Tag Archives: books

Books are valuable possessions. Books require thousands of hours, or even a lifetime to write, edit, and print. Before the advent of the printing press in the 14th century books were written by hand — one at a time — and only aristocrats and priests could read them. Historically, wealthy and educated persons collected books in private libraries. Each book had a label, or “book plate” placed on the inside front cover of the book to identify the owner. A bookplate, also known as ex-librīs [Latin, “from the books of…”], is usually a small print or decorative label pasted into a book, often on the inside front cover, to indicate its owner. Simple typographical bookplates are termed “booklabels”. Bookplates typically bear a name, motto, device, coat-of-arms, crest, badge, or any motif that relates to the owner of the book, or is requested by him from the artist or designer. The name of the owner usually follows an inscription such as “from the books of . . . ” or “from the library of . . . “, or in Latin, ex libris …. Bookplates are important evidence for the provenance of books.Here are a few examples of Book Plates for Greta Garbo, Douglas Fairbanks, Sigmund Freud, and others:

SEE MORE FANTASITC EXLIBRIS PAGE PLATES HERE: http://blogs.yahoo.co.jp/ayu117/folder/1067532.html

HERE IS ANOTHER LINK:

http://cdm.lib.udel.edu/cdm4/browse.php?CISOROOT=/wab&CISOSTART=1,21

...and other stuff, ART, FREE ADVICE, LOUD ZOO, READING MATTER, UNIVERSES

I LISTEN TO WHAT I READ

February 8, 2026 LRS

Republished by Blog Post Promoter

So far in my nearly 70 years I’ve written and published 8 books. None of my books have enjoyed the global readership of a book I did NOT write, but edited. I spend the vast majority of my time reading books written by literary adepts and master story-tellers. Reading is not merely entertainment. It is the mind and imagination of beings communicating their thoughts, memories and musings, through symbols, to others. There are 450,000 NEW BOOKS published every year, in addition to the millions that have accumulated since the printing press was “invented” in Europe in by the German Johannes Gutenberg around 1440. Personally, I listen to audiobooks. The combination of masterful writing combined with state of the art performance is nothing less than magic. Since my personal interests tend to vary from esoteric to bizarre, it stick to science fiction, primarily. However, I enjoy a good story, well told.

In modern publishing writers no longer write ONE book. They write a SERIES of books. This is based on the sales and marketing-driven capitalist culture that exploded in Europe a few hundred years ago. So, lately, I’m not reading “books”. I’m reading a “series” 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, or 8 books! However, when you find an author you really enjoy this is a good was to swim deeply into the ocean of a genre or universe, rather than surfing the shallow shores of television, film, or — gods forbid — social media.

Here are a few of the “series” I’ve read or am reading. Three of these books are my first voyage on the ocean of “Magic Mystery”, i.e. Druids, Mages and Wizards in the roles of spell-casting superheros fighting an assortment of supernatural villains: to my delight and continuing enchantment! I recommend them to you. Search the fantastic library available on Audible.com and your favorite on-line bookstores to find your own.