Why we say "Discover Your Treasure" and other things you should know about the 2025 book fair that's coming in March

We hope you’re going to be as excited as we are about the 2025 Florida Antiquarian Book Fair. We wanted to be sure to tell you that tickets are now available at Eventbrite.com. So you can be among the first to get them.

As you probably know by now, the theme for the book fair is Discover Your Treasure. We think it’s a perfect theme for our book fair for a couple of reasons. First and foremost, if you’re a fan of the annual book fair, you already know that it is, indeed, a place to discover your book or paper treasure — in almost any genre.

 This is the 42nd year of the book fair, and over the decades book lovers have discovered some of the most wonderful treasures to add to their collections. If this is your first time, you’re going to find out what our returning patrons already know — if you love books (and other vintage paper items) this is the place for you.

Booksellers annually come from all over the country — and sometimes from overseas — with some of the most amazing items that are certain to thrill anyone who is open to literary discovery.

So there’s that.

But there’s another reason Discover Your Treasure is so appropriate for us. It’s our salute to our heritage. Many people know that hundreds of years ago, when piracy on the high seas was at its zenith, Florida was a favorite hiding place for buccaneers and their booty.

The natural coves and bays along Florida’s sparsely populated coastline were perfect for the privateers’ purposes. Sometimes, even in modern times, pieces of eight have been known to wash up on our beaches.

Of course, Tampa Bay’s NFL football team, the Tampa Bay Buccaneers, and the annual Gasparilla celebration also help keep the heritage alive.  We’ll be talking about all that later on but for now suffice it to say that you’re in for a treat if you’re a book lover (of course you are) because the Florida Antiquarian Book Fair is, indeed, the place to Discover Your Treasure.

There’s a code in the graphic at the top but if you’d rather use a simple link, here it is. Get your tickets early. We’ll have more exciting highlights leading up to the book fair.

TICKETS LINK TO EVENTBRITE.

🔴 Rare Book Cafe COFFEE BREAK No. 71: Carol Mobley and Rocky Mountain Book & Paper Fair in August

Co-hosts Ed Markiewicz and Lee Linn chat with Carol Mobley, who runs the Rocky Mountain Book & Paper Fair, which will be August 17-18 in Castle Rock, CO. 

The show features antiquarian booksellers not only from Colorado but also from all across the country. They’re offering a wide variety of used and rare books as well as ephemera at all price points. 

Ed and Lee also discuss the latest issue of Book Lovers’ Paradise Magazine, which is now available and includes an article by Carol about collecting kitchen appliance ephemera. 

The magazine is for collectors of books, maps, prints, photographs and ephemera. It is free and can be found at https://issuu.com/tallansmith/docs/bl... 

A SPECIAL REQUEST: Please SHARE this program with your book loving friends. If this is the first time you've watched Rare Book Cafe, let us know what you think in the comments. If you're a regular watcher, tell us in the comments how often and what you enjoy about the show. 

Our Rare Book Cafe COFFEE BREAK series offers short programs, usually on a single topic. Watch for more in the series. 

Co-hosts Ed Markiewicz and Lee Linn are veteran antiquarian booksellers. Ed owns Montgomery Rare Books & Manuscript and Lee owns The Ridge Books in Calhoun, Georgia. 

Rare Book Cafe COFFEE BREAK is made possible by the Florida Antiquarian Book Fair, the oldest and largest rare, used, and collectible book fair in the southeastern United States. The Florida Antiquarian Book Fair will be presented March 1-2, 2025 at The Coliseum in downtown St. Petersburg. More information at floridaantiquarianbookfair.com 

The program also is made possible by Biblio.com, a website featuring used, rare, and out-of-print books from independent booksellers. Biblio is celebrating 20 years of serving book lovers. It’s better than ever. Biblio spotlights “the core of our business model: the independent booksellers who bring their expertise, enthusiasm, and professionalism to soon the used and rare book trade.” 

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Music by Kevin MacLeod Hyperfun Kevin MacLeod (incompetech.com) 

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Rare Book Cafe is a gathering of collectors and lovers of old, rare, and collectible books. It is a virtual cafe, accessible anywhere in the world, where the subjects are priceless and the conversation is free. It is truly the book lovers' rendezvous. Join us on our Facebook group Book Lovers’ Rendezvous. 

Rare Book Cafe is based in Florida. 

Rare Book Cafe The Book Lovers' Rendezvous™ YouTube, Facebook, and Instagram. 

Also as a podcast on YouTube Music 

 #rarebooks #collectiblebooks #ephemera #ephemeraforsale #leatherboundbooks #leatherbound #antiquemapsandprints #bostonbooklovers #booksinboston #floridabookfair #floridaantiquarianbookfair #rarebookcafe #bookloversrendezvous

🔴 Rare Book Cafe COFFEE BREAK No. 70: A visit to the Mark Twain museum in Connecticut and more

 

Co-host Ed Markiewicz takes us on a visit to the site of The Mark Twain House and Museum in Hartford, Connecticut. Photography isn’t allowed in the house but Ed manages a look inside the museum, which contains manuscripts and published volumes of Twain’s books. 

Co-host Lee Linn also has visited the house, and in this episode she offers some commentary about the experience. 

Ed and Lee also mention their favorite Mark Twain books, which include A Connecticut Yankee in King Arthur’s Court (1889) and The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn (1884). 

They discuss a new, related volume, James (2024), by Percival Everett, which is on the short list to be considered for Pulitzer Prize. Everett’s book reimagines the Huckleberry Finn story from the point of view of Jim, the enslaved man who sets on the Mississippi River adventure with Huck. 

