Christmas Gift Recommendation No. 1
Aye, lassies and laddies, 'tis the season for gift giving, and here at Festung Europa, we want to clue you in on some novel ideas for your holiday shopping. I recently sent word off to the good Mr. Tim Fay of rural Anamosa, Iowa, publisher of the charming Wapsipinicon Almanac, asking when the next edition will be hitting the bookstores and newstands. Tim replied that the next version, which would be lucky No. 13, will be out in mid-December, just in time for Christmas gift giving.
The Wapsipinicon Almanac owes a lot of its coolness to the fact that it is produced on an old linotype printer, which gives it an antique, handcrafted feel often missing in these post-post-modern days of bytes and blogs. I enjoy the regional essays and Tim's "Talk of the Township" column probably the most of all its features, and the short stories are always of high literary quality. The almanac's advertisements are graphically very well done and evoke memories of a time not all that distant, but sadly, gone forever.
Tim himself has just made the jump to the internet, and you can visit his new website here, now featuring some of the awesome cover art of the almanac over the years.
He and some of his contributors usually make an annual pilgrimage to Iowa City's Prairie Lights bookstore for the WSUI radio show, Live from Prairie Lights, in January, so be sure to check out their website which should feature a real player version of the broadcast. Prairie Lights is also a good place to pick up your copy of the almanac; I place my order there each year with Mr. Karl Caitlin.
And so, gentle readers, Defensemaster's Christmas Gift Recommendation No. 1 this season is none other than Issue No. 13 of the Wapsipinicon Almanac, an entertaining and thought-provoking way to spend a cold winter's evening.
The Wapsipinicon Almanac owes a lot of its coolness to the fact that it is produced on an old linotype printer, which gives it an antique, handcrafted feel often missing in these post-post-modern days of bytes and blogs. I enjoy the regional essays and Tim's "Talk of the Township" column probably the most of all its features, and the short stories are always of high literary quality. The almanac's advertisements are graphically very well done and evoke memories of a time not all that distant, but sadly, gone forever.
Tim himself has just made the jump to the internet, and you can visit his new website here, now featuring some of the awesome cover art of the almanac over the years.
He and some of his contributors usually make an annual pilgrimage to Iowa City's Prairie Lights bookstore for the WSUI radio show, Live from Prairie Lights, in January, so be sure to check out their website which should feature a real player version of the broadcast. Prairie Lights is also a good place to pick up your copy of the almanac; I place my order there each year with Mr. Karl Caitlin.
And so, gentle readers, Defensemaster's Christmas Gift Recommendation No. 1 this season is none other than Issue No. 13 of the Wapsipinicon Almanac, an entertaining and thought-provoking way to spend a cold winter's evening.
Comments