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Earth day is this weekend! Bringing you inspiration all week long for reducing, reusing and recycling.
If there is anything better than getting crafty with bits of paper, its getting crafty with bits of paper bound for the recycling bin. It is satisfying to give it another run-through before its commercial reincarnation. I have scoured one little corner of the web to bring you a selection of cool ideas for upcycling books, magazine, newspapers, catalogues and magazines. Round up all that paper and get to it.
[ chair . magazine and old belts] 
Check out my upcycling pinterest board for these and other inspirations.
I read by the soft glow of my Nook for fun at night. I have no right to critique volumes of literature, but I do anyway. Here's my take:
The Passage . Justin Cronin
At 784 pages, I can almost assure you that The Passage is the longest book I've ever read. Perhaps because it was a page turner from chapter one, but I also think reading it on the Nook tricked me into not fully realizing the heft of the volume. Either way, this post-apocalyptic vampire thriller is a fantastic debut for a forthcoming trilogy. The story lends itself easily to being imagined on the big screen, so the movie buffs can get a start on what is surely summer 2013's blockbluster* by reading it today.
The $64 Tomato . William Alexander
My mom recommended I read this account of "How One Man Nearly Lost His Sanity, Spent a Fortune, and Endured an Existential Crisis in the Quest for the Perfect Garden" (the complete title of this novel) as I was deep in my obsession over my garden and landscaping. On a much, much smaller scale I could relate to the highs and lows of gardening - gathering the fruits/vegetables of you labor (a high) or watching absolutely nothing come of it because mother nature and her minions of wild beasts and insects beat you to the harvest (a low). Read it all and then decided for yourself if the blood, sweat and tears of gardening is worth it all.
Never Let Me Go . Kazuo Ishiguro
A well-paced novel about friends growing up in boarding school; touching upon the highlights of the childrens' years at an elite institution until 'graduation'. As the protagonist grows up and advances through the system, you see a broader picture that slowly reveals itself and shows a reality that is radically different than a simple boarding school book. I'll just leave it at that. (Sorry, I realize this is possibly the worst book review ever, I just don't want it to be a spoiler.)
The Magicians . Lev Grossman
I read a review of this book that alluded to The Magicians as being the sex, drugs, rock'n roll version of Harry Potter. Despite never having read a single page of a Harry Potter novel, I still found the premise alluring. Mr. Grossman spins a seemingly authentic tale of teenagers (lust, angst, all the good stuff of teenhood), save the setting of a hidden magician's school and a parallel storyline to a dark, very C.S. Lewisian kingdom.
Einstein Never Used Flashcards . Hirsh-Pasek and Golinkoff
 Forgot to read the periodic table aloud whilst pregnant to ensure your little bambino will ace 10th grade chemistry? Your child is already 4 months old and doesn't recite three poems by heart? No sweat, this book carefully details several studies that show childhood experience (i.e. playing) trumps forcing the little one to memorize details any day. It also goes over exercises that help children learn from newborn to school age. Now if it could only guarantee entry into that coveted preschool...
*I would like to submit for your consideration the trailer for this movie should be to Desert Song by Edward Sharpe and the Magnetic Zeroes (just hear out the whole song and ignore the slow start).
I have no right to critique literary works. In fact, the only credential I have is that I can read. If you are looking for someone who is qualified, witty and prolific in her book reviews, then check out my friend tropicopolitan. She reads books faster than I read the back of cereal boxes.
Anyway, if you are looking for a lazy, semi-incompetent review of a few books I managed to read, then welcome to lickity list.
Less than Zero . Brett Easton Ellis
 Set in Los Angeles in the 1980s, Brett Easton Ellis does a superb job of capturing a disaffected generation of teenagers raising themselves with no limits imposed by parents, society or ethics. The story follows the main character reassociating with his high school friends on winter break from college as they party, lunch and hang out (to put it mildly). The shock value of the experiences detailed is original and, while the situations are tense and inappropriately mature, the apathy seems to creep from the page rendering the reader numb in a participatory fashion. Brett Easton Ellis writes so realistically that fiction is easily confused with reality, giving the novel a greater impact and leaving the reader to question, "is this autobiographical?" Now that's a compliment.
