In London, it’s easy to find a bookstore that floats your boat. (Really. One is on a barge.) | Lifestyle - The Washington Post

For literary masterpieces, first editions, medieval maps, comics and more, you just have to know where to look, according to Michael Hingston, author and publisher based in Edmonton, Alberta, Canada.

Regent's Canal in Kings Cross is an unusual site for a bookstore. 
Photo: Harry Mitchell for The Washington Post

The first time I went to London, I asked a friend who lived there for bookstore recommendations. “Well,” he said with a pause, “that depends. What kind?” I was too embarrassed to admit I didn’t realize I had to specify. But given that I was in the center of the English-speaking literary world, it was an entirely reasonable question.  

That sense of overload returned immediately on a recent trip back to the city, but this time I was better prepared for the depth and breadth of London’s literary marketplace. Looking for a first edition of “Brideshead Revisited”? No problem. How about a medieval map? You can find that, too. Want to pick up a stack of recent paperbacks — from inside a boat? Step right this way (and mind your head).

No matter your interests, or your budget, London has a bookshop for you...

Word on the Water

It might sound like a gimmick — and the ambiance of Regent’s Canal certainly doesn’t hurt — but this floating, century-old Dutch barge is a legitimate secondhand bookshop. Its stock ranges from classics to photography to contemporary fiction, and the farther inside you venture, the snugger it gets; when you reach the children’s section on the lowest level, you’ll find the L-shaped couch that attracts patrons and the bookshop dog alike. In warmer weather, the shop hosts live music on its rooftop stage. When it gets chilly, there’s a wood-burning stove to help keep you warm as you browse.
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Source: The Washington Post

Why Vinyl, Books and Magazines Will Never Go Away | Business - Bloomberg

Supposedly outdated content formats like LPs and print allow consumers — and marketers — to go beyond the masses by Leonid Bershidsky, Bloomberg Opinion's Europe columnist.

Groovy.
Photo: Evening Standard/Hulton Archive via Getty Images

Vinyl records, paper books, glossy magazines – all should be long dead, but they’re refusing to go away and even showing some surprising growth. It’s probably safe to assume that people will always consume content in some kind of physical shell – not just because we instinctively attach more value to physical goods than to digital ones, but because there’ll always be demand for independence from the huge corporations that push digital content on us.

According to the Recording Industry Association of America, vinyl album sales grew 12.9% in dollar terms to $224 million and 6% in unit terms to 8.6 million in the first half of 2019, compared with the first six months of 2018. Compact disc sales held steady, and if the current dynamic holds, old-fashioned records will overtake CDs soon, offsetting the decline in other physical music sales. Streaming revenue grew faster for obvious reasons: It’s cheaper and more convenient. But people are clearly not about to give up a technology that hasn’t changed much since the 1960s...

A similar logic applies to books. According to the American Booksellers’ Association, independent bookstores’ sales went up about 5% in 2018. These stores are where people hang out, discuss their discoveries, receive recommendations and advice. They are also where the products of small publishing houses can get more attention than they do in major bookstores or on Amazon.
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Source: Bloomberg 

5 Books About Going to a New School | Read - Book Riot

I still like to return to books about going to school right before the end of the summer, says Julia Rittenberg, professional nerd who can be spotted in the wild lounging with books in the park in Brooklyn, NY. 

Photo: Book Riot

Although I am working a regular, over-the-summer, 9-to-5 these days, I still like to return to books about going to school right before the end of the summer. The beginning of fall always feels like a time of renewal, which makes sense because it is the season of the harvest. The YA books about new schools are always going to hit hard because it can be such a turbulent time.

There is nothing quite like the intensity of adolescence, and it gets even more when one has to attend a new school. From high school to college, change is inevitable, as is the feeling of a lack of control.
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Source: Book Riot

The Best Fall Books of 2019 Will Get You Through the Months Ahead | Books - Esquire

Adrienne Westenfeld, Assistant Editor suggest, From urgent nonfiction about sexual abuse and toxic masculinity to spellbinding novels about monsters, families, and climate war.

Something about fall demands a new stack of books. Maybe it’s that infectious back-to-school energy. We rounded up some of the season’s best reads, from urgent nonfiction about sexual abuse and toxic masculinity to spellbinding novels about monsters, families, and climate war.
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Source: Esquire

16 Great Books for Anyone Who Wants to Get Ahead in Life | Grow - Inc.

It's a must-read list sourced from high-achieving founders and executives, recommends Christina DesMarais, Inc.com contributor.

Photo: Getty Images

There's a correlation between reading and achievement which begins when you're a little kid. In fact, researchers consistently find that children who read well do better in school. It's also an activity which lights up your brain and enhances your vocabulary, cognition and ability to pay attention. If that sounds right to you, and if pushing yourself to the next level is something you're always after, check out this list of great books which is sourced by 16 successful founders and executives. 
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Source: Inc.

The power woman of classical music: Clara Schumann | Music - DW (English)

Two centuries after her birth, the composer, critic, impresario, pianist, celebrity, mother and Robert Schumann's wife — and not necessarily in that order — is recognized as a 19th century power woman, continues DW (English).
 

This lithography served as the model for Clara's image on the 100 mark bill
Photo: stock&people

In the Clara Schumann anniversary year, there are special concerts everywhere in Germany and exhibitions in Zwickau, Frankfurt, Bonn and Leipzig. In the latter city alone — her birthplace — there are some 170 events honoring Schumann in 2019. New biographies and diaries of her youth have been published, and Clara Schumann's compositions, long forgotten, are turning up on playbills.

