Monday, March 17, 2008

Coffee with Aristotle

Julian Barnes writes the foreword to Coffee with Aristotle, a new book by Jonathan Barnes, the noted Aristotle scholar ... and Julian's brother.

Book Description:

Not many people can claim to have invented a new science, but Aristotle invented two: zoology and logic. More than two millennia after his death, Aristotle’s thought still influences us. Here, over coffee (a drink Aristotle never tasted), he converses with refreshing and illuminating simplicity about everything from causation and deduction to the role of women and the wonders of the natural world in a pre-scientific age.

Order a copy from the Duncan Baird website or via Amazon.co.uk or Amazon.com.

Wednesday, March 05, 2008

Marriage Lines -- A Short Story

Granta 100 features a short story by Julian Barnes titled 'Marriage Lines'. The issue also includes contributions by James Fenton, Ian McEwan, Craig Raine, Alan Hollinghurst, Salman Rushdie, Helen Simpson, and many more.

For more information, please visit the Granta website. The issue is also available to be purchased online via Amazon.co.uk, Amazon.com, Amazon.ca, or one of a number of local independent booksellers.

Promo Poster from Event in Chile

Julian Barnes was in conversation with Gonzalo Garces during his recent visit to Chile (22 January 2008). This promotional poster was used in advance of the event. Click to enlarge ...

Saturday, March 01, 2008

Limited Edition -- Nothing to Be Frightened of

The London Review Bookshop is delighted to announce its latest title in the London Review Bookshop Limited Editions series, Julian Barnes's Nothing to Be Frightened of.

The edition, signed by the author before publication (6 March), comprises 125 copies, of which 100 have been quarter-bound in Harmatan fine-grain leather (Crimson 21) with patterned boards by Enid Marx (courtesy of the Judd Street Gallery 1988), housed in a cloth slipcase and numbered 1to 100, and 25 fully bound in the same leather, housed in a solander box and numbered i to xxv. The bindings have been designed by Andrew Stilwell and the books have been bound, slipcased and boxed by The Fine Book Bindery, Wellingborough, Northants.

All pre-publication orders should be sent in writing to Andrew Stilwell at the bookshop or by email to astilwell@lrbshop.co.uk, with cheque (one copy only) or full card details, including security code. Pre-publication orders will be accepted up until 14 March. On this date any multiple orders will be reviewed in order of receipt, and may be scaled down so that as many people as possible receive at least one copy. No payment will be processed or books dispatched before 14 March.

Books will be sent by Special Delivery in the UK (please add £4.70 per book), and by International Signed For to Europe (add £7.10 per book) and the Rest of the World (add £8.70 per book). Please note that the book is exempt from the 10% LRB reader discount days.

Quarter leather edition: £170 (£150 before 14 March)

Full leather edition: £290 (£260 before 14 March)

To order this and other limited editions from the London Review Bookshop, please visit http://www.lrbshop.co.uk/ and click on "Limited Editions".

Julian Barnes's Parents

'What they would have wanted.' The Guardian, 23 February 2008.

When Julian Barnes buried his mother, he thought it would be less upsetting than losing his father. But it was not - her death was their death. In an exclusive extract from his new book, the author reflects on memory, mortality and final goodbyes.

Order a copy of Nothing to Be Frightened of online via Random House, Amazon.co.uk or one of a number of local independent booksellers.

Albert Leonard Barnes and Kathleen Mabel Barnes

Julian Barnes in South America

Julian Barnes visited South America in January and February as part of a trip sponsored by the British Council. Articles about his visit will be posted shortly. In the meantime, try 'Julian Barnes, el inglés que hizo reír a Buenos Aires [Julian Barnes: The Englishman Who Made Buenos Aires Laugh].' Clarin.com, 8 Feb. 2008.

The plaque below was placed across from a similar plaque honoring Borges, just outside the library where Borges worked as a young man.