books

I have always loved books, and as a small child I was practically obsessed with reading (my favourites were Enid Blyton and books about reptiles..) but since starting high school I have been reading less and less. Now that I am at university, I don't think I have read a single novel. I do, however, read quite a few design books at the library, to the extent to which you can call that reading..

Recently when doing my rounds of local op shops, I have been paying closer attention to the book selections as I live in hope of finding proper vintage (70's or earlier) picture books with sweet illustrations. Although so far I have been unsuccessful with this idea, I did find some great books the other day that I would like to share with you.

All of these three came from the same Salvo's store, I love the Salvo's because they are always cheaper than Vinnie's and they all have furniture..







So, the first one I found was this old atlas from 1986, complete with the U.S.S.R and East Germany. Of course there are probably a whole heap of changes other than that but I am painfully ignorant of general world history... Anyway, the reason that I bought it (other than the fifty cent price tag) clearly not the ugly front cover but the fact that I really love atlases. Hopefully will be used in some designing capacity in the future.






The second book is a book called Master Photography, so of course I picked it up straight away. Now I often find a lot of books on photography in op shops (probably because some of the information is no longer relevant with the advent of the "digital age" and all that) but this one actually convinced me to buy it because it has a lot of picture examples of the different techniques and settings that it talks about, not to mention that many of these photos are quite beautiful. I don't really understand why more people don't snap up these books because most of the information is still relevant for those who want to learn how to properly use their DSLRs off automatic setting (e.g. me..)










The last book I found on this particular journey was this book, entitled Maximalism, The Graphic Design of Decadence and Excess. Now, as I'm sure I have made clear already, I practically jump on any books that have anything to do with art or design. You can imagine my amazement to find this relatively new design book in amongst the reference section! (This is why I meticulously comb through every section of the op shop, things are never in the right section..) Some of the stuff is a bit dated (it was published in 2004) but most of it is pretty decent, especially when it will mostly be used as inspiration (where I will decide I like two of the colours that happened to be placed next to each other..)

Anyway, with all this talk of books I thought I would also share an interesting blog with you that I discovered yesterday. Awful Library Books is a blog, run by librarians Mary and Holly, that catalogues the books that are picked out during the constant process of weeding out the old and irrelevant. Many of the entries are submitted by other librarians, who offer up photos of some of the most bizarre books you have ever seen, along with some witty commentary from Mary or Holly. Who would have thought there was the need for a book called Your Three-Year-Old, Friend or Enemy?



I have to admit though, if I had a child that resembled the one on the cover I might be more easily convinced..


xx Elly