The Book Shopper

Conspiracies Explained

The Gravity’s Rainbow Support Group (GRSG), is a two-member book club/duo made up a college friend of 50 years and yours truly. Founded during the first months of the Pandemic, the GRSG’s first book was Thomas Pynchon’s 1973 novel Gravity’s Rainbow.

In the three years we have read over 30 books together ranging from classics like Tristram Shandy and The Odyssey to historical tomes such as Barbara Tuchman’s Stillwell and the American Experience in China (1971). We recently finished Colin Dickey’s Under the Eye of Power: How Fear of Secret Societies Shapes American Democracy (2023).

Dickey begins his book about the Freemasons in England and France and their influence in the American colonies. Both Ben Franklin and George Washington were supporters of Masonry. Dickey writes that “Rather than a shadowy organization pulling strings behind the scenes, the Freemasons of the eighteenth century were a prominent, public group who sought to display their power and clout in the open streets.”   (Masonic buildings still dot some town and city landscapes like this one in my home town of Decatur, Georgia.)

The book gains momentum as the Civil War approaches.

Dickey points out how the abolitionists of the North used conspiracy theories to taint the Southerners and likewise how the Southerners used conspiracy theories to strike fear and defend being slave owners. Many Northerners complained that free slave labor gave the Southerners an "unfair" economic advantage. This feeling was especially true in agrarian Midwest.

One of the more ridiculous arguments was made by the future 10th President of the United States John Tyler who argued that the abolitionists "were not ‘friends’ to enslaved Americans but instead their 'enemies' since their agitations drove enslavers to crack down on those in bondage." This sounds as idiotic as the current Florida governor Ron DeSantis redefining slavery as on the job training.

Dickey's breakdown of the different eras of the Ku Klux Klan include the marketing strategy of merchandising of robes and hoods in the 1920s. This along with KKK's membership model which was basically a pyramid scheme is nothing short of eye opening. 

Towards the end of the book, Dickey gives us examples of how conspiracies and the belief that secret societies and cabals control our society, but he relates them to the current political landscape of Donald Trump, QAnon, January 6th rioters, militias, and replacement theorists. He explains why they endure:

"The morass of global politics is difficult to understand and unpredictable even to experts but conspiracy theories off a straightforward explanation that cuts through all that. They suture all available facts together and do the work of organizing the chaos of history into an explainable, overarching theory."

Coincidently those of at GRSG know only too well that one of major themes in Pynchon’s novels like Gravity’s Rainbow and The Crying of Lot 49 (1966), is that paranoia conveniently provides some kind of framework to explain our world. 

The Next Step

The CRSG thought this book was a worthwhile read for all its American history alone, but the author does seem have a point of view (not necessarily an agenda). It’s not a gospel, but it can be the familiar first step, to an education. "DO THE RESEARCH," as they say.

Book Art on Broadway

Earlier this month I visited the newly opened Museum of Broadway in the theatre district of New York City. Included in the many exhibits of history and artifacts on Broadway, was this book art from the musical Show Boat. Premiering in 1927, with music composed by Jerome Kern and lyrics by Oscar Hammerstein II (based on the novel by Edna Ferber), the musical is considered to "have both embodied and propelled the broad advancement being made in musical storytelling in the late 1920s." 

To commemorate its importance of Show Boat an entire room is dedicated to the production. American artist Rachel Marks' installation includes a flowing scattering of pages from the novel, music and lyrics wallpaper, and a slice of tree trunk with each paper ring representing a year since its debut.

Book Art For Friends

This year Decatur Book as Art,  Vol.10 Transformation exhibit resides in the lofty 4th floor exhibit room of the Decatur Public Library through October 31.  This is the tenth year of the exhibit and for all the details visit the exhibition page for hours etc., which are limited.  As I was leaving, the docent said, "Tell all your friends." (Obviously, she didn't know that I was the editor of the blog who has been doing these little writeups for years. See previous Books as Art as Books postings.)

With approximately 65 exhibits it's a kind of overwhelming and I don't know how to do it justice without sounding bored, so I just concentrated on my favorite. 

LINOTYPE by Dan Wood of Providence, Rhode Island 

Many years ago, I worked for the company Mycro-Tek in Wichita that built front end systems for small newspapers. These specialized word processors were programmed with special coding had to interface with various Linotype typesetters. The gorgeous printing samples displayed on the wall reminded me of those days and the people who worked there.

