TO BE SHELVED

Pigeon Feathers

2015-08-31T13:58:00.000-07:00

I've been reading Pigeon Feathers by John Updike lately. It's a collection of short stories and I've been making my way through it one story at a time before bed.

Last night I read Archangel and loved this part about handwriting:

The microscopic glitter in the ink of the letters of words that are your own.

Each story in Pigeon Feathers is so different and I'm really enjoying reading one story at a time. Keeping them separate in my mind.

I found this book review from the New York Times in 1962. Love you, archives.

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another book of short stories I loved before bed

Fall Olives!

1+1=2

Tiny Tattoos With a Story

2015-08-21T13:53:00.001-07:00

I already have a small tattoo on each of my wrists. On the left, a lowercase 'p' for my younger brother Patrick. On the right a fleur-de-lis for my time in Florence and New Orleans.

But what about a tiny lightning bolt for Harry Potter? Or a small whale tail for Moby Dick?

Basically, I'm loving this tiny tattoo project by Austin Tott and all the possibilities it holds. It's amazing how quickly each of these photos reminded me of a specific book or story.

Letters for 84 Charing Cross Road:

A reminder of A Walk in the Woods:

What do you think? What tiny shape would you pair with what background? What book would you permanently attach to your body?

Bonus points for Austin being a Seattle artist.

found on BoredPanda

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College freshman are the age of Harry Potter books

this HONY post

"I just finished a book and now..."

Composition Leggings from Out of Print

2015-08-18T12:39:00.000-07:00

Could I wear only leggings for the rest of my life? Probably. Right now, I'm obsessed with my DearKates but these could be the new loves of my life.

Out of Print has released their first leggings... in composition notebook print.

Perfect for Back to School, and/or every day of my life.

Buy a pair here.

(photos from Out of Print)

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potential bookmarks

Remember Amelia's Notebook ? My first love for composition!

thinking about this series again

Classiest Bookmarks: Shinola Book Darts

2015-08-14T14:57:00.002-07:00

I love everything Shinola.

The Detroit watch and bicycle company has expanded to have shops around the world and it's like, yes, that Detroit pride.

I just purchased my first Shinola watch and I'm excited to rep the Motor City everywhere I go. Plus wearing a watch makes me feel so adult.

They also sell book darts. Which, clearly, I have purchased and am obsessed with.

They're skinny and shiny and seem so committed to my reading progress. I think they're actually making me read more.

They come in this small tin, which I keep on my nightstand for marking new books.

I usually use receipts or whatever small paper is laying around to mark my pages, so these book darts are a pretty refreshing change. And they're only $15 for a tin of 75.

What have you been using as a bookmark lately?

(all photos Shinola)

fun bookmark notepads from Knock Knock

Moby Dick bookmarks

more love for Detroit

basically a portrait of me, today.

Moby Dick... Is Finally Over

2015-08-09T16:09:00.002-07:00

You guys.

I finally finished reading Moby Dick.

According to Goodreads, I started Melville's classic two summers ago... that's slightly embarrassing. I gave up on the search for the White Whale multiple times, but a friend who is obsessed with the story convinced me I had to finish.

I'm not sure yet if it was worth it. (Sorry Sue!)

But, I did make this great Etsy treasury with a Moby Dick theme as a reward to myself for finishing the book.

There are a bunch more wonderful things in this treasury, including a pretty wonderful sailor brooch. See the full Moby Dick inspired Etsy treasury here.

And if you're into this sort of thing, I've curated a handful of other literary-inspired collections on Etsy.

Have you read Moby Dick? The struggle is real. Please tell me you understand.

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a Pequod-inspired lunch

a super simple cover for Moby Dick

Harry Potter & Taylor Swift

A Wes Anderson Book & Books in Wes Anderson Films

2015-07-13T12:53:00.000-07:00

There are so many books I lust after, and would love to own, but really, where would they go? How often would I really open them?

Like coffee table books. They will only collect dust and seem cluttery (also, we don't own a coffee table). So instead, I pick through them at a library or a bookshop and then place them back on their shelves.

One of these books is The Wes Anderson Collection.

What an exceptionally beautiful book.

