Some short takes for June from the world of books.
School’s out, summer’s right around the corner. Time to kick back a little and browse through some of the interesting bookish news and information that is floating around the web. Here are a few of my picks.
>>Book Blogs- Important – to actually see the site click on the little chain link iconright next to the word “follow” in blue. Click anywhere else and you’ll get a promo message from Feed Spot with a pitch for subscription for their service. This list is by no means comprehensive and it’s coming from a website that wants to sell you info and data on niche markets. Still it provides a pretty wide assortment of individuals, institutions and dealers and it comes with some metrics info too. You could do worse. If you click the link - which is recommended and why we’re putting it first, you are still likely to get a follow up email offering data services, but most of the 30+ blog sites they’ve chosen are well worth a visit.
>> Print is dead or is it?Haven’t you heard no one reads, much less buys books any more? Here’s the rebuttal that ran recently in SlateIt says there are lots of creative ways to use statistics that might tend to be misleading, especially if you’re a party to a big lawsuit in a publishing merger. Plenty of data, nicely presented.
>> Reddit anyone?I confess to being a Reddit junkie, love it for all the odd bits of first hand news and information that gets mixed together on a daily basis. While it’s heavy on internet gamers and ageist sentiments (i.e. everything bad is the fault of old people, die already and give us your stuff) there is a staggering amount ofbook related subsinr/bookswith an aggregate membership of 24 million. All three of these links are a little different, so if you are not currently browsing Reddit suggest you click through on the trio.
Warning:Reddit is addictive and a lot of it is, shall we say, strange. There’s lots of youthful internet slang that I have to look up such as NSFW (not suitable for work), AITA? (Am I the a**hole?) and AMA (Ask me anything). It can be fun and informative, or it can be a huge doom scroll.
>> Movie star turned book recommender: Unbeknownst to some of us in the more esoteric reaches of bookish lore the actress Reese Witherspoon has become influential in book clubcircles. So who knew? Here’s a gift article to get you around the NY Times paywall to find out what’s hot in book club land.
>>> Tattered Coverthe legendary Denver book shop goes on the bankruptcy block this month. June 10th is the bid deadline for the auction which will be held June 12. The article says there are eight prospective bidders.
>>> And in other news from bookstores, Paul Yamazakihead buyer from City Lights in San Francisco shares some of his thoughts and literary tastes with the NY Times. Again, it’s another gift article so presumably you’ll be able to access the site.
Sotheby's Fine Books, Manuscripts & More Available for Immediate Purchase
Sotheby’s: William Shakespeare. The Temple Shakespeare. Housed in Custom Bookcase. $6,365.
Sotheby’s: Frederick Douglass. Narrative of the Life of Frederick Douglass, Boston: Anti-Slavery Office, 1845. $14,000.
Sotheby’s: Charles Dickens. A Christmas Carol. London: William Heinemann, 1915. $2,900.
Sotheby’s: F. Scott Fitzgerald. First Edition Set, Including This Side of Paradise, The Great Gatsby, and others. Charles Scribner's Sons. 1920 – 1941. $24,180.
Sotheby’s: Lewis Carroll [Charles Lutwidge Dodgson], John Tenniel. Alice's Adventures in Wonderland First Edition. Macmillan & Co., 1866. $15,000.
Swann Autographs November 6, 2025
Swann, Nov. 6: Lot 93: Autograph album containing 29 autograph letters signed by each president from Washington to Coolidge, 1785-1945.
Swann, Nov. 6: Lot 166: Franz Schubert, Autograph Musical Manuscript, fragment from Die Taucher, 1813.
Swann, Nov. 6: Lot 111: Thomas Jefferson, holograph plat drawing: map of field near Monticello, 1790s.
Swann Autographs November 6, 2025
Swann, Nov. 6: Lot 208: George Sand, Autograph Manuscript Signed, draft of her one-act play, Francia, ca. 1872.
Swann, Nov. 6: Lot 218: Walt Whitman, Manuscript Signed, draft of three complete poems from Leaves of Grass, 1891.
Swann, Nov. 6: Lot 8: James Dean, Photograph Signed and Inscribed, still from Giant, 1955.
Swann Autographs November 6, 2025
Swann, Nov. 6: Lot 20: John Lennon, Typescript Signed, interview discussing Paul, Linda, and Yoko, 1971.
Swann, Nov. 6: Lot 215: Mark Twain, engraved portrait Signed, "Mark Twain / SL. Clemens," 1890s.
Swann, Nov. 6: Lot 81: Vaslav Nijinsky, reproduction of an artwork by Léon Bakst Inscribed and Signed, 1916.
Swann Autographs November 6, 2025
Swann, Nov. 6: Lot 73: Malcolm X, The Harvard Crimson Signed and Inscribed: his street address and phone number, 1961.
Swann, Nov. 6: Lot 11: Lou Gehrig, Photograph Signed and Inscribed, ca. 1939.
Swann, Nov. 6: Lot 153: George Gershwin, Photograph Signed and Inscribed, portrait by Renato Toppo.
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Doyle, Nov. 5: The Director's copy of the first edition of Samuel Beckett's Waiting for Godot, inscribed by Beckett. $7,000 to $10,000.
Doyle, Nov. 5: Don McLean's personal test pressing of American Pie before mass production, gifted in 1971. $8,000 to $12,000.
Doyle, Nov. 5: The important and extensive archive of original fashion photographs of model Dorothy Rice, 1945-58. $20,000 to $30,000.
Doyle, Nov. 5: A Charles Adams theater advertisement. $8,000 to $12,000.
Doyle, Nov. 5: A Small Patinated Bronze Bust of Marlene Dietrich. $800 to $1,200.
Doyle, Nov. 5: Marlene Dietrich Studio Photograph. $100 to $200.
Doyle, Nov. 5: The very large and uncommon British Quad for Hitchcock's The Birds. $500 to $800.
Doyle, Nov. 5: An Original Crystal "Sputnik" from the 1966 Met Opera Chandelier. $3,000 to $5,000.
Doyle, Nov. 5: The rare poster from the first American performances of Endgame, 1958. $1,000 to $1,500.
Doyle, Nov. 5: The original Coconut Grove Playhouse poster for Waiting for Godot, possibly unique. $3,000 to $5,000.
![<b>Sotheby’s:</b> Lewis Carroll [Charles Lutwidge Dodgson], John Tenniel. <i>Alice's Adventures in Wonderland</i> First Edition. Macmillan & Co., 1866. $15,000.](https://ae-files.s3.amazonaws.com/AdvertisementPhotos/cc3f4f98-f195-4049-aca6-329c27fdd27c.png "<b>Sotheby’s:</b> Lewis Carroll [Charles Lutwidge Dodgson], John Tenniel. <i>Alice's Adventures in Wonderland</i> First Edition. Macmillan & Co., 1866. $15,000.")
