Dodging ‘book missiles’ at the Shakespeare and Co Bookshop – In an article for the Guardian, Jeanette Winterson recounts a recent visit to the Shakespeare and Company Bookshop in Paris, and her warm interactions with its aged and long-term owner George Whitman and his daughter Sylvia. If you love books then you’ve got to read this article because it’s a real heart-warmer!
In the article’s potted history of Shakespeare and Company, I’m glad Jeanette mentions that this is the bookshop that Hemingway talks fondly of in his 1920’s Parisian memoir A Moveable Feast, because if she didn’t I would have. It’s from Papa’s Parisian memoir that I first heard of the bookshop’s existence (which was then in the hands of founder Sylvia Beach), and although I’ve yet to visit it, it’s one place that always brings a glow when I think about it. Although after reading all about the indomitable George Whitman, I think the glow is going to be all the more brighter.
The Kit to Thwart Writers Block – If you’re a big reader then chances are you’re a bit of a writer too, and if you’re a writer then you’ve no doubt stumbled into the dreaded ‘writer’s block’ at one time or another. Well thanks to the efforts of genius creative Elizabeth Dilk, there may be a solution that pushes ‘the block’ to the side and allows one to get on with the business of writing.
The solution is called ‘The Kit to Thwart Writers Block’, and it’s a special boxed-kit which comprises of special notepads, a set of pre-chewed pencils (?) and a special 8-sided (i think) dice which allows one to randomly select creative activities. In reality more gimmicky than practical, ‘The Kit to Thwart Writers Block’ certainly has the killer look and it would make the ideal writer’s gift. However it looks at this time as though Elizabeth has only got as far as creating a single prototype. ::via notebookism
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