Book Benches

I've been seeing pictures of book benches all over the web and the idea intrigued me. What's more perfect than a book bench for a quiet couple of hours of reading in the park, right? That's what I thought too. Here are some fun examples I particularly enjoyed. Do you know of any others?

This one's very popular in Paris, France

"Book Bench" by Geri Connelly at the Phalen Poetry Park in St. Paul, Minnesota.

"Non-Fiction Book Bench" at the Cerritos Civic Center in Cerritos, California

The city of Istanbul is promoting reading with book benches. Benches that look like an open book have been placed around the city and on each bench which carry poems from 18 famous Turkish poets.

Special Feature - Bookish Things. Inspiration: Hunger Games

Hunger Games opened less than a week ago and although I haven't read the books yet (shame on me) I'm pretty excited about the movie and will most likely go see it in theater. And since I have a soft spot for fandoms, today I wanted to bring to your attention that you don't have to run to Hot Topic and clear out their supply of Hunger Games merchandise to show off your devotion to the books, movie or characters. Or all of the above.

You have the option of purchasing something from one of the artists on Etsy. Not only will the item be unique but you also have the option of being mainstream or subtle in your choice. For example I love this necklace pendant from Sevinoma.
Just go to Etsy.com and do a search for Hunger Games. It's amazing how many results come up and how creative and beautiful a lot of items are. Happy shopping and may the odds be ever in your favor. (Couldn't resist ;) )

Special Feature - Things: Book Art

Have you guys heard of Pinterest? If not I would recommend that you stop by and check it out. Then again, it's pretty addictive so enter at your own risk. In any case, that site has proven to be a veritable cornucopia of all sorts of fun information, including ideas for Special Feature posts such as this one and when I saw this image on one of the boards I follow there I knew immediately that I had to share it with you. I'm usually not a supporter of using books for anything other than reading material but projects such as this catch my eye with their artistic vision and skillful execution.
Please visit Rochelle Donald's stream on Flickr for the rest of her Where Books Come To Life set. The Harry Potter one is pretty amazing!

Special Feature: GoneReading

GoneReading is a website of a company that markets an exclusive line of gifts for readers and has pledged 100% of its profits in perpetuity to fund reading libraries and other literacy projects in the developing world. It's a wonderful cause, they have some really cool designs and you have your pick of all kinds of products: shirts, mugs, bottles, aprons and totes as well as baby and pet products. My favorite design is the one of a lady reading in a hammock hung between two palm trees and this travel mug is totally going on my wish list!

Royal Mail's Magical Mystery Tour

Aren't these cool? These stamps are part of a special set featuring some of the world's most famous wizards, witches and enchanters released by the British Royal Mail in March of this year. I only stumbled upon them on the Guardian website today and immediately wanted to share the find with you. Visit the gallery page here for high resolution images of the complete set.