Photographs, sketches, and interviews combine to create a really wonderful history of Anderson's life and work.

And because the world is a scary place filled with synchronicity I will never be able to understand, my friend Clare shared this link to a video featuring the books in Wes Anderson films with me while I was prepping this post.

Although don't you feel like there are more books in his films? Hmm...

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My best friend sent me these Wes Anderson movie posters for my birthday and I still haven't decided where the perfect place to hang them is.

Royal Tenenbaums book covers

A new Chip Kidd TED Talk!

Orange Is the New Black, Season 3 in Books

2015-06-29T12:12:00.002-07:00

Season 3 of Orange is the New Black has officially been binge-watched and I think I noticed more books in this season than the previous two.

It's a shame BooksOfOITNB.tumblr.comhttp://booksofoitnb.tumblr.com/
didn't post for Season 3 but no fear because duh, Buzzfeed exists to fill all of our internet voids.

Episode 1 started off with a Harry Potter reference, which was wonderful. I knew I was going to be on board with Season 3 the second I heard the name "Cedric Diggory".

"Mess with the evil forces, you'll be out like Cedric Diggory. " @OITNB for the win.
— Alaina Buzas (@alainabuzas) June 12, 2015

And this scene, with Big Boo and Pennsatucky was so, so good. And not just for the Freaknomics breakdown:

I'm going to pretend no books were burned in this season and just leave it at that. Because it was just too heartbreaking.

And the whole dynamic that took over when Suzanne started writing her own book was pretty interesting to watch unfold. I love how literary this show is.

You can see the rest of the list of books referenced in Season 3 of OITNB over on Buzzfeed.

And here's a bit on the books referenced in Seasons 1 & 2

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Update: I'm still reading Moby Dick

Update 2: I'm moving this week for the last time in a long time

Unfortunately related post: Fahrenheit 451

Summer Book BINGO

2015-06-18T15:23:00.000-07:00

The Seattle Public Library system is pretty great.

Of course the Central Branch is beautifullllll, but I do love my little Greenwood branch. Especially the librarians who work there.

This summer Seattle Arts & Lectures and SPL have teamed up to create a Summer Book BINGO game for adults because kids shouldn't be the only ones with awesome summer reading challenges.

Once you've achieved a bingo, you can drop off your card at a library, in the mail or submit it via social media because hello, this is Seattle and we love the internet.

Plus, it's good looking.

Click here to learn more and download a card.

I'm really going to try to get at least one BINGO this summer. So far, I've been able to fill the "Checked out form the library" square. Wish me luck!

What are you reading this summer? I'm not quite sure what's on my list yet.

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Buying new coloring books after work. Wish I had this one!

Did you see the Dalek on the LINK?

porch inspiration for outdoor reading

The Office Letterpress

2015-06-16T10:00:00.000-07:00

My boyfriend works in this wonderful old building downtown. And he works in an office filled with lots of creative humans. The kitchen has beer on tap. The walls are filled with sketches of projects underway. Their company library is basically shelves filled with every book I've ever longed for.

But my most favorite thing is this small room, that in an office filled with iMacs, is the heart of the design work done at the agency.

I mean, I don't work there. I don't know. But I know.

As a designer, I can say that a letterpress is such a thing of beauty and a source of inspiration. It's like this living dinosaur. Something that won't die, and we wouldn't want it to.

A letterpress gives you flashes of the history of print. Of newspapers, of books, of posters and fliers and pamphlets posted around cities.

It made me miss the newsroom a little bit. And, it made me super motivated to finish up a few freelance projects I'm in the midst of. You could say, it increased the pressure. Ha!

What are you working on?

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this above-the-bed bookshelf is from my dreams

a year ago, because Orange is the New Black is BACK

bacon ipsum

The Casual Vacancy, on HBO

2015-06-03T10:30:00.000-07:00

We don't have television. I mean, we have a television but we don't get television. Which means we pretty much only watch what is on Netflix and HBO.

So I'm a little surprised I completely missed that J.K. Rowling's The Casual Vacancy has been adapted into a miniseries for HBO. The trailer looks pretty great. Of course, it is HBO, which I have never really been disappointed by.

Plus, DUMBLEDORE is in it so... I'm sold.

