Some short takes for June from the world of books.
School’s out, summer’s right around the corner. Time to kick back a little and browse through some of the interesting bookish news and information that is floating around the web. Here are a few of my picks.
>>Book Blogs- Important – to actually see the site click on the little chain link iconright next to the word “follow” in blue. Click anywhere else and you’ll get a promo message from Feed Spot with a pitch for subscription for their service. This list is by no means comprehensive and it’s coming from a website that wants to sell you info and data on niche markets. Still it provides a pretty wide assortment of individuals, institutions and dealers and it comes with some metrics info too. You could do worse. If you click the link - which is recommended and why we’re putting it first, you are still likely to get a follow up email offering data services, but most of the 30+ blog sites they’ve chosen are well worth a visit.
>> Print is dead or is it?Haven’t you heard no one reads, much less buys books any more? Here’s the rebuttal that ran recently in SlateIt says there are lots of creative ways to use statistics that might tend to be misleading, especially if you’re a party to a big lawsuit in a publishing merger. Plenty of data, nicely presented.
>> Reddit anyone?I confess to being a Reddit junkie, love it for all the odd bits of first hand news and information that gets mixed together on a daily basis. While it’s heavy on internet gamers and ageist sentiments (i.e. everything bad is the fault of old people, die already and give us your stuff) there is a staggering amount ofbook related subsinr/bookswith an aggregate membership of 24 million. All three of these links are a little different, so if you are not currently browsing Reddit suggest you click through on the trio.
Warning:Reddit is addictive and a lot of it is, shall we say, strange. There’s lots of youthful internet slang that I have to look up such as NSFW (not suitable for work), AITA? (Am I the a**hole?) and AMA (Ask me anything). It can be fun and informative, or it can be a huge doom scroll.
>> Movie star turned book recommender: Unbeknownst to some of us in the more esoteric reaches of bookish lore the actress Reese Witherspoon has become influential in book clubcircles. So who knew? Here’s a gift article to get you around the NY Times paywall to find out what’s hot in book club land.
>>> Tattered Coverthe legendary Denver book shop goes on the bankruptcy block this month. June 10th is the bid deadline for the auction which will be held June 12. The article says there are eight prospective bidders.
>>> And in other news from bookstores, Paul Yamazakihead buyer from City Lights in San Francisco shares some of his thoughts and literary tastes with the NY Times. Again, it’s another gift article so presumably you’ll be able to access the site.
Heritage, Dec. 15: Jerry Thomas. How to Mix Drinks, or the Bon-Vivant's Companion, Containing Clear and Reliable Directions for Mixing All the Beverages Used in the United States…
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Bonhams, Dec. 8-18: Autograph Letter Signed ("Martinus Luther") to His Friend the Theologian Gerhard Wiskamp ("Gerardo Xantho Lampadario"). $100,000 - $150,000.
Bonhams, Dec. 8-18: An Exceptionally Fine Copy of Austenís Emma: A Novel in Three Volumes. $40,000 - $60,000.
Bonhams, Dec. 8-18: Presentation Copy of Ernest Hemmingwayís A Farewell to Arms for Edward Titus of the Black Mankin Press. $30,000 - $50,000.
Bonhams, Dec. 8-18: Autograph Manuscript Signed Integrally for "The Songs of Pooh," by Alan Alexander. $30,000 - $50,000.
Bonhams, Dec. 8-18: Autograph Manuscript of "Three Fragments from Gˆtterd‰mmerung" by Richard Wagner. $30,000 - $50,000.
Bonhams, Dec. 8-18: Original Preliminary Artwork, for the First Edition of Snow Crash. $20,000 - $30,000.
Bonhams, Dec. 8-18: Autograph Letter Signed ("T.R. Malthus") to Economist Nassau Senior on Wealth, Labor and Adam Smith. $20,000 - $30,000.
Bonhams, Dec. 8-18: History of the Peloponnesian War by Thucydides Finely Bound by Michael Wilcox. $20,000 - $30,000.
Bonhams, Dec. 8-18: First Edition of Lewis and Clark: Travels to the Source of the Missouri River and Across the American Continent to the Pacific Ocean. $8,000 - $12,000.
Bonhams, Dec. 8-18: Original Artwork for the First Edition of Neal Stephenson's Groundbreaking Novel Snow Crash. $100,000 - $150,000.
Bonhams, Dec. 8-18: A Complete Set Signed Deluxe Editions of King's The Dark Tower Series by Stephen King. $8,000 - $12,000.
Bonhams, Dec. 8-18: Autograph Letter Signed ("John Adams") to James Le Ray de Chaumont During the Crucial Years of the Revolutionary War. $8,000 - $12,000.
Sotheby’s Book Week December 9-17, 2025
Sotheby’s, Dec. 17: Francesco Colonna. Hypnerotomachie, Paris, 1546, Parisian calf by Wotton Binder C for Marcus Fugger. €200,000 to €300,000.
Sotheby’s, Dec. 17: Nausea. De principiis dialectices Gorgias, and other works, Venice, 1523, morocco gilt for Cardinal Campeggio. €3,000 to €4,000.
Sotheby’s, Dec. 17: Billon. Le fort inexpugnable de l'honneur, Paris, 1555, Parisian calf gilt for Peter Ernst, Graf von Mansfeld. €120,000 to €180,000.
Sotheby’s Book Week December 9-17, 2025
Sotheby’s, Dec. 16: Salinger, J.D. The Graham Family archive, including autographed letters, an inscribed Catcher, a rare studio photograph of the author, and more. $120,000 to $180,000.
Sotheby’s, Dec. 16: [Austen, Jane]. A handsome first edition of Sense and Sensibility, the author's first novel. $60,000 to $80,000.
Sotheby’s, Dec. 16: Massachusetts General Court. A powerful precursor to the Declaration of Independence: "every Act of Government … without the Consent of the People, is … Tyranny." $40,000 to $60,000.
![<b>Heritage, Dec. 15:</b> John Donne. <i>Poems, By J. D. With Elegies on the Author's Death.</i> London: M[iles]. F[lesher]. for John Marriot, 1633.](https://ae-files.s3.amazonaws.com/AdvertisementPhotos/8caddaea-4c1f-47a7-9455-62f53af36e3f.jpg "<b>Heritage, Dec. 15:</b> John Donne. <i>Poems, By J. D. With Elegies on the Author's Death.</i> London: M[iles]. F[lesher]. for John Marriot, 1633.")
![<b>Sotheby’s, Dec. 16:</b> [Austen, Jane]. A handsome first edition of <i>Sense and Sensibility,</i> the author's first novel. $60,000 to $80,000.](https://ae-files.s3.amazonaws.com/AdvertisementPhotos/9a74d9ff-42dd-46a1-8bb2-b636c4cec796.png "<b>Sotheby’s, Dec. 16:</b> [Austen, Jane]. A handsome first edition of <i>Sense and Sensibility,</i> the author's first novel. $60,000 to $80,000.")
