I’m not a big fan of coffee table books, but this gorgeous volume celebrating Godine Press will grace my coffee table for years! A couple dozen Godine Press books sit on my shelves. I found Godine books wonderfully produced with unique cover artwork and quality materials.
The first Godine book I bought was in 1982. It was a quirky mystery by K. C. Constantine: The Man Who Liked Slow Tomatoes. I went on to purchase the next eight Mario Balzic mysteries Godine published. Balzic, chief of police in Rocksburg, Pennsylvania, investigates crimes in a small coal mining town in Western Pennsylvania. Why K. C. Constantine isn’t in the conversation with Michael Connelly and Laura Lippman and other top writers baffles me.
Edmund Wilson, George Orwell, Donald Hall, Iris Origo, Paul Horgan, William Gass, Will Cuppy, Ludwig Bemelmans, William Maxwell, Wright Morris, and Paula Fox are just some of the writers you’ll find between well designed and beautifully printed Godine covers. Are you a fan of Godine Books? Do you have a favorite? GRADE: A
TABLE OF CONTENTS:
Introduction & Brief History of the Press — vii
1. Early Letterpress & Fine Printing — 1
2. Wood Cut & Wood Engraving — 10
3. Fiction — 17
4. Short Stories — 29
5. Literature in Translation — 36
6. Poetry — 43
7. Essay and Criticism — 58
8. Words, Language and Usage — 69
9. Biography & Autobiography — 73
10. History — 90
11. Photography — 105
12. Art — 124
13. Architecture — 135
14. Children’s Books — 147
15. Nautical & Maritime — 173
16. Music — 185
17. Gardening — 197
18. Cooking and Cuisine — 207
19. Typography — 213
20. Calligraphy — 231
21. Natural History — 239
22. Humor — 249
23. The Sporting Life — 253
24. Outliers & Other Works of Unclassifiable but Undeniable Genius — 257
Posters — 262
Ephemera — 264
Bindings — 265
Typographers, Calligraphers, & Designers — 266
Index — 267
I like looking at coffee table books but they would mostly just collect dust. Plus they are pricey. I too read and enjoyed the K. C. Constantine mysteries.
Steve, I’m considering re-reading the K.C. Constantine mysteries. Now, I just have to find them…
Fun fact: Paula Fox was Courtney Love’s grandmother.
As for the book, it looks lovely, but I’m sure it’s pricey. Plus, I don’t have a coffee table, alas!
Deb, I’m sure your local Library will buy GODINE AT FIFTY. It’s a browser’s delight!
THE MAN WHO LIKED SLOW TOMATOES started my love for Mario Balzac. Strictly my opinion, but Constantine wrote the best dialogue, bar none.
Jerry, I love those Mario Blazac mysteries, too! You’re right about the great dialogues in those books, too! I’m really going to have to find my copies…after I find that damn LEM box!
When buying books I really don’t pay any attention to what publisher issued it, so I might have bought some of their books. I have heard of them. Heard of Constantine too, but never read him. Sounds interesting, though. Nothing against coffee table books, but I’ve never bought one.
Michael, you would enjoy looking at all the great cover artwork and descriptions of Godine’s books. GODINE AT FIFTY is a beautiful book. My Library system bought a couple of copies.
I agree that I don’t buy a book based on the publisher, but I do like the look and quality of the Godine books. I have read most of the Mario Balzic books (the series sort of petered out towards the end) and I’m sure I’ve read other Godine books (including Paula Fox), but I guess I’d have to see a list of titles and authors to come up with a favorites list. Yes, Deb, and Paula Fox (now 93) had quite a checkered life herself. Her mother rejected her and left her in a foundling home. Her grandmother “gave” her to a Minister to raise. At 21, she was living with acting coach Stella Adler when she became pregnant. (There were rumors that fellow acting student Marlon Brando was the father.) She gave up her daughter – the mother of Courtney Love, as Deb said – for adoption. (All this courtesy of Wikipedia.)
Jeff, Godine worked with a number of unusual writers and the stories–as well as the artwork in GODINE AT FIFTY–are fascinating.
According to Wikipedia, Fox died in 2017.
Right, Deb. I just glanced at the age – 93 – but didn’t check that was when she died.
I saw the 1971 movie (with Shirley MacLaine) based on her novel DESPERATE CHARACTERS (set in Downtown Brooklyn just when “gentrifying” was starting), but never read the book until a few years ago, perhaps after her death.
DESPERATE CHARACTERS is an excellent novel, although I think it’s the only Fox novel I’ve read. My paperback copy has an introduction by Jonathan Franzen, who was a great admirer of it. I do have a couple of her other books awaiting their turn at the top of the Stack.
Michael, I’ll have to check my shelves to see if I have any Paula Fox books on my shelves. But then, there’s the boxes, too…
Off my radar! I’m sure it’s a handsome book but I have a tall stack of coffee table books that aren’t on the coffee table!
Bob, I have a couple coffee tables and you can guess what’s on top of them!