Share and showcase you favorite non-fossil books & encyclopedia's

[ziggycardon]

Hi everyone,

 

I thought it would be fun to create a topic for us to share and showcase or favourite books and encyclopedia's.
Because when I look at my fellow members here, I see a lot of very intelligent and learned people who besides Geology & Paleontology share many of the same interests as I do.

Interests focussed on Science, Nature, Space, History, Art, Photography, Literature and Film. I believe many of the members here are well read and that's why I thought this might be fun idea for a topic. 
We already have one dedicated to our favorite books about paleontology, so let this topic be about every other book. 

 

So if you have any encyclopedia's, atlases, rare comic books, books about photography or travelling, first prints of old books, rare collectors editions or just you favorite novel or any other book that you love or are proud about let us then show them here. And perhaps tell us why you love these books so much.

The paleontology book topic made me discover many cool books, so I am hoping this topic can do the same.  

 

I can't wait to see all the cool volumes to come!  

[ziggycardon]

I will give the example and start with showing some of my favorite books. 
I mainly love encyclopedia's and I have many about many topics like Natural History, Nature & Archaeology. You'll probably soon discovered that I have a soft spot for publications from DK, Lynx edicions, NHM & Princeton  
Besides encylopedia's I love books about my favorite movies and series, mainly books that are about the making off, concept art, props and costumes of those movies. 
And I also love the fantasy genre with The Witcher, A Song of Ice and Fire and the Lord of the Rings series as my favorites  

 

I'll probably be showing some of my favorites here over the next few days, but here are some of the first  

 

Probably my all time favorite book is this one: 
The Natural History Book by DKn which I purchased during my first visit to the Natural History Museum in London. 
I remember we spent the until noon in the museum and after the visit I bought a couple of very big books, including this one. Unfortunalty for me I had the cary this heavy bag of books through London for the rest of the day...  
But in the end I have no regrets as many of the books I bought that day are still among my favorites as of today. 

This book has it all, minerals, rocks, fossils, single celled organisms, fungi, plants and animals and that's why I love it.

 

 

Another book I really treasure is: "Animal: the definitive visual guide to the world's wildlife" by DK.
It is very similar to the book above, but this one solely focusses on animals and is a bit more detailed and extensive on that account.

 

 

Another book I am very proud on owning is "The Photo Ark: One man's quest to document the world's animals" by Joel Sartore. 
I first discovered this project in around 2014 when National Geographic Channel showed a section about Joel Sartore's quest to create a digital ark of all the animals before the go extinct. I became immediatly interested in the project and started following it and when this book came out in 2017, I immediatly ordered it  
Joel's photography is stunning to put it mildly.

[ziggycardon]

These books are probably the books I am the most proud about and they are definiatly some of my top favourites.  

The two volumes of "The Illustrated Checklist of the Mammals of the World" by Lynx edicions. 
These books are massive and a monumental achievement when it come to books about animals. 
These two volumes lists and illustrates all 6554 described living mammal species (as well as listing but not illustrating 104 extinct and 19 domestic species). 
They also feature sexual dismorphism and known subspecies as well as including distribution maps for all species. 
It really is an incredible book at how extensive and detailed it is! 

 

 

And then there is also "All the Birds of the World" by Lynx edicions.
This massive book is also another monumental achievment by Lynx edicions as it is the first book to ever feature and illustrate every single described bird species in a single volume.

The book features and illustrates all 11 524 described species and just like the book about mammals also features illustrations for sexual dismorphism and known subspecies as well as including distribution maps for all species.

Another cool feature in this book is that each species has a QR-code which when scanned directs you the species page on ebird.org where you can find addition information as well as recordings of the calls of the birds as well as numerous photo's and clips. 
And in the appendices it also features every bird species that went extinct since 1500.

