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Tag Archives: books
Birthday Books for Dad
My pops is a hard guy to shop for. The one thing that never disappoints him is shirts with pockets. Sounds simple, but the man has spent his life in pursuit of quality shirts (the right cotton weight, good stitching in the crew neck, appropriate upper arm coverage by way of long enough sleeves) and while there are many makers of fine tees, finding all of that plus pockets is a bit like a really anticlimactic treasure hunt for my family. So for his birthday this year I decided to ditch the shirts and went for something I know he’ll enjoy: dogs. My dad’s two dogs are like children and he dotes on them a lot like Mumbles and I do with Baxter.
I found this awesome book Maggie on Things via A Cup of Jo. And I’d heard of the Underwater Dogs photos but I was delighted to find they’d been made into a beautiful coffee table book. It’s so goofy and fun and the whole story about how the author found fame and his calling — very cool. I think it’s awesome that both books were never intended to be books at all – they were just a collection of photos on a blog or on a website. How reaffirming it must be that the thing these people are most passionate about or find simple pleasures in has found a place in the hearts of so many others. Just captivating!
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Judging Books by Covers, part II
One of my most popular posts of the last two years was about Judging Books by Covers so I thought I’d do another roundup of some ones I wouldn’t mind sitting pretty on my shelf.
Kids Collection Box Set — covers by Daniela Jaglenka Terrazini and book titles in the set are Peter Pan, The Wizard of Oz, The Secret Garden, The Little Princess, Wind in the Willows, The Adventures of Robin Hood, The Call of the Wild, Anne of Green Gables, Black Beauty, and The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn. Buy it here or on Amazon.
JD Salinger collection — I’ve not read any of the other books in this collection from J.D. Salinger other than Catcher in the Rye (one of my favorites). Have you read any of his other books?
The Fairytales of The Brothers Grimm — Reviewers on Anthropologie.com say this is the real deal, the fairy tales that aren’t made into happily ever afters, which sounds prety intriguing to me. You can buy it from Anthro or from Taschen Books here.
Drop case collection — my favorite is the ‘A’ for Jane Austen’s Pride & Prejudice—I adore the peacock feather motif. Check out this article about the series with Penguin Creative Director Paul Buckley.
Mr. Boddington’s Penguin Classics — BFOTB kindly gifted me this gorgeous Wuthering Heights and I’m tempted to buy the coordinating Pride & Prejudice, Little Women, and Sense & Sensibility. Would you believe I’ve never read Little Women? Rachel from FRIENDS would be ashamed, I know. Even Joey read it!
The Beekeeper’s Bible — because my dad is always rescuing bees and fretting about what will happen if/when the bee population disappears. Plus, this book cover artwork is simply stunning. http://www.williams-sonoma.com/products/the-beekeepers-bible-book/?pkey=cagrarian-garden-bee-keeping&
What are the prettiest books on your shelf?
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Here’s to more…
I was so proud of myself in November and December because I had all of my posts scheduled and drafted — I even had enough ready to go that I didn’t have to lift a finger while on vacation (bet you didn’t even realize I’d gone!). But now, just when we’re all supposed to be kicking it into high gear, getting pumped up, resolving to do better in the New Year, I find myself slacking in the writing department. While it’s nice to take a break every now and then, I made the choice to use this blog as an expressive outlet and writing tool for myself. As a way to fuel creativity, inspire, share and connect. And I love it. So I need to keep writing.
And that’s where this comes in…
I received this awesome book “642 Things to Write About” as a birthday gift and it’s full of fantastic prompts and blank spaces to write in your answers. What a fun way to spark up ideas!
I know that 2013 has great things in store for me and you. May you work toward what you want a little more each day in this New Year — toward happiness, love, laughter, and fun. Here’s to more!
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Gift Idea: Books Soon To Be Movies
I’m a strong believer that books are better than movies so this holiday season, I’ve scooped up a couple of books to gift away before they become movies. I think it’s common that people read books and then like to see the movies to watch the plot and characters come to life, but unfortunately, once you’ve seen the movie, it’s a lot less likely that you’d go back and read the book. Even if everyone tells you that you should. I know. I’ve had this conversation a lot. Here are some books that will soon be coming to the big screen — lovely and thoughtful gift ideas for friends, family and coworkers!
via gillian-flynn.com
I got wind that three books by Gillian Flynn are being made into movies including the best selling book Gone Girl. My mom’s an avid reader so I thought they’d make a great gift this holiday season (sssshhhh!) — plus after reading the novel’s description I’m looking forward to my mother getting through it and passing it back to me (the plot sounds a bit like my current show obsession Revenge, which I’ve been watching on Netflix nonstop)! I can’t wait to wrap the trio up with some of my fun clay gift tags! Also, I found this article from USA Today that interviews the author and says Reese Witherspoon is producing and set to star in Gone Girl (yay!).
I previously shared my love of The Perks of Being a Wallflower which was recently made into a movie starring Emma Watson of Harry Potter fame. In case you didn’t know: this girl’s a huge Harry Potter nerd. Obsessed. So hey, there’s another book-series-turned-mega-movie-hit…if you’ve not yet read the Harry Potter series, a) you’re crazy b) you’ve missed out on a worldwide phenomenon and c) read ’em. all of ’em. I know it’s a lot of books (7) and the page counts are crazy huge but they’re easy to read and J.K. Rowling does a fantastic job of creating a world that you can easily envision in your head, which only makes the movies more magical to watch as you see the wizarding world come to life on the screen. There are tons of stories from adults and kids alike that say the series is what created a yearning to read. How cool is that? Definitely a superb gift idea, especially as a big bundled set. Like I said: read ’em.
I was pretty disappointed when I first saw the new Great Gatsby trailer (can we have a collective sigh for dreamy Robert Redford Gatsby? swoon…) but I did love Baz Luhrman’s take on Romeo & Juliet (also featured Leonardo DiCaprio as the lead) so hopefully it will exceed my expecations. It’s Gatsby and Leo so all in all, it’ll be hard not to love, I’m sure. In any case, this holiday season is a great time to dust off your copy of the classic or gift it to someone who’s never read it because the movie release date was pushed back to spring/summer 2013.
Twilight fans will perhaps be interested to read Stephanie Meyers’ new novel The Host— yet another love triangle but this time only involving two bodies and no wolves or vampires. Weird, huh? Instead it’s aliens and the movie will star Saoirse Ronan, who I adored in Hanna.
Are there any books set to become movies that you’d recommend? I hear there’s another Nicholas Sparks movie in the making…
Stick Girl JAM 