Hoo boy, we are jealoooouuuus. Staring today and running through September 15th, London is getting a set of 50 book-inspired benches designed by local artists. It’s all from Books about Town, and we are so sad that they won’t be nearby where we can sit on them all day and read. Just look at these beauties!
Fly away with Mary Poppins:
You can travel Around the World in 80 Days:
And hang out with Paddington!:
Enter The Time Machine:
Head off to Narnia:
Go Through The Looking Glass:
Don’t forget your copy of The Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy:
And watch your step when you cross paths with 007:
Then take a tour of the city while you solve mysteries with Sherlock Holmes:
And there are so many more! Head over to the Books about Town website to see all of the benches. We feel like we could just curl up into their pages and never leave. Can they send us a few after they’re done?
Can we start a petition to get them state side?
Oh course, they would probably go to NYC or LA, not Dallas, so I wouldn’t see them in person anyways.
But those are great! I want to sit next to Paddington!
Hopefully they’re more comfortable than they look. :)
You know, they have these things called “aeroplanes”. You can always come and visit. We have a thriving tourist industry. Or alternatively, think of all the time those of us who live here are going to spend wandering round London looking for the one that they’ve been sneaky and hidden somewhere silly.
The Paddington one had better either be at Paddington or somewhere completely random.
Around the World in 80 Days is at Stanfords, which is deeply apt, but for some foolish reason the Paddington one is down by London Bridge.
@3: I would love to come visit London again.
But that is not in the cards before Sept. 15th.
Re: Paddington, London Bridge sounds fairly random.
Everyone who can, enjoy.
Oh, surely you could have included the Terry Pratchett bench in the gallery here?
re Braid_Tug’s comment at #1, these are all from books by British authors. An American version could take the basic bench design and apply American authors to the same treatment. (Twain, Hawthorne and Poe leap immediately to mind as both “classic” writers and sf/f writers.)
Just in time for WorldCon!
Along a similar theme, take a look at http://www.bigcozybooks.com/ which makes book-themed upholstered furniture for libraries. (No affiliation, I’ve just loved these since I saw them at ALA several years ago).
@8 – That is SO COOL. My local public library is going to be renovated soon — I think I’ll mention this to the librarian.
There better be a Harry Potter bench, just say’n.