[Ludwigia]

What a nice idea. It's good way to get to know our fellow members and their interests even better. I worked as a musician when I was a young man in his teens and twens before life took me in another direction, but I have never lost my interest in music and still step onstage with my guitar every once in a while. My repertoire is pretty far-flung and among other things I like to dig into the musical past for lesser-known or long-forgotten melodies. This is why I like to read books such as the ones pictured below. For those who aren't familiar, the one on the left is the autobiography of the lead man in The Band who also backed up Bob Dylan in his rockabilly heyday. This gave me a lot of background info on what was going on backstage, so to speak, with all of my idols of the time. The one on the right is written by the man who saved the American Folk Song for posterity back at the beginning of the 20th century.

 

 

[Kane]

Oh my... where to begin? My house has thousands of books spanning literature, art, philosophy, mathematics, linguistics, history, political science, bookbinding, nature, etc. A whiplash tour of about half of the library...

 

These shelves are mostly phenomenology and works on public opinion / political discourse.

 

 

Language reference texts mostly. Wherever I travel, I try to pick up the language. Etymological sources are also a big hit with me.  So a smattering of German, Italian, Romanian, and Spanish showing here.

 

Mostly German and Russian philosophy/linguistics (Heidegger, Bakhtin, et al), various books I was sent to review, satire, and even Maus. Some medieval history texts in the mix, such as Defensor Pacis and a really neat read on the Platonically inspired 12th-13 century micro-renaissance.

 

 

For some reason, the (incomplete) works of Lenin is close to a little history of Genghis Khan, and the Anatomy of Melancholy. 

 

 

Roland Barthes, Marco Polo, bookbinding, and Melville? It's chaos, but it's my chaos.  

 

 

Mini shelf in the hallway with a jumble of Andrei Codrescu, David Suzuki, Michael Moore, Guy Standing, and even the famous multiple pathways novel by Cortazar, Hopscotch. 

 

 

Continued next post...

[Kane]

Complete works of Borges, some Beckett, and the great John Barth. Up top are a few graphic novels. Below the complete works of Louis-Ferdinand Celine, including a first edition of Voyage a bout de la nuit. 

 

 

Gass, Faulkner, Gogol, Henry Miller, Lu Hsun, some rare Wyndham Lewis, Mencken, Thomas Pynchon, Umberto Eco, Will Self, Andre Gide, et al...

 

 

Some of those Franklin Mint editions of classic literature, the old Harvard Lectures series, and two of the three volumes of Marx's Das Kapital (volume one is on another shelf at the moment)...

 

 

My humble-brag shelf of books I've had published, various journal articles, reviews, MA thesis, doctoral dissertation, etc. I didn't collect everything I've had published, but this is a good chunk of 'em...

 

 

Pretty much the complete works of Gilles Deleuze (I think the Derrida collection is upstairs), a few biographies, the complete set of those Brittanica Great Books I picked up for 50 cents apiece. 

 

**[I removed this photo as it contained a book that had a very ugly symbol, although the book itself is a withering critique of that very tragic and horrible chapter in history]**

 

Hegel and Nietzsche duking it out. Those are the complete works of Nietzsche revised and issued by Cambridge UP.  Bergson and Heidegger are photobombing the shot here.

 

 

There is also a psychoanalysis section in the house, and a lot of oddities, rarities, and antiquarian texts elsewhere in the house. There's virtually no room in my house where I am not within arm's distance from a book.  There are stacks of books everywhere, including facsimiles of incunabula, even alchemist treatises, cryptography, postcolonial studies, books on 19th century freakshows/dime museums, HR textbooks, you name it.

 

In terms of oddities, Georges Perec's A Void, which is a novel without the letter 'e', Luigi Serafini's surreal Codex Seraphinianus, a book of woodcuts telling the story of Buddy Bolden's last parade (a cornetist and forerunner of ragtime and jazz), the classic and bizarre Bob Dobbs, Church of the Subgenius, and various vanity press books from the 17th and 18th century.

 

 

[Fossildude19]

[Kane]

2 minutes ago, Fossildude19 said:

 

But does it include an entry for Hulkverine? (I know, what the heck is that, and why is that a thing?).

[Fossildude19]

12 minutes ago, Kane said:

But does it include an entry for Hulkverine? (I know, what the heck is that, and why is that a thing?).

