Superior Person's Word of the Week!

Futtock n. A particular wooden component — the exact nature of which is unknown to the author — in the structure of a ship. A ridiculous word. If you have a yachting friend or otherwise nautical friend, make a point of always greeting him with the cheerful inquiry: "And how are your futtocks these days, old bean?"

I for one, make it a habit of checking my futtocks daily, so to prevent inundation while at sea.

Each Tuesday, we’ll offer up a Superior Word for the edification of our Superior Readers, via the volumes of the inimitable Peter Bowler. You can purchase all or any of the four Superior Person’s Books of Words from the Godine website. Futtock appears in the First.

NEIBA Recap

Back on October 4th, David R. Godine and some intrepid interns attended the 39th Annual Fall Conference of the New England Independent Booksellers Association (or, for those who care to relish in the art of acronyms, NEIBA).

The three-day conference took place in the Rhode Island Convention Center in Providence, RI. Throughout the week there were a myriad of presentations and a profusion of authors dispensing autographs, but the best part of the week’s events, in our humble opinions, was the booksellers exhibition. Though the number of booksellers has dwindled as of late and is no longer the biblio-behemoth sprawling across the convention center, it was still a sight to behold.

We arrived in Providence with a comfortable chunk of time before things got underway. Time enough to receive an exhibitor badge, lug an extra table into the conference hall, and display our bound accoutrements. Things began slowly as people trickled into the hall. The sullen overcast sky teetered on the verge of rain that never came; instead an unseasonable mugginess permeated the landscape. Thankfully this did not keep away the great multitude of book buyers who ebbed and flowed as the day wore on.

The archipelago spread out before us and tables piled with books upon books filled the room. Fellow publishing house representatives milled about, showcasing their wares to prospective buyers. A man in a carrot suit occasionally jogged through the throng (seriously), catalogues were exchanged, swag was rendered onto those who cared for it, raffle tickets were dispersed, and scavenger hunt questions answered. For those who missed our booth, our answer was Turkish Armenia (the question: which country was Yousuf Karsh from before moving to Canada?). We had a great time meeting with everyone who stopped by our booth.

We here at David R. Godine, Publisher, would like to thank those of you who made orders with us at this year’s NEIBA:

            The Bookloft of Great Barrington, MA
            Books on the Common of Ridgefield, CT
            The Bookworm of Omaha, NE
            Bridgton Books of Bridgton, ME
            Buttonwood Books & Toys of Cohasset, MA
            Devaney, Doak & Garrett of Farmington, ME
            The Flying Pig Bookstore of Shelburne, VT
            Galaxy Bookshop of Hardwick, VT
            Hickory Stick Bookshop of Washington Depot, CT
            Kennebooks of Kennebunk, ME
            Northshire Bookstore of Manchester Center, VT
            Open Door Bookstore of Schnectady, NY
            Parnassus Book Service of Yarmouthport, MA
            Red Tail Books of Wilmington, VT
            Children’s Book Shop of Brookline, MA
            Toadstool Bookshops Inc. of Peterborough, NH
            Wellfleet Marketplace of Wellfleet, MA

For our Boston-area fans, don’t forget to check us out this weekend at the Boston Book Festival! The event takes place Saturday, October 27th, from 10 am until 5 pm. We hope to see you there!

Barbara Paul Robinson on "Real Dirt"

Barbara Paul Robinson, author of Rosemary Verey: The Life & Lessons of a Legendary Gardener, was featured on Ken Druse's "Real Dirt" radio show on Friday! You can listen to the podcast on Ken Druse's website, here.

From the article accompanying the podcast:

The gardens Barbara Paul Robinson has created with her husband, the painter Charles Robinson, have become quite well known. But when they bought their 18^th century weekend house in the northwest corner of Connecticut in 1971, the idea was to just do some “tidying up.” But Charles began a vegetable patch. It was the miracle of sprouting seeds that awakened a passion in Barbara she didn’t even realize was there.

In 1991, Barbara took a one-month sabbatical from her position as a partner in a New York City law firm to go to England to work for the late designer and author Rosemary Verey at the world famous gardens of Barnsley House in the heart of the Cotswolds. Not only did Barbara learn at the side of Mrs. Verey, they became lifelong friends until the end of her life in 2001. (Robinson with Verey at her eightieth birthday celebration – photo Charles Robinson.)

“There was nothing low-maintenance…about Rosemary’s style of gardening,” writes Barbara. “In her view, good gardening meant hard work: the garden was to be watched and managed every day with careful attention to dead-heading and tidying. Hers was a high maintenance approach that required careful planning and strict adherence to a schedule of ongoing planting, pruning, lifting, and replanting to keep the garden looking beautiful throughout the year.”

Barbara Robinson has written a biography of her mentor – Rosemary Verey: The Life & Lessons of a Legendary Gardener, which was published by David R. Godine in 2012.

Mrs. Verey began making her garden in middle age (above, photo by Jerry Harpur). As an economic necessity after the death of her husband, David, she started to write for newspapers, magazine and books. In 1980, at the age of 62, she published her first of 18 books, The English Woman’s Garden, with Alvilde Lees-Milne. Her other works include The American Woman’s Garden, The Scented Garden and The Garden in Winter.

Despite being a self-taught amateur, Rosemary Verey became sought after as a garden designer, planning gardens for luminaries like Oscar de la Renta, Sir Elton John and His Royal Highness the Prince of Wales, who became a close friend. One month before her death, she was designing a garden in Kentucky. She loved America (and America loved her).

You can buy a copy of Rosemary Verey on the Godine website, as a Google ebook, or at a retailer near you.

Superior Person's Tuesday!

Limophoitos n. Insanity brought on by lack of food. A condition occurring in older teenagers after about ten o'clock at night, causing them to do strange things after the rest of the family have gone to bed, such as eating eight slices of cheese on toast while watching rap videos.

Henry will eat anything and everything during his episodes of limophoitos.

Each Tuesday, we’ll offer up a Superior Word for the edification of our Superior Readers, via the volumes of the inimitable Peter Bowler. You can purchase all or any of the four Superior Person’s Books of Words from the Godine website. Limophoitos appears in the Second.

SNEAK PEEK: An Artist in Venice

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We here at David R. Godine, Publisher, have been excited about our upcoming memoir An Artist in Venice by Adam Van Doren for a while now. In the book, Van Doren, grandson of the Pulitzer-Prize winning poet Mark Van Doren, details his love of Venice and the time he spent exploring and painting in the city. Interspersed throughout the pages are 21 full-color drawings by the author/artist himself.

We haven't been able to share much about this charming memoir - until now. When we recently received proofs of the gorgeous images in the books, we realized we had to share a few with our friends and followers - it would be selfish of us not to!

So, for your viewing pleasure, here is a sneak peek of a few of the paintings from An Artist in Venice. And if that's not enough for you, Adam Van Doren has also written an exclusive short piece, just for this blog, about his artistic process amongst the beauty of Venice. Enjoy!

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San Giorgio, 2009