Imperial Bedrooms . Brett Easton Ellis
 The apathetic brat pack introduced in Less Than Zero are reintroduced as adults with varying degrees of success in Los Angeles. Mystery abounds when our protagonist returns to Los Angeles to start anew only to get caught up in nebulous and seedy situations that somehow involve all of his childhood buddies. Small world. I read this book with a sense of detached interest and if the novel were any longer I probably would have walked away. Although heavily influenced by pulp novels, it often reads as corny, which was hard to reconcile with the lurid sexual deviations of the characters. Call me a prude, but I was off-put by one particular chapter in which depraved sexual acts are detailed that don't add to the story or character development. I can only guess Mr. Ellis wanted to see if he still had it in him to shock the reader. 2 stars only because I didn't walk away from the book.
Mrs. Bridge . Evan S. Connell
 Each chapter is a snapshot of small events in the life of Mrs. Bridge, a Kansas City housewife in the 1930's. A simple concept that is written succinctly making even the most mundane transactions a fascinatingly quick glimpse into this particular place and time. The stories capture Mrs. Bridge as she relates to her children, her neighbors and community-at-large in a masterful display of 'show, don't tell' writing. Many of the events are so perfectly detailed I wondered if the author is giving an embellished account of events he witnessed or if they really are works of fiction.
Last year I had a short-lived obsession with pickling after an irresistible deal at Soulard Farmer's Market saddled me with way too many cucumbers. A quick venture into the world of pickling yielded several cans of gray pickles that I didn't have the heart (or guts) to pawn off on anybody. BUT, when I was searching for pickle recipes in my copy of Country Wisdom and Know-How -- what every self-respecting Midwesterner household should own* -- I came across very enticing recipes for flavored vinegars. It was located in the section on Preserving, Pickling, Canning, Distilling - I kid you not. The text stated raspberry vinegar was considered one of the best and with raspberries just wrapping up their season, I decided to go for it. We used the batch of 'homemade' raspberry vinegar until the last drop fell about midway through the year. You bet your sweet bippy I whipped up another batch this year.
 [Raspberry vinegar in the making] - Assemble the ingredients:
2 to 2 1/2 cups fresh red raspberries, lightly mashed
2 Tablespoons sugar or honey
2 cups red wine vinegar |
- Combine all the ingredients in a (non aluminum) double boiler over boiling water. Turn down the heat and cook over barely simmer water for 10 minutes, uncovered.
- Put all the contents in a canning jar and store for 3 weeks.
- Strain out the solids, pressing on the raspberries to get out all the juice.
- Optional: Strain through a coffee filter to make the vinegar less cloudy.
- Place the vinegar in a bottle for use.
Drumroll, please: A delicious vinegar that makes a mean vinaigrette. Sure, you can buy raspberry vinaigrette at the store, but it won't be as tasty or as country-wisdomy as this stuff. *Dripping with sarcasm for all those out there thinking we (Midwesterners) are all a bunch of bumpkins. As for the book, a very cool compendium of projects and recipes.
I know, I know. I just abandon my post (and posting) for the last month without even a simple 'Happy Holiday' or 'Merry New Year' and I better have an awesome post to make up for it. Well, I don't tonight. Actually, I was making lists like crazy over the holidays (mundane to-do lists that I wasn't going to drag you all down with, but I was still flexing my list-making muscles during my sabbatical). And...I got published over the holidays, though I had nothing to do with it. My awesome gift-giver of a husband worked with designer/our friend Todd to compile and publish a book of my photojourna.list posts as a gift to me. They did a fantastic job and it was the best gift...ever. Feel free to preview the book here. And a belated 'Happy Holiday' and 'Happy New Year' to anyone still checking in! [Update . 01/04/10: I feel less bad. I got caught up on my blogs of interest today and it was like watching Passions (the late daytime soap) - you could have watched one episode every few weeks and didn't really miss out on any story line. Cheers to the other slackers.]
This has been on the media circuit recently - filed under "fluff-pieces" - but it is interesting nevertheless. A survey taken in the U.K. for World Book Day 2009* found that 65% of those surveyed have lied about reading a book they haven't. They also reported the 10 most popular books that people lie about reading - since the percentages add to well over 100% I am assuming some people lie about more than one title or they are using the metric system to report the findings.