No, it doesn't, but it is only the 2019 version, so, 2018 actually.  

Although, apparently, that storyline came out in 2017, so, I have no explanation for the absence of Weapon H.

[Kane]

1 minute ago, Fossildude19 said:

No, it doesn't, but it is only the 2019 version, so, 2018 actually.  

Do you remember when they put out a Marvel Universe series back in the day of short pants? 

 

[Fossildude19]

I do. Good times.   

[snolly50]

5 hours ago, ziggycardon said:

Another book I am very proud on owning is "The Photo Ark: One man's quest to document the world's animals" by Joel Sartore. 

An excellent choice, as an illustration of a book well worth owning. If you encounter a chance to hear Sartore speak, don't miss out. Fortunately, the snollywife and I were able to spend some time with Sartore at a post-lecture soiree. He proved to be an affable, entertaining individual, quick of wit and very pleasant to encounter. I recommend this book to anyone who appreciates photography and is entranced by the natural world.

 

 

 

 

[snolly50]

Not nearly as extensive or arcane a grouping as Kane's population of print; nonetheless I did count 60 feet of filled shelves and (to my shame) multiple boxes in the closet that have not been opened in 25 years. I pulled the two pictured, as I felt they made a lasting impact on me. Quammen is a wonderful writer (with a lot to say) and Adams is hilarious (with a lot to say). Don't miss these.

 

[ziggycardon]

I am happy to see this topic kicking off!  
Some very nice books are already passing by, I like it! 

And it is indeed like @Ludwigia says, this is an excellent way to get to know each other even better.  

 

@Kane That is quite an extensive book collection, very impressive! I can only dream of one day having that many books.  

 

@Fossildude19 I am happy to see the first comics appear so early on in the topic. I can't wait to see all the rare and treasured editions appear here.

 

19 hours ago, snolly50 said:

An excellent choice, as an illustration of a book well worth owning. If you encounter a chance to hear Sartore speak, don't miss out. Fortunately, the snollywife and I were able to spend some time with Sartore at a post-lecture soiree. He proved to be an affable, entertaining individual, quick of wit and very pleasant to encounter. I recommend this book to anyone who appreciates photography and is entranced by the natural world.

 

  

That is so very cool, I would not hesitate to go should I ever get the chance to see him speak   
I really hope to one day buy a canvas of one of his photographs.

[Kane]

17 minutes ago, ziggycardon said:

I am happy to see the first comics appear so early on in the topic. I can't wait to see all the rare and treasured editions appear here.

 

 

If only it were 30 years ago when I had quite an extensive collection of comics.  One of my first jobs was at a comic book store, so I was able to feed my addiction directly! It makes me sad to recall all the great comics I used to own before I sold them all. Of course now most of my comics are digital, and they have definitely grown up with their audiences to be far more complex, and even literary works in their own right to the extent that we have courses at the university just on comic books / graphic novels. I have read some excellent series that challenge many norms and have a level of literary finesse on par with the great works of literary fiction. Comics today are much more than one-dimensional spandex heroes. I think in some ways that shift to more cerebral and deep works owes a huge debt to Alan Moore, and Frank Miller. Moore was a former slaughterhouse worker in Northampton, UK who used to write for 2000 AD, and was given a shot by DC Comics in the US to turn around a series that was slated to be canceled (Swamp Thing). He steadily broke every one of the Comics Code Authority rules (the ones put in place during the moral panic over comics leading to juvenile delinquency, championed to the US Senate by Frederic Wertham's very broken and dishonest study). Since the breaking of the CCA, comics have flourished. Imprints such as Image, Boom Studios, and others have really taken the baton to lead comics into a space that is intellectually and literarily compelling. 

 

Just a sidenote, but when Alan Moore broke the CCA, DC comics had to put a disclaimer on the covers that stated "sophisticated suspense." Later on DC launched its Vertigo imprint that brought such classics as Neil Gaiman's Sandman series. As for Swamp Thing -- the campiest of titles -- Moore transformed that into a psychological phenomenon, and the series continued (and was rebooted again and again), which is not bad for a moss-encrusted creature. 

