Booktagger Blog

Philosophy club swap

2009-11-06T19:32:00.004+11:00

I took this book on holiday and took only a day or so to finish it. I have been a fan of The No. 1 Ladies' Detective Agency series for a while (although I haven't yet completed them) and found this first book from another of Alexander McCall Smith's series just as enjoyable. Perhaps, even more so given I no longer needed to struggle over the characters names. The rest of my review can be seen here.

Now, I'm ready to read the second in the series, Friends, lovers, chocolate, but thought I would give Booktagger readers the chance to be involved in a book swap. If you can send me the next in the series, I'll send you an uncorrected proof of The President's Wife by Thea Welsh (due for release by Harper Collins in March 2010). Just post in the comments or via Twitter (Australians only sorry, otherwise with the postage I may as well buy a new copy).

Thea Welsh is the author of the memoir The Cat Who Looked At The Sky (Flamingo 2003), and the novels Welcome Back (Random House 1999) and The Story Of The Year Of 1912 In The Village Of Elza Darzins, which won the 1990 National Book Council ‘Banjo’ Award.

Tick tick

2009-11-04T21:39:00.001+11:00

Simple book-themed clocks in classic black and white our bright primary colours from Karlsson.

Flick to flick

2009-10-14T22:18:00.003+11:00

This book seat is part of the Museum of Modern Art (MoMA) collection (details). I love the black and white, and that you can flick the cushions like pages of a book to get a comfortable position to... flick through the pages of a book.

Photo

One third missing

2009-10-11T22:34:00.005+11:00

I recently attended a local book bazaar that Jeremy, Oskar and I have previously come home laden with books from. Unfortunately, this time I must have arrived late as there was nothing of interest on the trestle tables and no children's books left at all. So, I stopped at two second-hand book stores on the way home, still in search of a bargain, but only back with The Undomestic Goddess by Sophie Kinsella. Sydney, it appears, is currently very hungry for second-hand books.

Although I have confessed to being a Sophie Kinsella fan, The Undomestic Goddess, was a book that even my couple of gold coins seemed wasted on. It appeared to me, that in producing this novel, a critical one third of Sophie's chick lit. formula was missing.

Read my review here.

Can you be a full-bellied skinny bitch?

2009-09-09T22:26:00.005+10:00

My reading list wasn't updated on Booktagger for a couple of months as it included a couple of books that would have given a secret away. One was a book a recently won via a blog competition, Full Belly by Jodie Benveniste and the another Skinny Bitch Bun in the Oven (I loved Rory Freedman and Kim Barnouin's first book, it was too funny in places, even though extreme in other and did turn me vegetarian again for a significant number of months).

Last time I was pregnant there were only two related books I read and would recommend: Up the Duff (funnily enough, the only one my specialist recommended too) and Running and Pregnancy.

Vintage centrepieces

2009-08-31T21:55:00.003+10:00

These vintage books have been used to display table numbers for a wedding setting. The romantic titles in bright colours have the striped numbers placed on them in tape. A great DIY project for any booklover wanting to number tables for a themed event, and placed on a stack of similar volumes they make a great alternative as a centrepiece to flowers.

Instructions and more images can be found at Once Wed.

Space fuels imagination

2009-08-05T07:12:00.002+10:00

Oskar was looking through his I Spy Fantasy book that I have posted about finding before and wanted to build a scene like this one.

It is a space scene, made of kitchen items. So, I took a range of stainless steel saucepans and utensils out from the cupboards and he started to recreate it. I love how books fuel imagination.

Sculpted book jewellery

2009-08-04T14:24:00.006+10:00

Images

These rings, made from books, are by artist Betty Pepper. I love how the rings fit back into the pages of the book. She has other, more intricate works in her series called book keeping, but these sculpture-like ones are my favourite.

In a previous post I also featured jewellery made from books, by artist Liz Hamman, and I have since found another beautiful image of one of her pieces, somewhat similar in simplicity to the rings above.

Images

As you probably know from a range of posts, I am a fan of Ladybird books, so the fact that this bangle is from the Ladybird book "Goldilock and the three bears" is a bonus.

