Weekly Roundup: Books, Literary Maps & National Dog Day

Florida Tech August 28, 2015

Here are some headlines that grabbed my attention this week:

1. If you’re looking for book recommendations for this fall, visit this list created by booksellers of 75 new titles.

Two that have definitely made it onto my “Must Read” list are new books by Sloane Crosley and Geraldine Brooks. I’ve loved everything they have written, so I know these new books will be amazing!

The Clasp by Sloane Crosley

The Secret Chord by Geraldine Brooks

For some additional book recommendations, check out the latest edition of FORUM, the magazine of the Florida Humanities Council, which recently announced the winners of the Florida Book Awards. There’s even an interactive map showing all of the winners by location here.

2. If you’ve been browsing the new book aisles at your local bookstore or the latest titles online at Amazon, you might have noticed something strange about book cover designs. A recent piece on Slate asks:

Why do so many of this year’s book covers look the same? http://t.co/Cvagra9vsr pic.twitter.com/1HrPfphM0R

— Slate (@Slate) August 26, 2015

Apparently bright colors and a “flat design” mostly featuring faces is in right now, especially after the popularity and success of

3. Andrew DeGraff’s new book on maps of fictional literary worlds caught my eye when it was spotlighted in a Huffington Post article earlier this week.

It’s not available to order until October, but here’s a time-lapse video from his website that shows the creation of his Robinson Crusoe map!

4. On Wednesday I celebrated my pup and #NationalDogDay. The British Library marked the fun holiday with these collections of famous dogs in literature:

In celebration of #NationalDogDay, here are some illustrations of our favourite canines in literature! pic.twitter.com/pGnpGvZT2E

— The British Library (@britishlibrary) August 26, 2015

'The Call of the Wild' and more dogs in literature are on display at our #AnimalTales exhibition #NationalDogDay pic.twitter.com/VKAAT3y3Ie

— The British Library (@britishlibrary) August 26, 2015