As it happened, on the evening of the day Ed visited, Mr. Everett was to be a guest of The Mark Twain House & Museum for a live streamed program. You can watch a recording of that program in the comments section. 

 A SPECIAL REQUEST: Please SHARE this program with your book loving friends. If this is the first time you've watched Rare Book Cafe, let us know what you think in the comments. If you're a regular watcher, tell us in the comments how often and what you enjoy about the show. 

Our Rare Book Cafe COFFEE BREAK series offers short programs, usually on a single topic. Watch for more in the series.

Co-hosts Ed Markiewicz and Lee Linn are veteran antiquarian booksellers. Ed owns Montgomery Rare Books & Manuscript and Lee owns The Ridge Books in Calhoun, Georgia. 

 Rare Book Cafe COFFEE BREAK is made possible by the Florida Antiquarian Book Fair, the oldest and largest rare, used, and collectible book fair in the southeastern United States. 

The Florida Antiquarian Book Fair will be presented March 1-2, 2025 at The Coliseum in downtown St. Petersburg. More information at floridaantiquarianbookfair.com 

The program also is made possible by Biblio.com, a website featuring used, rare, and out-of-print books from independent booksellers. Biblio is celebrating 20 years of serving book lovers. It’s better than ever. Biblio spotlights “the core of our business model: the independent booksellers who bring their expertise, enthusiasm, and professionalism to soon the used and rare book trade.” 

************** 

Music by Kevin MacLeod Hyperfun Kevin MacLeod (incompetech.com) 

************** 

Rare Book Cafe is a gathering of collectors and lovers of old, rare, and collectible books. It is a virtual cafe, accessible anywhere in the world, where the subjects are priceless and the conversation is free. It is truly the book lovers' rendezvous. Join us on our Facebook group Book Lovers’ Rendezvous. 

Rare Book Cafe is based in Florida. 

Rare Book Cafe 

The Book Lovers' Rendezvous™ 

YouTube, Facebook, and Instagram. Also as a podcast on YouTube Music  

#rarebooks #collectiblebooks #ephemera #ephemeraforsale #leatherboundbooks #leatherbound #antiquemapsandprints #bostonbooklovers #booksinboston #floridabookfair #floridaantiquarianbookfair #rarebookcafe #bookloversrendezvous

🔴 Rare Book Cafe COFFEE BREAK No. 69: A visit to the oldest feminist bookstore in America

 

It's Pride month, and with the help of Atlanta booksellers Libby Ware and Charlene Ball, co-hosts Ed Markiewicz and Lee Linn visit the oldest feminist bookstore in the country. It’s Charis Books and More and it’s on Candler Street in Decatur, Georgia, across from the campus of Agnes Scott College. 

 

Lee and Ed visit with co-owner Sara Luce Look, who has been a part of Charis Books for 30 years. Sara gives a tour of the fascinating store and a little of its history, including its origins in a section of Atlanta known as Little Five Points. 

 

Libby and Charlene, owners of Toadlily Books, are annual exhibitors at the Florida Antiquarian Book Fair and frequent visitors to Rare Book Cafe.

 

They also are authors. Charlene’s book, Dark Lady: a Novel of Emilia Bassano Lanyer, was published in 2017. Libby’s book, Lum, was published in 2020. 

 

The two collaborated on two murder mysteries, Murder at the Estate Sale (2020) and Murder at the Book Fair (2023), both under the pseudonym Lily Charles. 

 

A SPECIAL REQUEST: Please SHARE this program with your book loving friends. If this is the first time you've watched Rare Book Cafe, let us know what you think in the comments. If you're a regular watcher, tell us in the comments how often and what you enjoy about the show. 

 

Our Rare Book Cafe COFFEE BREAK series offers short programs, usually on a single topic. Watch for more in the series. 

 

Co-hosts Ed Markiewicz and Lee Linn are veteran antiquarian booksellers. Ed owns Montgomery Rare Books & Manuscript and Lee owns The Ridge Books in Calhoun, Georgia.

 

Rare Book Cafe COFFEE BREAK is made possible by the Florida Antiquarian Book Fair, the oldest and largest rare, used, and collectible book fair in the southeastern United States. The Florida Antiquarian Book Fair will be presented March 1-2, 2025 at The Coliseum in downtown St. Petersburg. More information at floridaantiquarianbookfair.com

 

The program also is made possible by Biblio.com, a website featuring used, rare, and out-of-print books from independent booksellers. Biblio is celebrating 20 years of serving book lovers. It’s better than ever. Biblio spotlights “the core of our business model: the independent booksellers who bring their expertise, enthusiasm, and professionalism to soon the used and rare book trade.”

 

**************

Music by Kevin MacLeod Hyperfun Kevin MacLeod (incompetech.com)

************** 

 

Rare Book Cafe is a gathering of collectors and lovers of old, rare, and collectible books. It is a virtual cafe, accessible anywhere in the world, where the subjects are priceless and the conversation is free. It is truly the book lovers' rendezvous. Join us on our Facebook group Book Lovers’ Rendezvous. Rare Book Cafe is based in Florida. 

 

Rare Book Cafe

The Book Lovers' Rendezvous™

YouTube, Facebook, and Instagram.

Also as a podcast on YouTube Music

 

#rarebooks #collectiblebooks #ephemera #ephemeraforsale #leatherboundbooks #leatherbound #antiquemapsandprints #bostonbooklovers #booksinboston #floridabookfair #floridaantiquarianbookfair #rarebookcafe #bookloversrendezvous