Masterchef madness

2009-07-22T23:20:00.012+10:00

I became a fan of the Australian television phenomena Masterchef late in the series, but still found the final tense, have been more inventive in the kitchen lately and can't resist another food-themed post.

Winner of the series, Julie Goodwin, will have a recipe book published in April 2010 by Random House. It is sure to be a great seller, as there has already been a myriad of posts online from viewers speculating she only won because her cookbook idea for home-style recipes, presented to Donna Hay during an episode, was sure to be a hit among the demographic that predominantly purchases recipe books.

I am not a prolific buyer of recipe books, unlike most Australians given how many are published each year. However, I do have many of Donna Hay's and love getting Jeremy to bake items from the chocolate section in Flavours, and own a relatively small stack of others.

The two favourite recipe books I own are:

The Edmonds Cookery Book, a staple in all New Zealand kitchens that my mother gave me. First published in 1907, it is still popular and remains New Zealand's fastest selling book. Inside are a range of seemingly fail-safe recipes, including all the basics like scrambled eggs, along with a great conversion table for when you are stuck with recipes requiring a certain number of grams of butter and only have measuring cups and spoons. Tonight I made roasted potatoes in their skins with a mayonnaise, garlic and lemon rind dressing from this.

The Tra Vigne Cookbook is a favourite as Jeremy worked in the restaurant around the time I met him and we had our wedding reception there. The Italian-themed recipes from American celebrity chef Michael Chiarello follow the seasons of the Napa Valley, where the restaurant is located. Jeremy makes the lemon-baked fish with spinach salad, cooked and presented in brown paper bags, so well that I would never attempt it. In addition to the recipes and beautifully worded introductions to each section are photographs reminding me of the restaurant and cantinetta where I would sit outside sipping expresso and reading while waiting for Jeremy to finish his shift.

There are two recipe books on the horizon in Australia I find interesting. Miss Dahl's Voluptuous Delights, probably as I am a Sophie Dahl fan (I loved the whimsical The Man with the Dancing Eyes with its delightfully matched illustrations) and it looks gorgeously decatent.

Cook in Boots by Ravinder Bhogal contains the odd combination of food and fabulous shoes, that will actually appeal to types like me. A peek inside shows quirky titled chapters that are actually pretty relevant and recipes that are manageable while still being different from all the rest out there.

What are your favourite recipe books (and why?) and which do you this you'll try next?

Recipes in books that aren't recipe books

2009-07-14T21:00:00.007+10:00

The colder days in Sydney have had me cooking porridge for breakfast. Not the one minute instant oats in the microwave kind, a chic french kind. Using Grandma Louise's oatmeal with grated apple recipe that only takes a couple of minutes longer and includes only a few more ingredients, but tastes a thousand times more delicious. Although, since my last name is LeBard, it may appear that this is a family recipe passed down to me, it simply came from a book, French Women Don't Get Fat by Mireille Guiliano.

A number of books I have read contain recipes, even though they are not recipe books. I recently posted a review on Family Life by food writer Elisabeth Luard, whose autobiography of her children's upbringing included a couple of recommendable recipes I have tried (one I included in the review).

More recently, I finished The Friday Night Knitting Club by Kate Jacobs (also reviewed), which contained a recipe for muffins at the end that I am still to try.

Have you ever used a recipe from a book that isn't a recipe book?

Recession reading

2009-07-05T22:38:00.004+10:00

Part of my bookshelf.

One library in Sydney, Stanton Library, was recently reported in the local council news to have increased in popularity this year, possibly due to the economic climate:

"In the first three months of this year, there were 13% more visitors to Stanton Library and 6500 more books borrowed than in the same period last year. Another 1460 new members have joined the library."

Have you altered you book buying habits due to the economic climate? How?

So far this year I have:
+ purchased second-hand books for the first time
+ swapped and borrowed books much more than usual
+ used discount offers emailed to me from bookstores
+ cleaned out the bookshelves and boxed fifty books to sell

Dewey Decimal Digs

2009-06-27T21:43:00.012+10:00

Previously, I have blogged about The Library hotel in Koh Samui, Thailand. A perfect holiday destination for sun, sand and reading. However, if you are a booklover seeking to travel to a more fast-paced and cosmopolitan location, Library Hotel in New York is the one for your itinerary.

