"So that's the answer to life. If you can find a person to love, who loves life as much as you do, and loves books as much as you do, grab her or him and get married." Ray Bradbury Yesterday we lost a literary lion, Ray Bradbury. More than just an acclaimed American author, Mr. Bradbury was always a good friend to and supporter of libraries and booksellers, and a personal friend of many ABAA members. (He even spoke at one of our California fairs several years ago.) Everyone is familiar with his classic Fahrenheit 451, but the bibliography of Mr. Bradbury's work is quite extensive and well worth delving into. Below are just a few of the tributes to Mr. Bradbury that have been posted in the past 24 hours and some past interviews. I think the NEA video gives a glimpse into what an extraordinary man, and writer, Mr. Bradbury was. Up From the Depths of Pulp and Into the Mainstream The Curious Life of Futurist Author Ray Bradbury Junot Díaz on Loving Ray Bradbury Neil Gaiman Pays Tribute to Ray Bradbury Ray Bradbury's influence on our culture was transformative, says Barack Obama Fact Checking Ray Bradbury Ray Bradbury, The Art of Fiction No. 203 (a 2012 Interview withe The Paris review) Ray Bradbury in The New Yorker (2 Published pieces Bradbury wrote for the magazine, now unlocked for all readers) 21 Ray Bradbury Quotes: Your Moment of Friday Writing Zen Ray Bradbury on Sci-Fi, God and Robots: The Late Author's Biggest Ideas "Here lies Ray Bradbury, who loved life completely." R... [more Ray Bradbury (1920-2012)]

While sorting through the returns pile last week, librarians at the Meath County library in Ireland came across a rare book that had been borrowed eighty years ago and never returned. The book was a pictorial record of the Eucharistic Congress held in Dublin in 1932 (notably, this was only 10 years after Ireland became a free state) and was borrowed from the library just a few months after the event took place, but was never returned. The library lost any record of the original borrower, who had racked up $5,144 in late fees, but with the safe return of the book, the library has decided to waive all fees (not that they would know who to charge!). It will not, however, be available for loan in the future, but will remain in the library's reference collection. The return of the book to its rightful owner is timely considering that the Eucharistic Congress will return to Dublin in two weeks (the Congress in 1932 was the last time the event took place in Ireland). Book Returned to Library After 80 Years [more Talk About Overdue: Book Returned After 80 Years]

Over the weekend the original cover artwork for Tintin in America (1932) sold at the Paris Artcurial auction for $1.6 million (1.3 million Euros), setting the new record for comic book art. The previous record had been set in 2008 by the sale of the same artwork for $973,000. The record for American comic book art was set last year when a splash page from The Dark Knight Returns (1986) sold for $448,125. Tintin in America is the third volume of the Tintin adventure books by creator Herge, and the aforementioned drawing was done in Indian ink and gouache. Only five covers are known to exist and two of them are owned privately. Tintin Art Sale Sets Record with $1.6 Million [more "Tintin in America" Cover Art Sets New Record]

William Haley, the son of Malcolm X's biographer Alex Haley, is asking Syracuse University to return a letter to his family and plans to make a legal claim if the request is denied. Alex Haley co-authored The Autobiography of Malcolm X, which he based on a series of in-depth interviews with the famed leader (Haley is also the author of Roots: The Saga of an American Family). Mr. Haley died in 1992. Malcolm X penned the letter in question to Haley while in Saudi Arabia after a pilgrimage to Mecca in April of 1964, only ten months before his assassination. In it Malcolm X spoke of his changing views on race relations, prompted by his journey and spending time with Muslims "whose skin was the whitest of white." He wrote, "In fact, what I have seen and experienced on this pilgrimage has forced me to 're arrange' much of my thought patterns, and to toss aside some of my previous conclusions." The letter was forwarded on to Grove Press, the publisher of the autobiography, so that it could be included in the 1965 first printing. Grove subsequently donated the archive related to the book to Syracuse University in 1969. Gregory J. Reed, William Haley's attorney, claims the publisher never had legal title to the letter, rather that Haley only lent it to Grove for inclusion in the autobiography. Reed believes the letter is worth at least $650,000 and plans to make a legal claim if Syracuse is unwilling to return it to the Haley family. The senior director of Special Collections Research... [more Legal Dispute Over Malcolm X Letter]

Last April, ground was broken in Mount Vernon and construction of the Fred W. Smith National Library for the Study of George Washington commenced. The library will be a repository for Mount Vernon's vast collection of books, manuscripts, and archival materials, and will be open to students, scholars, and other special groups. It is slated to open in September of 2013. Perhaps the most interesting wing will be the replication of George Washington's own personal library, all 1,200 books, a project spearheaded by James Rees, president and chief executive of the Mount Vernon Estate, Museum, and Gardens. Washington's books were all catalogued prior to his death in 1799, making the replication possible. After his passing the books were split amongst family members, but by 1848 most had been acquired by Henry Stevens, a well known rare bookseller and bibliographer. Stevens made it known that he planned to sell the collection to the British Museum and a group in Boston was able to raise the funds necessary to purchase the collection. It was then donated to the Boston Athenaeum, where is remains today. Mount Vernon only has 50 original copies and 450 duplicate additions, but hopes to acquire the rest from the Athenaeum through purchases and/or donations. Otherwise, they will scan the books and replicate originals by putting them into an 18th century binding, complete with endpaper, leather, and gold tooling. A handful of the books include: a play by Plutarch; a history of Cinncinatus;... [more Washington's Private Library Replicated at Mount Vernon]

