AbeBooks' Reading Copy

Reading The Night Before Christmas (or, A Visit from St. Nicholas) on Christmas Eve is a longstanding tradition in my family, as it is for countless others. Even as adults, we gather around my dad to hear his booming voice announce the arrival of Father Christmas. The iconic poem made its debut in 1823, the […]

It’s Thanksgiving south of the border, and while we Canadians filled up on turkey and gratitude last month, there are too few opportunities in life to celebrate. So, Happy Thanksgiving to our American customers and friends. Since we are firmly in the heart of decorative gourd season (my friends), enjoy this gorgeous Set of Four […]

President Barack Obama loaded up on books at an independent bookstore last weekend in support of Small Business Saturday.  The White House reports that the President picked up 21 titles, ranging from children’s books and YA Literature to brand new best-sellers.  Looks like the Obama’s will be have a very bookish Christmas. Here’s the list: Half Brother […]

In an August, 2012 blog post titled “Top ten books parents think children should read“, The Telegraph discussed a survey conducted by the University of Worcester in which 2000 adults were queried as to what books they felt most important to pass on to future generations to read. The #1, most-often mentioned title was Charles […]

Pinterest’s specialty lies in an abundance of beauty- a feast for the eyes! Our festive Pinterest board embraces that notion, along with some wonderful memories and nostalgia for the booklover. It showcases a huge selection of Christmas books and holiday books from the late 19th century to the 1960s, including titles from Charles Dickens, Jean […]

Are you looking for ideas for the best literary halloween costumes? Book-themed costumes can be classy and clever and great for a theme, but hard to come up with. Costumes from books also often seem to require a lot of detail to be recognizable. If you’re looking for ideas for bookish costumes for this halloween, […]

Philip Pullman’s “His Dark Materials” trilogy is now available in a single beautiful volume, published by Everyman’s Library.

Sometimes I just have to feature a book because of the cover design. Beside the Seaside by Jane Struthers, reviewed at the weekend in Britain’s Daily Telegraph, is one such book. A nice job from the designers at Ebury. Beside the Seaside is a compendium of British beaches and seaside communities, and covers the development […]

The Encyclopædia Britannica blog salutes Donald McGill – king of Britain’s saucy postcards from the olden days era. (Do click through and look at the examples.) McGill designed and produced over 12,000 seaside themed postcards between 1904 and 1962. His designs were once very well known—and postcard holders across the UK often displayed McGills cheeky […]

Did Charles Dickens invent Christmas?