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Look at this gorgeous lettering by Sandy Lynn Davis, one of the artists featured in I’d Rather be Reading.

happy to be a little part of something lovely in this sometimes ugly world… @chroniclebooks

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For anyone who'd rather be reading than doing just about anything else, this book is the ultimate must-have. In this visual ode to all things bookish, readers will get lost in page after page of beautiful contemporary art, photography, and illustrations depicting the pleasures of books. Artwork from the likes of Jane Mount, Lisa Congdon, Julia Rothman, and Sophie Blackall is interwoven with text from essayist Maura Kelly, bestselling author Gretchen Rubin, and award-winning author and independent bookstore owner Ann Patchett. Rounded out with poems, quotations, and aphorisms celebrating the joys of reading, this lovingly curated compendium is a love letter to all things literary, and the perfect gift for bookworms everywhere.

On sale now at Chronicle Books, Indiebound, Amazon, Barnes and Noble, and your local bookstore. 

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Why should you pre-order a book?

Did you know that when you pre-order a book (any book!), it helps the author a lot? Here’s some insider info I’ll share with you as a former publishing pro: Bookstores and publishers look at pre-orders to gauge how much interest there is in a book before it even hits the shelves. Out of the hundreds of books published every single week, bookstore buyers can only choose a few to add to their shelves. It’s a simple matter of shelf space. And it’s a battle to win that space.

Publishers clamor to get their books to the head of the pack, and often they’ll pay to have their titles displayed face-up on those “New Releases” tables. It’s not by chance that you see the same blockbuster titles at the front of every bookstore, or popping up in your recommendations on Amazon. That’s marketing money at work. 

But very few books have that kind of budget—especially indie art books like mine. That’s where you come in. If there is buzz about a book before it releases, more booksellers will be inclined to pick it up. And if people are actually ordering the book before it’s available, then that’s a killer indicator that there’s something special about it.

So here’s how you can help make a big difference. Pre-order a copy of I'd Rather Be Reading: A Library of Art for Book Lovers before August 15th from any bookseller—Chronicle Books, IndieBound, Barnes and Noble, Amazon, my website, or your local bookstore—and I’ll personally mail you a thank you note with two I'd Rather be Reading stickers and two 5x7 prints of artwork featured in the book (one for you and one to share!). 

Plus! To sweeten the deal even more, on the day of publication (8/15/17) I’ll select one winner at random to receive a free I'd Rather be Reading tote bag featuring the artwork of Courtney Cerruti, and an 8x10 art print of "Books Paris No. 2," signed by photographer Nichole Robertson. 

Just fill out this form with your name, email, and mailing address, and let me know where you purchased the book. This is on the honor system, so if you say you ordered it I will trust your word! Hurry, supplies are limited and the offer ends on 8/14/17. 

Thank you so much!

xo, guinevere

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{SECRET LIBRARY PODCAST} 

GUINEVERE DE LA MARE AND THE SILENT BOOK CLUB

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There is no foul mood an oversized dose of bookstore can't improve. We are in a particularly lovely epoch of cover design. Enjoy it, folks. You can't subscribe to spot gloss and deckled edges.

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Writer’s Block …

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Ugh, this commute is *killing* me. #wfhftw @storybird

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"Print is predictable and impersonal, conveying information in a mechanical transaction with the reader'a eye. Handwriting, by contrast, resists the eye, reveals its meaning slowly, and is as intimate as skin."

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I'd rather be...

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Now that the soccer is done (USA-GER 0-1 but don’t worry, we still should advance to the next round), I have big news to share.

After 8 truly fantastic years at Chronicle Books, I’m leaving to become head of community at Storybird. I am super jazzed to do a whole lot more of what I love best: connecting writers with readers, helping parents and teachers inspire in children a lifelong love of books, and discovering and sharing beautiful artwork and the people who create it. I never thought it would be possible to follow up a dream job with a dreamier job, but all signs are pointing in that direction.

I owe huge and heartfelt thanks to everyone who has supported my work at Chronicle. I am so proud of the online community we have built there together. Don’t unsubscribe… there are piles and piles of great books coming down the line, and some seriously dedicated, creative, and talented people working on them.

More about the new gig here: http://blog.storybird.com/2014/06/guinevere-de-la-mare-joins-storybird-from-chronicle-books/

xo, G.

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(via Poynter, Journalists Come Out As #TeamOxfordComma - PRNewser)

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(via Two Damn Books: How I Got Here And Where I Want To Go)

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Elsa in SF: The cold kind of bothered her after all. 

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Galileo’s sketches from Sidereus Nuncius (1610), the first published scientific work based on observations made through a telescope