Each of the ten floors in the building is dedicated to a different category of the Dewey Decimal System. Each of the six rooms located on each floor contain books from one of the topics of that category, with artwork to compliment the topic in the a classical modern environment.

Facilities in the hotel also follow the literary thread, such as the writers' den, bookmarks lounge and poetry garden.

In 140 characters or less

2009-06-24T17:03:00.008+10:00

After adding Eat Pray Love by Elizabeth Gilbert to my currently reading bookshelf I received a tweet from @Librarylandlady directing me to this amusing synopsis of the book:
Crybaby abates her insecurities by traveling around the world. How nice for her. The End.

I am only a tiny part into the book, and enjoying it, but it did seem quite apt.

The edited version of the book came from @tweetlibrary, where books are condensed to 140 characters or less.

I was going to include the edited versions of all the top books listed on Booktagger. However, our list is totally comprised of Stephanie Myer or J K Rowling titles, of which I could only find one edited version:
Harry Potter and the Philosopher’s Stone by J. K. Rowling. Kid knows magic, sucks at life. The End.

Take a look at the Booktagger list of most popular items on shelves and post an edited version of one in the comments, or tweet it to @booktagger (I'm sure tweetlibrary wouldn't mind hearing from you too). Or maybe compose one of the last book you read.

Reading in rhymes

2009-06-18T16:41:00.005+10:00

I love these reproduced vintage reading posters. The simple images and the expressions on the characters faces work so well. The text is, of course, reworked version of popular nursery rhymes.

My son loves acting out little Miss Muffet, as he loves to scare me with a pretend spider. He is also particularly intrigued with Wee Willie Winkie, whose taps can always be heard on the nights Oskar is taking a long time to settle down to sleep ;)

Book interiors for decoration

2009-06-15T21:55:00.007+10:00

Old hardback books can be difficult to recycle, due to the adhesives they contain. Artist Laura Cahill has found a novel way to reuse such books, by turning them into vases.

The books are cut to shape and wrapped around a test tube, so they can be used. I even found instructions online of how to make a version yourself. Unfortunately, hundreds or test tubes at work were thrown out a few month ago and I didn't know of this use for them at the time.

Laura also reused book to make this table and the base of a reading lamp.

Lit up for literature

2009-06-12T15:08:00.007+10:00

This colourful bus won the Library bus of the year award by the Swedish Librarian Society. It was designed by the company Muungano, and has also been nominated for advertising and graphic design awards.

The bus contains books and digital media. The interior is just as colourful and in the dark, which is a significant part of the winter in Sweden, it lights up like a lantern.

Big and cozy books

2009-06-11T13:50:00.005+10:00

I love seeing book-inspired furniture and these large and cozy pieces look very inviting.

Although the pieces look fantastic individually, the larger arrangements create great communal reading spaces and book spine pieces can decorate the walls to complement the overall theme.

The products are available from the aptly titled company Big Cosy Books.

Penguin Classics as notebooks

2009-06-03T22:55:00.007+10:00

A fan of lists and notebooks, in addition to books, these notebooks with Penguin classic cover are very appealing to me. The blank notebook contain 200 pages and include an elasticated bookmark and pocket. There are a range of covers, and the one portraying a collection of spines looks good too. And the matching pencils!

The range can be purchased from Notemaker, and I must comment that the link was found when I checked out the blog of one of our new Twitter followers, krissyb.

Recent reads

2009-06-03T22:22:00.006+10:00

Remember I blogged about reading the short story, The Curious Case of Benjamin Button, on my iphone? I have now finished reading Emma by Jane Austen the same way and am still surprised that I found it even easier to follow than a paperback. I have now downloaded a number of other classics to consume through BeamItDown. I'm still unsure I would enjoy it as much with another ereader, as I love the autocue style.

Up until last year I hadn't read any Jane Austen, and one of my reading goals is to get through them all. I received The Jane Austen Book Club by Karen Joy Fowler via Book Relay a couple of years ago and hope to read it once I know am able to appreciate more of its subtleties, which I know were lost on me in the movie.

