In my own way, I am a shark collector.

I don’t keep stuffed sharks, whether real sharks or cotton stuffed. I don’t really have much at all to show for my shark collection. Not any more at least.

It still bugs me that my brother threw away the shark book I had been given for a long ago birthday. The book was published in 1976, full of paintings of sharks done by Richard Ellis.

I’d been thinking about the book this week, but I couldn’t remember the name of the book or the painter/ author. So I began digging online. I found it.

My Mother thought it was weird to have an interest in sharks, a predatory animal from the ocean. She tried to talk to me about it and talk me out of it. I knew I didn’t have a weird interest. I’m not planning to swimming with sharks, I don’t think about trying to make friends or pet sharks or hunt them or anything else really. I like to look at the sharks, in the photographs and paintings.

I think I like their sleek lines against the backdrop of the ocean. The ocean Richard Ellis paints is quiet, sparkling and bouncing with light hitting the water and the smooth looking shark coasting through the water. I also like the photos of sharks in the waves and crashing ocean. Yes, we know they are dangerous, but there’s more to them. They are a quiet, skilled predator, at home in their universe.

Have you had a book which sticks in your mind due to the loss of the book? Is it worthwhile buying the book again, even if it isn’t about collecting it as much as being able to see and read it again?

I thought about getting another copy of the book. But, it seems unfair when I did have one. So, I decided to leave it. A book unopened, sort of. However, if I see the book somewhere else, like a thrift store, I might get it. This is an emotional decision rather than anything base on logic. Don’t judge me, as they say when they know they have given the appearance of being loopy.

So, at the moment, my shark collection is all online. Available to be shared with anyone who follows the link on Snip.it. (Note: Snip.it closed their service).

There will always be something special about a hard cover book. I mean, a real hard cover, not what passes for them now in the world of publishing and retail outlets. Those big sized soft cover books will never be hard covers, just cheap stand-ins. It bugs me each time I see them called ‘hard cover’ because there is nothing hard at all about those covers.

I don’t know when I was given my first hard cover book any more. Likely it was from my Grandmother, she was a book person. My Dad’s Mother, people on my Mother’s side of the family aren’t much into reading. They’ve been known for cooking, baking and stealing horses somewhere in the distant past. My Dad’s side were the educated, reading, law abiding sort of people. My Grandmother wrote and self published a few books of her own.

Not surprisingly, the first hard cover books I had were story books, fairy tales and fantasy. I can remember books by Enid Blyton and the series of Katy Did books by Susan Coolidge. Later I would read Nancy Drew. They were only out in hard cover editions then.

I miss holding a real book – the way the spine wouldn’t bend and the pages would fall open differently than any paperback book. Bookmarks suit a hard cover book. They never look so elegant and romantic in a paperback.

Depending on your age, you may remember fixing hard covers, adding a bit of tape to the bookbinding. Or, recovering your hard cover book with a soft cover of some kind which would keep the hard cover from getting messy. Some hard covers were shiny or real leather on the older books. They would show fingerprints if you didn’t give them a temporary paper kind of cover. Now there are only paperback books, the hard covers are gone. Just the word and a few elderly books are all that remain.

Bookpacking is custom made for people who like to read. Many backpackers have packed a tattered paperback novel into their rucksack in case they are held hostage by rain pummeling the outside of their tents.

Packing a book for a bike trip, a hike or boating excursion engages both the body and the mind into an outing.

via Bookpacking Combines Travel With Reading | Suite101.

I think it's great someone has come up with an actual word for this. I bookpack every day. Even when I'm not hiking, exploring or road tripping.

Bookbinding is already becoming an obsolete, lost art, even before eBooks and eReaders. This was originally a free ecourse on SuiteU. Preserved here for my own interest, before SuiteU is taken down.

Bookbinding
By Kez van Oudheusden

Introduction

Bookbinding can be inexpensive, easy to do and can produce some unique and individual works. There are many basic techniques that you can use to create books and we will be starting with the simplest of all, a single section notebook that you will use for class notes and ideas. These techniques are easy to master. These are the basic techniques that you can use to build on to more difficult techniques. You can research other book artists work and combine with your own techniques to create unique books. This course will show you the basic techniques and help you get started. Once you have finished this course you will have the information you need to tackle your first project with confidence. …more

I discovered the Bookie Brunch while writing a post about book hoarding... I mean keeping, for HubPages. It seems to be about a year since anything new was added to the Bookie Brunch schedule. But, I liked the ideas. I would like to hear the discussions, literary, bookish and readers talking about books too. Bookie Brunch on YouTube:

Special project, founded by Sasha Soren ('Random Magic'). Bookie Brunch is a weekly meet-up, held every Sunday, where book bloggers can have a cup of tea and chat about a particular bookie question of interest. Pull up a chair and feel free to join us! Current series from July 2011 through December 2011. Every Sunday. Feel free to drop by and have a cup of tea and enjoy some good company. Will try to collect all Bookie Brunch videos at the channel, to make it easy to find them, and have separate, special playlist just for BB!