Her image is nearly universally familiar in Germany — at least to those who were around before the euro was adopted in 2002 — as "the woman on the 100 Deutsche Mark bill" that was introduced in 1989. Beyond that, though, Clara Schumann left an indelible mark on music life, one still palpable today...

Clara Schumann died in Frankfurt on May 20, 1896, 77 years old. Apart from her compositions, her most enduring influence probably rests in her concert programs, which evolved from the virtuosic but trifling pieces of her youth to complete sonatas and cycles by a canon of composers including Beethoven, Brahms, Chopin, Mendelssohn, Schubert and Bach — and of course Schumann, whose posthumous fame she tirelessly promoted.
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Source: DW (English)

Violinist reflects on classical music and its future | Arts & Entertainment - Daily Trojan

While most kids grew up singing along to the catchy tunes of Sesame Street and Disney movie soundtracks, the Siess household was filled with the emotionally evocative sounds of Pyotr Tchaikovsky and classical violinists like Perlman by Daily Trojan.

Michael Siess, who will perform in the Thornton Symphony Friday, hopes to boost enthusiasm for classical music
Photo: from Mixtape Series

“As a young kid … I thought Tchaikovsky’s 1812 Overture was awesome because when you’re a little kid [the sound of] cannons [is] super cool,” Siess said. 

Since he was 4, Michael Siess has devoted his life to the violin — a haunting yet beautiful instrument, cradled by some of the most celebrated classical musicians of all time...

For Siess, pursuing a career in classical performance is not only a commitment to technical mastery but also to lifelong learning. At USC, Siess has perfected his skills by completing a master’s degree in violin performance — and is currently working on a graduate certificate in violin performance as well. 

“No matter what kind of piece you’re playing, whether it’s the Shostakovich Symphony that we’ve been preparing or a solo movement of Bach, there’s always something to explore,” Siess said. “No matter where you are in your experience, you’re never done learning from it. Every single performance you have to find a different way to make it fresh, make it relevant and do something that you haven’t done before with it.” 
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Source: Daily Trojan

VCAL student learning on the job to create great career | Warrnambool Standard

Rachael Houlihan, Journalist at The Warrnambool Standard says, TERANG'S Dylan Rowe is a passionate music and sound lover, and is gaining invaluable experience at Warrnambool's Lighthouse Theatre while still completing year 12.

 LOVE OF SOUND: Terang College student Dylan Rowe is studying an audio engineering course and works at the Lighthouse Theatre. 
Photo: Anthony Brady

He is undertaking a specific program to help him achieve his dream of becoming a professional audio engineer.

He works at the theatre on performance days, and Xavier Dannock said he was an asset to the team.

Mr Dannock said the South West Local Learning and Employment Network had worked closely with the Lighthouse Theatre to create an opportunity after identifying a student who wanted to learn more about sound and audio.

The Structured Workplace Learning (SWL) Program provides students with 20 days of industry experience alongside their school work...

He said working at the Lighthouse Theatre as part of the structured workplace learning and his audio engineering course were "good stepping stones" to gaining a place at Collarts.
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Source: Warrnambool Standard

County Durham Kids Learning Music on Plastic Trumpets & Trombones | DurhamBRASS - Consett Magazine

A new project is bringing the joy of learning music to the children of Annfield Plain, near Consett by David Sunderland, one Consett Magazine's favourite writers.

Kids at Annfield Plain Junior School try out the plastic trombones

As part of the legacy of County Durham’s popular BRASS festival, kids at Annfield Plain Junior School will get one year of brass tuition.

BRASS was enjoyed by over 40,000 people this July, with concerts, events, parties and workshops taking place across the county.

The festival also included 82 concerts and workshops in schools, with over 16,000 youngsters getting to hear brass-influenced music from across the planet.

Now Durham Music Service is working in partnership with Durham County Council to deliver the music lessons in Annfield Plain...

The school’s headteacher, Inez Burgess, said, “Learning to play an instrument helps our pupils to build confidence, improve memory, feel a sense of achievement and work as a team.”...

For more information about Durham Music Service, please go to https://www.durhammusic.org.uk/durham-music-service1.

To learn more about Durham’s BRASS festival, please visit https://www.brassfestival.co.uk/.

You can also keep up-to-date with news about the festival by following BRASS International Festival on Facebook or @DurhamBRASS on Twitter and Instagram. 
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Source: Consett Magazine

Hans Christian Gram: Who was Danish scientist honoured in today’s Google doodle? | World - Express.co.uk

Kate Whitfield, news reporter at Express.co.uk summarizes, GOOGLE is celebrating the 166th birthday of Danish bacteriologist Hans Christian Gram today. So who was he?

Hans Christian Gram: Google is celebrating the 166th birthday of Danish bacteriologist
Photo: Google/Getty/NC)

Gram entered medical school in 1878, graduated in 1883 and took off travelling.

Making his way through Europe, he found himself in Berlin in 1884.

There, he developed a method for distinguishing between two major classes of bacteria.

This technique, known as the Gram strain, continues to be a standard procedure used in medical microbiology around the world...

As a professor, he published four volumes of clinical lectures which became widely used in Denmark.

He retired from the University of Copenhagen in 1923, and died in 1938, aged 81.

The Google doodle that honours Gram on his birth anniversary today was illustrated by Danish guest artist Mikkel Sommer.
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Source: Express.co.uk