1. 1984 by George Orwell (42%) 2. War and Peace by Leo Tolstoy (31%) 3. Ulysses by James Joyce (25%) 4. The Bible (24%) 5. Madame Bovary by Gustave Flaubert (16%) 6. A Brief History of Time by Stephen Hawking (15%) 7. Midnight’s Children by Salman Rushdie (14%) 8. In Remembrance of Things Past by Marcel Proust (9%) 9. Dreams from My Father by Barack Obama (6%) 10. The Selfish Gene by Richard Dawkins (6%) Also of note from the survey: • 65% of people have lied about reading a book they haven’t, with 1984 being the most popular book to pretend to have read • 41% of respondents confess to having turned to the last page to find out what happens before finishing a book • 96% of people admit to staying up late to finish a book *World Book Day: You missed it already, it was March 5, 2009, but gear up for 2010 when it is scheduled for March 4th. Oddly enough, these dates are only listed by worldbookday.com for the U.K. and Ireland...so not sure on the whole 'world' part of World Book Day. But they are forgiven since they publish interesting surveys.
 I came across this book a while ago on the author's website and thought it was hilarious. My thoughtful gift-giver got it for me and I crack up every time I peruse the lists. The premise is, quite simply, making fun of the random scribblings of lost or abandoned grocery lists. One of my favorite lists includes "butt milk" - we can only hope that is grocery list shorthand for buttermilk.
Whilst perusing other list sites (market research) I came upon a list of 1001 books you must read before you die* on Listology. Having just finished my first full book in over a year, I decided I was on a reading jag and this list was the guidance needed to persue this task. After copying and formatting the list to my liking, I printed the pages and tucked in with my red pen to ceremoniously cross off those books I've already read. We know where this is going: several pages and very few pen marks later I had reached the end of the list. To add insult to injury, I've seen more of the titles as movies than read as books, but with my library card in hand that's all about to change...or my local library will be flush with cash thanks to the overdue books. Side note: To get in a good session of eyerolling, be sure to read the reader's comments. *List taken from: 1001 Books You Must Read Before You Die: A Comprehensive Reference Source, Chronicling the History of the NovelPreface by Peter Ackroyd, General Editor Peter Boxall
It's not that I hate books or reading, just that to date I've been lazy about reading. Which probably explains why I could only come up with the word bibliophobe and not some fancy word meaning "a person who is lazy about reading, but would like to be better read." So here it is - favorite books I've read. In no particular order:  - One Hundred Years of Solitude . Gabriel Garcia Marquez
I read this book during a winter break in college and it was so enthralling that I pulled all-nighters just to finish it. Garcia Marquez is a master of magical realism. - 1984 . George Orwell
I remember reading this in high-school as a required reading and it was an absolute pleasure. The whole concept of Big Brother and what the 'future' may bring was new to me at that time, but still holds a top spot as a great book. - Stiff: The Curious Lives of Human Cadavers . Mary Roach
This book, quite simply, is about cadavers. The history of cadavers and their uses in past and present. The author approaches the use of cadavers from so many angles and has a great sense of humor that it is very easy to pick this book up and keep reading. - The Tipping Point: How Little Things Can Make a Big Difference . Malcolm Gladwell
I read this book when I had an online business and it was inspiring. It looks at what makes a business or campaign successful from a grassroots level - "how little things can make a big difference." - The Red Tent . Anita Diamant
This was a cruise (day at sea) read that was fast paced and entertaining. With biblical references it made the characters come alive from passages with which we may (or may not) be familiar. - Memoirs of a Geisha . Arthur Golden
During a summer of reading, this book was handed to me as a 'good book' and it definitely did not disappoint. The book follows a character, now found immersed in the traditions of a geisha and the hardships associated with the time and culture. - Daughter of Fortune . Isabel Allende
I read this book on the heels of Gabriel Garcia Marquez, bound only to each other as South American writers. It follows a woman traveling from South America to San Francisco and the characters and descriptions of the scenery will absolutely enchant you. - Dress Your Family in Corduroy and Denim . David Sedaris
I have never laughed out loud so much when reading. David Sedaris' hilarious, self deprecating humor about himself and his family is excellent.
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