I have always imagined ...

 

(source: photoquoteography)

A lovely quote by Jorge Luis Borges.

(via I can Read)

Happy Friday!

A Where the Wild Things Are illustration to start your weekend off:




via odosketch.
If unable to view, click here.

Have a good weekend, everyone (all four of you)!

Glow in the Dark Book

 (source)

 

Sawa Tanaka has come up with an amazing concept for this book about nocturnal animals!

If more books glowed in the dark, there would be less need for reading lights. Someone should get on that.

Bookish Wallpapers for Your Mobile Device (from Poolga)

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Check out other wallpapers at Poolga!

"Jersey Shore" Gone Wilde

I've never been able to sit through an entire episode of Jersey Shore for obvious reasons. But Playbill.com's version of Jersey Shore is definitely more entertaining. The cast of The Importance of Being Earnest performs lines from the MTV reality show in the style of Oscar Wilde. Enjoy the video below!

(Not really safe for work).



Watch all five videos here.

via eBookNewser

Monday Post

Spotted at Skylight Books

Book Haul

The results of a weekend spent browsing the local soon-to-be-out-of-business Borders bookstores. But I'm far from being considered a book hoarder; my collection is in the ballpark of a mere 150 books.

eReader Covers by Out of Print

Image source: Out of Print

Out of Print, known for their literary t-shirts, recently added eReader covers to their shop. The jackets are made of cotton canvas and are available for the Kindle (2 & 3), iPad (1& 2), and Nook. Prices range from $40-$50.

If I didn't already have a cover for my kindle, I'd definitely be buying one! The covers look like real books, and I wonder if they smell like books, too. Check out all their selections. The other covers at M-Edge are pretty awesome, too (love this panda one).

DailyLit: Get Your Literary Fix in Small Doses

If you want to find a way to incorporate reading in your daily routine, DailyLit might just be the right tool for you. DailyLit provides a free subscription service that delivers books in small chunks (that can be read in 5 minutes or less) through RSS and email. The website provides over 1000 books to choose from, including all the usual classics as well as foreign literature and book samples. All you have to do is pick a book (or books) and customize the settings to when and how often you want to receive the installments. Currently, I'm getting installments of Grammar Devotional by Mignon Fogarty via email.

Useful Links

• Visit DailyLit
• Browse books
• See their FAQ

The Dangers of Letting People Borrow Your Books

I was sorting through my books to donate and came across this Kurt Vonnegut book. I lent it to my sister, and she returned it waterlogged.  Sigh.

Oh, the horror!

New Year, New Planner

For 18 months, I've been using the Moleskine weekly planner (before that, I used a Little Otsu Planner [and before that, I had a Slingshot]). For 2011, I'll be using the MMMG Draw Your Tomorrow planner purchased from the Hach. I've been searching everywhere for this exact planner, and I'm so glad I was able to find one that shipped to the U.S. at a reasonable price. The clean and minimalistic design of this planner is exactly what I've been after (and it's spiral bound!).

The Moleskine got pretty bulky with all the notes I stuffed in it.

Even though there are plenty of PDAs and calendar apps, I still prefer writing things down in a planner.

2010 in Retrospect and Plans for 2011

Top 5 books I read in 2010 (in no particular order):
The Hunger Games by Suzanne Collins
The History of Love by Nicole Krauss
Norwegian Wood by Haruki Murakami
Blink by Malcolm Gladwell

Resolution postcard by Andy Babb

My New Year's resolution is to read more nonfiction books. My other resolution is to read the books I already own but haven't gotten around to reading (this will decrease my book hording ways--hopefully).

Obligatory New Year quote by Neil Gaiman:

"May your coming year be filled with magic and dreams and good madness. I hope you read some fine books and kiss someone who thinks you're wonderful, and don't forget to make some art -- write or draw or build or sing or live as only you can. And I hope, somewhere in the next year, you surprise yourself."

Happy 2011!

Holiday Inspiration

Hopefully you've finished all your holiday shopping. Here are some gift wrapping ideas!

Garland made from pages of old books via Knotty Bride (not a gift wrapping idea but I like how festive it looks)

Use pages from books/magazines/newspapers as wrapping paper via Birch + Bird

Library themed gift wrapping via papernstitch

All My Friends are Dead free printable gift tags via Chronicle Books

Free e-cards from Fossil

Happy holidays!

More Gift Ideas

If you're still pondering what to get for the book lover on your list, here are some ideas!

1. Mslk Designer Bookmarks ($15 for a set of 5)
2. Hare Bookmark ($12)
3. Library Gift Tags ($7)

4. Books Print ($16)
5. Book Clock ($39 $35)
6. Library Kit ($20)
7. Pictorial Webster's: A Visual Dictionary of Curiosities ($35)

8. Notable Novelist Card Game ($10.95)
9. Attack of Literacy T-shirt ($18 $12)
10. Dodo Case for Kindle or iPad ($49.95)

ChronicleBooks.com Discount Code
Get 35% off your purchase and free shipping. Use the promo code HAULIDAYS during checkout (offer expires December 16th). Check out Chronicle Books now!


*All images are from their respective websites.