[ziggycardon]

This is one of my most recent purchases, it's the "Princeton Field Guide to the Fishes of the Amazon, Orinoco & Guianas" by Peter van der Sleen.

It's by far the most extensive book on Amazonian fish. I wanted this book for quite some time as tropical freshwater fish has been one of my main interests as a kid. I've been very active in the aquarium hobby for many years, eventually turning it in my profession   

 

I also have a huge soft spot for NHM publications as I really enjoy those books. They are very informative, yet easy to read with lot's of nice photographs.
One of the NHM books is "Sharks" by Michael Bright 

 

 

Frogs & Toads by Chris Mattison

I do have a few books of Mattison, he probably is my favorite when it comes to Herpetology books. I still have quite a few of his books on my wish list.

 

300 Frogs by Chris Mattison

 

As you can see, many of my favorite books are taxonomically books that focus on one animal group. 
I think Taxonomy has always been one of my main interest within both animals, as well as with fossil animals  

[FossilNerd]

Cool idea! I have a varied assortment of books ranging from poetry, to reference books, to various novels, and everything in between. However, the majority of my collection is of the Fantasy Fiction genre.

 

While such classics as Tolkien’s The Lord of The Rings is represented, by far my most favorite book is Where The Wild Things Are by Maurice Sendak. It was the first book that I learned to read on my own as a child, and undoubtedly fueled my love of the Fantasy Fiction genre and reading in general. I give a new copy to any of my family and friends who welcome a new baby into the world. In the hopes that someday it will spark an interest in reading as it did me.

 

 

[FossilNerd]

Oh... and I wouldn’t be able to put the Nerd in FossilNerd without adding a comic book. Since @Kane mentioned breaking the CCA rules and Image Comics, here is Spawn #1.  

 

 

 

[FossilNerd]

Ok... One more and I’ll stop... 

 

Just to show how varied my shelves are and that it’s not all dwarves and elves, children’s and comic books.   Nothing close to Kane’s collection but...

 

 

Edgar Allan Poe’s complete works.

The satirical Candid by Voltaire.

A book I used to teach myself Powershell in my I.T. days. Which I used extensively for administrative purposes and to automate and simplify daily/weekly/monthly processes.

Lastly a reference book from Reader’s Digest on the flora and fauna of North America. It was my grandfather’s. An oldie, but a goodie. Using this book, I’ve identified many a tree, bug, and bird spotted on hikes and various other times spent surrounded by nature.

 

I’m a veritable cornucopia. 

[Pagurus]

On 12/20/2020 at 7:55 AM, FossilNerd said:

by far my most favorite book is Where The Wild Things Are by Maurice Sendak. It was the first book that I learned to read on my own as a child

 

I was happy to read this. Where The Wild Things Are has always been one of my favorites as well. Probably half the books on my shelves are children's books, so there's always something there for my grandchildren to enjoy.

 

Antiquarian science and natural history books have been an interest of mine since I was a child, and though I no longer have many I still have a few. I keep some on a shelf above some of my fossils and paintings.

 

 

 

We have quite a few field guides on our shelves, and I just noticed we still have two copies of many of them, as my wife and I each owned our own copies before our lives and our book collections merged.

 

 

Even our children's bookshelves house a few field guides. Like it or not our children couldn't avoid the interests of their parents.

 

 

 

I see an old copy of ...Wild Things.. on this shelf, along with many of my favorite books.

 

 

 

More books old and new.

 

 

 

Five partial children's books are bound together in this 1906 salesman's packet. Only one in rhyme. For every clime.

 

 

 

These are the books by my side at the moment. I had horseshoe crabs in my aquariums for many years. They were always popular with the kids I met with at the schools I visited.

A

 

 

 

 

And here are the few books of mine that were in stores at one time. Along with a little article I wrote, and an early dummy of my hermit crab book.

 

 

 

 

Most of the fiction on our shelves and anything that takes a brain bigger than mine belongs to my wife. We are quite literally tripping over books in this place.

 

Thanks for this interesting thread. I hope to see more.

