2 for $22

Don't miss Open Letter's "2 for 22" deal. Choose any of two of their books from previous catalogs and pay only $22! Get them before they're gone.

A Piece of History

The New York Times is collecting photos and stories about the opening of the Berlin Wall and individual accounts of where you were and what you remember about that historic time.

Frankfurt Book Fair

The world's largest international book fair is held every October in Frankfurt, Germany. The 2009 Frankfurt Book Fair was this past week, featuring trade publishers from around the world and open to the public October 17-18. Every year, the Book Fair chooses one Guest of Honor in order to highlight the books and literature from that country; this spot can be controversial, and has previously been awarded to Catalan culture and Turkey. This year proved tense as well; China was the Guest of Honor and, according to the NYT, seemed to exhibit its struggle between desiring Western markets but despising Western dissidents.

A (Musical) Step in the Right Direction

Can we duplicate this in the US, please?

The Boy and the Balloon

Some stories do end happily. The nation held its breath as the events unfolded this afternoon regarding a Colorado boy and an escaped weather balloon, which he was playing inside of before its tether broke loose. It was scary to think of a 6-year-old thousands of miles up in the atmosphere, but when the balloon descended without the boy inside, many feared the worst. It was a relief to come home tonight and read that the boy was actually safely on the ground the whole time.

The Passing of a Polish Hero

The last surviving commander of the Warsaw Ghetto Uprising, Marek Edelman, died this past Saturday. The Warsaw Ghetto was established by occupying Nazis 69 years ago this month.

Simple Instructions

For the wanderers, the children-at-heart, and those who simply desire straightforward instructions to a complicated world: "Instructions" by Neil Gaiman, which will be published with illustrations in the near future. Unfortunately, I do not have any pictures to share of his book signing yesterday, as the auditorium was so full that the security guards would not allow me to enter. Ah, the curse of always running late.

So instead, an image of a word for all those restless wanderers and linguistic geeks out there (courtesy of C):