December 2011
1 post
6 tags
Banneth the book?
Who would ever ban a book? Apart from the guy who played Hitler in the final and best Indiana Jones movie, The Last Crusade? Heaps of people, that’s who – and Australia has a particularly sticky record of it. Elmo Keep and I talked about some of the notable bannings Australia and overseas (Jackie Collins’ 1969’s The Stud, anyone?) and the future of banned books in the world of internet...
August 2011
1 post
5 tags
Even Books on FBi
So, Sunday past we hit the macaroni for our first ever segment on FBi’s Canvas, entitled, rather imaginatively, ‘Even Books on FBi.’ Our host was Jesse Cox and he was super (he was also wearing a great sweater, which those in radio land sadly missed out on). We talked about books and then Jesse interviewed Marieke Hardy for us. Here are some funny things we said:
About our ‘sting’,...
July 2011
1 post
7 tags
we're back, and ... we have LATE NIGHT LIBRARY to...
Oh hi! Hello! It’s been a while. We’ve been holed up in a cave eating Reader’s Digest. No, not really. As if we’d get that desperate!
But anyway whatever we have been doing has been worth the wait, cos check out our next event … you just might wet your pants.
Tinah Feyman’s BEDPANTS
Tina Fey’s that lady everybody’s obsessed with right now....
November 2010
1 post
We make a mixtape for Two Thousand. We also... →
October 2010
2 posts
24 tags
Double Glazed: An exhibition of WORDS+ART
Despite what the name might suggest, this is not an exhibition about donuts.
What it is, is a typically Even Books experiment in theming, collaboration and merging of disciplines that includes works from many of Sydney’s most exciting visual artists and writers.
Yes, you read that correctly – we’ve got writers involved and we’re blowing their work up big and bold and hanging it on the...
Every body has a weakness
The other day I had to catch two planes in one day. That’s two more than I’ve caught all year, and I was pretty excited. Not so much about the flying bit - for me that’s mildly scary and occasionally vomit-inducing - but about the ‘excuse to read dodgy books’ bit. I love those airport news agencies that only stock the base-est of base literature. All those crime...
August 2010
4 posts
6 tags
We "regulate" bedtime "busters"
Last Friday night we took part in a curated evening of bedtime stories at Bill+George studios (where our suitcase of books and kitsch panorama pictures live). It was a fundraiser for The Great Wall of Books Project. What’s next, a Pyramid of Giza of Books, or Leaning Tower of Books? Still, we were all for the cause. So we picked a totally inappropriate story and read it without any funny...
3 tags
What a Russh...
Hey look! The Readers’ Festival was mentioned in Russh magazine, in an article about the resurgence of reading. Reading being cool. Reading and pha shun! Whoo!
3 tags
Books = wordplay
You don’t always have to read a book, either. You can just gaze at it. Local publishers and distributors Rainoff (Robert Milne and Sinisa Mackovic) know all about it. In the second installation in the lead up to the Sydney Design talk Why we love making books: ideas about unfettered self-expression (tomorrow night at Berta) we speak to Robert Milne about pages with pretty pictures.
...
July 2010
3 posts
3 tags
Books = Sex, basically, sex
So, it’s pretty obvious we love reading books at the Even Books HQ. But we are not ignorant; we know books are not born in cabbage patches. So we were very excited to hear about this talk as part of Sydney Design 2010. It’s called Why we love making books: ideas about unfettered self-expression and will feature the lovely Rainoff boys, Suzanne of Boccalatte Press, Kernow Craig of the Rizzeria...
5 tags
Stalking J.M. Coetzee
I am a big fan of J.M. Coetzee, even though he has the humour of a shovel. I wrote about him here, back when we actually posted pieces to our Throw Shapes column. Oh, when we were young and productive!
Even though I mentioned his Booker Prize-winning novel Disgrace, I hadn’t actually read it. I finally bought it the other day. “It’s time,” I thought, “To get seriously depressed.” Both...
June 2010
4 posts
3 tags
Make your own Robot Love story
Also for the I, Robot party, we got our favourite local illustrators and zinemakers Beef Knuckles to draw up a Robot Love comic. It was up to you to fill in the blanks. Print out and have a go!
7 tags
I, Robot playlist
Our friends at Popfrenzy made us an awesome robot-themed playlist for the I, Robot party at Creative Sydney on Wednesday night.
You can download it here. But get in quick before it self-terminates.
11 tags
Creative Sydney Sessions: I, Robot. You, Jane
Who doesn’t want a robot puppy? Or a robot chess partner? Or even a robot lover?
Well, those dreams would be dust without Isaac Asimov’s seminal 1950s collection of short stories, I, Robot. In it, he coined the now infamous Three Laws of Robotics (basically, robots can’t ever hurt us, even if we’re heaps mean, ha-ha!) and a sweet style of now rather kitsch techno-science...
We've been Blackmailed... →
May 2010
8 posts
Creative Sydney: Via McSweeney's: The Rumpus, a... →
A clever idea for building a community of readers and writers, The Rumpus Book Club. Here’s how it works:
Pay $25 a month [$35US for intl readers] and every month you get a book in the mail that hasn’t been released yet. You’re invited to a moderated online discussion with the author at the end…
10 tags
want to READ THIS ZINE?
Can you resist these pleading puppy eyes? “Reeeeead meeeeeeeee!”
No, you can’t resist. Of course not. You are not cold and heartless. You can read.