Paste magazine did a short interview with director Jonny Campbell, which you can read here.

I'm feeling drawn to reread the book before watching the miniseries, but at the same time, it might be refreshing to watch without constantly thinking about what was different in the book. Apparently, I never actually wrote a post about it, except this short thing.

Isn't it a strange feeling to be intrigued by your former self? I have no idea why it weighed so heavily on me and now I'm so curious!

Will you watch The Casual Vacancy?

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books versus television

books versus movies, Harry Potter edition

wisdom from Albus Dumbledore (sort of)

The (Hopefully!) Life Changing Magic of Tidying Up

2015-05-30T12:54:00.002-07:00

Here's the thing. I have clutter.

I wouldn't necessarily call myself a pack rat. Or a hoarder. It's more of a nostalgia thing. (*I'm also notorious for having clean clothes on the floor all the time because I'm just not into hanging them up. My bad.)

But as I've moved from state to state, apartment to apartment, the collections have gotten tiresome and heavy. Literally really heavy to keep moving around. So gradually, I've simplified. Made difficult departures with books and things, that now, I don't even remember what they were.

About a month ago I put Marie Kondo's "The Life Changing Magic of Tidying Up" on hold at the library, and finally picked it up a few days ago. It's pretty internet-famous and it seems to really work for people.

Like I mentioned before, we're moving again but this time staying put for a few years, at least. I'm excited to have a place to be settled into. And, instead of looking at it as a place to hold all that clutter, looking at it as a place to start fresh and only take there what I really want to. Hopefully, this book will be the start of that process of sorting through what goes with us and what does not.

You can learn more about Marie Kondo's book over at tidyingup.com. And, here's a short video of Marie talking about how tidying should be simple:

Have you read it already? Did it work? I figure it's worth it a try!

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new apartment decor, please?

I was thinking about this book yesterday.

"It's much harder to get rid of books..."

Literary Living Style

2015-05-10T19:00:00.000-07:00

We're moving... again.

Not across the country, again, thank god. And this time with the help of professional movers, thank god.

We're just headed to another neighborhood in Seattle. We're locked in there for a while, which means I'm browsing furniture and decor that I could invest in knowing I won't have to pack it up and move with it anytime soon.

Of course, it is hard to walk away from the gravitational pull of library-themed furniture and beautiful bookshelves. So I've found myself pinning so many wonderful book-related things and figured I should share some of my unearthed gems.

library sign // card catalog // magazine storage // book ends // letters

I actually used to have that Library sign from three potato four, but I didn't pack it very well and the wood snapped when I moved. It's a candidate for a repurchase.

And luckily my boyfriend is on board with the whole neutrals + gold thing, so most of these could probably get the "okay". (I'm so lucky.)

Seriously though, a card catalog for my home, please.

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still obsessed with this literary-inspired collection from Kate Spade

too many beautiful bookshelves, not enough square footage

reading is radical!

Blogging again is difficult. Beer helps.

2015-05-06T12:18:00.003-07:00

It's difficult to fall back into routines you've let go of.

Like, posting on this blog. Or reading regularly.

I'm trying to jump back into both. They go hand-in-hand, so it's a commitment that should be super easy and natural, right? Sort of.

Something that makes that reading part earlier is getting one of those really great emails from the library saying a book you put a hold on is finally available. I got one of those emails earlier this week and walked to my branch on Monday to pick up Galileo's Middle Finger by Alice Dreger.

One of my favorite ways to spend a sunny afternoon is to make that walk, pick up a book and head straight to one of the best little restaurants in my neighborhood. They have a great patio and on beautiful afternoons, I know I won't be the only one sitting at one of their picnic tables with a book and a beer.

Some books just need a beer companion.

A photo posted by Alaina Buzas (@alainabuzas) on May 4, 2015 at 2:22pm PDT

Of course, as soon as I snapped this picture, I thought of one of the best Tumblrs out there: Book and Beer, which, quite obviously, pairs good beer with good books.

So far, the best combination I've seen has been the glory of drinking a Russian Stout while reading War and Peace. Too. Good.

Do you drink when you read? So curious. I feel like there's so many photos that go around of wine drinking and reading... hmm...