Another likeable aspect of this piece is that you were actually allowed to touch it. Even though the curators boasted about the "tactile and olfactory" aspects of the exhibition, many of the exhibits were enclosed in glass and signs were posted not to touch anything. Linotype was one of the few exceptions. 

The artist's full description of the work follows at the end of the post. 

 

Friends, it has been my pleasure to inform you.

 

Professional Book Shopping

I was in Boston earlier this month visiting my older daughter Cynthia, which included weeding her book collection. This labor of love took plenty of time, but I did manage to visit my favorite Boston area bookstore – the MIT Press Bookstore.

Considering the past postings in 2010, 2016 and 2017, this has not been my first visit. We have a history.

But this time was markedly different as I entered their new store, which has returned to Kendall Square after a year shutdown during the pandemic.  This time I was a professional book shopper representing the interests of my Atlanta-based book pop-up Destination: Books, which has entered its second full year bookselling. (Destination: Books will be at the Freedom Farmer’s Market at the Carter Center on Saturday morning, May 28th, with books on gardening, sustainability, food culture, and anything else eclectic that interests us).

At MIT Press Bookstore, I know I will always serendipitously find new books. My browsing was a great excuse to try out some new publishers like the Kew Publishing (UK) or AdventureKeen (Birmingham AL), but the oddest book that came back with me wasn’t a book – it was an issue of the LA+ Interdisciplinary Journal of Landscape Architecture published by the University of Pennsylvania Stuart Weitzman School of Design.

Reimagining Central Park

The theme of Issue #10 was based on the fictional premise that in 2018 Central Park in New York was completely destroyed by eco-terrorists. A call went out for designers to reimagine New York’s Central Park to submit their proposals. The issue contains the winning entries, the honorable mentions and a few Salon des Refusés, described by the editors as “entries that caught the jury’s attention and imagination that did not make the final cut.”

As you would expect, all the entries are gorgeously printed in full color. I could not begin to do these presentations justice and I doubt the publishers would appreciate me trying. Fortunately, you can get a sense of the Iconoclast issue by going there directly.

At Destination: Books we are not in the same league as the MIT Press (though we do sell some of their books like Electrify: An Optimist's Playbook for Our Clean Energy Future), but our goal is the same: Showcasing books that are worth "adventuring" across the country or at least the city to hold in your hands.

 

Airplane Reading

This month I have made roundtrip plane trips from Atlanta to Berlin and then Atlanta to Los Angeles. Proper reading material is always a critical decision because it can make the difference between a tolerable flight or a miserable flight. 

I never trust the entertainment consoles. They may not work (as mine didn't) or they are populated with content that you didn't bother to watch at home. Even if you are interested in one of the inflight movies you will need your magnifying eyewear and a better set of earphones than the airline has provided. (I guess I am supposed to bring my own computer and content...)

The reason I bring this up is that I had the good fortune to hit pay dirt when I brought German author and graphic artist Judith Schalansky's Pocket Atlas of Remote Islands: Fifty Island I Have Not Visited and Never Will (2009) with me on the  four hour+ flight from LA to Atlanta.

The book practically fits in your back pocket and can share space your gin and tonic on the wobbly tray table. But the book also takes you to other places far away from the crowded cabin.  Schalansky credits the idea when she surveyed a giant globe in the Berlin National Library and began studying the tiny islands names that dot the blue expanses of the ocean.  First she collected the facts including their longitude and latitude coordinates, their current population (if any), a timeline of major events and their distance to nearby continents or other remote islands. Some you may have heard of such places as Easter Island, Iwo Jima, or Christmas Island but she gives equal billing to some uninhabited ones like Deception Island (near Antarctica), Bouvet Island (in the South Atlantic) or the cold and barren Lonely Island (near the Arctic Circle). 

She dedicates four pages to each entry/chapter. The first two pages provides the facts and the timeline and a detailed map including points of interest such as elevation, bays and any villages. Pages 3 and 4 are very short essays about the history or geological/biological makeup of the place such as the Pacific isle of Banaba, which is made up entirely of phosphate from centuries of bird guano buildup. Schalansky's writing style has been aptly  described in The Paris Review " as a prose poem of sorts. Facts sit side-by-side with a kind of highly personal fiction; we are given latitudes and detailed maps, but also lore and speculation."

