picture books, the bad.

I came across this book in school once - it's a very easy book, meant for very low readers. We had a lot of these books around for the newbies, and pretty much all of them were boring and very simple. But this one has always amazed me. It's called The Good Life, and you can see the whole book here.

The setting is a house, where two brightly colored birds are in their cages, chatting. Kip talks about wanting to live somewhere else.



Kip's housemate Bud describes his old home, Moon Island. He flew free there, he could play in the mud. But then Bud warns that island life wasn't as good as it seems.



On Moon Island, no one gives you food! Or fresh water! Sure, he had friends, but he also had birds who ripped food right out of his mouth!



After this thoroughly convincing argument, Kip decides that maybe Moon Island is not the place to be after all. For instance, he can fly around the living room every afternoon! Living in a cage, that's the good life!


Every time I read this book, I start thinking of it as some sort of backwards reasoning for why slavery is a good idea. I mean, seriously? The good life is spending time in a cage in a LIVING ROOM for your entire life? Being free to fly around the island is such a drag? I mostly just disagree with the whole message of not following one's dream, and instead staying where things are safe, where you can be waited on, but life is boring.

So, children. Follow your dreams! Go to Moon Island, or anywhere else that can make you happy!

picture books, the good.

It's true, I love picture books. It's in my blood, I cannot be the daughter of an elementary school librarian and not adore them. I especially like reading them as an adult, finding the meanings that a lot of kids might miss, perhaps slyly inserted by authors for the entertainment of us older folk reading them to kids. [Imagine my surprise when my coworker saw my copy of Swimmy, and immediately noticed the little fish all swimming together to make a big fish was also a symbol for union organizing. Or socialist organizing? Either way, it makes sense...the little fish getting eaten by the big fish until they band together for a revolution!]

Right, so there's a lot to love about picture books, especially the pictures themselves. Thus, I was really excited to hear that there exists an entire museum devoted to picture books and the art within: The Eric Carle Museum Of Picture Book Art in Amherst, Massachusetts.

Oddly, I was just thinking the other day about how pages from picture books would make lovely wall hangings - but to do so you must destroy the book, which seems a travesty. So I looked through the store hoping to find prints, but all I could come up with was large posters and postcards, only in packs of ten. Guess I'll just to go to MA.

The coolness is not over, though. The online shop also sells Eric Carle inspired fabrics, and asks those who have bought it to show off their work on flickr. I looked at a bunch of pillows and quilts until I came across this:



Holy cow, a dress with the Hungry Caterpillar print! Nice. Picture books inspire us for years to come.

(This is the part where I would post a bunch of pictures from my favorite books, but they're rather hard to find on google. Sigh.)

Addendum: I actually agree with Mr. Bush on this one: "One of the great things about books is sometimes there are some fantastic pictures." (from Top 25 Bushisms)

train of thought.

I just finished Plenty, which is about a couple eating locally for one year. I enjoyed it a lot, in part because it was engaging right away and I plowed through it in a week, and sometimes it's nice to just finish a book quickly. And even though it was non-fiction, it sort of played out like a story with suspense (how ever are they going to make it through the winter?!). But I would have liked more detail on things like how canning works and such.

The book got me to thinking about personal challenges and New Year's resolutions. I don't think eating locally is going to work too well, if only because I live alone and a CSA share can overwhelm even two people. But I feel like I should give something up.

The only thing I've thought of so far is not buying new clothing for a year. I really try to keep my purchases of stuff to a minimum for a variety of reasons, but clothes are my biggest weakness. Today, for example, I ended up in Urban Outfitters for no other reason than it was across the street from my brunch location. I ended up buying a pair of riding boots (not perfect, but good for $60), and then I needed new skinny jeans to pair with the boots, and then why not throw in a pair of $10 shorts for good measure? All of this without buying ANY presents for ANYONE! Ridiculous.

So yeah, it's something to think about. 2009 - the year without sweatshops?


(also, hello blog! I've missed you!)

random round-up.