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my new favorite kind of poetry

"It is often much harder to get rid of books than it is to acquire them"

still loving all things Lego + libraries

Amber Tamblyn's Dark Sparkler is My New Favorite Kind of Poetry

2015-04-28T09:04:00.000-07:00

Moment of honesty.

Outside of Frank O'Hara, I'm not quite the biggest fan of poetry. It's not that I dislike all poetry ever, I just never got super into it.

But when I received a galley copy of Amber Tamblyn's Dark Sparkler, I was immediately totally, absolutely in love.

Dark Sparkler is a collection of more than thirty poems as portraits of famous actresses who may have initially been stars on the red carpet but later fell far from the good kind of spotlight. Tamblyn's words pull you in to feel like you are deep in the minds of these women, however dark they may be.

Although the words are the skeleton of Dark Sparkler, Tamblyn's talent really shines in her curation of the collection as a whole. The book reminds me so much of the journals I've kept in the past; full of portions of a text, sketches, collage, print outs, etc. The pieces commissioned for Dark Sparkler vary from paintings to sketches to collages to comics, but there are no photographs. Just like Tamblyn's poetry, the artwork that accompanies her words isn't what we would expect to be paired with a series of profiles. Instead of portraits we would recognize, the original artwork woven into the pages of Dark Sparkler, reflects the inner thoughts and feelings of these starlets.

I wanted to share this from the foreword by Diane di Prima, which I found to be 100% true:

At some point you will begin to get curious. Something will start to tug at the edge of your mind/heart. At that point, go to the library or search the Internet for information about any girl/woman you find yourself thinking about... Read their (often sadly short) stories. Let your imagination fill in what book and computer don't say.

The collection is practically addicting. You really get lost in these pages and in the world of these women, researching them after reading Tamblyn's portraits.

Plus, Frank is in this book.

Learn more about Amber Tamblyn at Amtam.com, which is pretty good lookin' as far as actor sites go, and her poetry non-profit at WriteNowPoets.org.

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hey there, stranger!

I love my city.

the bus from Into the Wild, because I saw my friend Kristi this weekend!

hey there, stranger.

2015-04-22T12:27:00.002-07:00

Hi there, I'm back.

I'm just as excited as I was back in 1989 when this photo was most likely taken.

I know, it has been like... forever. But a lot has been happening and I've really been enjoying spending time away from the computer. Seattle winters are pretty wonderful and beg for you to be outside as much as possible.

Book things coming soon.
And, I've been planning a bit of a facelift for this place.

Stay tuned.

A Good Reason For A Break

2014-11-16T13:32:00.002-08:00

The past month and a half have been a complete whirlwind.

I began a new job as the Events and Outreach Manager at 826 Seattle, now known as The Greater Seattle Bureau of Fearless Ideas. We hosted three parties to celebrate the change and completely revamped our website. All of the news-breaking finally wrapped up yesterday and I'm able to think about things other than work.

But I'm not really complaining. This is a big change for us. After 9 years as 826, we've broken away from our National organization so we can continue growing and serving Seattle youth in the best ways we know how. For those of you unfamiliar with what we do, we're a non-profit writing and communication center for kids 6-18. And all of our services are free. We're very, very excited that our big secret and wonderful new name are now public knowledge.

Anyway, now that we've launched the new site and spread the word, I'm really, truly hoping I can get back to reading. I can't remember the last time I picked up a book, which is sad, especially since I have a pile just waiting to be read.

I'm also looking forward to posting again. I always feel like my life is a little off-balance when I take these steps away from the book world.

PS. To learn more about The Greater Seattle Bureau of Fearless Ideas, visit fearlessideas.org.

The Chain Exposes the Fate of our Food

2014-10-08T09:35:00.000-07:00

I've been carrying around Ted Genoways' The Chain: Farm, Factory and the Fate of Our Food in my purse for quite awhile now, reading it just a a little at a time. It is quite a lot to process.

I mentioned in August that I had started reading The Chain. Back then, I shared I had learned that I never ever wanted to try Spam, and we feeling really great about becoming pescatarian. I also said that although I've always felt pretty educated on the food world, I loved learning more.

Which is all still totally true.

