Books have layers of meanings

This table of books was a key piece in a collection designed by Richard Hutton. The collection, exhibited at Milan Design Week 2008, was titled "layers." Richard described this piece, saying “a book is all about layers, layers of meaning. This collection is about objects and what we can read in them." You can read more about the collection here.

A Faster Booktagger

Just a quick notice, in the next couple of days we'll be scheduling an outage to upgrade Booktagger.com to optimise and ensure it runs quickly. 

Booktagger on Facebook

We're quite excited this week to announce the release of a Facebook application for Booktagger. The application is located here: http://apps.facebook.com/booktagger. What does this mean? If you or a friend of yours is a big fan of Facebook you can now gain access to Booktagger through Facebook!

All you need to do is add the Booktagger Facebook application (link above). To match up your existing Booktagger account to your Facebook profile follow these instructions:

• Install the Booktagger application on Facebook,
• on the Booktagger application in Facebook select Customize from the menu,
• then enter your Booktagger.com login credentials. Don't use your email address to login (which is fine to do on Booktagger.com) but your Booktagger username/nickname and password.
• Then you will see that you've matched your accounts and all your books will be on your Facebook profile.

We're busy ironing out the Facebook application so let us know if you run in to something unexpected, we're happy to help. So we now have Facebook and MySpace applications! You can now keep your bookshelves consistent across both platforms and see what your friends are reading.

50 Free Books

We've also released another 50 books to for our members in Australia and New Zealand. Click here for the link: blog.booktagger.com. If you think that the books are already taken, think again as, per release, members are only allowed one book each and there are members who join every book club although they'll only get one book. So join the clubs even if you're interested in the book as you may still receive a copy. We're in the process of designing a better way to notify members of the true number of books available.

Airport fiction

I was in a second-hand bookshop once that had the books organised in interesting categories. I particularly remember the section signed "Airport Fiction." It contained all those books you see for sale somewhere between customs and the boarding gates. Looking along the shelf there were so many familiar titles and authors on the books I had read in the air, but nowhere else.

I read the Shopaholic series by Sophie Kinsella while off the ground, buying a book or two at each airport through Sydney, Honolulu, Los Angeles, Atlanta and Orlando.

The books kept me entertained when I couldn't concentrate on anything heavier and even the movies were too dramatic to follow.

What do you read on the plane (in-flight magazine excluded)?

Books that changed the way you think

A post on the Booktagger discussion board asks if you have read any books that have changed your thinking. I immediately thought of two autobiographies by Waris Dirie, "Desert Flower" and "Desert Dawn".

The first starts with Waris hiding from a lion as she escapes from her nomadic tribe in Somalia, where her father has sold her at thirteen to a sixty one year one man. She miraculously locates family in a city when she has never visited such a place and ultimately ends up in London, illegally and unable to speak the language.

Showing how life can change most dramatically, Waris is picked to pose in the famous Pirelli calendar and becomes a sought after model.

However, what changed my way of thinking was her descriptions of the contrasts between her two lives that she still struggles to balance. Growing up every drop of water and crumb of food was precious, but in developed nations we can forget to turn off a tap or mindlessly eat while watching a movie or waiting for a train. Since reading this book I have been unable to leave the tap on while brushing my teach or eat while walking place to place. It taught me to respect the essentials in life no matter how easily they may come to us.

When writing this post I was excited to learn Waris has written two more books. "Desert Children", which documents her work to combat female genital mutilation, and "Letter to My Mother", a most personal epistle prompted by her mother became seriously ill and travelled to be with her daughter in Vienna.

Anonymous Lawyer

Anonymous Lawyer is the book I am currently reading, or blook, as it is based on the blog of the same name. Humorous, politically incorrect and amusing. The book is made up of daily posts, which would be to much of the same where it not for the interspersed emails that shows both a more human side of the main character and the diversity of correspondence the blogs author received.

What are you currently reading? I have added a thread to the Booktagger discussion board for books read in July.

The five things I like best about: Booktagger

01. Knowing what my sister is reading in London.
02. Tracking how many books I have read since joining.
03. Listing the books I want to read.
04. Ordering from Abbey's to get books delivered the next day.
05. Writing for the Booktagger blog!

That was too easy, I might have to do this again sometime.

50 Free Books: Of William, Strikes, Bloomsday, Magda, Devil, Lace and a Good Mayor

Courtesy of Allen and Unwin and Harper Collins we'll supply free books to the first members who join one of the following book clubs *and* add the featured book to the "I want to read" shelf. So what are you waiting for? Select the book you want to read and join now. Make sure you forward this post to your friends so they can register too. You must write a review of the book you receive!

