It’s been the talk of the book and film worlds for months: the upcoming adaptation of F. Scott Fitzgerald‘s The Great Gatsby made headlines when it was announced that Baz Luhrmann — of Romeo & Juliet and Moulin Rouge — was going to direct, when the cast was announced, and when it was revealed that it was going to be presented in 3D.

Last night’s release of the first trailer spread through the internet like gin at a prohibition era party, and we host it here, for your consideration:

As booksellers, as readers, as lovers of the book, we spend a lot of time thinking about books themselves, as objects and as vessels of meaning. These are strange times for the book (and for booksellers, and for readers). With the onslaught of ereaders, the rise of self-publishing, the sheer force of the internet, the humble book seems… beleaguered. Threatened. Its future seems in peril.

But every so often, something comes along to remind us that we’re not alone, that there are other lovers of the book, that the future is not as bleak as some days it might seem.

Epilogue: the future of print, is a student film, a documentary by Hanah Ryu Chung. Filmed in Toronto, it is a celebration not only of books, but of the history of printing, the power of the physical in an age of the ephemeral. It includes interviews with folks like our friend Joanne Saul of Type Books, the wonderful bookshop on Queen West, Stan Bevington of the venerable Coach House Press, and artist and designer George Walker.

It’s a wonderful, beautiful piece of work, well worth 25 minutes of your time, and a soul-filling way to start your week. Enjoy.

It’s graduation season, which means there are a lot of words of wisdom being spoken in high schools and on university campuses. I doubt we’ll see any quite as powerful this year, however, as those offered by writer Neil Gaiman at the University of the Arts in Philadelphia this week.

Powerful stuff – a set of rules to live by. Much to think on, here.

And in the meantime, I’m going to go and re-read Dr. Seuss‘s Oh The Places You’ll Go.

There’s nothing like a little mystery to ease everyone into a long weekend.

A surprise? “Do not open until June”?

What could it be? What’s so special about June?