Dumpling in a Hanky

The modern version of the traditional physical book is now an eReader, whether that's a Kindle, Nook, iPad, Kobo, or any other random bit of kit you might be using. Perhaps these eReaders are perhaps just a bit too jarringly modern looking for you? Too shiny, too plasticky, to grey/black/white? Wouldn't it be nice if it looked like a proper, classic old book? shop How about with a cute puppy book? shop Maybe something a bit simpler? shop Fancy something a bit more...retro? shop Or do you prefer the look of comic book art? shop So many choices - what one shall it be?

Since I like a good browse on Etsy, and I come across some interesting stuff there, I thought it was time for another librariany gift selection. For this series of posts, I am focussing entirely on the book itself. That means items made out of books, accessories for modern books (the Kindle, iPad, Nook etc), clothes and jewellery that involve books, decorative book-related items, book quotes, and "other", which is a whole world of random... So, lets start with the physical book , shall we? Book sculptures/folding is very popular on Etsy, so you can find plenty of "Christmas tree" shaped foldings, and even some shaped ones, like barrels, or pinch-waisted shapes. Even a pretty, sewn clamshell: shop The most impressive book sculptures I've seen though are these - very complex looking, and done to order: shop If you want to go all out for an insanely good book sculpture, you could invest in this sort of thing: shop Or if you want a sligh...

Master of none!  I’m haunted, you know. Haunted, by RSS feeds, from sites that I monitor, taunting me with their unread status. And for the bulk of them, the magical “mark all as read” button doesn't work, as I need to go through them all and check if there’s anything relevant for work….and work covers a LOT of topics! Some of the legal topics I need to be aware of for work reasons (for Scottish, English, Welsh, Irish and European jurisdictions, where appropriate): banking, finance, environment and pollution, construction, tax, corporate rescue and insolvency, planning, commercial litigation, employment, planning, and intellectual property. And all their many, many sub-areas! Library topics I need to be aware of for professional reasons: UK law libraries, Scottish law libraries, international law libraries, UK public libraries, UK academic libraries, Scottish public libraries, Scottish academic libraries. Add all these areas together, an...

It’s all change at the moment in Englandshire law firms, and what happens in England no longer stays in England . Alternative Business Structures (ABS) are all the rage, and after a gradual run up period where firms could register interest in the conversion to ABS status (with mainly personal injury firms (PI) and smaller firms doing so, some large businesses such as BT and the Co-operative group being an exception), now they’re actually real – the first three groups to be approved as ABS’ were announced on the 28th March 2012 . Mid tier and larger firms in England seems to be adopting a “wait and see approach”, watching how the smaller, more adaptable firms (and also therefore possibly those who are more hungry for a cash-injection) fare before committing themselves to any tie-ups with investors. The existing large bodies like the Co-operative Group are big enough, and well funded enough to push on and expand their existing legal services in their own direction. The react...