1. David Carr, hosted by Common Good Books

I had heard a bit about The Night of the Gun through the internets, so I figured I had pretty much no excuse to walk a few blocks for a reading. The church hosting the space for the event was packed and extremely hot, but it was still a good time. Carr read a very short excerpt, and then fielded some questions before having to run and catch a plane. I actually found the question section to be the most engaging and I wish there was more time for that. He had really good answers about how to warn his children about the addictive dangers of college, and how he wishes he could say that writing a memoir about addiction and recovery was cathartic, but it wasn't. All in all, he was very endearing and appreciative and I enjoyed my time there. The book is going on the to-read list, as I have other books to finish in uhh, this next week. Oops.

2. Summer Borscht at the Amateur Gourmet

God, reading this made me wish I was wandering around the East Village with plans to stop at Veselka for a late dinner of borscht and pierogis, TODAY. Goddammit. Instead I'll be trying to finish two books this afternoon while waiting for sushi happy hour. (Okay, that's really not all bad.)

3. Housekeeping

I updated my link list, which means I made it much smaller. I can't stand link lists that go on for miles, so I'm highlighting the lesser knowns on the sidebar. 'Cause really, if you have more than, say, 50 subscribers on google reader you don't need any help from me. (By the way, google reader still says I only have two subscribers. Eff you! I have at least five. I think.)

khaela & miranda.

It only makes sense that Miranda July and Khaela Maricich (The Blow) are good friends and stage ridiculously quirky and charming interviews with each other. Of course it also makes sense that Khaela interviews her song instead of, well...I don't know what.

And it makes sense that instead of doing the dishes and picking my perfect outfit to wear to see The Blow tonight, I am reading interviews and updating this.

It makes sense that on the day I am to see Khaela play, I also returned the Miranda July book to the library. Although some of the stories were much better than others, when I finished it I felt kind of sad. It was that whole What am I going to read now? feeling. (The New Yorker? Gosh, the New Yorker is like a second job.) And it's sad to return a book when you meant to write down more quotes from it to remember it by. I only got one:

Past a certain age, they give up on the name games, which is regrettable for someone like me who loves anything that involves going around a circle and saying something about yourself. I wish there was a class where we could just keep going around the circle, around and around, until we had finally said everything about ourselves.

[From No One Belongs Here More Than You, by Miranda July]

home stretch.

On running:
The marathon is now only 18 days away. Eeek. We finished our last long run, 20 miles, on Saturday. We ran (and ran and ran and ran) and reminisced about how far we've come. Remember that awful 12 mile run way back in July? I'll spare you from going into the super cheesy bit about how proud I am of myself and yadda yadda. As crazy as it sounds, getting up early on Saturdays to run a for few hours has become pretty normal and almost addicting. That said, I'm really happy to be getting a slight break from it. Only 10-12 miles this weekend! Woo!

On reading:
I signed up for a MPR membership way back in June, partly because I had been meaning to for a while, but mostly because I wanted a subscription to The New Yorker. And FINALLY, it's here...just when I have no time to read it. Never mind that I'd go to the library specifically to page through it over the summer....but it's still lovely to have around. I'm also working on No One Belongs Here More Than You (Miranda July). It's good before bed stuff.

Other:
Fall is almost here, so I guess that means it's the perfect time to get a cold. So. Awesome.

someday I'll be creative again.

I'm still not a huge fan of buying books for the sake of buying books, UNLESS they can be used over and over again as reference books. As a result of this, I've bought a relatively huge amount of craft related books in the past few months.

Craftivity - by Tsia Carson
I think I saw this originally on notmartha, and I got it as a birthday present. It's a tad disappointing, to be honest. I really only found a couple of things I actually wanted to make in there. There are some cool ideas, but a lot of it is just too much. [I do love the shrinky dink necklaces, though. Mine here.] Maybe part of the problem is that I've seen a few of the ideas on getcrafty.com, back when it was getcrafty and not supernaturale or whatever happened. Why pay for a book when it's all online?