This past February, librarians at the Russian State Polytechnical Museum Library in Moscow were preparing their collection for relocation to a temporary depository when they made a surprising discovery. Behind one of the emptied stacks a librarian noticed a plywood wall that sounded hollow when knocked upon. The cover was moved aside and revealed a number of books. As librarians dug deeper and removed the entire wall, they uncovered a 6.5 foot long hiding place that housed 30,000 books printed before the Russian Revolution in 1917. The books were almost exclusively in foreign languages. Svetlana Kukhtevich, deputy director of the Polytechnic Library, explained that "scientists and generally educated people of the 19th century spoke several languages and there was no need to publish books in Russian." The majority of the books were printed in the late 19th and early 20th century, but the oldest book in the collection, "Description of Picteresque Areas Occupied by Germany", was published in 1706. (Don't you love the titles of 18th century books?!) The state fund was responsible for all book collections nationalized during and following the revolution, and most of the hidden books were transferred to the Polytechnical Library from the fund. A number of volumes still contained bookplates, which indicate the original owners. The best part is that librarians later discovered another hollow sounding plywood wall within the archives that revealed two additional niches stuffed with 19... [more Secret Wall in Russian Library Reveals Hidden Trove of Books]

A rare watercolor of the Brontë sisters is scheduled to be auctioned on Thursday by JP Humbert Auctioneers in England. The painting was originally set to be sold last month, but was pulled at the last moment as auctioneers tried to establish a more direct link to the supposed artist, Sir Edwin Landseer. The painting had been previously attributed by the National Portrait Gallery after four years of research by the vendor, but the auction house wanted to make certain that the link between the artist and the Brontë sisters was as solid as it seemed. John Humbert, of JP Humbert Auctioneers, says that experts have now confirmed the painting was done by Sir Edwin Landseer and is strongly believed to be of the famous sisters. "We have spent quite some time trying to establish a link between Landseer and the Brontes and after cross referencing with other known pictures by Landseer, we are confident that we have a strong argument that this picture is as important as we hoped," Humbert said. Mr. Humbert went on to say that thre has been international interest in the item and it is expected to raise between £20,000 and £30,000 ($31,580-$47,370). Brontës watercolour up for auction [more Watercolor of Brontë Sisters to be Auctioned]

In the 1960s, Richard Booth had an idea: turn his small hometown of Hay-on-Wye in Wales into an international attraction by filling it with bookshops. (A bibliophile's dream!) He opened his first second-hand bookstore in an old movie house in 1961, and it was such a success that other residents took his lead and began opening their own shops. Over the years, when a business closed in Hay the space was often converted into a bookshop and the town slowly became filled with bookstores. Converting the businesses in this manner left a number of bookshops in unusual locations, like an old hair salon, a fire hall, a hardware store, and even a castle. Part of Mr. Booth's dream for Hay was to have a number of small specialist bookshops, a goal that has been realized with stores like the Poetry Bookshop, which focuses entirely on- you guessed it- poetry; Outcast Books, which specializes in applied social sciences, psychology, and psychotherapy; Murder and Mayhem, a shop filled with crime fiction; and C. Arden Bookseller, a "Natural History and Gardening Bookshop". Today, Hay is home to approximately 1,300 people and boasts a whopping 30 bookshops. Its reputation as the "Town of Books" grew along with every bookshop that opened and in 1988 Hay appropriately launched a book festival, the Hay Festival of Literature & the Arts. This year's festival will take place from May 31-June 10 and will feature readings, workshops, book signings, and "endless entertainment". The Hay Festival has attr... [more Hay-on-Wye: A Small Welsh Town with a Decidedly Bookish Character]

Volunteers working for the CBC Calgary Reads book sale made an exciting discovery this week as they were sorting through the tens of thousands of donated booksa first edition of Hemingway's classic The Old Man and the Sea. An advisor on rare books for the sale, Gerry Morgan, says of the found copy, "The dust jacket is in very good condition which is fairly uncommon for a book from 1952 or 1953. It is not price-clipped, the price is still on the book. I think it's $3.30. And the only marking inside is a light pencil previous owner signature." He estimates it's worth to be between $1,000 and $1,200. The Old Man and the Sea was the last major work of fiction published by Hemingway (1952). It was awarded the Pulitzer Prize for fiction in 1953 and it was cited by the Nobel Committee as a considering factor when Hemingway was awarded the Nobel Prize for Literature in 1954. The book will be offered in the CBC Calgary Reads book sale, which opens this Friday at noon. Rare Hemingway found among book sale donations [more Hemingway First Edition Found Among Book Donations]

Yesterday we were faced with the very sad news that beloved author and illustrator Maurice Sendak died at the age of 83. We're big fans of Mr. Sendak here at ABAA HQ, and it's difficult to find the right words to pay tribute to such an important literary figure. So, in lieu of a more personal eulogy, I've provided links below to several interviews and profiles. (He had so many interesting things to say, it really is worth taking the time to read a few.) We've lost a legend, but there's some consolation in the following quote. Mr. Sendak said, "There are so many beautiful things in the world which I will have to leave when I die, but I'm ready, I'm ready, I'm ready." Rest in peace, Mr. Sendak. NPR's Fresh Air has put together a wonderful compilation of interviews with Sendak over the years: Fresh Air Remembers Maurice Sendak Maurice Sendak Is Remembered Fondly by Author and Filmmaker William Joyce NY Times Obituary Maurice Sendak: 'I refuse to lie to children' Maurice Sendak on the First Book He's Written and Illustrated in 30 Years V.F. Portrait: Maurice Sendak Desperately Seeking Sendak (A Conversation Between Dave Eggers & Spike Jonze) If you've never seen the Colbert Report interview with Sendak, take a moment and have a laugh. Colbert Interview, Part I Colbert Interview, Part II [more Maurice Sendak (1928-2012)]