Under the Covers<\/b><\/span><\/h3>\nEcclesiastes 12:12 gives us this advice: Be careful, for writing books is endless, and much study wears you out.<\/em><\/span><\/p>\nBut writers won\u2019t desist, and neither will readers. <\/span><\/p>\n![\"\"](\"http:\/\/merilynsimonds.com\/books-unpacked-blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/503-63e4a847.gif\")
<\/a>Pamela Paul, now editor of the Times Book Reviews<\/em> started listing every book she ever read in a diary she nicknamed BOB\u2014 the Book of Books. This summer she published a memoir built around that diary called My Life with Bob: Flawed Heroine Keeps Book of Books, Plot Ensues. <\/em><\/span><\/p>\n![\"\"](\"http:\/\/merilynsimonds.com\/books-unpacked-blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/j11027.gif\")
<\/a>At the creator end of the spectrum, Under the Cover: The Creation, Production, and Reception of a Novel <\/em>follows the life cycle of a single work of fiction from inspiration to reader reviews. Sociologist Clayton Childress turns a close lens on every phase of a book’s life from\u00a0how writers choose a project to where booksellers decide to shelve it.<\/span><\/p>\n![\"\"](\"http:\/\/merilynsimonds.com\/books-unpacked-blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/51R5RrQii-L._AA218_.jpg\")
<\/a>On my own shelf of \u201cBooks on Books\u201d a favorite is <\/b><\/span>The World Between Two Covers<\/em> (aka Reading the World<\/em>) by\u00a0Ann Morgan<\/span><\/a>, a British freelance writer who is\u00a0on a quest to read a book from every country in the world, which she records on her blog<\/a>.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\nTypeface Topples\u00a0Government\u00a0<\/b><\/h3>\n
![\"\"](\"http:\/\/merilynsimonds.com\/books-unpacked-blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/Unknown.png\")
<\/a>Last Friday<\/a>, Calibri, the sans-serif default typeface on my Mac, brought down the government\u00a0of Pakistani Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif<\/span>. During the investigation, the PM\u2019s daughter submitted emails to prove her father\u2019s innocence. Unfortunately for him, the emails, dated 2006, were written in Calibri, which was not introduced by Microsoft until 2007.<\/p>\nWikipedia had to lock its Calibri page after more than 150,000 users tried to edit the content during\u00a0the day following the revelation. According to\u00a0The Guardian,<\/i> t<\/span>he page <\/span>usually receives\u00a0500 daily visitors.<\/span><\/p>\nThe real scandal is that news reports insisted on referring to Calibri as a font, when in fact it is a typeface. Calibri italic<\/i>, Calibri bold<\/b> are fonts. A typeface is a family of fonts ie Calibri. Where are the language police when we need them?<\/span><\/p>\nNEWS FROM MY CASITA<\/b><\/h3>\n
![\"\"](\"http:\/\/merilynsimonds.com\/books-unpacked-blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/rsz_view_from_my_casita-264x300.jpg\")
<\/a>![\"\"](\"http:\/\/merilynsimonds.com\/books-unpacked-blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/IMG_0512-e1501518128811-225x300.jpg\")
<\/a>In the respite between presenting Gutenberg\u2019s Fingerprint<\/em> at the spring and fall book festivals, I am hard at work doing a final edit on my novel Refuge,\u00a0<\/em>which will appear in fall 2018. So many loose threads! So much unravelling!\u00a0\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\nMy great joy of fall 2017 will be the unveiling of a Bookmark Canada<\/a> plaque to honour The Convict Lover.\u00a0<\/span><\/em>This is the 18th<\/sup><\/span> <\/i>Bookmark Canada plaque, installed in the landscape a book reimagines. The Convict Lover <\/i>plaque will be set in Garrigan Park in Portsmouth, the old quarry where inmates in Kingston Penitentiary did hard time. The unveiling is Saturday September 30 at 11 am. At 12:15, as part of Kingston WritersFest<\/a>, I\u2019ll lead a literary walk through Portsmouth with readings from the book. Please join me!\u00a0\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\nThis fall I\u2019ll be in Pembroke, Kingston, Edmonton, Vancouver, and Sudbury. The details are on my website<\/a>.\u00a0I look forward to lots of great book chats.<\/p>\nFROM THE\u00a0Department of How Time Flies<\/b><\/h3>\n
![\"\"](\"http:\/\/merilynsimonds.com\/books-unpacked-blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/MAzo-de-la-ROche-234x300.jpeg\")