What makes it special for airline travelers is that when reading about hardships like near starvation, or freezing to death while discovering these often hostile piles of volcanic rock, you don't feel so angry when the flight attendant ignores your request to reset your entertainment console. How can you complain? What also makes the book ideal in a plane setting is that my attention span often wanes during the flight, (I'm always checking other passengers viewing habits.) With just four pages per chapter if  you start to drift you can easily refocus and return to these compelling stories. 

Once you've reached your final destination, and you are greeted with a "How was your trip?" Instead of ranting about the hideous coffee, the sloppy mask wearing of the traveler across the aisle, or the sticky bathroom floors, you can quote Schalansky instead:

"There is no untouched garden of Eden lying at this never-ending globe. Instead, human beings traveling far and wide have turned into the very monsters they chased off the maps." 

Something to discuss while you wait for your luggage.

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When you purchase a book through our companion site (destinationbooks.net) we earn an affiliate commission.

Book Art V.9 Exhibit

Unlike last year when Book Art V.8 was limited to virtual showings because of the pandemic, this year's Book Art V.9 is open for public viewing by reservation. Book Art is part of the Decatur Book Festival, which is limited in scope this year with the the main event being held on Saturday, October 2, 2021. For all the details on the exhibit including interviews with the artists visit the Decatur Arts Alliance page, which is a sponsor along with the Georgia Center for the Book.

I went to Book Art last month and below are just a few of the pieces that caught my eye, but to do the exhibit justice it's better to see in person rather than rely on my Canva skills.

 

 

 

 

From the Books-as-Art-as-Books Archives

The recent article in The Atlanta Journal-Constitution about Jerushia Graham’s exhibit at the Callanwolde Gallery reminded me of the often overlooked Books-as-Art-as-Books section of the blog. Graham has appeared a couple of times in this section dating back to May of 2012 (oh yes, we have been at this blogging for over a long time) when she was a curator for the Art Institute of Atlanta-Decatur Wallbound exhibit, which was a precursor to the Decatur Book Festival’s Book Art Series.

If you scroll through the 32 entries that make up the Books-as-Art-as-Books section, you should come away with the sense that we have a somewhat loose interpretation of what that exactly means.  Enjoy the gallery.

Into the Spinning Void

While reading Vladimir Nabokov’s 1953 humorous novel Pnin about the teaching life of a Russian émigré in a fictitious small New England college town, this line stood out among the many noteworthy passages:

 “With the help of the janitor, he (Pnin) screwed on the side of a desk (in his new office) a pencil sharpener – that highly satisfying, highly philosophical implement that goes ticonderoga-ticonderoga, feeding on the yellow finish and sweet wood, and ends up in a kind of a soundlessly spinning ethereal void as we all must.”

This reference to the Ticonderoga pencils and those old pencil sharpeners brought back memories of the classrooms of my high school (built in 1912) that mounted similar sharpeners in the back of each room near the “cloudy blackboards.” Also, my father had a similar one mounted in our garage where I could grind a pencil to the finest point of procrastination before tackling my Algebra homework.

Museum Trips

Nabokov’s evocative prose provided additional respite, as I visited the online Made-in-Chicago Museum of Manufacturing to look for pictures of pencil sharpeners. (Thanks to the curator Andrew Clayman for granting me the permission to use the photo of the Giant sharpener made by the Automatic Pencil Sharpener Company.)

The MICM took me back to a trip  I made last year to Berlin, where my older daughter Cynthia took my longtime partner Denise and me to the Museum of Things (Werkbundarchiv – Museum der Dinge), which is dedicated to 20th and 21st century product culture.  We spent considerable time there on chilly wet day, soaking in the archive of the German industrial design association Deutscher Werkbund, founded in 1907. Items ranged from tape recorders and furniture to toy soldiers.

 

Book Shopping Novelty

While at the Museum of Things I purchased  the miniature book The Shadow on the Wall (Schottenspiele) (2014), which has illustrations of how to make shadow animals, which is a new game I like to play with my three-year old grandson Myrick.

Moreover, it is skill I can practice in the spinning ethereal void of 2020.