In a Q&A with Genoways, the author explains the title of his book:

In meatpacking plants, the speed of processing is set by a chain conveyor system. The chain determines everything about how a day in the plant goes. During times of high demand, the company will try to push the speed of the chain to get more output. When it gets to running too fast, injuries occur and food can be processed improperly. Workers often talk about the chain as if it were a living thing, something to be feared. This book is really an examination of what happens when the chain is allowed to run unbridled.

Probably the best summary I've found of what I read.

What Genoways does so well in The Chain is he makes it about people, not about pigs. Although he seems to tell a lot of similar stories, each story still held my attention and had me flipping through pages. More importantly, it made me want to talk about what I read. In my opinion, that's what makes a non-fiction book a success. If I want to share what I've read and have discussions that could possibly teach a friend or peer something new, that's wonderful.

Basically, The Chain, is really great journalism.

Also, the cover is so nice. So nice and simple.

Forward, but not being grotesque. And of course, can anyone really go wrong with red, white and black? I hope they keep this as the official cover and not just the proof! That's always a disappointment.

The Chain is out on October 14 (so soon!) but you can pre-order it on the Harper Collins site. If you want a little sample of Genoways' writing, you can read his related articles.

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more wonderful food writing

this AMAZING cookbook just arrived

my Tigers lost today, and I'm feeling homesick

Harper Perennial 50th Anniversary Olive Editions

2014-10-06T10:30:00.000-07:00

Back in 2008, Harper Perennial selected a handful of their modern classes and reissued them as limited editions. Designed by Milan Bozic, these beauties sold as $10 trade paperbacks. It became an annual tradition through 2011 and has been brought back this year to celebrate Harper Perennial's 50th anniversary.

My wonderful friends over at the Olive sent me a box of the eight books they released this year and holy moly, I am in love!

Seriously, the best delivery in the world is a box of brand new books.

I'm almost ashamed to admit I haven't read any of the eight titles I was sent, but on the positive side, I now have so many wonderful things to read!

A Tree Grows in Brooklyn by Betty Smith

The Monkey Wrench Gang by Edward Abbey

Under the Volcano, by Malcolm Lowry
The Financial Lives of Poets, by Jess Walter

The Art of Racing in the Rain, by Garth Stein

Telegraph Avenue, Michael Chabon

Native Son, Richard Wright

State of Wonder, Ann Patchett

I love the style of these. After looking through Bozic's portfolio, I realized I own quite a few books that he's designed as well, including Bottom of the 33rd, Ugly Man, and Out of the Woods.

And I love this quote on the back of A Tree Grows in Brooklyn.

"From that time on, the world was hers for the reading."

You can see the Olive Editions from previous years over on Harper Perennial's Tumblr page.

Sooo good lookin'!

How wonderful is this cover from M.S. Corley?

Dana Tanamachi's Puffin Chalk covers

Daily Drop Caps will always be lovely

Beautifully Modern Alice in Wonderland Playing Cards

2014-09-27T13:50:00.000-07:00

I have a friend who somehow keeps getting into these situations where everyone believes she is obsessed with something she is not, so everyone buys her gifts on that theme. In middle school, it was Finding Nemo. Then it somehow turned into playing cards. Recently, as a joke, I brought her back a deck of cards featuring former leaders of China from my visit to Beijing.

But now I'm beginning to see why people might actually want to collect decks of cards.

Thanks to DeckStarter, kind of like Kickstarter for cards, playing cards have never been more beautiful. Like, so good looking you might now even want to play with them.

One of the most wonderful looking decks to hit DeckStarter so far is the Alice in Wonderland two-set pack from Turnstyle design studio.

Much of the design of the two-set pack is based on the idea of parallel worlds, a major part of Lewis Carroll's writing. The decks inspired by the Art Nouveau and Art Deco eras, set in ornamental white, black and gold designs. And, of course, gold without foil stamping wouldn't be much fun at all, so the decks are graced with foil as well as embossing.

The deck even includes quotes from the Carroll's classic story, which is such a great touch.

My favorite part about this deck is the story of how it came to be. According to the studio's website, they donated their time and services to a local elementary school to help with the school's production of Alice in Wonderland. Awesome. Beyond the deck, they created a logo, playbill, cast t-shirts, posters and more.

