by Kelly Pickerill

In the world of books, the e-book has in many readers’ minds reduced the substance of a book to its information. The book, like music in the early 2000s, is becoming more intangible, its worth placed in its content alone. And its consumer little cares in what form that content is enjoyed, only that it be enjoyed and possessed in the most convenient way.

But many books defy that definition of “a book” as “particular content alone.” One such is the new book published by Tara Books, an independent publisher of picture books for adults and children based in Chennai, South India. One of Tara’s new books is Waterlife by Rambharos Jha, an artist whose paintings are done in the Mithila folk art tradition of Bihar in eastern India.

Each book is silk-screen printed by hand on handmade paper, and the print run was limited to a mere 3,000 copies, each of which are numbered (I scored number 375). Each page features a water creature and its description, and many reference the culture of this particular region in India. At the end of the book is a little information about the people of Mithila and how their folk art has developed, and about the journey Jha’s art has taken. In Waterlife, his studies of the marine animals feature symbolic representations, but he uses the traditional fine lines to greater complexity to add an element of movement not usually present in the more static Mithila art.

The art itself is gorgeous, but the time and effort put into the books, along with their rarity, make this book a must-have. Each book has texture and character; no two copies are exactly alike. And it smells. You can smell the paper and the ink – strong, distinct, and earthy. This is what books are.

If you would like to purchase this book, please give us a call (601.366.7619) or drop by the store!

It is not, despite appearances, the end of nowhere. The empty fields are its destination. The weeds let you know where one crop ends and another begins. While other man-made places were covered in people and concrete, here it was the dirt that mattered, and there was just so much of it, between porch lights, and schools, and hospitals. There still  is. In the open land between the towns and the wide places in the road, dark drops like a lid on a box, and that very isolation has shaped life here, held it, and marked it deeply and sometimes horribly. -Rick Bragg, from the introduction to New Delta Rising.

Welcome to the Delta. A place where the divide between rich and poor, educated and uneducated is so prominent that it draws comparisons to a third world country. A place that has produced countless writers, musicians and artists in spite of this divide, possibly because of it. Welcome to a place that I am fortunate to call home. Having grown up in the quintessential Delta town of Sumner, a community of around five hundred, I consider myself firmly rooted to the “dirt” that Rick Bragg aptly describes in the introduction to New Delta Rising.  Sumner, like much of the Delta, is a small town strongly shaped by its agricultural and historical past (still home to many a farmer and the location of Emmett Till’s murder trial.)

The strong sense of place that was instilled in me as a child by the shapes of the land and the community is exactly the sentiment that beckons numerous visitors to the Delta-visitors such as award-winning photographer Magdalena Sole, whose photographs the University Press of Mississippi has published in a beautiful collection titled New Delta Rising. Sole spent a year photographing and interviewing residents of the Delta, and the connection she established with her subjects is evident in every frame she captured. The testimonials that accompany the photographs, which only deepened my pride for the resilient people of the Delta, also serve as a spirited introduction for those who are not familiar with “the most southern place on earth.”

Magdalena Sole will be at Lemuria for a signing on Thursday, March 29 at 5:00.

Click here for more details about the book.

by Anna

2012. Technology is ever changing and ever present. In some ways, it appears to be putting an end to paper but… Bookstores? Important staple in our lives. Holding a  real book seems to have an effect on me more so than reading on my Ipad. There is some comfort in having a book in my hand and a bookshelf to place it on after I’m finished. Good old fashion mail? The rarity of getting a letter in my mailbox makes my day more so than an email from a friend.

Stationery is one of my favorite things. I’ve invested in a lot of stationery…almost just as much as I have in my books. I have a large collection: some with my name, some for a certain occasion, some for a specific person. You just never know when a card needs to be sent. In that case, I’m prepared.

On top of of our “how to art” books, I Heart Stationery by Charlotte Rivers was on display. I didn’t even have to flip through it to know I wanted to purchase it. It has a lot of pretty pictures in it but in addition to that, there are a lot of resources.

This tiny book, which is divided into eight chapters, provides individual artists and their information as well as pictures of their creations. Chapters vary from screen printing to calligraphy to block printing to digital illustration. The talent of the practitioners is incredible. Their creations include: gift wrap, stationery, invitations, calendars, and notebooks.

Because our book is housed in the “how to art” section, it is possible this book could spark an idea. You may have an idea for stationery after looking through this book. In fact, one of the artists in this book simply used a moleskin (which we now carry!!) to create altered journals. This art work is inspired by folktales, nature, music and literature.

There is a listing of all the resources  in the back with some incredible finds. This provides you with a list of  many websites to peruse and drool over.

