Yes, Damian Lewis LOVES books! In fact, when asked about his non-sporting interests in 5 minutes with Damian Lewis interview, he goes…
…and makes reading his number one non-sporting interest! So it’s no wonder that Books Are My Bag (BAMB) — a nationwide campaign in the UK and Ireland, the biggest collaboration between publishers, bookstores and authors to date, to celebrate books and bookstores, that we started talking about here earlier, is absolutely thrilled to have support from him 🙂
And, of course, Damian is not just going around supporting books and bookstores; in fact, he is always spotted reading books; and regardless he is carrying a book in his hand, in his pocket or under his arm, he defines THAT very hashtag my dear partner JaniaJania was talking about earlier: #HotGuysReading 🙂
And, hey, he’s sometimes in books, too! Now… who in Damian Lewis fandom would not want to color her favorite ginger? 😀
Colour Me Good Ginger is available on Amazon.com and Amazon.co.uk
Speaking of books, Books are My Bag celebrated last year’s campaign with the release of a wonderful book called The Bookshop Book by Jen Campbell: It starts with the idea that every bookstore has a story and takes it from there… And now… see me! I will start with the story of a bookstore and will take you to… oh, yes, Damian Lewis 🙂
Well, I am a hopeless bookworm! That’s why I always chase beautiful bookstores when I am traveling. And, probably, the most beautiful bookstore I have ever been to is a 13th century Dominican church converted into a bookstore in Maastricht, The Netherlands. And I am so pleased to see that it is featured in an article published in The Guardian about the Bookshop Book showcasing some of the most beautiful bookshops around the world.
Look at this! What can you be other than a bookworm here? 🙂
The Guardian article mentions another bookstore that is quite special for me, too. It is a bookstore opened by Alice Munro in 1963 in Victoria, Canada. They opened the original bookstore in a narrow space near Victoria’s movie theaters, and now it is housed in a neo-classical building from 1909 designed for the Bank of Canada. The author of the Bookshop Book Jen Campbell says “they keep their overstock in the old bank’s vaults.”It is old, but extremely modern, a brilliant outcome of innovative design! I strongly suspect this bookstore is in the Bookshop Book 🙂 I am definitely getting a copy of this book that has recently been released in the US and I will keep chasing beautiful bookstores in my further travels!
This bookstore is special for me, not because I have been there or anything, but because Alice Munro is one of my all-time favorite authors, and her Nobel Prize in Literature in 2013 is more than well-deserved. She has been repeatedly called the “modern day Chekhov” by so many literary critics and she is without doubt the master of telling small town life in Ontario, Canada. You don’t know how many e-mails I got from my friends on the day she got the prize thanking me for introducing them to the books of Alice Munro. Finally… If there is one fictional character that I am dreaming of Damian Lewis playing on stage or on screen, that is from an Alice Munro short story. I am not giving any details here. Hehe. But I plan on writing a piece on that story, and how Damian Lewis’ name is written all over the main male character in that story… See how we start with a bookstore and come full circle with Damian Lewis? And, you know, if I won the lottery, I would produce that film myself starring Damian Lewis and… No, I am not casting myself… 🙂 I’m thinking of Saoirse Ronan as a very strong competitor for the main female character. Dream, Damianista, Dream 🙂
Now… If it is not enough for you that Damian Lewis is supporting bookstores to go buy real books in real bookstores… Then, my friends, science also has GREAT NEWS for those of us that read REAL BOOKS! Seriously!
Here is what the research says:
“A 2014 study found that readers of a short mystery story on a Kindle were significantly worse at remembering the order of events than those who read the same story in paperback. Lead researcher Anne Mangen of Norway’s Stavanger University concluded that “the haptic and tactile feedback of a Kindle does not provide the same support for mental reconstruction of a story as a print pocket book does.”
Moreover…
“Regular reading also increases empathy, especially when reading a print book. One study discovered that individuals who read an upsetting short story on an iPad were less empathetic and experienced less transportation and immersion than those who read on paper.”
I, of course, understand the practicality of reading e-books, being able to carry 5,000 books on your kindle, and we have a Nook at home, too… But still… it may be worth reading the entire article here. After all, it’s Damian that loves bookstores and actively supports them, and it’s Science that tells us that people reading real books are doing better! And, honestly you never know whom you will find behind those shelves 🙂
Me! ‘puts hands up’, me, I’d like to colour my favourite ginger! I am also looking forward to reading about the character from Alice Munro shorty story you would cast Damian as. Dream Big!
Oh don’t worry, I always dream BIG, it’s my specialty 🙂 I just need to sit down, collect my thoughts and write about that character. If I had the money I really would produce that movie. Damian’s name is written all over that character, at least, in my opinion… I would LOVE to get your feedback when I write that!!! <3