At the time of posting, the pack had 240 backers and had raised about $9,000 of its $14k goal. Pretty impressive for a simple game. I think it speaks volumes to how much we value well designed things.

Also, double points for Turnstyle being a Seattle-based design firm. Love this city more and more every day.

You can support Turnstyle's Alice in Wonderland Design on DeckStarter, and read a review with designer Steven Watson (whose son was the Mad Hatter in the play) over on The Dieline.

(via The Dieline)

Motion Silhouette Book Creates an Ever Changing Story

2014-09-14T11:04:00.000-07:00

Children's books can be completely enchanting. Children's pop-up books even more so.

Japanese designers Megumi Kajiwara and Tatsuhiko Niijima have taken the magic of story time to a whole new level with their new book, Motion Silhouette.

The designers explain on their website that by using the movement of light, the story changes with the "falling shadows that move about freely on the page". They encourage readers to "please enjoy the silhouette meaning and shape to change in various ways."

Motion Silhouette is actually the second book from Kajiwara and Niijima. The first being Silhouette, with a similar take on the pop-up book. Both are such a great study of light and storytelling.

So lovely. I would love to own both of these intricate, beautiful pieces.

(via Anthology Mag)

the most simple box bookshelves

Independent booksellers are on the rise again!

Silhouettes from Popular Culture by Olly Moss

Extremely Loud and Incredibly Close Printable

2014-09-12T15:02:00.002-07:00

As a small side project, I've been creating a series of $0.99 printables for my Etsy shop. I've wanted to veer toward literary themes because I love the community I've found in the book world. (Especially today when I received some really wonderful surprises in my inbox... that will soon show up in my snail mailbox!)

I was thinking a lot yesterday about one of my favorite books, Extremely Loud and Incredibly Close. I always end up drawn to it on September 11 each year. I think it's such a powerful work for those of us that have grown up in this post 9/11 world and I love all the stories Jonathan Safran Foer has shared about the writing process that went into it.

Although spurred by such a tragic topic, one of my favorite things about the book is the beautiful language Foer lends to his characters that have a difficult time communicating in tradition ways. Which is what inspired me to spend a little bit of time today to throw together this 8x10 printable for my weekly project.

Have you read Extremely Loud and Incredibly Close? I never saw the movie because the book is so precious to me, and my group of friends. I'd love to know other people's opinions.

If you'd like to download the hi-res version of the printable, simply visit my Etsy shop and grab the instant download for $0.99. And let me know if you do. I'd love to know. Better yet, tag me on Instagram with a snap of it up in your casa.

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my favorite John Updike quote

Wee Edgar Allan Poe

one of my most favorite photos

Can't Wait to Read: The Third Plate

2014-09-10T13:04:00.000-07:00

Is there any better email than a notice from the library letting you know a book you had a hold on is now available?

NO.

I just picked up Dan Barber's The Third Plate: Field Notes on the Future of Food and I can not wait to devour it (ha! jokes!)

After discovering the work of food writer Michael Pollan in college, I changed my eating habits. First, I decided to only make meat 15% of my diet. Then, I gave up meat all together. Since moving to Seattle I've started to eat fish but not very often, and only if I know it was locally caught. My interest in the American diet has increased along with my changing food habits, anc I'm excited to read a book by a chef who has seen how the food movement has developed on a global scale.

From the book jacket:

At the heart of today’s optimistic, farm-to-table food culture is a dark secret: the local food movement has failed to change how we eat. It has also offered a false promise for the future of food. Our concern over factory farms and chemically grown crops might have sparked a social movement, but Chef Dan Barber reveals that even the most enlightened eating of today is ultimately detrimental to the environment and to individual health. And it doesn’t involve truly delicious food. Based on ten years of surveying farming communities around the world, Barber’s The Third Plate offers a radical new way of thinking about food that will heal the land and taste good, too.

Can't wait.

Have you read The Third Plate yet? Did you love/hate it?

You can learn more about Dan Barber through his TED Talks, or read/listen to this nice piece on NPR about the book.

Also, The Third Plate has a pretty nice book website, if you're into that sort of thing.

