Forgotten Bookmarks: A Bookseller's Collection of Odd Things Lost Between the Pages - Michael Popek

It's happened to all of us: we're reading a book, something interrupts us, and we grab the closest thing at hand to mark our spot. It could be a train ticket, a letter, an advertisement, a photograph, or a four-leaf clover. Eventually the book finds its way into the world-a library, a flea market, other people's bookshelves, or to a used bookstore. But what becomes of those forgotten bookmarks? What stories could they tell?

By day, Michael Popek works in his family's used bookstore. By night, he's the voyeuristic force behind www.forgottenbookmarks.com, where he shares the weird objects he has found among the stacks at his store.

Forgotten Bookmarks is a scrapbook of Popek's most interesting finds. Sure, there are actual bookmarks, but there are also pictures and ticket stubs, old recipes and notes, valentines, unsent letters, four-leaf clovers, and various sordid, heartbreaking, and bizarre keepsakes. Together this collection of lost treasures offers a glimpse into other readers' lives that they never intended for us to see.

About the Author

Michael Popek is the 33 year-old manager of a family-run used and rare bookstore in Oneonta, N.Y. He has been in the book business since junior high school, when his father bought a vanload of used books at an auction and decided to see if there was any money to be made off them. Since then, his family has built a successful used-book business that combines a brick-and-mortar location with an online presence that ships books all over the world. As manager of the bookstore, Popek buys books from libraries, estates and individuals on a regular basis. His first Forgotten Bookmark, which he posted in June 2007, was a handwritten note found in a paperback copy of "The Blind Assasin" by Margaret Atwood. Since that post, more than 700 items have been featured on the website.

Read more...

Cleveland's West Side Market: 100 Years and Still Cooking - Laura Taxel

Cleveland’s West Side Market is a matchless culinary and cultural resource, a nationally significant architectural treasure, and part of the city’s distinctive urban landscape. In continuous use since it opened in 1912, the market is among the oldest municipally owned and operated retail food arcades and one of only a handful of such places left in the country. The book chronicles the history of this notable landmark and all it offers consumers and culinary aficionados. Written by two well-known Cleveland food writers, the book takes readers on a nostalgic tour of the market building, outdoor arcades, and into the lives of many vendors and market families who are the true foundation of this historic public space. The volume is rich with many rare, and until now unpublished, vintage and contemporary photographs, and images that provide a delightful armchair tour of this magnificent landmark, which is a must-see destination for food lovers.

About the Author

Read more...

Julius Shulman: Palm Springs -

Through Julius Shulman’s lens, the architecture of Southern California became iconic images of modernism. His photographs heralded the glamor and casual elegance of a lifestyle and architecture that has become revered worldwide. Focusing on the desert paradise of Palm Springs, which was his seminal crucible, this book presents his masterpieces. Images range from Richard Neutra’s Kaufmann House and Albert Frey’s Raymond Loewy House, to Paul R. Williams’ house for Lucille Ball and Desi Arnaz, Frank Sinatra’s house, John Lautner’s house for Bob Hope, as well as other famous landmarks. The book features more than sixty buildings by fifteen of the most notable mid-twentieth-century architects. With new photography and images culled from his personal collection as well as the Getty Center, this book includes many images never before seen.

About the Author

Discover books, learn about writers, read author blogs, and more.

Read more...

The Genius of Venice: Piazza San Marco and the Making of the Republic -

An ideal volume for lovers of Venice and architecture aficionados, combining in-depth history of this singular city with more than 100 color photographs and maps. Of Venice’s many majestic spaces, none is as evocative and significant as the Piazza San Marco. An authoritative account of the development of the entire piazza complex, through which unfolds the history of the Republic in general, The Genius of Venice celebrates the city’s oldest and most important architectural site. Dial Parrott’s view of Venice is a heroic one. From their lagoon, the bold and calculating Venetians forged a city that stands today not merely as an attraction for millions, but as a testament to architectural genius: the epitome of what we now call New Urbanism and a shining example of Western communal art. Enhanced by more than 100 illustrations, The Genius of Venice presents the magnificent edifices of the piazza as, in the words of John Ruskin, the "living books of history" of this iconic urban environment.