<\/a>My own little Canada150 project is just past\u00a0the halfway point. Olivia Robinson, an English student from Charlottetown, and I have been posting a book title published in every year of Confederation. In the first years it was a challenge to find any book at all. Now that we are into the 1950s, it’s a challenge to choose just one!<\/p>\nThe search\u2014for books by women, by indigenous writers, by writers from across the country and from every sort of margin, as well as the books that have influenced us and our world\u2014has been a frustration at times but always a pleasure. I especially like finding the photos of writers, like this one of Mazo de la Roche, author of the Jalna novels(1927-1960).<\/p>\n
Follow\u00a0us at #canadabooks150<\/a>. The complete list, updated periodically, is on my website<\/a> and Bookmark Charlottetown\u2019s website<\/a>\u00a0too.<\/p>\nLINKS I LOVE<\/b><\/h3>\n
I don\u2019t subscribe to many sites\u2014if only I had time to read all those good books!\u2014but there are a couple that are an endless source of inspiration to me.![\"\"](\"http:\/\/merilynsimonds.com\/books-unpacked-blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/IMG_1917-300x225.jpg\")
<\/a><\/p>\nLitHub<\/a> Daily sends me literary news of the day\u2014did you know that today, July 31, is <\/span>Antoine de Saint-Exup\u00e9ry’s birthday (1944)?\u2014and also culls the English-speaking news for literary tidbits. I read almost every one. \u00a0\u00a0<\/span><\/span><\/p>\nBrainPickings<\/a> is another curatorial site I rely on to point me to interesting reads. Maria Popova gathers books and articles on specific\u00a0themes\u2014platonic love, the role of the writer in society\u2014bringing together an eclectic mosaic of thought and words.<\/p>\nPS: The photo to the right is from The Socialist Pig, a Gananoque coffee\/book haunt. Thanks, Barbara!<\/p>\n
THE BEST LITTLE BOOKSHOP<\/b><\/h3>\n
![\"\"](\"http:\/\/merilynsimonds.com\/books-unpacked-blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/17904394_1330703237012816_2892941550955080866_n.jpg\")
<\/a>![\"\"](\"http:\/\/merilynsimonds.com\/books-unpacked-blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/17522597_1311700258913114_3297535613246475932_n.jpg\")
<\/a>In the tradition of author\/owner bookstores, Sheree Fitch opened Mabel Murple\u2019s Book Shoppe & Dreamery<\/a> this summer. Sheree, author of more than 25 books, had just moved to the Nova Scotia village of River John when it was announced the local school would close. She joined the battle to save the community hub, and when that failed, she determined to keep literacy and literature alive with the conversion of a granary on her\u00a0property into a welcoming book place for kids and adults. She\u2019s hosting school groups and author events and Wednesday night campfire story times. I can\u2019t wait to visit!<\/p>\nCONGRATULATIONS!<\/b><\/h3>\n
But writers won\u2019t desist, and neither will readers. <\/span><\/p>\n Wikipedia had to lock its Calibri page after more than 150,000 users tried to edit the content during\u00a0the day following the revelation. According to\u00a0The Guardian,<\/i> t<\/span>he page <\/span>usually receives\u00a0500 daily visitors.<\/span><\/p>\n The real scandal is that news reports insisted on referring to Calibri as a font, when in fact it is a typeface. Calibri italic<\/i>, Calibri bold<\/b> are fonts. A typeface is a family of fonts ie Calibri. Where are the language police when we need them?<\/span><\/p>\n My great joy of fall 2017 will be the unveiling of a Bookmark Canada<\/a> plaque to honour The Convict Lover.\u00a0<\/span><\/em>This is the 18th<\/sup><\/span> <\/i>Bookmark Canada plaque, installed in the landscape a book reimagines. The Convict Lover <\/i>plaque will be set in Garrigan Park in Portsmouth, the old quarry where inmates in Kingston Penitentiary did hard time. The unveiling is Saturday September 30 at 11 am. At 12:15, as part of Kingston WritersFest<\/a>, I\u2019ll lead a literary walk through Portsmouth with readings from the book. Please join me!\u00a0\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n This fall I\u2019ll be in Pembroke, Kingston, Edmonton, Vancouver, and Sudbury. The details are on my website<\/a>.\u00a0I look forward to lots of great book chats.