Yesterday, I also finished The Associate by John Grisham. I enjoyed it until close to the last chapter. While the ending probably portrays reality, I usually enjoy how an author cleverly packages everything up quickly and unexpectedly. I don't mind some open endings, but there were just too many. So many that I will speculate this is the first book John Grisham will write a sequel for, and I am guessing it will be called The Mole.

Unicorns and balloons

2009-05-29T13:37:00.005+10:00

Jeremy wants to design a series of t-shirts based on books he reads. The first available for purchase depicts an analogy described in Tribes by Seth Godin, that we both read recently. The relevant passage from the book is below. If you can relate to being the unicorn, maybe you have spectacular ideas you can develop and soon a tribe will follow.

"The balloon factory isn't really a bad place to work if you rationalize a bit. It's steady work, with a bit of a rush around New Year's. The rest of the time it's quiet and peaceful and not so scary. Except when the unicorns show up. At first, the balloon factory folks shush the unicorn and warn him away. That often works. But sometimes, the unicorn ignores them and wanders into the factory anyway. That's when everyone runs for cover. It's amazingly easy for a unicorn to completely disrupt a balloon factory. That's because the factory is organized around a single idea, the idea of soft, quiet stability. The unicorn changes all that. The balloon factory is all about the status quo. And unicorns (leaders) change the status quo."

Jeremy and my reviews can be found here on Booktagger. Although, I need to edit mine as there now exists an appreciation society for me on Facebook, albeit a small one, so maybe a I have become a unicorn.

Turn your read books green

2009-05-27T22:48:00.008+10:00

The phrase reduce, reuse, recycle is not quite fitting for book lovers, as we may not want to reduce the books we buy. Often we reuse books by using libraries, borrowing and lending to friends and family, and purchasing from second-hand bookstores. You can also upload a list of books you want to read and those you have to give on BookMooch. (I haven't yet tried BookMooch, but often used a similar service called Book Relay, that is now defunct.)

Producing books means cutting down trees, 30 million per year in the United States alone. But, you don't have to stop buying books to prevent this...

Why not plant trees to replace those that are turned into your volumes? Tonight I visited Eco-Libris and gave money toward planting trees equivalent to five books. They have even sent me five cute stickers to place on my redeemed books. (You could just plant your own, but my balcony would too soon become a forest.)

The book book shelf by design studio not tom was built from books destined for the bin after not finding new owners at jumble sale. When you are finished with a book try to pass it on to another reader, but if you cannot, this could be a fun item to replicate.

How else can you make your read books green?

Curly comparisons

2009-05-25T20:56:00.006+10:00

Designed to hold pieces of knowledge, you books and other treasured object, this bookcase is named the Wisdom Tree.

I love the tendril-like branches, and can't help thinking if it were mine, I would have to place my book Goatsperson and other tales by Michael Leunig on one. Doesn't the Wisdom tree remind you of his style, also seen in Curly Car painting below.

On holiday at the library

2009-05-23T21:33:00.004+10:00

I just found the location of my next vacation. The Library in Koh Samui, Thailand.

This gorgeous hotel, named The Library, knows that a good vacation is one where you can read. So the team aims to help you accomplish this.

There is, of course, a library filled with books, and the theme continues with many picturesque locations to read at, a restaurant called The Page to dine at and Reader sculptures.

Harmless spills

2009-05-21T21:15:00.006+10:00

If your favourite genera to read is crime, then this looks like your perfect bookmark. Called the liquid bookmark it really does look like liquid running down your page.

The liquid bookmark is available in red, white or black. So, you could also read a cookbook and have it appear like you have spilt your milk.

Each bookmark has a unique pattern, formed when the silicon it is made from is pored. The bookmarks are available for purchase from design boom.

Yes, I'm a scientist

2009-05-20T23:15:00.004+10:00

I found this bookcase by a Swedish designer, Smansk a few weeks ago and liked that it resembled the double-stranded appearance of DNA. That is is also hot pink, and made from lego-like pieces that probably also made it attractive.

Lately, I seem to keep finding things I like in pairs, so tonight I discovered the alpha-helical bookcase, named myDNA, that even has a rotatable version.