15 Rare, Unusual & Mysterious Books

Welcome to the wonderful world of rare, unusual, and mysterious books! I'm always amazed at the odd, the strange, and mysterious item out there in the world... especially when it comes to books.

So, when I came across an article in the Business Pundit titled 15 Weird & Mysterious Books, I couldn't resist taking a look at which 15 books made the list.

Which books struck you as the most mysterious and weird?? I found it difficult to chose one book that did it for me as the most weird and mysterious.

What have you found within the pages of used books?

I frequently buy used books from our local Friends of the Library Used Bookstore and many other used bookstores around town.

Most of the time I don't find anything unusual within the pages of the used books I purchase, but every so often I find remnants left behind by the previous owner of the book.

I've found bookmarks, business cards, photographs, receipts, recipes, handwritten notes, inscriptions, grocery/to do lists and even a $2 bill to name a few of the things I've discovered between the pages of used books I've purchased.

What are some of the unique items you've discovered within the pages of used books you've purchased?

The Diaries of Adam & Eve by Mark Twain

I recently came across the eBook version of The Diaries of Adam & Eve by Mark Twain on Amazon for 99 cents. For clarification purposes, 'The Diaries of Adam & Eve' is more of a novella rather than a full length novel.

I really enjoyed reading 'The Diaries of Adam & Eve' as Mark Twain has a unique perspective and humorous way of telling a story! 'The Diaries of Adam & Eve' is told through a series of diary entries from a she said/he said perspective. 

The diary entries begin with Eve's narration of events where she thinks of herself as an 'experiment'. Her entries are long and she has a wonderful mastery of language. She's very intuitive and embraces the world around her. 

Adam's diary entries, by contrast, are short entries. He seems to be more reclusive, set in his ways, and wants nothing to do with Eve whatsoever at the start of 'The Diaries of Adam & Eve'. Also, Adam's intuitive skills and language skills seem less masterful in comparison with Eve's skills.

I had a good laugh at Adam trying to figure out what species 'Cain' and 'Abel' were!! He starts out thinking that Cain is a fish and wants to throw him in the water to see if he can swim, but Eve won't let Adam test his theory out. As Cain grows bigger, Adam then decides Cain is a kangaroo, then a bear who might be dangerous, and so on, until he finally figures out that both 'Cain' and 'Abel' are the same species that he is. In my opinion, Adam's diary entries about what he thinks 'Cain' and 'Abel' are, were the funniest moments in this novella.

Eve's diary entries become less frequent with the appearance of 'Cain' and 'Abel'. By the end of 'The Diaries of Adam & Eve', Adam & Eve are in very much in love with one another.

I really enjoyed reading 'The Diaries of Adam & Eve' and would recommend this novella to all Mark Twain fans and to all those who would enjoy reading a different take on Adam & Eve.

US World Book Night 2013!

I have some exciting news to share with you all!! Once again, I've been selected to be a book giver for the US World Book Night 2013 event on April 23, 2013!!

So, what is World Book Night, you ask? Here's how it's defined by the US World Book Night Website:

World Book Night is an annual celebration dedicated to spreading the love of reading, person to person. Each year on April 23, tens of thousands of people in the U.S. go out into their communities and give a total of half a million free World Book Night paperbacks to light and non-readers.

I thoroughly enjoyed being a book giver last year for the US World Book Night event. I passed out 20 free copies of I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings by Maya Angelou within my community. I've been an avid fan of Maya Angelou's works of poetry and her autobiographies. I've even seen Maya Angelou speak before a live audience twice before and she's an amazing, gifted speaker!

This year, I will be handing out 20 free copies of The House on Mango Street by Sandra Cisneros within my community. I first read 'The House on Mango Street' for a Women's Studies course in college back in the early 1990s. I reread 'The House on Mango Street' at the end of last year and enjoyed rereading it again. 'The House on Mango Street' is a novella and is told through a series of short chapters or vignettes and is the story of Esperanza Cordero, a young Latina girl growing up in Chicago. I love the manner in which 'The House on Mango Street' is written. By writing vignettes, Cisneros shares the story of Esperanza Cordero in a unique, refreshing way. 

Who else has applied to be a book giver this year? Which book will you be passing out within your community?

The Biblio-Mat Book Vending Machine!!

Let me start by saying that I've never heard of or even seen a book vending machine before in my life. 

Sure, I'm very aware of vending machine that dispense food, movies for rent, cigarettes, health related items like condoms, and other over the counter medications like pain relievers and the like, but not a book vending machine.

Then I came across an article on NPR titled Book-Vending Machine Dispenses Suspense. Intrigued by the article's title, I not only read the article, but listened to the audio version on NPR's All Things Considered program. 

All I can say is that after reading the NPR article above, I now want to visit The Monkey's Paw Used Bookstore in Toronto, Canada and see the Biblio-Mat Book Vending Machine in action!! Half the fun would be seeing which book title the Biblio-Mat gives you at random.

Starbucks CEO is Immortalized in a Comic Book

Honestly, I never thought I'd see the day that Howard Schultz, Starbucks CEO, would be immortalized in a comic book!! 