Gift Guide: Bookish Holiday Cards

1. Happy Holidays Library Cards (set of 6 for $9.50)
2. A Literary Christmas (set of 15 for $14.95)
3. Booklover's Holiday Card (set of 10 for $15.95)
4. Victor Borges Quote Letterpress Card ($4)
5. Library Themed Christmas Card ($3.50)

If you're planning to send out some holiday cards, why not use these vintage stamps from Verde Studio. I purchased a batch, and they're really lovely!

Or these Sunday funnies stamps from the USPS website (or your local post office [if you're in the U.S.]).

*All images are from their respective websites.

Gift Ideas: For the Writer

Throughout the month I'll be putting together bookish gift guides. The first installation: gifts for writers. Enjoy!

Pencil case by Sam Made ($14)

Pencil set by Paper Pastries ($10)

Lamy Safari Rollerballs from See Jane Work ($28.00)

Ecosystem Notebook from Barnes & Noble ($10.95)

The Writer's Pack from Chronicle Books ($29.95)

 Typewriter Eco Wallet from FluffyCo ($25)

*All images are from their respective websites.

Chronicle Books: Happy Haul-idays Giveaway

Chronicle Books is giving away $500 worth of books to one lucky blogger! All you have to do is post a list of books from Chronicle valued up to $500 that you'd like to win. And one commenter of the winning post will also win all the books on the winning blogger's post. You can increase your chances of winning by commenting in other blogs that have already entered (e.g. this one!).

Here's my list (in no particular order):

1. Paper + Craft ($19.95)
2. Reprodepot Pattern Book ($24.95)
3. How to be a Graphic Designer without Losing Your Soul ($24.95)
4. 642 Things to Draw ($16.95)
5. Volume ($24.95)
6. Graphic Design for Nondesigners ($22.95)
7. Letters from the Avant-Garde ($24.95)
8. Swimming with Strangers ($22.95)
9. Paris Out of Hand ($22.95)
10. This is NPR ($29.95)
11. The Englishman Who Posted Himself and Other Curious Objects ($24.95)
12. How To ($9.95)
13. The Official Nancy Drew Handbook ($16.95)
14. Fast, Fresh, and Green ($24.95)
15. New Vegetarian ($19.95)
16. Yum-Yum Bento Box ($16.95)
17. All Cakes Considered ($24.95)
18. Cupcake Kit ($19.95)
19. The Small Object: Today is Super Journal ($10.95)
20. Greetings from the Onion ($19.95)
21. Greetings from the Ocean's Sweaty Face ($19.95)
22. Romance Pulp Postcard Box ($2.99)
23. The Art of Vintage DC Comics ($18.95)
24. San Francisco Greetings ($9.95)
25. Oh Joy! Mix & Match Stationery ($8.95)
26. Lotta Jansdotter Notes & To-Dos ($12.95)

My sub-total: $498.74

The deadline to submit your entry is December 10th. If you've entered the contest, post comment! I'd love to see what's on your wish list.

Discount code
Get 35% off your purchase and free shipping by using the promo code "FRIENDS" (offer expires December 5th December 12th!).

Linky links:
Visit Chronicle Books
Learn more about the giveaway.
Official rules & stuff.

An Evening with Rainn Wilson

On Thursday I got the chance to attend a book reading/discussion/Q&A/signing for Rainn Wilson's book SoulPancake: Chew on Life's Big Questions, which is the companion piece for soulpancake.com.

Where "spirituality meets creativity," SoulPancake is a project that emerged during the time Rainn Wilson was gaining recognition for his role as Dwight Schrute on the sitcom The Office. According to Rainn, he wanted to create a place (soulpancake.com) where people can converse and debate issues about life, philosophy, spirituality and everything in between. SoulPancake (the book) is like the existential adult version of Highlights—encouraging readers to write, draw, or take apart the book (or you can just read it while on the toilet). The book also has a lot of great contributions from artists.

Co-authors Golriz Lucina and Devon Gundry (Rainn Wilson contemplating life's big questions in the backgroud)

Rainn Wilson was hilarious (as expected), but I was surprised the co-authors didn't add much to the discussion. When getting my book signed, I asked Rainn if he had any book recommendations. "Yes," he said. Then he went to the art section of the bookstore and came back with 30,000 Years of Art: The Story of Human Creativity Across Time and Space. He gave copies of this book as Christmas presents.

And for your viewing pleasure, here's SoulPancake's book trailer:


Rainn Wilson // SoulPancake Book // Video Trailer from SoulPancake on Vimeo.

Multipurpose Book Storage

Ex-libris
If only I had an office...

Rotate It by Sherry An
A good storage solution for dorm rooms.

Trick by Sakura Adachi (via dornob)
Awesome!

Bookcave also by Sakura Adachi
I might be too claustrophobic for this...

Lost in Sofa by Daisuke Motogi Architecture
Just imagine all the loose change you'll find in there.

Bookinist by Nils Holger Moormann

And it even has a secret compartment!

Bored to Death: Opening Credits

From hbo.com:

"The offbeat comedy series 'Bored to Death,' created by Jonathan Ames, follows the misadventures of a fictional Jonathan Ames as he pursues his quixotic dream of emulating his heroes from classic private detective novels."

 

Just watched the first season on Netflix. Very funny and amazing cast!

Visit the Bored to Death website.