 

 

[ziggycardon]

12 hours ago, Pagurus said:

 

I was happy to read this. Where The Wild Things Are has always been one of my favorites as well. Probably half the books on my shelves are children's books, so there's always something there for my grandchildren to enjoy.

 

Antiquarian science and natural history books have been an interest of mine since I was a child, and though I no longer have many I still have a few. I keep some on a shelf above some of my fossils and paintings.

 

 

 

I really love those old volumes, they do add something special to every bookself in every bookself  

[ziggycardon]

Here are some more of my favorite books, these focus a little bit more on Natural History.

 

Art Of Nature: Three Centuries of Natural History Art from Around the World - Judith Magee
Another lovely book I bought in the Natural History Museum in London, I've always loved the old classic Natural History art  

 

Museum of Life - Steve Parker
I also bought this one in the Natural History Museum in London, just had to have a book about my favorite place on earth  
There used to be a show called "Weird Creatures with Nick Baker" on Animal Planet when I was a kid which I absolutely adored. And this show always started with a visit to the Museum in London. That show really made my fall in love with that museum and when I first visited it a couple of years later it instantly became my favorite place on earth.  
I normally visit London a couple of times a year and I try to visit the museum at least once a year. 

 

Evolution: A Visual Record - Robert Clark

I really love this book for it's stunning photography which is the main focus of the book. 
This book covers a lot of ground by just using photographs, like classic natural history, paleontology, different animal groups, plants & fungi, domestication and human evolution. 
A really cool book, I recommenc this book is you like the Natural History and Photography.

 

 

Fifty Animals that Changed the Course of History - Eric Chaline

 

Darwin: The Story of the Man and His Theories of Evolution - John Van Wyhe
One of my favorite books about Darwin as this one comes with 30 removeable replica's of important documents that focus around Darwin's work and life.
I always love those kinds of books, I'll have a couple of them which I'll post here in the next few days probably  

[Bob Saunders]

   Lockwood      The Human Eye with manikins. 2nd printing 1910  #5-6 are pasted to the back cover. More pieces underneath each but I do not want to damage pieces. 
 

[ziggycardon]

On 26-12-2020 at 6:19 PM, Bob Saunders said:

   Lockwood      The Human Eye with manikins. 2nd printing 1910  #5-6 are pasted to the back cover. More pieces underneath each but I do not want to damage pieces. 
 

That is quite an original concept for a book. 
Really love it, thank you for sharing it here!

[ziggycardon]

History Book: An Interactive Journey - Marcus Cowper, National Geographic
One of my favorite books about history as it comes with 20 removable facsimile documents like the testament of Williams Shakespeare, love letters of Napoleon, letter of Marie Antoinette, blue prints of the Titanic, pages of the Gutenberg Bible, etc...
I remember that back in the day I managed to impress quite a few of my highschool & college teachers with this book  

 

What on Earth Happened? - Christopher Lloyd
Probably my favorite history book as it is very extensive and a very fun read, it covers the beginning of the universe, evolution of life on earth and human history.
This book was our history textbook in college when I was studying for teacher. And while I didn't finish college, I am pretty sure I am the only one of my class who still has this book and who actually read it, I just really loved this book  
At the end of the book are also some tables with the top 10 most important species, events, people, etc.
I really recommend getting it if you are interested in history.

 

Egypt & Nubia From Drawings Made On The Spot By David Roberts R.A. With Historical Descriptions By William Brockedon

This book is a little bit different than the others I own as it comprised entirely with classic sketches from 1838-1839 of ancient egyptian ruins. 
I love this book since it shows how these wonders of the ancient world must have looked like to the Egyptologists during the classical time of archaeology and exploration. 

 

The Illustrated Atlas of Exploration - Raymond John Howgego & Robert Clancy 

 

The Viking Experience - Marjolein Stern, Roderick Dale
I bought this book in 2015 at the local Gallo-roman museum when we had a temporary exhibition about Vikings. 
I usually buy a book at every museum I visit to support the museum and to have an extra memory of my visit  
This book also has several removable documents which I always love