The book is titled Howard Schultz, the Man behind Starbucks by CW Cooke.

According to an article in the Puget Sound Business Journal titled Starbucks CEO Schultz immortalized in comic book, the following book description is given for 'Howard Schultz, the Man behind Starbucks':

Learn the true tale of the man who pushed Starbucks into the stratosphere, taking it from its small coffee bean sales to its global coffee domination. See here, in comic book form, the true story of Howard Schultz, the man who made Starbucks a legend.

Yes, I'm a coffee drinker and yes, I love reading books, but this will not be a book I'll be reading, ever!

Vintage Ads for Libraries to Promote Reading!

I love vintage themed posters and art work. So, when I came across a post on the Brain Pickings website titled Vintage Ads for Libraries and Reading by Maria Popova, I couldn't help but share this link with my fellow readers!

I like the vintage posters because they promote reading books and using the library! 

Click on the above link to see the vintage ads. 

Cozy Mystery Novels

I admit it! I enjoy reading cozy mystery novels. They happen to be one of my favorite genres, because they are fun, entertaining, and make for a great way to escape from daily life. 

For those of you not familiar with the cozy mystery genre, here's a definition of the genre from Wikipedia:

The detectives in such stories are nearly always amateurs (village policeman Hamish Macbeth, featured in a series of novels by M. C. Beaton, is a notable exception) and frequently women. They are typically well educated, intuitive, and often hold jobs (caterer, innkeeper, librarian, teacher, dog trainer, shop owner, reporter) that bring them into constant contact with other residents of their town and the surrounding region. Like other amateur detectives, they typically have a contact on the police force who can give them access to important information about the case at hand, but the contact is typically a spouse, lover, friend or family member rather than a former colleague. Dismissed by the authorities in general as nosy busybodies (particularly if they are middle-aged or elderly women), the detectives in cozy mysteries are thus left free to eavesdrop, gather clues, and use their native intelligence and intuitive "feel" for the social dynamics of the community to solve the crime. 

I've enjoyed reading cozy mystery novels from the Den of Antiquities series by Tamar Myers, Coffee House Mystery series by Cleo Coyle, and many other novels written by authors whom write cozy mystery novels.

Do you enjoy reading cozy mystery novels too? I'm always on the lookout for new cozy mystery series to read... So, please share with me which cozy mystery series have you enjoyed reading!

Author Speaking Fees

I've enjoyed attending many author lectures every now and then throughout the years and Maya Angelou has been, hands down, my favorite author to hear speak before a live audience. 

I've seen Dr. Angelou speak twice in the past two decades before an audience and I wouldn't hesitate to hear her speak before a live audience again, should the opportunity present itself. Dr. Angelou is an amazing speaker and she has always shared memorable and engaging topics with her audience.

I've also had the pleasure of hearing several other authors lecture at various venues as well. Ticket prices for author lectures vary in price depending on many factors. So, I've often wondered what fees (if any) certain authors earn for their speaking engagements. 

Interestingly enough, I came across an article on the Huffington Post website this morning titled Author Speaking Fees: Who Gets Paid Ridiculous Sums To Talk? The article does shed some light on what speaking fees some of the more popular authors receive.

Are you surprised by the amount of fees collected by the authors mentioned in the above article? I think I was most surprised to read that Charles Dickens received $100,000 for 76 U.S. readings!! Amazing!! That was a boat load of money back then. I wonder what that dollar amount would translate into today's dollars when one factors in inflation.

Read & Discuss Ayn Rand's Novel, Atlas Shrugged

Conor Friedersdorf is a staff writer at The Atlantic and he recently wrote an article titled Calling All Readers: Join the Atlas Shrugged Book Club, which posted to The Atlantic website on Monday, February 11, 2013. In his article, Mr. Friedersdorf writes the following:

The Atlantic will take on the controversial novel in a multi-part discussion that begins February 18.

Published in 1957, Ayn Rand's Atlas Shrugged is one of the most controversial novels in American history, and a hugely successful one too: It has sold more than a million copies ... since 2010! Alan Greenspan, Clarence Thomas, and Paul Ryan have cited it as a significant influence on their thinking. Tea Party-affiliated entertainers touted it at the height of the protest movement. And fans and critics alike found it relevant to the 2010 election.

But how many people who invoke the book have actually read it since high school? Or ever? 

Atlas Shrugged

Click on above article to read the full article, where you will learn more about which chapters to read and discuss when and how to participate in the discussion of Atlas Shrugged in this exciting new online book club!

I've never read anything written by Ayn Rand before. I'd love to read and participate in this book club discussion, but unfortunately, I don't have enough time to obtain a copy of this novel and read the 1st 5 chapters before February 18th as I have a lot going on in my life at the moment.

Ayn Rand

I'm hoping that other readers out there interested in reading and discussing Ayn Rand's novel, Atlas Shrugged, will enjoy participating in The Atlantic's Book Club Discussion.

Until my next post, happy reading! 

P. S. If you decided to read Atlas Shrugged and participate in the online book discussion, let me know about your experience.