Counting the days with an attractive desk diary
The New Year’s shopping spree is never complete without an attractive desk diaries and Greek publishing houses annually present an array of selections that count as complete publications on writers, food, landscapes, music or history. The 2004 diary of Kedros, for example, is dedicated to the high-caliber publishing house’s 50th anniversary, while the Epi Hartou recycled paper goods company focuses on prints of bookplates. Kaleidoskipio Publications has asked cookbook writer Evi Voutsina to present, day by day, a selections of classic Greek recipes and the Halkida-based company Diametros has turned to the timeless poetry of Homer for its annual diary. Another great Greek poet, Dionysis Solomos, is showcased in Metaichmio’s 2004 diary, which is edited by Nikitas Parissis. The upcoming Olympic Games have, naturally, provided a theme for some publishers. Patakis has put together an anthology, edited by Costas Stamatis, dedicated to literature on the Games, and Informecanica presents «The Olympics: History and Legends.» This publication combines informative texts on the history of the Games from antiquity to the first Athens Games in 1896. Greece’s laiko or popular music is the focus, for the third year running, of Atrapos’s 2004 diary, only this year it is accompanied by a CD, while on a more racy note, Iliotropio dedicates its offering to underwear. Thessaloniki’s Ianos has put together an edition that presents the personalities who contributed to Greece’s modern cultural identity, and Kalendis has put together a romantic, old-style diary titled «Alkyonis’s Journal.» Coin collectors will enjoy Periplous’s «Time is Money,» in which the publishers make reference to the first metallic coins in Greece, the coins of Byzantium, early paper money, the establishment of the first bank in Greece, and so on. Last, but by no means least, the Foundation of Thracean Art and Tradition presents a vivid calendar with artwork by artists belonging to the foundation’s academy, such as Moralis, Tetsis, Mytaras and Bostoglou, among others.
