Book It Across the Pond

I love the warmer weather because it means I can sit outside and do a little reading. Though the problem I’ve found: when you venture outside of the park, there isn’t much in the way of bench seating. Yes, you can sit on the concrete steps of Diversey Harbor (like Harry Potter and I did this weekend), but I can never get comfortable. There’s something about sitting on a bench and reading and having the backdrop of a Lake behind you.

It seems London and the National Literacy Trust have cured my current dilemma by teaming up with with a cartoonist and How to Train a Dragon creator. The Books about Town campaign brings to life classic book illustration interpretations on 50 park benches. Yes, there are book benches strewn about London begging for you to sit and read and they depict some of your favorite books. As we know, I love a seek and find when it comes to the arts.

Heavy sigh. Via BBC News Entertainment & Arts

P.L. Travers’ Mary Poppins by Artist Darel Seow

Michael Bond’s Please Look After This Bear by Artist Michelle Heron

Charles Dickens’ Great Expectations by Artist Ivan Liotchev

 

 

The Things Readers Carried

When I read The Book Thief a few years ago, there was a quote that really stood out and well, I still carry to this day.

 

I find this to be all too true. A great book, I just want to keep holding as the book and story have a hold on me. It’s hard for me to really let go of a story and its characters since it all feels so incredibly real. And according to science now, it appears I’m not going crazy as a story implants itself in your brain and sticks around for a bit, changing the way your mind works.

Dr. Gregory S. Burns and his research team conducted a study with undergraduates and recorded their brain activity while reading Pompeii (Robert Harris) over nine days and then continued monitoring brain activity for an additional five days after finishing the book.

Huffington Post writer Jacqueline Howard goes into more detail about the study and its findings, yet I cannot help to just love this little nugget from Dr. Burns during Howard’s reporting:

“At a minimum, we can say that reading stories –- especially those with strong narrative arcs -– reconfigures brain networks for at least a few days. It shows how stories can stay with us. This may have profound implications for children and the role of reading in shaping their brains.”
— Dr. Gregory S. Burns

And now, I think I’m going to have to pick up Pompeii.

Bookin’ Around Town

I was a huge fan of food trucks when they first hit the streets a few years ago. Cupcakes on the go?! Lunch that meets you on the corner?! And all you had to do was tweet and follow businesses. And then I got food truck fatigue and do not remember the last time I ventured to one (plus most have retail spaces now).

Then I saw this geniusness from Penguin Group: Penguin Book Pushcart. It’s a mobile bookstore, but unlike the bookmobile from yesteryears, it comes complete with café style seating and a pushcart to wander the streets. Apparently this vehicle was just in Chicago for the American Library Association conference and I missed it. You can track the vehicles’ movements and stops through their website (it’s already been bookmarked).

Source: Penguin Book Truck Facebook Page

 

Best News of the Year

2013 was all ready going along pretty fantastic, but now?!?!?!

So now I’ll start reading The Casual Vacancy knowing there’s another book awaiting me.

Wish Granting Factory

I bought The Fault in Our Stars last week to read on my Colorado trip. Except I didn’t make it that far. Instead, I laid in bed reading for five hours until I finished the book. That’s one of my favorite feelings in the world; getting so consumed by a book the only way to stop is for the book to run out of pages and words.

I can say of all the years of book reading, I’ve never cried in a book. Sure, I might have cried during a movie adaptation, but I’ve never cried while reading. I’ve actually found myself a tad jealous of those who can get so lost in their imaginations and the written word to produce such powerful emotion.

And then it happened. The eyes welled up. A few tears trickled down. I regained composure. A full-on sob. Followed by I-can’t-quite-breathe sobs. And then again, pulling it together to finish the ending and more sobs. Then for some reason, I felt compelled to reread the ending. Puffy eyes greeted me in the morning.

The tale is about two teens who meet during a cancer support group. You know something bad/sad is going to happen, it’s inevitable right? But man oh man, the way John Green makes you fall in love with these characters so that you’re not worrying about their stories but more so their thoughts and feelings is truly genius. You get so wrapped up in Hazel’s and Augustus’s day-to-day that you don’t even have time to contemplate, read into foreshadowing or figure out where the story’s landing.

Just like Augustus and Hazel, I finally got my wish.

Summer Reading List

Two years ago during the Film Festival, we screened The Descendants and had a Q&A with the lead opposite George Clooney, Shailene Woodley. I remember sitting there thinking how well-spoken, down to earth and real she was while holding a mic and speaking to a room full of strangers. She had a command and presence that just pulled you in.

Fast forward to today, and she is blowing up. With the lead in the Divergent series (which by the by, is a FANTASTIC series and highly recommended if you enjoy/ed Hunger Games) and The Fault in Our Stars (just picked up the book, plan on reading it during this weekend’s Colorado trip), she’s in this spectacular trailer, The Spectacular Now. It’s also based off a book.

