The book is an ultra-rare example of F. Scott Fitzgerald’s famous novel—and is priced accordingly.

“The Great Gatsby is considered, in collecting terms, the No. 1 American novel to collect,” says the London-based rare book dealer Peter Harrington. “A lot of that has to do with the dust jacket—people just seem to desperately want it.”

Harrington will soon bring a first edition of the 1925 book, widely considered F. Scott Fitzgerald’s masterpiece, to New York’s International Antiquarian Book Fair, which runs from April 21-24 at the Park Avenue Armory.

Read more here

Source: Bloomberg

Amazon’s latest book sales chart reveals that J.R.R. Tolkien's books now occupy five of the top 20 spots.

The charts for the week of March 27 show the three volumes of The Lord of the Rings in spots #3, #5, and #7, while sales of The Hobbit meant it slotted in at #4. The real surprise, though, is that Tolkien’s posthumously published novel The Silmarillion sold well enough to enter the charts at #12.

Apparently, this is the first time that The Silmarillion has reached the top strata of the Amazon sales charts. The result might indicate that Amazon Studios’ Rings of Power series is creating a wider interest in Tolkien’s First Age myths.

Read more here

Source: The One Ring.net

In June of 2000, J.K. Rowling gifted her father a first edition of Harry Potter And The Goblet Of Fire. On the dedication page was this message: "To Peter Rowling, in memory of Mr Ridley and to Susan Sladden, who helped Harry out of his cupboard." If you own the book, your copy says the same thing—it was dedicated to her father Peter (and to those unimportant two other people).

The copy she gave her dad for Father's Day also had a unique handwritten message. "Lots of love from your firstborn," it said, followed by nine x's, for kisses. Truly, his daughter had given him an irreplaceable gift.

Read more here

Source: The Cracked

Ashley Tisdale admitted she’d bought all her books for a photoshoot – and as Adele and Gwyneth Paltrow will attest, her hankering for a brainy backdrop is anything but novel

Read more here.

Source: The Guardian

(The University of Chicago Library)

A Book by Its Cover: Decorative Book Bindings from the Medieval Codex to Contemporary Artists' Books

A first encounter with any text is shaped by its outward appearance. A book’s spine, covers, edges, even its size and shape, all say something about where that book comes from, who it may be speaking to, and how it may be regarded by the people who made it, and those who owned it. Bindings frame a text physically and, with innovations in structure and design, metaphorically, too.

(The Guardian)

A major collection of James Joyce documents and books donated to the university.

The donation from Joyce’s grandson includes a telegram from Samuel Beckett, wishing the Ulysses author a happy 49th birthday.

A telegram sent by Samuel Beckett to James Joyce on his 49th birthday, 91 years ago today, has been given to the University of Reading by Joyce’s grandson and his wife.

(Variety.com)

18 Banned and Challenged Books Everyone Should Read

A Tennessee school board’s recent ban on Art Spiegelman’s “Maus” is the conclusion to a story we’ve already seen. A group of adults, whether it be parents or teachers, finds a book’s content to be so offensive that they call for it to be pulled from shelves, taken off syllabi or even banned entirely from schools.