RARE BOOK CAFE: Bookseller John Howell rejoins us

WATCH LIVE: On Thursday, we had a brief edition of Rare Book Cafe with Los Angeles bookseller John Howell but time was limited and we didn't get to discuss all we wanted to cover. Fortunately, John will join us again on Saturday. John will have time to go into more detail about his collection of work produced by the legendary Los Angeles printer Richard Hoffman during his six decades as a professional printer.

You can watch Rare Book Cafe on the Florida Antiquarian Book Fair blog or you can log into Blab .im using your Twitter account. Search for Rare Book Cafe and join the conversation.

Rare Book Cafe is sponsored by the Florida Antiquarian Book Fair, celebrating 34 years in March 2016. Watch for interesting information about the book fair on upcoming episodes of Rare Book Cafe. Subscribe to the broadcast so you won't miss anything. 

Our many friends are the stars of our 30-second TV spot! Thank you so much for volunteering to be in our video

During the 2014 Florida Antiquarian Book Fair, we asked several of our more vivacious booksellers to participate in a video we planned to show leading up to the 2015 show. The result was a lively 30-second spot that succinctly let viewers know what they could expect at the book fair. It was shown on Bright House Networks and on WUSF Channel 16. The format was something of a departure from previous TV spots for the book fair, and we were pleased that it seemed to be well received.

So, last year, building on that success, we decided to keep the same format but change the cast. We asked our patrons, our friends, our fair goers if they'd like to participate. The response was phenomenal. People loved the idea and many were most willing to volunteer to take part. The video at the top of this page is the result. It is our official 30-second TV spot, and, as with others in previous years, it will be shown on Bright House Networks and WUSF Channel 16.

However, the successful response led to a dilemma. We had more willing performers than we had time in our spot. Soooo, as soon as we can, we're going edit another 30-second spot and include some of the people who were omitted from this one. We hope you'll be as delighted as we were with the many talented friends of the book fair who joined us. Watch for it coming up soon.

Meanwhile, we need help with a new dilemma. What do we do for an encore? We're taking suggestions about what we should do for the 2017 book fair spot. We're pretty sure we'd like to include people who attend this year's fair. We're just not too sure about what we want to do. We're open to suggestions. If you have a brilliant idea, shoot us an email at floridabookfair2@gmail.com. We guarantee we'll read them all and give them consideration.

Here are the guidelines: It has to be something that can be done quickly and easily during the book fair this year. The resulting video has to be easily edited into 30 seconds. And, of course, it has to reflect what the book fair is all about. We're looking forward to your ideas.

RARE BOOK CAFE (AFTER HOURS): We're staying up late for a special show with Los Angeles bookseller John Howell

 EDITOR'S NOTE: To view our first program with LA bookseller John Howell, please visit  this page and play the embedded video you will find there. John Howell's interview will be found about half way through the program. The embed above does not work. You also can view John's return to Rare Book Cafe.

WATCH LIVE: LA bookseller John Howell is getting ready for the California International Antiquarian Book Fair, which is set for February 12-14 in Pasadena. The other day he showed us some interesting pieces he'd recently acquired that were produced by a revered Los Angeles printer Richard Hoffman, who was known for his elaborate ornaments used in more than 100 books, numerous ephemera, and other pieces produced during his 60 years as a printer.

John will be a guest on a special After Hours edition of Rare Book Cafe  at 10 p.m. on Thursday. He'll have some of the Hoffman pieces as well as other items, and he'll be talking about the California Book Fair.

You can watch Rare Book Cafe right here on the Florida Antiquarian Book Fair blog or you can log into Blab.im  using you Twitter account. Search for Rare Book Cafe and join the conversation. John Howell's appearance on Rare Book Cafe follow a 9:30 p.m. visit with author Larry Baker (see earlier article).

Rare Book Cafe is sponsored by the Florida Antiquarian Book Fair, celebrating 34 years in March 2016. Watch for interesting information about the book fair on upcoming episodes of Rare Book Cafe. Subscribe to the broadcast so you won't miss anything. 

RARE BOOK CAFE: Author Larry Baker, whose book The Flamingo Rising was on the ALA banned book list

WATCH LIVE: We're delighted to have author Larry Baker as the guest Thursday at 9:30 p.m. on Rare Book Cafe. His most well-known book is The Flamingo Rising, which was adapted for television and featured on the Hallmark Hall of Fame. It was also included on the American Library Association's Banned Book List.

The Flamingo Rising is set in St. Augustine (where Larry lived for several years) and deals with feuding families who run a drive-in movie theater and a next-door funeral home. It draws on his experience running drive-ins in Oklahoma and Texas. And we have it on good authority that the scene where the dead woman was found on the toilet really happened. And Larry had to carry her to her car.

Larry draws from his life in most his books. He was elected twice to the Iowa City City Council and wrote a novel, Athens/America (2005), based on the experience. Right after the book came out, Larry ran for a third term but finished fifth. Apparently too many people recognized themselves in the book.

