More than Words: Illustrated Letters from the Smithsonian's Archives of American Art by Liza Kirwin (Princeton Architectural Press, $24.95). Out this month is the paperback edition of this popular compendium of letters written by artists--e.g., Alfred Joseph Frueh sent his fiancee a pop-up gallery of art on the back of a 1913 letter and Andy Warhol drew a smiley face with speech bubble on his 1949 letter to a Harper's editor. From pen-and-ink caricatures to almost fully realized scenic watercolors, each correspondent illuminated his or her note with something other than text. The result is endlessly enticing. And for a bonus track: full transcripts of all the letters.
The Pebble Chance: Feuilletons & Other Prose by Marius Kociejowski (Biblioasis, $18.95). This is a collection of intelligent and charming essays on poetry, art, and books, at least two of which, "A Factotum in the Book Trade" and "The Testament of Charlotte B.," will have direct appeal for antiquarian book-collector types. The author has long worked as a book dealer in London, and he is also a poet and a travel writer. Plus, Michael Dirda raved about the book in the Washington Post. What else could you ask for?
The King Penguin Series: A Survey by Michael Lake (Penguin Collectors Society, £12). This new book from the PCS surveys the original King Penguins, a hardback imprint launched by Allen Lane in 1939. The King Penguins were meant to be both affordable and handsome enough to be collectible. This compact and beautifully illustrated book offers a wonderful history of the series, a gallery of cover art, and a full bibliography.
The War That Used Up Words: American Writers and the First World War by Hazel Hutchinson (Yale University Press, $45). Henry James, Edith Wharton, Grace Fallow Norton, Mary Borden, Ellen La Motte, E. E. Cummings, and John Dos Passos -- how did these seven writers shape American opinions about WWI? Hutchinson focuses her lens not on the "lost generation," but on the writers who were observing and participating before America even joined the effort.
JAMES PATTERSON
Grandma's Killer Chocolate Cake
Here's one "killer" Alex Cross always loves to catch--Grandma's Killer Cake! A special family recipe dating from the 1940s, this decadent cake seems to get better with age; it is tastier on day two. And you need to be a good detective around the house after it has been made, sitting there in its glass-domed cake stand, staring back at you with deadly temptation, because a piece seems to mysteriously disappear every time I go into the kitchen. Not to be caught red-handed, so looms the "Killer Cake Killer"!
YIELD: 1 SINGLE- LAYER 9-BY-12 INCH CAKE OR 1 DOUBLE LAYER 9-INCH CAKE
CAKE
2??3 cup butter??
2 cups granulated sugar
2 eggs??
2 cups flour??
11??3 cups buttermilk
11??3 teaspoons baking soda dissolved in 2 ?? 5 cup hot water
31??2 squares bitter chocolate, melted gently
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
FROSTING
1??2 cup butter??
3 squares bitter chocolate
2 cups granulated sugar
2??3 cup milk??1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1 teaspoon almond extract
1. Preheat oven to 350°F. Cream butter and sugar together. Add eggs. ??
2. Blend in flour and buttermilk in alternating additions, starting and ending with the flour. Add baking soda mixture, followed by chocolate and vanilla extract. ??
3. Pour batter into one 9-by-12-inch pan or two round 9-inch springform pans. Bake for 30 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted into the center comes out clean. Remove from oven and let cool. ??
4. Combine all frosting ingredients in a saucepan, bring to a full boil, and boil for 2 minutes. Let cool. You can put saucepan on ice if necessary to cool quickly. ??
5. Remove the cake from the pan, frost, and serve. ??
James Patterson has sold 300 million books worldwide, including the Alex Cross, Michael Bennett, Women's Murder Club, Maximum Ride, and Middle School series. He supports getting kids reading through scholarship, Book Bucks programs, book donations, and his website, readkiddoread.com. He lives in Palm Beach with his wife, Sue, and his son, Jack.
Excerpted from The Mystery Writers of America Cookbook edited by Kate White. Reprinted with permission from Quirk Books.
Don McLean's "American Pie" manuscript will be offered at Christie's on April 7, and Alan Turing's notebook will be turned over to a new owner at Bonhams on April 13. Each are expected to reach $1 million--it's a show you don't want to miss!
And then there are the book fairs. In addition to the ABAA's New York Antiquarian Book Fair, which opens for a preview night on Thursday, April 9, and runs all weekend, two 'shadow shows' will entice collectors on Saturday, April 11.
If you're looking to go exhibit-hopping, there are at least a dozen to choose from, e.g., the Grolier Club celebrating Aldus Manutius; the New York Society Library showcasing marginalia; and the New-York History Society's Final Flight of Audubon watercolors.
For browsers, there are clearly several great bookstores to choose from in New York, but what about the more "offbeat" places, like Printed Matter, the Center for Book Arts, or Bowne & Co. Stationers? Check them out.
All this & more on the Rare Book Week site. The spring issue of Fine Books, in mailboxes now, also contains an illustrated guide to Rare Book Week, featuring a selection of highlights from booksellers and auction houses.
Book your plans for Rare Book Week 2015!
The film, loosely adapted by director Bill Condon from Mitch Cullin's novel, A Slight Trick of the Mind, premiered in Berlin last month. It should be stateside later this year. Read an early review here. Watch the one-minute teaser here:
Ted Geisel (Dr. Seuss) half-length portrait, seated at desk covered with his books / World Telegram & Sun photo by Al Ravenna. (Photo credit: Wikipedia)
Seen above is: "Fra Mauro Region of the Moon, 1972," by multimedia artist Nancy Graves, whose interest in natural history, especially aerial landscapes and moon maps, fueled her work. From the series "Lithographs Based on Geologic Maps of Lunar Orbiter and Apollo Landing Sites." Lithograph. Harvard Art Museums/Fogg Museum, Cambridge, MA. Gift of Anne MacDougall and Gil Einstein in honor of Marjorie B. Cohn. ©Nancy Graves Foundation, Inc./Licensed by VAGA, NY, NY.
The exhibit is up through June 7. Read more about it here.
Beginning today through Saturday, the Library of Congress will display the fragile original manuscript of Lincoln's speech in the Great Hall of the Library's Jefferson Building. According to the LC's press release, visitors will not only get a rare peek at Lincoln's smudged manuscript but also the printer's proof, which he cut-and-pasted into 27 mini paragraphs to make it easier to read during the inauguration ceremony.
In New York, Lincoln's oratorical skills are honored by the Morgan Library & Museum, whose current exhibition, Lincoln Speaks: Words That Transformed a Nation, runs through June 7.
Image: Lincoln's second inaugural, photo by Alexander Gardner, March 4, 1865. Courtesy of the Library of Congress Prints and Photographs Division.