Category Archives: rare books
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Annotations, Ink Drinkers, and Pleasure Reading
Leave a commentJuly 9, 2022 by libroshombre
Knowing I’d just returned from a Seattle trip, a friend needlessly asked if I’d visited any bookstores. Well, I …
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Conning, Theivery, and Goatish Retribution
Leave a commentJune 3, 2021 by libroshombre
“Finding the occasional straw of truth awash in a great ocean of confusion and bamboozle requires intelligence, vigilance, dedication …
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Covid, Euclid, and the Isle of Demons
Leave a commentSeptember 24, 2020 by libroshombre
A series of unfortunate events crippled my understanding of algebra, but geometry made sense, thanks to Pete Johnson, my …
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Lies, Spies, and Ultracrepidarians
Leave a commentMarch 10, 2017 by libroshombre
Too many ultracrepidarians are running around these days. An “ultracrepidarian” is “someone who gives an opinion on things s/he knows …
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Old Books, Old Librarians, and Literary Iceland
Leave a commentDecember 29, 2015 by libroshombre
There’s much to commend about old books, beginning with the observation of Victorian critic John Ruskin, “All books are divisible …
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Grammar Nazis, Word Power, and Shakespeare’s Library
Leave a commentMay 8, 2014 by libroshombre
Truly, I’m no grammar nazi. I’ve known real ones – some of my best friends are grammatical storm troopers – …
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Gutenberg, Fust, and Rare Book Libraries
Leave a commentMarch 13, 2014 by libroshombre
Old Johann Fust was something. He underwrote Gutenberg’s printshop with two loans in 1450 and 1452 totaling 1,600 guilders. Three …
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Hill of Books 