Dante’s Inferno; Published by Thornwillow Press

Posted on December 9, 2018 by J. Davis

Inferno Header-2Inferno Header-1“Nel mezzo del cammin di nostra vita mi ritrovai per una selva oscura…” “…Midway upon the journey of our life I found myself in a dark wilderness.”

So begins Dante’s Inferno, the first in the trilogy that makes up The Divine Comedy. Continue reading →

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The Intruder; Published by Midnight Paper Sales

Posted on November 15, 2018 by J. Davis

Intruder-1I have always been intrigued by Gaylord Schanilec’s work but have never had much opportunity to spend time with any of his books other than quick glances at CODEX. That changed when I noticed a friend’s name in a colophon to one of his books on an Oak Knoll Books mailing. Franny Bannen is not exactly a common name, and knowing that she had taken some bookmaking classes at Mill College left me little doubt that this was indeed a book that my book artist friend had a hand in. How did I not know this? I instantly tried to purchase the book only to find that in the hour or so since I got the email, it had already been snatched up. Luckily, they also had this book that Franny had worked on. We staff together at an camp for unschoolers every year and I proudly showed it to her and it was wonderful seeing her face light up when she saw it. Like seeing one of you children after a long time away. I will be having her sign my copy. What a delight for a book lover to own books whose creation your friends and family have had a hand in! My daughter had a short stint working at Arion Press and I have the joy of owning a few books with her name in the colophon. Continue reading →

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Bartleby the Scrivenor; Published by Indulgence Press

Posted on October 18, 2018 by J. Davis

Bartleby GCplus14-2Ah Bartleby! That most enigmatic scrivener who brought us the famous phrase “I prefer not to.” Bartleby is another interesting and strange character from the pen of Herman Melville, who seemed to have a knack for creating them. Continue reading →

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Ourika, by Claire De Durfort; Published by Bird & Bull Press

Posted on May 20, 2018 by J. Davis

Ourika-8Ourika by the Bird & Bull Press is just the kind of happy discovery I love as a reader who happens to also love private press books. My favorite private press books are the ones that give me joy in their making: in the paper, the presswork, the design, maybe the illustrations, and all the other small and large features that their creators manifested within their covers. But they also give me some literature to read and an inescapable excuse to spend hours in tactile communion with the book. It is especially delightful to find literature that surprises me in being either outside the classic canon completely or an obscure or unknown (to me) gem within the canon. This particular discovery of Ourika also furthers my desire to read more women authors in fine press and also dovetails into my current efforts to read more literature of or about Africa. Continue reading →

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Ham on Rye by Charles Bukowski; Published by the Prototype Press in 2018

Posted on March 13, 2018 by J. Davis

Ham on Rye-3I’m not sure what to think of Charles Bukowski. I was vaguely aware of his poetry from thumbing through it in some Los Angeles bookstores. Although not much of a movie watcher, one movie I did see was Barfly, and I suppose that shapes my perception of Bukowski as well. I have his collection, The Pleasures of the Damned: Poems, 1951-1993, on my shelf and on my “to be read” list. Raw, powerful, not necessarily likeable, but articulate in some brutally honest ways. Which I like in his poetry. I’m not so sure I like it in his prose, so contrary to my usual review habits here, I’m going to talk about the book as an object first to give myself more time to digest his writing. Continue reading →

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The Splendour of a Morning by C.P. Cavafy; Published by Barbarian Press

Posted on January 17, 2018 by J. Davis

Cavafy-2In preparing for this review, I realized that Splendour of a Morning is the ONLY modern Greek literature I have in my possession and I believe it might be the only modern Greek book I have read. The other twenty or so Greek books I do have were written millennia ago. After reading this delightful edition of Cavafy’s poems, I will be remedying that situation quickly, both with more of his writing and by finding some works in translation from the modern Greek. Coincidentally, I just got a recommendation for The Scapegoat by Sophia Nikolaidou when checking out a new podcast today, called Reading Women. Continue reading →

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Bukowski’s Ham on Rye published by The Prototype Press

Posted on December 5, 2017 by J. Davis

Screen Shot 2017-12-05 at 10.50.23 AM Continue reading →

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The Hatchet Buddha by Rebecca Gayle Howell; Published by Larkspur Press

Posted on December 4, 2017 by J. Davis

Hatchet Buddha-1I originally came across Larkspur Press in my endless pursuit of the writings of Wendell Berry. It was a joy to discover that I could get pieces of his writings from small private presses like Larkspur and The Press on Scroll Road. I’ve been following Larkspur ever since and picking up all things Berry and other little gems that catch my eye from time to time. I’ve been meaning to post about this book for a while now and when I saw that Larkspur’s owner, Grey Zeitz, was recently featured on NPR, it spurred me into action. Continue reading →

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60 boxes of books to pack, move here, move there, and unpack…

Posted on October 31, 2017 by The Whole Book Admin

Just a quick update to my readers so that you know I am still alive and well! Continue reading →

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CODEX 2017: Notes from Book Heaven

Posted on February 21, 2017 by J. Davis

CODEX2017I’ve just wrapped up another wonderful visit to the CODEX Book Fair and the amazing city of San Francisco/Richmond that hosts it every two years. For those of you who have not been but share a love for the hand-made book, I urge you to put it on you bucket list of things to do. For the price of a $10 daypass, you can talk about, see, touch, and experience more  books and book objects than probably anywhere else. Books that might only be in an edition of 10 and end up in institutional private collections and then only exist to us as pictures on the internet and post on blogs like this. While I have the pleasure and privilege to own books from some of the presses I see here, most are way beyond my means and even my realistic desires. So the chance to see them in person is priceless. And the chance to talk with the artists, makers, and creators who manifest them can be sublime. Come see this little slice of book heaven when you can. Continue reading →

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