There’s your Summer reading list courtesy of Shailene Woodley’s movie career.

Oh and naturally, I’m all about the song in this trailer– “Feel Again” by OneRepublic

Book It to Algonquin Hotel

When I’m staying at hotels, I’m always itching to get out of the room, no matter how immaculate it is. And then I saw this and figured my hotel ways would for sure change.

The Algonquin Hotel just announced a partnership with Simon & Schuster that will feature a Simon & Schuster Suite and Package. The Suite, stocked with bookcases of classics, book memorabilia and advanced copies of new releases, features a living room and king-sized bed and a turn-down service where you walk away with a soon-to-be-released book.

Should you decide to venture outside of the hotel room, there will be breakfast in the Round Table Restaurant and author readings. Rainy vacation days in NYC just got oh so fantastic, with a $459/night price tag. For a photo gallery of the featured room, Christopher Reynolds of Los Angeles Times provided some images.

Via Publishers Weekly

 

Eleanor & Park

It’s true. I am seriously slacking on my book goal for the year. Judging from that “handy” tracker on GoodReads, I’m a solid 5 books behind schedule. Which is why I did a little happy dance upon finishing Eleanor & Park (by Rainbow Rowell) in just a few days.

My Art Director partner insisted I read this book. “Don’t read anything online about it or the jacket excerpt. Just open it and start reading.” After being in a clear reading rut, I was skeptical. But something took hold of me in this book and demanded I never put it down.

Without giving you too much insight, the book focuses on two unlikely candidates (I bet you can guess their names) and their interactions with one and other. Each “chapter” pinballs from Eleanor’s POV and Park’s (kinda like Gone Girl), so the minute you get attached to being inside one character’s mind, you have to wait to “see” what happens.

Aside from the flow of this book, the other I truly loved was the cover. Now I know they say you shouldn’t judge a book by its cover. But please, judge this book by its cover, because this is a cover done well. This is a cover beckoning you to explore what awaits within the pages.

A Grand Vision

“I like large parties. They’re so intimate.”  — The Great Gatsby

Next week, after an early screening of the highly anticipated The Great Gatsby, we’re hosting a Junior Board after party Gatsby would love; full of champagne, cocktails, finger foods and of course dancing at the PUBLIC Hotel. Just looking at photos from this iconic hotel, it’s easy to get into the Roaring 20s mindset. And we’ll kick it up a notch by having partygoers dress in their favorite Gatsby attire (read pearls, red lips, cigarellas).

Aside from loving the book, I’ve been pumped for this film. Even Maggie, the not-so-movie-goer said, “Even I’m excited for this screening!” With a visual-spectacle director like Baz Luhrmann, it’s sure to be a treat. But I’m most excited for the music. The trailer alone features a handful of songs that I wish ran their full length (and it seems a new trailer is coming out every week).

Florence + the Machine’s song for the movie is my current go-to.

 

One for the Books

Yesterday was World Book Night. A day/night where thousands of volunteers pass out 20 copies of a book across 6,000 cities and towns resulting in 500,000 books out to light and non readers. My co-worker Amanda and I signed up to volunteer as Book Givers. The process was pretty simple. You filled out an application and if selected, decided where you wanted to pick up your books (We went to After-Words which just might be my new favorite place in all the land). Then, you hand out your copies.

Amanda handed out Bossypants and I dished out Moneyball. We did a few handouts on our way into work and decided that during lunch we’d stop by the Chicago Fire House nearby and then continue to hand out books around the Loop.

Walking up to the Fire House, we didn’t know what to expect. It was raining, so the doors were all closed. Unsure of our next move, we walked in to Mister Firefighter Chris greeting us. The interaction went a little something like this:

FF Chris: Good afternoon, how can I help you?
Hanna/Amanda: We have books. Here are some books. Thanks!
FF Chris: Oh awesome, come on in. Do you guys want some coffee? How about some pictures?
Hanna/Amanda: Yeapictureswouldbegreatofcourseuhhuh
FF Chris: Here, let me grab some guys we’ll get you helmets.
Hanna/Amanda: start sweating and turning red

Firefighters Reuben and Brian join us and Amanda and I suit up in fireman garb. Amanda’s wearing a jacket, a helmet (Captain’s nonetheless) and carrying hoses on her shoulders. I’m given boots, pants, a helmet and yes, even an ax. We stand around chatting in our attire, take a photoshoot and leave the firehouse huge fans of the Chicago Fire Department.

A little book drop turned into an afternoon pick-me-up neither of us saw coming. Needless to say, the rest of the day’s giving was fun, but didn’t include dress up time.

 

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