And, I'm convinced I need to eat at Barber's restaurant, Blue Hill Farm, ASAP.

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another great food book: Eat the City

My first Pollan read: In Defense of Food

delicious-looking fictitious dishes

Simple Box Bookshelves from Aust & Amelung

2014-09-09T12:27:00.000-07:00

Dear readers of the world,

You may now furnish your living rooms. Germany-based design studio aust & amelung has created everything you need to read in style.

Designers Miriam Aust and Sebastian Amelung say one their site that "reduction and simplicity define the form as well as the function of their objects", which I think is pretty evident if you look at the photos of their work.

I love how this one product can completely transform a wall in so many ways. The possibilities are really endless when you think of the incredible book cover patterns, designs and typography that could cover your home.

Miriam Aust has also designed "a bookshelf" (simple names are best?).

This book shelf offers for these books which became precious just a new presence and aditional function in the special „shelf architecture“. A quite arbitrary number of shelf boxes in different heights, cutting and turning round each, are forming this shelf.

And once you've chosen a book off the shelf, they've also created a couch to read on, as well as floor lamps and hanging lamps to illuminate your reading space.

I love their simple collections and designs. Great work for readers by Aust & Amelung.

(via Fast.Co Design)

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reading is dangerous

bookshelves that disappear into the wall

books that light up

Antique Books

2014-09-03T15:13:00.001-07:00

I feel like I am no longer a collector of books, which made me kind of sad this afternoon when I came across a tiny collection of lovely antique books on a blog I love.

When I was in college, I'd bring home new old books on a weekly basis and treasure them dearly. I'd actually show them off to friends when they came over to visit. But moving from Ohio to Illinois to Washington meant letting a few of those books go along the way.

I still have lots of books I love, but at one point during packing I had to start asking myself "Am I actually going to read this?"

I guess that's not really the point of collecting, and I have a handful of books that are even too fragile to read, but it was a practical decision. Especially since I now live in a small one bedroom apartment with my boyfriend and cat.

Have you left books behind that you reminisce over? Am I just crazy? Please share.

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a seemingly endless archive of vintage paperbacks

what kids think about classics

what are you currently reading?

Reading Around Seattle

2014-08-29T10:00:00.000-07:00

I've happily fallen back into the habit of always having a book with me. Lately, I've found myself immersed in a story at an ice rink, outside a museum and in a library.

I really love the Central Branch of the Seattle Public Library. Although my little neighborhood branch is great, I jump at the chance to spend an afternoon at the Central Branch downtown. I had a meeting about a mile away earlier this week and chose to walk to the library after. I ended up spending three hours browsing for books, reading a novella and checking out something new.

"What harbor can receive you more securely than a great library?"

—If On A Winter's Night A Traveler

Has anyone read The Lemoine Affair? It's the only thing I've read by Proust (that I remember) but now I'd love to read more. In it, he mimics the writing styles of a handful of other writers all covering the same topic. I discovered it and finished it while spending the afternoon in the (air-conditioned!!) library.

Similarly, I just finished reading If On A Winter's Night A Traveler, recommended via Tumblr for my trip to Alaska. I started reading it while on my trip but it was such an interesting read, with a lot to digest, so I just finished it yesterday. If you haven't read it, I think the best way to summarize it is that it is a book about books, or a book about readers.

P.S. How great is this passage:

"... That invisible movement that reading is, the flow of gaze and breath, but, even more, the journey of the words through a person, their course or their arrest, their spurts, delays, pauses, the attention concentrating or straying, the returns, that journey that seems uniform and on the contrary is always shifting and uneven."

Lastly, I've just started reading Ted Genoways' new book, The Chain: Farm, Factory, and the Fate of Our Food (out in October). So far, I've learned I never want to try Spam and feeling pretty good about my pescatarian diet. Although I feel relatively educated on the food world, I always love learning more and seeing more points of view. It's incredibly interesting and I'm so happy to have received a copy to review.

So that's what I've been reading. What about you?

(all photos from my Instagram)

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more wonderful reads from Melville House's The Art of the Novella series

I can't believe I've lived in Seattle for over a year

a reminder from C.S. Lewis