The zine was created to tie-in with the First Ever Sydney Readers’ Festival, which ran from May 21-23. Smashing success it was too! Inside: — reader profiles. what do people read? why? what most commonly gets dropped...
kluster review of READ THIS SCREEN
Night two of the Even Books’ Le First Ever Readers’ Festival was a books-on-film based affair, hosted in the welcoming space that is CuriousWorks.
As our fellow city-mates would be aware, Saturday night in Sydney was a miserable affair. Incessant rain and mid-winter temperatures combined resulted in the creation of a rather unwelcoming conurbation.
Not to be swayed by some blowing...
6 tags
a book-themed playlist
You may have been too busy dancing, or smashing pinatas, to notice last Friday night at the Brautigan party - but DJ Jack Shit was busily spinning songs with a bookish-bent. Here’s the playlist you can revisit at your own leisure, courtesy of Ginny and Jude.
Librarian — My Morning Jacket
Read it in Books — Kelley Stoltz
Picture Book — The Kinks
Book of Love —...
Readathon CANCELLED
Yup, that’s right. The weather is against us. Perhaps we should have prepared a contingency plan, but what is this, the army?
Watch this space for updates on future plans, because we were really sad to have had to cancel today and still have an urge to read all up in everyone’s faces.
x
5 tags
ROVING READATHON ROUTE (fingers crossed, no rain!)
Sunday May 23
2pm: Meet at the big red letters in Redfern Park. 3pm: Shortlist Cafe, 258 Abercrombie St. 3.30pm: Glengarry Castle Pub, cnr Abercrombie & Lawson St. 4.15: Carriageworks, 245 Wilson St. 5pm: National Centre Indigenous Excellence, 180 George St. 5.15: Bill + George, 1/10-16 William St.
You can guess where we might: exxxtreme read (bike? skateboard? segway? what will you...
11 tags
ANNOUNCING le first ever SYDNEY READERS' FESTIVAL
Writers write, readers read. But do we ever get festivals dedicated to us? No! We do half the work, don’t we? And by work, we mean lounge about in bed with a cup of hot chocolate. Le First Ever* Sydney Readers’ Festival will put you centre stage instead of Stephen King or the guy who wrote the Bible, in a series of events dedicated to the art of reading. *not necessarily a historical fact, what...
February 2010
1 post
3 tags
get yer goods!
today our online shop opened its doors. hurrah, champagne pops, ribbon snips, and so on! go have a look, we have THREE ITEMS. well, multiple of all three, but you get how exclusive it is.
+ + even books + +
January 2010
1 post
vibewire writing contest →
“Write 500 words or less about what is precious to you or your neighbour or your alter-ego and you could win a double pass and soundtrack to the film Precious …”
which is that movie with an overweight preggers teenager starring Mariah Carey amongst other strangebodies.
writing comp! so old school. jump on it!
++even books++
November 2009
2 posts
EVEN BOOKS 4 PREZ! →
Go to “Best Collective”. Tick “Even Books”. Feel “smart”.
September 2009
1 post
new GROUP issue out →
eyes leaning towards THE ROAD, piece on MAD MEN, and my favourite freaky flora fiction, THE DAY OF THE TRIFFIDS by John Wyndham.
August 2009
3 posts
come to our next pARTy! →
Latest column up now at throw shapes! →
July 2009
5 posts
Look at us, not making jokes for once! →
we start a friendly word war over at throw shapes... →
for those curious about cabinet magazine →
what’s in your cabinet? in the even books one there’s some washed up parliamentary members from Argentinia, scraps of paper with the names of those we hate, half-written stories, stubby pencils, photos of us wearing nappies and picking our noses, pigeon feathers and embarrassing diaries from year 6. plus some potato gems for a rainy day. sounds pretty dandy to us, but in case that...
June 2009
6 posts
words etcetera: new series of literary events held... →
literary old dawgs attempt something on da... →
i’m not sure if creating a blog is, “an exciting new concept in online publishing” but nonetheless we’re sure the content will be interesting coming from john birmingham, mark mordue, billy marshall stoneking and more …
tune into 2ser for book words from book nerds →
scroll down the podcast list till you reach “final draft”. not to be confused with the 1991 film “Backdraft”, starring our girl Goldie’s main squeeze.
bind your own books with Vibewire! →
the MCA is mack not wack wid words
AVOIDING MYTH & MESSAGE TALKS & PERFORMANCES
This series will include talks, a panel discussion and readings by seminal writers whose work appears in the exhibition avoiding myth & message which explores the intersection between Australia’s artistic and literary world.
C’EST FREE! C’EST AT THE MCA!
poetry meets art meets poetry
Sunday 14 June, 2.30pm - 3.30pm
today’s young...
May 2009
1 post
Come Together →
Angela is going to be reppin’ for Even Books at this li’l panel discussion as part of Creative Sydney. Come say hello!
+ Alice
April 2009
6 posts
Hey look! Other people like to play with books... →
Looks to be a pretty interesting trip to Wonderland.
++ even books ++
WE REVIEW STUFF →
This is Alice’s latest offering as Read Editor of Two Thousand. As Read Editor she gets to whack people over the head with large dusty tomes, look down her nose (sexily of course) at those who can’t spell, and generally read lots. I imagine.
I think this latest one is hil-hair-ious.
Click on her name to read her other boombastic book reviews.
+ angela
sydney writer's festival program up! →
It’s all a bit ho-hum we think, apart from the intriguing workshop Lupine where all things wolvey are explored. Thurs May 21 3-4pm. Awwoooooooo!