About the Author

Read more...

Living with Wine: Passionate Collectors, Sophisticated Cellars, and Other Rooms for Entertaining, Enjoying, and Imbibing - Samantha Nestor

America’s love of wine has spurred a collecting and entertaining phenomenon.



Some of America’s most passionate oenophiles have re-invented the wine cellar as an inviting and beautiful part of the home.



True collectors love to share their passion, and this book offers a tour of their distinctive cellars. Created with the help of some of the best designers in the field, these rooms blend luxurious design aesthetics with ingenious storage solutions. The thirty stunning spaces featured include a traditional wood cellar finished with rich paneling and ornate lighting; a cathedral-like space that showcases ironwork inspired by the French Quarter of New Orleans (and has a secret entry from a library inside the house); an inviting living room lined with temperature-controlled wood alcoves behind insulated glass; and an Old World terra-cotta cellar–within a sprawling entertainment center that includes a wet bar, a billiards table, and a tasting room.



Living with Wine reveals the details that make the cellars a welcoming place to return–from the materials, artwork, lighting, and cutting-edge preservation technology to the way the space harmonizes with the rest of the house. From the Bay Area to Boston, Napa to New York, homeowners such as Nancy and John Lasseter, the founder of Pixar Studios; American Idol host and TV and radio personality Ryan Seacrest; and entrepreneur Rick Ryan share insights into what they collect, why they started collecting, and how they designed their spaces to fit their passion.


This elegant volume shows what it means to love and collect wine.

About the Author

Discover books, learn about writers, read author blogs, and more.

Read more...

Bungalow Style: Creating Classic Interiors in Your Arts and Crafts Home - Treena Crochet

The classic American bungalow is as popular today as when introduced in the Victorian era. Bungalow Style pictures a wide variety of interior details and describes how to add or restore elements that suggest a historic flair while keeping the home comfortable and functional. Common problems such as integrating modern conveniences or gaining needed space are also addressed.

About the Author

Award-winning and best-selling author, Treena Crochet is the owner of a Boston-based interior design firm specializing in historic restoration work providing clients with historically appropriate interior solutions for modern living. A professor for over 20 years, she has taught interior design courses in the U.S. and Middle East focusing on architectural and furniture history and historic preservation. Treena's first book, "Designer's Guide to Furniture Styles," received the Joel Polsky prize from the American Society of Interior Designers.

Read more...

Eichler: Modernism Rebuilds the American Dream - Paul Adamson

Joseph Eichler was a pioneering developer who defied conventional wisdom by hiring progressive architects to design Modernist homes for the growing middle class of the 1950s. He was known for his innovations, including "built-ins" for streamlined kitchen work, for introducing a multipurpose room adjacent to the kitchen, and for the classic atrium that melded the indoors with the outdoors. For nearly twenty years, Eichler Homes built thousands of dwellings in California, acquiring national and international acclaim. Eichler: Modernism Rebuilds the American Dream examines Eichler's legacy as seen in his original homes and in the revival of the Modernist movement, which continues to grow today. The homes that Eichler built were modern in concept and expression, and yet comfortable for living. Eichler's work left a legacy of design integrity and set standards for housing developers that remain unparalleled in the history of American building. This book captures and illustrates that legacy with impressive detail, engaging history, firsthand recollections about Eichler and his vision, and 250 photographs of Eichler homes in their prime.

Paul Adamson, AIA, holds a Master of Architecture degree from Columbia University and has practiced in New York and San Francisco. He is currently a designer at the San Francisco firm of Hornberger + Worstell, Inc. He lives in Kensington, California.

Marty Arbunich is director-publisher of the Eichler Network, a Bay Area-based company devoted exclusively to supporting and preserving the architecture and lifestyle surrounding California's 11,000 Eichler homes. He lives in San Francisco.

About the Author

Discover books, learn about writers, read author blogs, and more.

Read more...