Wednesday Weekly Blogging Challenge: Books that did a great job explaining book restoration

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I was talking to my business partner about this, and I have to admit, I tend to not read non-fiction books. I love using them for research... I love looking up little tidbits of information... but to read for pleasure, not so much. I also love finding little nuggets of things I didn't know in fiction books. And.. that made me think of a series I've recently gotten into: Kate Carlisle's Bibliophile Mysteries.

Her main character, Brooklyn Wainwright is a rare book restoration expert, and I've learned so much about the art of book restoration just from reading the mysteries (and it doesn't hurt that they are just darn good mysteries as well). The information always works into the narrative easily...and Brooklyn really knows her stuff. From Kate's website:

A master bookbinder specializing in rare book restoration, Brooklyn has taught book art at universities in New York, Iowa, Texas, and Institut d'histoire du livre in Lyon, France. Locally, she has taught at Bay Area Book Arts Center and Sonoma Institute of the Arts. While her focus is in restoration, Brooklyn is certified in book arts, conservation and authentication. Her bindings have won international acclaim, including Grand Prize in the prestigious Lawton-McNamara Contest. She has an MFA in Book Arts and a MS in Archives and Preservation.
I don't know that I would ever try my hand at book restoration-- after all, Brooklyn has been doing it since she was 8 (and that's a story in itself... check out the first book.

What about you? Do you prefer to learn through reading nonfiction, doing research, or picking up interesting information via fiction?

Comments

  1. Lydia8:28 AM

    I read lots of non-fiction, but I don't know anything about book restoration. :)

    My post.

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  2. Aymee10:38 AM

    I've heard really good things about this series, so I'm glad you're enjoying it.

    I was talking with my boss one day and I said something along the lines of, "I know a lot of random things and I don't know how or why." He shrugged and said, "You read." And it really did explain it all.

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  3. Wendi Zwaduk and Megan Slayer3:06 PM

    Never heard of this series, but this sounds fantastic. I think I'll have to try it. :-)

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  4. Tanith Davenport7:06 AM

    Now that does sound interesting. Good choice.

    ReplyDelete

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