from the Samuel May Collection (The Samuel May Jr. Library contains materials relating to abolition, women's rights, temperance movements and religion, dating largely from the mid- to late nineteenth century) at Becker College appear to have been stolen. If you are offered any of the items below, or if you may have information on the whereabouts of any of these items please contact: Garrett Eastman, Director of Libraries, Becker College at 508-373-9709 or garrett.eastman@becker.edu. Author: Chace, Elizabeth Buffum, 1806-1899 Title: Anti-Slavery Reminiscences Publish info: Central Falls, R.I., E.L. Freeman & Son, State Printers, 1891 Descript'n: 47 p. 22 cm; olive green hardcover, gilt lettering Inscription: Signed by author: “Samuel & Sarah Russell May from their affectionate friend, E.B. Chace.” Author: Frothingham, Octavius Brooks, 1822-1895 Title: Gerrit Smith: A Biography Publish info: New York, G.P. Putnam's Sons, 1878 Descript'n: 381 p. front. (port.) 2 pl. 21 cm; green hardcover, gilt lettering Enclosures (3): 1. Letter from Frank J. Garrison to Samuel May Jr.: “Rockledge, Jany 2, 1878 My dear Rev. May, I sent you by express yesterday at Father's request a copy of Frothingham's Life of Gerrit Smith, which he desires you to accept as a New Year's token of remembrance from him. I hoped to send the book on Monday, so that you might receive it yesterday, but it did not reach me in time. Father went to New York, ten days ago, to spend the... [more Stolen Items from the Samuel May Collection at Becker College]

The Whiting Writers' Awards are annual prizes given to ten emerging writers in fiction, nonfiction, poetry, and plays. Sponsored by the Whiting Foundation, a charitable organization that supports writers and Humanities scholars, the intent of the award is to give burgeoning writers the opportunity to fully devote themselves to their craft for a full year. To this end, each writer is awarded $50,000. There are no applications. Rather, candidates are proposed by nominators from across the country. Award winners are chosen by an annual selection committee composed of recognized writers, literary scholars, and editors. Past recipients include David Foster Wallace, Tracy K. Smith, Jonathan Franzen, Amy Herzog, Colson Whitehead, and Jeffrey Eugenides, to name a few. Now to the exciting partthe winners! Below are brief biographies of the 2012 prizewinners (taken from the Whiting Writers' Award website). Ciaran Berry (Poetry): Dublin-born Ciaran Berry grew up in County Galway and County Donegal, but has spent the last fifteen years living, writing, and teaching in the United States. He is an Assistant Professor of English and Director of Creative Writing at Trinity College in Hartford, Connecticut, where he lives. He received his MFA from New York University and was awarded a New York Times Fellowship. His work has appeared inAGNI, The Threepenny Review, Ploughshares, The Missouri Review, and The New Republic. Mr. Berry's first full-length collection, The Sphere of Birds, won the Cr... [more New Writers to Look Out For: 2012 Whiting Award Winners]

Andy Serkis, who played Gollum in The Lord of the Rings trilogy, will direct and act in a film adaptation of George Orwell's classic Animal Farm. "By utilizing performance capture, a deeply talented and committed cast of actors will be able to explore and fully inhabit Orwell's fairy tale world where 'some animals are more equal than others.'" Performance capture is the method by which an actor's movements and expressions are electronically tracked and then translated to CGI. The film will be made by The Imaginarium, a London-based studio Serkis co-founded in 2009. The Imaginarium is devoted to the art of performance capture. This project sounds intriguingwhat do you think? Andy Serkis to Direct & Act in Adaptation of Animal Farm by George Orwell [more 'Animal Farm' Coming to a Theatre Near You]

Ken Kallin began collecting autographs, antique books, and other memorabilia in 1980 after an encounter with Bette Davis left him with five signed photographs of the star. Over the past three decades he has amassed 120,000 items and he will part with all but a few this coming Saturday when he puts his collection up for auction in order to aid his daughter. Kallin's daughter has a rare autoimmune disease called mixed connective tissue disorder, or MCTD, and, in addition to being in nearly constant physical distress, is also struggling financially. Her condition prevents her from working and her medical treatments are costly. Kallin's daughter and her husband also have two daughters to support. Of the auction, Kallin says, "It's for a higher purpose." Kallin's collection includes over 680 antique books; 7,300 modern books; 1,430 letters; more than 22,520 photos and 60,740 trading cards, all of which are autographed. He will also auction off movie posters, sheet music, sports memorabilia, and other collectibles. The collection has not been independently appraised but the auction house working with Kallin believes it could be worth up to $4.5 million. There are a few items Kallin will hold onto: two books by Bob Graham and one photo of Bette Davis. Kallin's collection will be auctioned this Saturday at 1pm by Jay Sugarman Auction Corp. Man sells giant autograph collection for ailing daughter [more Father Auctions Massive Collection to Aid Ailing Daughter]

In 1985, producer and director Ned Judge was asked to film Edward Abbey in Arches National Park, where Abbey had worked for two years in the 1950s as a seasonal ranger. The piece never aired, but Judge was kind enough to recently post the film essay and the story behind it on Vimeo. Both are included below. Ned Judge wrote: An eight minute film essay that I co-produced and directed with Ed Abbey in 1985. At the time I was working for a network magazine show. The executive producer took me to lunch one day. He told me that he was having trouble with his son who was 18. The son thought his dad was a corporate whore. He had told his father if he had any balls at all he'd put Ed Abbey on his show. That's why the EP was talking to me. Would I see if it was possible? I had an acquaintance who knew Ed and he passed the request along. Ed responded that he'd give it a try. He signed the contract and wrote a script. We met in Moab and went out to Arches National Park to shoot some practice sessions with a home video camera. We would review them at the motel in the evening. After a day or two, Ed was feeling pretty comfortable on camera so we scheduled the shoot. We were all happy with the way it went. But then we ran head-on into network reality. Roger Mudd, the show's host, was extremely negative about putting an “eco-terrorist” on the show. The executive producer caved (his son was right about him apparently). So this Abbey essay was put on the shelf and never aired. Abbey died 3... [more Edward Abbey in Arches National Park]

The following items have been reported stolen: - 1 hardcover book “Just Kids” signed by author Patti Smith (2010) ISBN-10: 006621131X, ISBN-13: 978-0066211312 - 2 paperback books “Just Kids” signed by author Patti Smith (2010) ISBN-10: 0060936223, ISBN-13: 978-0060936228 - 1 hardcover copy of “Rascals” signed by models appearing in works by Todd Yeager (2008) ISBN 10: 3861878887, ISBN-13: 978-3861878889 -1 copy of “Wool Gathering” signed by author Patti Smith (2011) ISBN-10: 0811219445, ISBN-13: 978-0811219440. Inscribed: “To Todd Patti Smith” If you have any information on these items, please contact Kathy Kershner at klkershner@aol.com [more Signed Books Stolen in Brooklyn]