Our regular look at new books that have recently caught the eye of our print and online editors this month.
Book Curses by Eleanor Baker
Interviewed in the summer issue of Fine Books, we predict that Book Curses is going to be appearing in many bibliophiles’ Christmas stockings this year. Baker does a fine job of examining the history of the book curse with plenty of examples from the extremes of eternal damnation to humorous deterrents. Published by Bodleian Libaries
Sylvia Plath’s Tomato Soup Cake: A Compendium of Classic Authors’ Favourite Recipes
Another title that will be wrapped under plenty of Christmas trees this year, a compilation from Faber of recipes from famous authors’ letters, diaries, and archives from the eponymous cake to Joan Didion‘s Mexican chicken and Daphne du Maurier‘s sloe gin.
The Chicago Manual of Style, 18th Edition
From The University of Chicago Press, this is the latest extensive revision of one of the most popular reference guides to style, usage, and grammar.
Performing by the Book? Musical Negotiations between Text and Act edited by Bruno Forment
A collection of essays by a wide range of musicians and musicologists about performing musical scores and how musicians deal with a range of texts from the Middle Ages to the 20th century. Published by Leuven University Press
Shakespeare’s Tragic Art by Rhodri Lewis
An examination of Shakespearean tragedy, why he wrote them and why they are special, looking at each one in turn Published by Princeton University Press
Vico’s Spiral: Half Century of Artists’ Books
The exhibition catalogue which accompanied the exhibition of the same name marking the Center for Book Arts’ 50th Anniversary. Introduction by Robbin Ami Silverberg, with essays by Carole Naggar and Kinohi Nishikawa, and a complete illustrated checklist of the artwork in the exhibition, plus lists of international artists’ books exhibitions from 1969 onwards, and lists of influential publications by book artists, collectors, curators, and other professionals in the field.
The Mythmakers, written and illustrated by John Hendrix
A graphic novel biography of C.S. Lewis and J.R.R. Tolkien which tells the story of their friendship and the writing of their major books, from their childhoods, through both world wars, and their time at Oxford where they were part of the famous Inklings circle. Published by Abrams.
Dickensland: The Curious History of Dickens’s London by Lee Jackson
A fascinating investigation into the Charles Dickens tourism industry and literary pilgrimages in the English capital and how it has stretched back more than 150 years. From Yale University Press
Book and Dagger: How Scholars and Librarians Became the Unlikely Spies of World War II by Elyse Graham
Published by Ecco/HarperCollins, Graham tells the story of how The Office of Strategic Services (which preceded the CIA) recruited librarians, historians, archivists, and professors of literature into its spy ranks, and how these academics contributed significantly to the war effort.
Belle da Costa Greene: A Librarian’s Legacy
A collection of essays published by Delmonico Books and the Morgan Library & Museum as it celebrates its centennial and the appointment of Green as its first director.
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