rennes

Ocean at the End of the Lane is great and I highly recommend it.  I think that almost anyone could appreciate it and enjoy it.  And it's a quick read.  The story starts as a man recalls a part of his childhood he has forgotten for many years.  In the narrative you are transported to a world that is scary and illuminating in a way only a child could talk about.  The characters in it very much remind me of the three fates that pop up throughout the Sandman.  I always love how Gaiman can weave similar character throughout all of his books.

I picked up Status Anxiety randomly at a used book shop downtown.  I have great intentions when I sit down to read non-fiction but most of the time I only make it halfway through, but I know I will finish this one.  It's really well written and the examples that Alain de Botton gives are very thorough.  Essentially the book is about how democracy and meritocracies have led people, whatever "social status" they might have to be in a state of constant state of anxiety about their position.  Should I be doing better?  Should I have a better job?  Should I buy a bigger house?  These are only some of the questions he looks at and it's so interesting.

I consider all of Dan Brown's books beach reading.  They aren't well written, but, what can I say, I love historial fiction thrillers.  Inferno was about Dante, but really dealt with ideas of overpopulation which was much more interesting to me.  Since reading it, I saw a few articles about the book claiming that (as normal) his data is inaccurate.  Nevertheless, I think he had some good points and unlike previous books that mainly tackle religious organizations, this one seems to address a bigger issue.

My desire to read books is based on the place I found them - I suppose that's kind of odd. Some book stores are better than others and often I feel a bit lost and overwhelmed in most of them, and as a result I find it hard to pick the "right book" (unlike Jesse who seems to be in a blissful state in any one). Last weekend we stumbled across a great book store in Philadelphia - I think it was called The Next Page, part of the friends of the Philadelphia Free Library. Almost every book I picked up off the shelf looked interesting! I love it when that happens. I had to restrain from only purchasing the above ones, though I wanted about ten more. Perhaps I might have been more tempted, save for the wintry mix pummeling down outside.

 When we got back on Monday I picked up A Year in Provence. I hadn't heard of it, but the description told me that it was about an English couple who drops everything and buys a stone farmhouse in Provence. So it sold me pretty quickly given that's kind of my dream right now. I didn't know what to expect but it's hilarious (think Douglas Adams meets Provence).  So funny that I decided we needed to read it out loud to each other; making me way too excited to come home to read every night.

I just took out Visit Sunny Chernobyl from the library last week and it's already it's the best thing I've read in a long time. The topic is interesting to me more from a historical/cultural perspective rather than an environmental one, but I think the author does a good job of balancing these two things. The writing can be a little clunky at times, but other times it seems similar to how Jonanthan S. Foer writes. If you want to read a little bit more about the book, I recommend reading this article.

I just got this great book about cheese called Cheese : Exploring Taste and Tradition. Sometimes books that look like this can be full of pretty pictures but lack information; this one manages to be a really great mix of both. It's so informative that I'm learning things about cheese I never thought that you could know about cheese, if you know what I mean. Cheese is probably my favorite food, in pretty much any form. This book is nice because it really explains different cheese making processes, shows you where different types come from, and even has a few different recipes at the end. I've made paneer a few times, but this makes me inspired to maybe try other kinds.

A few other things:

+ Thank you so much for your orders! Wow, you guys are awesome! I've been so busy working on them this past week, so thank you so much for your enthusiasm and all your emails. I've had to mark the Milo Wallets as coming soon so I can catch up, but I will have them back in stock as made to order in about a week.

+ I updated the yard sale site with a few things yesterday (all clothing). I hope to add more leather pieces in a few weeks, so check back then if you weren't able to get the one you wanted the first time around. A lot of people have been asking me where I get my leather - I get it from lots of different places it would be hard to name them all. I recommend looking on ebay if you are just looking for one hide or or a small piece - it's a good place to start out.

Over the weekend I found a book on Provencal Quilts and would love to try the technique called Boutis. Boutis consists of two layers of fabric which have been sewn together with a small running stitch and then stuffed with cotton yarn in different patterned areas. The antique quilts made with this technique are stunning - I can only begin to imagine all the time that went in to making them.

In Québec I picked up this book at a used bookstore. The rooms in the houses look like they were taken directly from Vermeer paintings - now I can't stop dreaming about living in a little country home. And painting everything dark cobalt and geranium red.