<\/p>\n The search\u2014for books by women, by indigenous writers, by writers from across the country and from every sort of margin, as well as the books that have influenced us and our world\u2014has been a frustration at times but always a pleasure. I especially like finding the photos of writers, like this one of Mazo de la Roche, author of the Jalna novels(1927-1960).<\/p>\n Follow\u00a0us at #canadabooks150<\/a>. The complete list, updated periodically, is on my website<\/a> and Bookmark Charlottetown\u2019s website<\/a>\u00a0too.<\/p>\n I don\u2019t subscribe to many sites\u2014if only I had time to read all those good books!\u2014but there are a couple that are an endless source of inspiration to me. LitHub<\/a> Daily sends me literary news of the day\u2014did you know that today, July 31, is <\/span>Antoine de Saint-Exup\u00e9ry’s birthday (1944)?\u2014and also culls the English-speaking news for literary tidbits. I read almost every one. \u00a0\u00a0<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n BrainPickings<\/a> is another curatorial site I rely on to point me to interesting reads. Maria Popova gathers books and articles on specific\u00a0themes\u2014platonic love, the role of the writer in society\u2014bringing together an eclectic mosaic of thought and words.<\/p>\n PS: The photo to the right is from The Socialist Pig, a Gananoque coffee\/book haunt. Thanks, Barbara!<\/p>\n<\/a>Pamela Paul, now editor of the Times Book Reviews<\/em> started listing every book she ever read in a diary she nicknamed BOB\u2014 the Book of Books. This summer she published a memoir built around that diary called My Life with Bob: Flawed Heroine Keeps Book of Books, Plot Ensues. <\/em><\/span><\/p>\n<\/a>At the creator end of the spectrum, Under the Cover: The Creation, Production, and Reception of a Novel <\/em>follows the life cycle of a single work of fiction from inspiration to reader reviews. Sociologist Clayton Childress turns a close lens on every phase of a book’s life from\u00a0how writers choose a project to where booksellers decide to shelve it.<\/span><\/p>\n<\/a>On my own shelf of \u201cBooks on Books\u201d a favorite is <\/b><\/span>The World Between Two Covers<\/em> (aka Reading the World<\/em>) by\u00a0Ann Morgan<\/span><\/a>, a British freelance writer who is\u00a0on a quest to read a book from every country in the world, which she records on her blog<\/a>.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\nTypeface Topples\u00a0Government\u00a0<\/b><\/h3>\n
<\/a>Last Friday<\/a>, Calibri, the sans-serif default typeface on my Mac, brought down the government\u00a0of Pakistani Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif<\/span>. During the investigation, the PM\u2019s daughter submitted emails to prove her father\u2019s innocence. Unfortunately for him, the emails, dated 2006, were written in Calibri, which was not introduced by Microsoft until 2007.<\/p>\nNEWS FROM MY CASITA<\/b><\/h3>\n
<\/a><\/a>In the respite between presenting Gutenberg\u2019s Fingerprint<\/em> at the spring and fall book festivals, I am hard at work doing a final edit on my novel Refuge,\u00a0<\/em>which will appear in fall 2018. So many loose threads! So much unravelling!\u00a0\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\nFROM THE\u00a0Department of How Time Flies<\/b><\/h3>\n
<\/a>My own little Canada150 project is just past\u00a0the halfway point. Olivia Robinson, an English student from Charlottetown, and I have been posting a book title published in every year of Confederation. In the first years it was a challenge to find any book at all. Now that we are into the 1950s, it’s a challenge to choose just one!<\/p>\nLINKS I LOVE<\/b><\/h3>\n
<\/a><\/p>\nTHE BEST LITTLE BOOKSHOP<\/b><\/h3>\n
<\/a><\/a>In the tradition of author\/owner bookstores, Sheree Fitch opened Mabel Murple\u2019s Book Shoppe & Dreamery<\/a> this summer. Sheree, author of more than 25 books, had just moved to the Nova Scotia village of River John when it was announced the local school would close. She joined the battle to save the community hub, and when that failed, she determined to keep literacy and literature alive with the conversion of a granary on her\u00a0property into a welcoming book place for kids and adults. She\u2019s hosting school groups and author events and Wednesday night campfire story times. I can\u2019t wait to visit!<\/p>\nCONGRATULATIONS!<\/b><\/h3>\n