Simple Sewing - by Lotta Jansdotter
Another notmartha recommendation, and a total whim purchase from amazon. While I'm sad there are no patterns for actual clothes, the other projects (aprons, handbags, duvets, oh my!) are adorable. They could potentially make really nice gifts, too. Not to mention, this book is laid out beautifully with crisp pictures.

The Crafter Culture Handbook - by Amy Spencer
I found this one on a recommendation shelf while at the Elliott Bay Book Company in Seattle. [The recommendation shelf at a massive book store is a blessed thing indeed.] The projects in here are all over the place, in a totally good way. Sewing projects, reused objects, and homemade bath stuff...it's all there. It also has fun little articles from crafters.


So yeah. School is over in about a month. Summer projects? Oh yes.

mirandy july.

Mirandy July has a book coming out, and damned if this website doesn't make me want to buy it immediately, bring it to a grassy area on a sunny day while wearing my new dress and flats, and dream about writing stories of my own.


But since the book is not out until May (and it is below freezing outside), she instead motivated me to clean my gross stovetop. Thank you.

in other news

I think Micheal Pollan is my new hero.

The last page of his essay pretty much sums up all my food related resolutions, only much more eloquently than I could put it.

on books and beets.

Cook more. Eat better. Read more.

When I'm in someone's apartment for the first time, whether it's a friend or acquaintance, one of my favorite things to do is explore their bookshelves. (I also use that as a pick-up line..Hey baby, I'd like to explore your bookshelves....) I like running my fingers along the spines, noticing if they organize in any certain ways or if it's haphazard, and wondering if they have actually read all the books their shelves contain. But lately all I notice is, "Hey this person has way more books than I do!"

I have a few reasons for not buying books. The triple threat of the high price of new books, my somewhat frugal nature, and the fact that I'm a library fiend certainly don't help. But I've also come to realize a more crucial cause: when I buy books, I'm not very motivated to read them. I always think, "Oh, that book, that will be around all the time, like when I'm in the depths of despair with nothing to read. But this library book! This library book has a deadline!"

I'm not about to go buy loads of books any time soon, but I'm trying to change my outlook a bit. My most recent book purchase was The Omnivore's Dilemma by Michael Pollan, which is quite fitting with my current food obsession. I even started reading it!

Speaking of books about food, I still think one of my best reference books is the Joy of Cooking. I love the fact that you can get practical information about nearly any food, such as beets! Which brings us to beets. (oh transitions, I'm trying.)

So....going along with goals for the year, I've decided that I want to branch out more in terms of recipes and ingredients. And one food I haven't tried, or at least don't remember eating, is beets. Weird, huh? My first venture into the beet world ending up being a beet salad with goat cheese and candied walnuts on spinach. And it was yummy. The end!

(yeah, strong finish. I need to sleep.)

good things as of late

A hideously autumnesque dinner
Pumpkin and Black Bean Soup and spinach craisin salad. [Oh, and I hate Rachael Ray and the fact that I can't even buy wheat thins without seeing her face, but I read Shelterrific and I can't help it that they keep linking good looking recipies by RACHEL RAY.]

Paper Television, The Blow
So so good. Pretty soon this blog will become "Reasons why I love the Blow." Best CD I've bought this year! (Ok, there's only two on that list.)


Common Good Books
So, Garrison Keillor himself opened a new bookstore in my neighborhood. Now, I'm not a huge fan of Garrison. But I gotta say, his bookstore is damn cute. Of course it's filled to the brim with Garrison books, a Garrison director's chair, and uh...Praire Home Companion was playing while I happened to be there. But! If we can get past that, I love it. It's bright and airy even though it's in a basement, and it's small enough to actually facilitate browsing. If I go to Barnes and Noble I just become overwhelmed and flustered unless I have a specific goal in mind. But not here, oh no! I could go through the entire store and find goodies I've never heard of! So hooray for an independent bookstore that might actually stand a chance of staying afloat solely due to its connection to Garrison* himself.

*I'm disgusted that I managed to namedrop him so much.