Questions from past Bookie Brunches:

• Question: Are books better with or without love triangles? Related topics: Do you root for a particular character in the love triangle? If so, why? What is your favorite literary love triangle?
• Question: Do you prefer e-books or print copies of novels, and why? Related topics to consider: Do you have a specific e-reader that you prefer? Why did you choose that particular e-reader, did you try any others, and what were your experiences with them?
• Question: Do you think people only read classics because they're classics, or because they're actually enjoyable? Related topics to consider: Is there a classic you don't think should be a classic? If so, why do you think that?
• Question: Fantasy versus realism. People often tackle the issue of characters or plot being unrealistic or not possible in real life. Are you on the book-must-be-believable/realistic side or not? Why or why not? Related topics to consider: Do you prefer books with fantasy elements, or books which stick to the world we know? Do you think it's important that contemporary literature remains true to life or do you welcome deviations from what would normally happen?
• Question: Do you prefer hardcovers or paperbacks and what are the reasons for your preference, either way? Related topics to consider: Would you consider buying a book that wasn't in your preferred format (hardcover vs. paperback) - if so, what would be your reason for doing so?
• Question: Are you likely to select or read an e-book because of an appealing cover or does the description/synopsis of an e-book weigh more heavily? Related topics to consider: Please show us a link to two or three e-book covers that captured your attention recently, and tell us why. -
• Question: Have you ever stopped reading a series due to unexpected or disappointing changes in the characters, writing, etc.? Do you consider going back, or do you give up on the series? Related topics to consider: Do you think series should be never-ending (going well past 10 books), or do you think it keeps it fresher for an author if they stop after a certain number of books in a series?
• Question: What's the most important part of a book for you, the characters or the plot? Related topics to consider: Would you consider buying a book because you liked the characters even though you disliked the plot, and vice versa?
• Question: What is one book that made you cry, and what was it that affected you about that particular story? Related topic to consider: Are you a Happily-Ever-After kind of person or do you like tragedies more?
• Question: What are three songs that remind you of your favorite book? Related topics to consider: Why do the songs remind you of that particular book?
• Question: What is your favorite kind of magical/mythical/supernatural creature to read about? Related topics to consider: Is there any kind of mythical creature you'd like to see more, in fiction? Or less?
• Question: Discussion of all things magical within the book world (would like to take time to include Random Magic). Related topics to consider: Specifically related to Random Magic (if you've read the book): What was your favorite magical place that Winnie and Henry visit? What made it so magical for you? Related topics to consider: Unrelated to Sasha Soren's book (Random Magic): What books would you recommend to those of us in love with the magical world? What types of magic do you gravitate towards the most - spells, enchanting places like Wonderland/Narnia, or magical beings like witches/faeries?
• Question: Which is your favorite classic novel, and why? Related topics to consider: What would your second pick be, and for what reason?
• Question: Are you more of a book buyer or a book borrower? Why? Related topics to consider: Do you lend books or are you too possessive? Do you buy books after borrowing them if you like them?
• Question: What are your thoughts on books that are an unusual size? (i.e., coffee table books, larger than trade paperback or hardback, miniatures, non-rectangular, pop-up books) Related topics to consider: Do you own any unusual-sized books? If so, what was it about them specifically that appealed to you? If you don't own any, do you have any on your wishlist? Please provide title(s) and author(s).
• Question: Since we're close to Halloween, I'm curious - if you could be any magical creature for three days (three's a good number, since it lets you have a fair run at it), what would you be? Of course, you'd be able to turn back into yourself after three days. Related topics to consider: What traits or powers in particular appeal to you about that specific magical creature?
• Question: What's your favorite spooky story? Alternatively, if you don't like spooky stories, why are they unappealing to you?
• Question: Do you like the smell of books? Related topics to consider: Do you have any other odd book-related obsessions? For example - must have matching covers in your series books, must be the first to open the book or crease the cover, or can't stand creased covers or pages, or if you have both paperback and hardcover versions of a series, the cover art has to match, etc.
• Question: Does cover art influence what you read? Related topics to consider: If you aren't familiar with an author, and you don't like the cover art, would you try the book? Have you ever loved the cover art, and didn't enjoy the book?
• Question: How do you discover new books? Related topics to consider: Do you look for recommendations on book blogs, ask your friends, go to the library? All of the above? None of the above? Have you ever received a book recommendation from a completely unexpected source?
• Question: Are relationship-oriented dilemmas (girlfriend-boyfriend relationships, to be specific), important for the success of a novel? Related topics: An example of a book without this particular type of twist, that's still a page turner of a story?
• Question: Has blogging changed your reading habits? If so, in what way? Related topics: Do you read new genres? Are you bothered by them or do you welcome the changes?
• Question: When it comes to the paranormal and the magical - how much do you believe in what you're reading? For you, are your books pure fiction or do you secretly hope that maybe there might be some truth to all of the stories?
• Question: If you could invite three authors to dinner, who would be on your guest list, and why?
• Question: What do you think of festive themed books? Related topics: Do you have a favourite christmas book to read? If so, What is it and why? or will you be avoiding them?

From vvb32 Reads:

What's Bookie Brunch all about?: Bookie Brunch is a weekly meet-up, held every Sunday, where book bloggers can have a cup of tea and chat about a particular bookie question of interest. The discussion is open from Sunday through Wednesday, and you're welcome to drop by any time to add your opinion or read what other people have to say. This discussion is open as well to general readers or bloggers in a different field, authors, publishers and publicists. Find Bookie Brunch You're invited! Feel free to join us every Sunday for great company, fun discussions, and occasional goodie giveaways. Some upcoming dates are listed below, it'll be great to see you there. Calling all bookies - grab a seat and let's talk books. We'll be talking about... e-readers vs. print editions fantasy vs. realism in books characters vs. plot and lots of other cool and bookish questions