Tag Archives: books

My Bookshelf: Books about Sketchbooks

I recently posted a couple of photos on Instagram of my collection of books about sketchbooks, journals and notebooks. The posts got a lot of responses, and Ana from The Well Appointed Desk commented “This needs to be a more in-depth blog post. I’ve zoomed in on this photo but I can’t read all the … Continue reading My Bookshelf: Books about Sketchbooks

Mark Zuckerberg’s Notebooks

Here’s another story found via a reader tip. (Thanks Nicholas!) In a new book called Facebook: The Inside Story, author Steven Levy talks about Mark Zuckerberg’s notebooks, and it turns out that Levy even has some pages from one of the early notebooks. Zuckerberg has supposedly destroyed the rest. THE YEAR I first met Zuckerberg, he … Continue reading Mark Zuckerberg’s Notebooks

David Sedaris’s Diaries

A reader tipped me off to what looks like a really interesting book: In this richly illustrated book, readers will for the first time experience the diaries David Sedaris has kept for nearly 40 years in the elaborate, three-dimensional, collaged style of the originals. A celebration of the unexpected in the everyday, the beautiful and … Continue reading David Sedaris’s Diaries

Octavia Butler’s Notebook

I loved these images of Octavia Butler’s notebook, with her affirmations about becoming a successful writer. (She eventually did.) The post at Black Cardigan Edit where I found these also shows off some notebook pages by Sylvia Plath and Frida Kahlo! Other posts about writers’ notebooks Other posts about artists notebooks and sketchbooks

Patricia Highsmith’s Diaries

The diaries of Patricia Highsmith (author of many books, including Strangers on a Train, The Talented Mr. Ripley, and The Price of Salt, the basis for the movie Carol) are being released by her estate, for publication in a book. The diaries, which Liveright Publishing plans to release in the United States in 2021 as … Continue reading Patricia Highsmith’s Diaries

Muriel Spark’s Notebooks

I recently read The Prime of Miss Jean Brodie, and was struck by this passage in the biographical note about the author, Muriel Spark: I had not heard of James Thin, but sadly, when I looked them up, it turns out that this long-standing bookseller, stationer and publisher no longer exists, and their Edinburgh shop … Continue reading Muriel Spark’s Notebooks

Delacroix’s Notebooks, Now in English

Some of my favorite images from artists’ sketchbooks are from Eugene Delacroix’s travel notebooks. A new book now translates his notes into English for the first time. In 1832 the 34-year-old Eugène Delacroix, already well known for his Orientalist works, accompanied a French diplomatic mission to Morocco and travelled through Algeria and Andalusia. His exposure … Continue reading Delacroix’s Notebooks, Now in English

Saul Bellow’s Notebook

I always love seeing articles about writers’ archives. I’d love to go through some of those boxes and see all the notebooks within, even if I haven’t read that writer’s work! Saul Bellow is an example… I haven’t read his books, but he left an extensive archive including lots of notebooks, one of which is … Continue reading Saul Bellow’s Notebook

Seafarers’ Sketchbooks

This book looks really cool: The Sea Journal: Seafarers’ Sketchbooks From the description: In this remarkable gathering of private journals, log books, letters and diaries, we follow the voyages of intrepid sailors, from the frozen polar wastes to South Seas paradise islands, as they set down their immediate impressions of all they saw. They capture … Continue reading Seafarers’ Sketchbooks

Page One – The Writer’s Notebook

Here’s a notebook Kickstarter campaign that may be of interest to writers: Page One, a notebook with sections structured for all the different aspects of the writing and publishing process, such as “Characters,” “Plot,” “Research,” and “Submissions.” The campaign ends on May 2, 2019. See all the details on their Kickstarter page.