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Posted on 17 August 2011 by Sue Williams
A survey published by the academics of the University of Queensland this week concluded that every hour glued to the TV ‘shortens life by 22 minutes’. What better excuse do we bibliophiles have for getting up out of our chairs ( very good exercise) to get another book off the shelf – we’re all going to live longer!
Though I must admit that I would willingly give up 22 minutes of my life to watch Idris Elba in ‘The Wire’ , or indeed in anything,( make that 44 minutes), our brains are surely stimulated more by the inspiring words we read than by any visual input. Books we read in our childhood stay with us throughout our lives. Whether it is the Harry Potter series, or Terry Pratchett’s novels , ‘The Arabian Nights’, or ‘Swallows and Amazons’, two of my personal childhood favourites, remembering them we still get that same tingle of excitement as when we first stepped into those imaginary worlds.
Once seduced by the written word, whether by having stories read to one as a child or having discovered them subsequently, one is hooked for life. And so much is owed to Roald Dahl and J.
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Posted on 20 June 2011 by Marie Stevens
My mind has turned to honour this week as I finished a book I last read when I was around 16. I came across Stanley J. Weyman’s “Under the Red Robe” while hunting (as we do) in a second hand book shop and remembered how much I had enjoyed it. First published around the turn of the last century the action takes place in the time of the feared Cardinal Richelieu and his harsh suppression of the Huguenots and, apart from being a very good read, the book is a wonderful evocation of the codes of a time when honour was more important than life and a man’s “parole” could be relied upon. Although rarely read these days, the author was very popular 90 years ago and both Oscar Wilde and Graham Greene were fans. I now feel compelled to re-read other books of the same period (those wonderful Geste brothers beckon me again) although I am conscious that my reading seems to be going backwards in time and I shall have to get Sue to pull me back into the 21 century for fear I will be attempting to decipher illuminated manuscripts before too long (not to mention talking in a very strange way).
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Posted on 23 May 2011 by Sue Williams
Amazon’s new strapline for their wonderful Kindle is ‘the book lives on’ – well, that’s a relief.
Of course the book lives on and it would appear that digital versions of books are outselling what most of us think of as a book – the tangible object. What we don’t know is if more ‘books’ are being sold in total. Are more people reading because of the advent of ereaders? Let us really hope so.
However we must look to a dictionary for the definition of ‘book’ : according to Collins, first up is “a number of printed or written pages bound together along one edge and usually protected by thick paper or stiff pasteboard covers” ,but it seems this will no longer suffice, because secondly a book is “ a written work or composition, such as a novel, technical manual, or dictionary”; and only then is followed by various descriptions of bound records, scripts which all can be termed books. There is of course The Book, and we use many phrases incorporating it – a closed book ( a shut down Kindle?), cook the books (crispy Kindle?), in someone’s good books (maybe).
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Posted on 11 April 2011 by Marie Stevens
Not surprisingly Sue and I are gripped by wedding fever this month – and not only THAT WEDDING! After weeks of just awful weather, suddenly spring (and possibly even summer judging by the amazing sunshine over the last few days) has arrived and along with it an almost daily carpet of confetti outside Chelsea Register Office and an assortment of white ribbon decorated vehicles bearing beautiful brides swathed in white. The London parks are full of picnics and sunbathers and even if the shops are not quite as full of shoppers as retailers would like, everyone seems much more cheerful and tourists will be able to report back home that the English are living up to their reputation of talking almost exclusively about the weather.
We have had a lot of fun working on our new wedding themed bindings – ivory, cream, pearl and silver – and identifying some lovely books which might make great wedding presents. The brilliant 501 series of books make fantastic presents for pretty much anyone in a wedding party (although it might be a good thing to give the best man his copy of 501 Must Know Speeches BEFORE the wedding reception…).
We have also become rather creative (at least we think so). With our lovely florist friend, Liz, we are working on a new project – a lovely hand bound book with the pages decorated in pressed flowers and protected by tissue paper (a perfect way to preserve the bride’s bouquet possibly) which, perhaps turned into a signing book or photograph album would be a fantastic way of commemorating the wedding day.
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Posted on 15 February 2011 by Sue Williams
Oh to be in England now that everyone is talking about books!
Anne Robinson (brilliant choice) featuring in a new ‘Desert Island Discs’ type book programme on BBC TV, Raymond Chandler on the radio, 400th Anniversary of the Authorised King James Bible, and everyone discussing the exciting initiative that is World Book Night. Could it possibly be that we supporters of the printed word are getting our way? Eat your hearts out ereader readers.
Had many of us really taken very much notice of World Book Day until Jamie Byng got together with a group of publishers to really make a night of it? Well, we at Prometheus Bound are going to do our bit too. For the three days, from March 3rd to March 5th, we are going to be offering anybody who orders a book from us a reduction of £25 off their total bill.
Mother’s Day is looming and with £25 off it’s going to be very reasonable to buy her favourite book, have it bound in her favourite colour and emboss a loving message on it. Don’t blame us if she bursts into tears (of joy, of course).
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