Biblio Banter

In the new special episode of Biblio Banter Natalia interviews Annika, Tim and Anton about their studies in Digital Humanities. Together they try to define Digital Humanities and its place in the larger picture of the filed of study, revisit game Font or Cheese (see episode 4: Tittle*ating Typography) and discuss some good books.

Visit our blog for more information and other episodes http://bookhistorypodcast.home.blog/

In 1822, when Thomas Frognall Dibdin’s account of George John Earl Spencer’s mansion (castle?) was published, he wrote:

…sofas, chairs, tables, of every commodious form, are of course liberally scattered throughout the room. The bay-window looks into the pleasure-garden, or rather into a luxuriant shrubbery; where both serpentine and straight walks invite to a ramble among larches elms and oaks…Upon the whole, if must be confessed that this room, both within and from without, has a character peculiarly BOOKISH – and such as we might suppose to belong to a well-endowed monastery.

- from Thomas Frognall Dibdin, Aedes Althorpianae: or An Account of the Mansion, Books, and Pictures, At Althorp; The Residence of George John Earl Spencer, K.G. to which is added A Supplement to the Bibliotheca Spenceriana (London: Shakespeare Press, 1822), I, 20-31).

Thankfully, in order to be bookish, a place doesn’t have to resemble a “well-endowed monastery”, in fact, private libraries and book collecting (bibliomania, in fact) became quite the rage in the late 1800s – and the propensity for all the trappings of the “bookish” has continued into our times. In today’s episode of Biblio Banter we discuss some of our favorite bookish places, and play “Would You Rather…” from the places noted in the advertising pamphlet for the Atlas Obscura book Atlas Obscura: An Explorer’s Guide to the World’s Hidden Wonders.

Biblio Banter was created by the four of us to spread our enthusiasm and interest in the field of book history/book studies. It is a labor of love. We welcome any feedback, comments, discussions, follows, ratings and shares.

Find our blog at bookhistorypodcast.home.blog and follow us on Twitter @banterbiblio

Thanks for listening!

On the next episode of Biblio Banter we discuss...Bookish Places! Have a listen for a preview.

In the new episode of Biblio Banter, Ellen interviews Laura and Natalia about the student journal, Satura, they started in the beginning of 2018. A lot of bragging and (bitter)sweet memories ensue. 

Enjoy this episode! And don't forget to like and comment ;)

A blurb is, to quote Gelett Burgess, who invented the term in 1907, "a  flamboyant advertisement" found on the front and back covers of books. Do we need blurbs? Do we like blurbs? And can blurbs help you make up a convincing first line of book that fools your friends?? We play the Book Game from Bookstr and discuss the history and usefulness of book blurbs. Fun fact: this is the first episode of Biblio Banter that we recorded. 

Libraries, cats, manga, wampum belts, and more! In this episode, we discuss the 2019 conference of the Society for the History of Authorship, Reading & Publishing (SHARP), where Laura and Ellen presented papers on the theme of Indigeneity, Nationhood, and Migrations of the Book. We then play a self-made Happy Families-style game inspired by the conference's talks and location. 

In the very first episode of Biblio  Banter, Erin, Natalia, Ellen, and Laura talk about the big questions:  Just what is book history? (Or is it book studies?) What is a book? And  why is book smuggling so exciting? We then fill in the blanks of Robert  Darton’s influential Communications Circuit in a game inspired by the  classic (and wacky) 1970s game show Match Game.