Only one book per member. The more that register the merrier. Each image is linked to the book club you must join.



10 Free Copies of The Devil's Eye by Ian Townsend: Harper Collins - Click to Join
10 Free Copies of The Good Mayor by Andrew Nicoll: Harper Collins - Click to Join
10 Free Copies of The Lace Reader by Brunonia Barry: Harper Collins - Click to Join
5 Free Copies of The Bloomsday Dead by Adrian McKinty: Allen & Unwin - Click to Join
5 Free Copies of Second Strike by Mark Abernethy: Allen & Unwin - Click to Join
5 Free Copies of My Name is Will by Jess Winfield: Allen & Unwin - Click to Join
5 Free Copies of I Dream of Magda by Stefan Laszczuk: Allen & Unwin - Click to Join

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These books are exclusive, not even available in stores yet. We have a limited number, if you want a copy act quickly. Only one book per member.

Make sure you:

* Join a book club and add the featured book to your "I want to read" bookshelf (the first members to do this will get a copy of the book)
* Ensure your address details are filled out in your profile so we can send you the book
* Forward this email to your friends!

(Free books only for Australia and New Zealand mailing addresses, we're working on publishers in other countries)

This one's for the girls...

Two new lipstick-themed books have been released recently by Australian authors.

Entrepreneur Poppy King's book provides help for those with a good idea who want to run with it. Poppy is well-known for Poppy Industries in Australia, and she draws from her experience building a successful brand, and her mistakes that led to the company's fall. After a few quiet years working for Estee Lauder as Vice President of Creative Marketing for Prescriptives, Poppy is back in the press with this book and a new brand Lipstick Queen that appears to have many familiar products we loved, but haven't seen for years.

Beauty editor Zoe Foster has written a novel of the beauty industry. I am a recent fan of Zoe's blog Fruity Beauty and finding she also has a book is a bonus!

Read in June

Tea in the Library is written by a lawyer who started an independent bookshop. I remember visiting the shop a couple of times, but there were events on and I couldn't get through the door. Another time I made it inside, but was asked to leave as they were closing early. The next time I tried to visit it had closed down. This book documents the story behind the shop: the inspiration and the mistakes. I loved finding out what had happen that disappearing bookshop.

I saw Bringing Down the House in a small train station bookshop years ago. The shop held many titles I had not seen elsewhere and I bought a couple. However, this title was one I decided to come back for and I wrote the details in the back of my diary. The shop closed, but now the book has been made into a major movie and can be found everywhere. It is a simple narrative of a young man involved in a card counting syndicate. The skill and dedication of the competing players in this story (the counters and the casino) is what makes this fascinating.

Warrior Brothers is written by a former SAS soldier who describes some of his time in the service and afterwards as a contractor. The book gives insights into a person that thrives from the situations most of us shrink from.

Recently I took my son Oskar to the zoo while in Melbourne. Oskar learnt the names of some from "Dear Zoo", a lift the flaps book he received for his first Christmas that remained favourite for a long time. He now has the three books shown above by the same author, Rod Campbell. "I'm Hungry" has different animals and the foods they like to eat, his the final animal, a tiger, liking to eat YOU! At the Melbourne Zoo Oskar loved watching the tigers and kept laughing when I asked him what they like to eat.

Charley Harper

animals, originally uploaded by mohawk.

This is one of my favourite images. It is from the inside of a children's biology book, An Illustrated Life, by artist Charles Harper. I have only every viewed images from Charley's many books online, but appreciate the artwork and, as a scientist, the way it communicates a fascination with biology.

Books for display

Lately I have seen some interesting displays of books. I have posted previously about arranging books by colour, but since then I have seen books placed spine outwards, cover forwards and with white or opaque covers to make them uniform. While looking at the images online I found there was lots of debate involved! But, I know Booktagger readers are all booklovers, so there should be no doubt as to whether how you display your books reflects on whether you read them.

Sources: Top left from Happy Mundane, top right from Apartment Therapy, bottom two also from Happy Mundane.

Bookcase staircase or staircase bookcase?

This staircase was designed to store and display many books. The stairs lead up to loft and, with the sun shining down in the photo, makes me want to pick up a novel and climb up to get started on it. More photos and details can be found at Apartment Therapy.

Quote unquote

Another book-related accessory I found lately is this pair of quote/unquote bookends. They look appealing with the white bookcovers here, but the black may not stand out as much either side of a colourful book collection.

Improving Booktagger Performance

Just a quick note to say that Booktagger.com will be upgrading some hardware in the next hour or so and will expect a 30-60 minute outage window. I'll update this post as I have more information about specific commencement and ending times of the upgrade.