S.F. is crime central - on the printed page: Modern crime fiction was born in a small apartment at 891 Post St. in San Francisco. That’s where Dashiell Hammett wrote “The Maltese Falcon,” using his digs as the model for Sam Spade’s urban lair. Published in 1929 to popular and critical praise, the novel slapped around the commonly held notion that mysteries were marginal diversions, merely clever puzzles for slumming intellectuals. [SF Chronicle]
Turning over an old leaf: Only 24 books are produced for every tree felled. But book-swapping websites could provide a solution for the eco-aware reader. [Guardian]
Harry Potter No Longer a Best Seller: After 10 enviable years of sales, J.K. Rowling’s Harry Potter books have fallen off the New York Times best-seller list for the first time. The Times Book Review’s senior editor, Dwight Garner, announced Thursday on Paper Cuts, the newspaper’s group book Web log, that the best-seller list for the May 11 issue of the book review does not include a single Harry Potter title. [NY Sun]
The baron of bibliomania: Bibliophilia: the love, and collecting, of books. No problems there: the odd fit of extravagance, possibly, but everything more or less under control. But watch out. The next step up may be bibliolatry: an extreme fondness for books. And beyond that lies bibliomania: a mania for the collection and possession of books. That can be very dangerous territory. [Guardian]
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