His most recent book, The Education of Nancy Adams (2014), is set in the St. Augustine and is about a young widow who returns to her old high school to teach. He lives in Iowa City and teaches history at a community college in Cedar Rapids. He's very old school when it comes to electronics. He has banned laptops and computers from his classroom because research shows handwritten notes are retained better.

You can watch Larry Baker LIVE right here on the Florida Antiquarian Book Fair blog or you can tune in to Blab.im and participate in the conversation. It's easy to get on Blab.im. Here's how: Open your Twitter account then open a new window on our browser and navigate to Blab.im. Log in using your Twitter account. Choose the subjects that interest you so Blab can make recommendations. (You can ignore the recommendations.) In the SEARCH field, type Rare Book Cafe. Scroll down a little way and you should see the icon for the program. Subscribe to it and you will receive a notice when it goes on the air.

You can watch the replays for any Rare Book Cafe on Blab and you can see selected ones right here on the book fair blog. Rare Book Cafe is sponsored by the Florida Antiquarian Book Fair.

RARE BOOK CAFE: Michael Lister, author of Innocent Blood, discusses his love for antiquarian books, G.K. Chesterton

WATCH LIVE: Florida mystery writer Michael Lister, winner of two Florida Book Awards and author of the prison chaplain John Jordan "blood" series and the hard-boiled, 1940s noir Jimmy "Soldier" Riley series, joins us at 8 p.m. on Thursday on Rare Book Cafe. Michael has an extensive collection of antiquarian books, including a 1911 copy of G.K Chesterton's The Innocence of Father Brown, the first clergyman who went about solving murder mysteries. Michael will discuss Chesterton's influence on his own work.

Rare Book Cafe is the world's first live streaming Blab TV program devoted to antiquarian books. You can watch it on Blab.im by signing in with your Twitter account, then searching for Rare Book Cafe. You can ask questions and participate in the ongoing conversation during the program. This episode of Rare Book Cafe will be broadcast live at 8 p.m. ET on Thursday,  January 21. You also can watch the program on this page where it is embedded above. Afterward, the program will be available to watch on replay right here.

Rare Book Cafe is sponsored by the Florida Antiquarian Book Fair, celebrating 35 year in March 2016. Watch for interesting information about the book fair on upcoming episodes of Rare Book Cafe. Subscribe to the broadcast so you won't miss anything. 

RARE BOOK CAFE: Cartoonist Rob Smith Jr. shares stories of Florida history and his extensive Florida book collection

WATCH LIVE: Cartoonist and caricaturist Rob Smith Jr., creator of the Swampy's Florida cartoon series, will be special guest on Rare Book Cafe. A native Floridian, Rob has an abiding interest in Florida history. His lively history lectures/cartoon sessions have delighted audiences for decades. Rob is a regular feature at the Florida Antiquarian Book Fair, drawing caricatures of fair-goers free of charge. Rob Smith Jr. also is an avid book collector and will share some stories about his collection during Rare Book Cafe. You can watch Rob live right here on the Florida Antiquarian Book Fair blog or you can tune in on Blab.im (search for Rare Book Cafe). The program will be available on replay here as well.

RARE BOOK CAFE: Sarah Smith, manager of the Florida Antiquarian Book Fair, on 35 years of the Florida book fair

WATCH LIVE: Sarah Smith, manager of the Florida Antiquarian Book Fair, will be the guest on Rare Book Cafe Saturday at 2:30 p.m. The program will be broadcast live and you can watch it right here. This is the 35 year for the antiquarian book fair. It was started before Sarah was born but she has been a part of the book fair from the time she was a toddler. Sarah will share some of her memories of the book fair over the years. It's a program you won't want to miss but if you do, it'll be available to view right here on replay.

RARE BOOK CAFE: Your antiquarian collection in 2016

WATCH LIVE: Tonight on Rare Book Cafe join the conversation about your rare book collection in 2016. You can watch right here or you can join us on Blab.im. This program will be recorded and will be available to watch on replay right here as well.

RARE BOOK CAFE: Sarah Smith, manager of the Florida Antiquarian Book Fair, on 35 years of the Florida book fair

NOTICE: Sarah Smith's appearance on Rare Book Cafe has been rescheduled to Saturday, January 9 at 2:30 p.m.

WATCH LIVE: Sarah Smith, manager of the Florida Antiquarian Book Fair, will be the guest on Rare Book Cafe Saturday at  2:30 p.m. The program will be broadcast live and you can watch it right here. This is the 35 year for the antiquarian book fair. It was started before Sarah was born but she has been a part of the book fair from the time she was a toddler. Sarah will share some of her memories of the book fair over the years. It's a program you won't want to miss but if you do, it'll be available to view right here on replay.

TONIGHT ON RARE BOOK CAFE: Your antiquarian book collection in 2016.