The trouble with that is that you might end up like me..I’m waiting on a few packages. All filled with…paper goods.  -Quinn

The photo section in Lemuria has always been above par for sure. There is a vast array of well known photographers and then some not well known who maybe should be. Recently we have gotten some incredible photography books in and I just have to spread the good word, as it were.

The first I have to mention is a retrospective of the amazing Michael Kenna’s career. I was first introduced to Michael Kenna by my amazing photography professor Gretchen Haine. Kenna’s photographs are what I would call , environmental portraits. His photos are completely devoid of human or animal life. I’m serious folks these photographs are not what the normal human eye sees. They are stunning and totally simple.

The complexity lies within the frozen moment in time that Kenna has somehow captured just at, what seems to be, the truly magical moment. I had a friend come over to my house a few weeks ago and he is a fellow photographer. I put this book in front of him and as he started to flip through it actual tears began to form in his eyes. Yeah it’s like that.

Michael Kenna: Images of the Seventh Day (Skira, 2010)

Book number 2 is a documentary style book by someone I have never heard of before. I just happened upon this book during Christmas when a customer asked about it. Well I looked it up and the computer showed that we indeed have a copy. I went to get it and was completely in love upon seeing the cover of the book.

The Projectionist by Kendall Messick is a photographic record of a year in the life of Messick’s childhood across-the-street neighbor. Gordon Brinckle appeared to be your everyday husband and father. He was the night projectionist at the local movie theater in his hometown of Middletown, Delaware for years.

However, during all that time he Gordon was constructing a miniature version of the movie palaces of times past. There was no detail that went unnoticed in Brinckle’s “picture palace of renown,” as he referred to it. This book is amazing and beautiful in every way a book can be. It tells an amazing story through rich, intimate photos.

The Projectionist by Kendall Messick (Princeton Architectural Press, 2010)

And finally for the third book. This book is a collaboration between the photographer Michael O’Brien with poetry by Tom Waits. I, personally, can get behind anything that has Tom Waits’ name attached to it. Just the cover of his book will suck you in. The photograph of the homeless gentleman on the front is completely haunting.

Upon opening the book you find that all the photos are of this same intensity and are accompanied by poems from Tom Waits. It’s good stuff. I found a little snippet of a review that could describe the purpose of this book much better than i can:

Waits and O’Brien’s 184-page book, Hard Ground, seeks to create “a portrait of homelessness that impels us to look into the eyes of people who live ‘on the hard ground’ and recognize our common humanity.”

Hard Ground with photos by Michael O’Brien, poetry by Tom Waits (University of Texas Press, 2011)

There are many many more fantastic photography books in this store. I have merely scratched the surface with this blog.

-Ellen

by Kelly Pickerill

I love architecture and design books. From shabby chic to the gaudiest luxe, if the pictures are gorgeous and the text’s more than just a description of the picture, I’m in. Lemuria is featuring two of our design books now — a new book on Ken Tate’s houses in the South, including Mississippi and New Orleans, A Classical Journey, and Carolyn Roehm’s newest interior design book, A Passion for Interiors.

All of Carolyn Roehm’s books are amazing. We’ve got several of her entertaining books; in one, A Passion for Parties, Roehm’s memoir-like commentary runs alongside photographs of outdoor and indoor festivities for every occasion and season. A Passion for Interiors is her latest book, which invites the reader into three homes, two of which are hers, showcasing her incomparable style: classical architectural details softened by graceful fabrics.

And Tricia Guild’s new book is just fun. Her first book, Pattern, made up of full-page photos of fabric, was a textile-lover’s dream. Colors, Patterns, and Space is no less eye candy; her design style is bright and spunky, mixing up the classical and modern in playful yet incredibly elegant rooms.

I can remember the first time that I saw a piece of William Christenberry’s work.  It actually was not a photograph but a model of a ramshackle building.  Really what caught my eye was the name of the piece, Coleman’s Cafe.  You see Coleman is my Dad’s name so I was naturally attracted to it.  In fact, Coleman was with me in the Smithsonian American Art Museum  in Washington, D.C.  As I looked around I noticed some of his photographs and really related to all of it.  Christenberry  is after all one of the South’s premiere photographers.

Christenberry’s new book, Kodachromes, is the first publication to show this particular body of work.  It encompasses work made with 35 mm Kodachrome slide film during the years of 1964- 2007.  Of these images of the Rural Deep South, especially Hale County, Alabama, very few have been on exhibit or published.

Though there are some new locations that one hasn’t seen before, be rest assured that Christenberry’s icons are here in this book, Coleman’s Cafe,  Sprott Church, and the Bar-B-Q Inn to name just a few.  Even if you have some previous books of William Christenberry I really think that Kodachromes would be a wonderful addition to your collection.

William Christenberry: Kodachromes (Aperture, 2010)