Something For Late-Night Readers

Do you like to stay up late at night reading, but get tired of holding the book long before you get sleepy? Then check out the revolutionary Buchor Model C, a device that allows you to lie in perfect repose and read your book without having to hold it.

Der Buchor Model C*was invented by a German sound engineer-artist for his scholarly night owl partner who likes to read well past midnight. By attaching a music holder to a microphone stand via a strong and adjustable grip head, der Buchor Model C allows for hand-free, gravity defying reading. Your book attaches to the stand, and thin clips keep the pages flat for easier reading. A small lamp with an environmentally-friendly LED bulb clips onto the stand, much healthier than the blue light from a laptop or a phone.

Der Buchor Model C   is not available at any store or online. It’s free! You just have to put it together from materials you have lying around the house (if you are a resourceful artist or innovative sound engineer). Reading late at night has never been easier. Accept no IKEA-like knockoffs and you can throw that disgusting Pillow Pad away.

* known originally as die Bucheule 5000 

Bookmark Findings

Are you one of those people can’t seem to get rid of a bookmark – as if it were some significant memento of a reading or bookstore experience? Maybe the only time you get rid of a bookmark is when you lose it. For those who may have lost their bookmark during a visit to the Decatur Library, do not despair. Your bookmark has been repurposed as art by Joanna Young of Decatur who made this installation (with help from the Decatur Library Staff) from bookmarks found in the stacks. Closer examination of the tree reveals that people are a loosey-goosey when it comes to what qualifies as a bookmark. It can be simply, anything capable of marking your place in a book – whether that be a playing card, a bookstore advertisement or a bookmark promoting reading. Anything is better than dog-earring a page to mark your reading spot.

I too, have trouble tossing a nice bookmark though I am at a loss to try to come up with something creative  (a bookmark wreath?) like Ms. Young. Check out these rarities from my collection of bookmarks that clutter my desk. *

Over the past few years, I have changed my bookmark habits by enlisting postcards to use as bookmarks. I like using the back of postcards to make notes or pulling quotes as I read instead of making pen marks or worse, using  yellow highlighter. I usually add the page number too.  After I finish the book, I stick the postcard inside the book and leave it as a short index for future reference. Later, if I am listing the book for sale at my Destination: Books Alibris Site or donating it to the Decatur Friends of the Library (Next book sale at the Library is February 8th) I remove the postcard at put it in index card sized box.

Besides as a good excuse to buy an additional postcard or two while traveling or putting one of those postcards from a trendy restaurants to good use, the postcard makes a good bookmark because it is made from more durable card stock that holds your reading progress firmly between the pages. If I am really on my game, I will select a postcard that thematically fits with the book that is has been paired with.

Postcards for Viet Thanh Nguyen

A recent example is the large sized postcard (a gift from younger daughter Bonnie when she visited Southeast Asia) I use with the works of Viet Thanh Nguyen. I recently finished The Refugees (2017), a collection of eight short stories. The stories are linked because the main characters have some connection to Vietnam – most of whom came by boat to the United States after the Fall of Saigon in 1975 (as did Nguyen and his parents). Whether it’s a former military commander who insists taking charge of his son’s marital life, a Vietnam war vet visiting his daughter who teaches in the Vietnamese countryside, or a woman dealing with the dementia of her older husband of an arranged marriage, Nguyen’s refugees not only struggle with daily problems but their lives are further complicated with their conflicted feelings about their homeland. The poignancy and matter-of-fact clarity in which Nguyen tells these tales adds my admiration of his work.

To capture these notes, I enlisted the aid of a large postcard just as I had done when I read Nguyen’s excellent novel The Sympathizer (2016). The Sympathizer has many of the same themes of The Refugees except the narrator has a sense of satirical humor (including a takedown of Francis Ford Coppola’s film Apocalypse Now) deftly mixed with intense graphic passages that will terrify you. I can’t remember who I gave my copy of The Sympathizer to, but at least I still have my notes or should I say a bookmark to remember it by.

* Bookmarks Annotated. The Borges quote comes from the American Book Center in Amsterdam, The Netherlands (circa 2014), The Watermark Bookstore in Wichita, Kansas (circa early 1980s), which included quotes like "You know how it is in the kid's book world. It's just bunny eat bunny. " and Raven Used Books in Cambridge, Massachusetts (circa early 21st century).