Are your bookshelves looking bare?

Happy weekend, everyone!  Hope you all have had a chance to crash out on the couch and luxuriate in the do-nothing vibe. Should the time come when you decide to do something more drastic with your weekend, here’s a last-minute but heartfelt invitation to join us at the acclaimed Boston International Antiquarian Book Fair at the Hynes Convention Center tomorrow afternoon, Sunday (Nov. 15), from 12-5.  I just got back from there myself and had such a great time I thought I should encourage you all to check it out.

(As a side note, I encourage you to use public transportation.  I had the quintessential Boston driving experience as my penance for attempting to drive into the city which left me wandering the city streets in the driving rain.  Don’t ask me what I was thinking.  And while I’m digressing, I just want to mention I ran into a fan of PastIsPresent.org there,so keep on passing the word to your friends.  We really appreciate it!)

Assorted AAS folk are manning a booth in the cultural row at this year’s gathering of rare book dealers and their friends. Besides having a chance to meet an AAS curator in person, the Antiquarian Society’s booth also offers tons of information, brochures, a new digital slide show, and ever-popular chocolate.

My theory is that candy takes on a heightened and virtually irresistible appeal to those who work with rare books all day because we’re forbidden to have any food objects at our desks, but perhaps candy has this effect on everyone.  In any event, if you are feeling peaked in the midst of your bibliographical quest, take a break to refuel yourself in the cultural row — or as I like to call it, the candy counter — at the back of the room.

With over 100 book dealers flaunting their wares, you may just find the perfect new volume to grace your bookshelves at home or to surprise a lucky loved one with beneath the Christmas tree. Even should you strike out on the acquisitions front, we hope you’ll have an entertaining afternoon of window shopping and book chat.  I may have to go back tomorrow afternoon myself, so maybe I’ll see you there!