Category: Good Reads

Beer Craft

I saw this post on Cool Hunting about a new book called Beer Craft, and I immediately sent it to Ian.  Ian’s been into home-brewing for a while now, and has created a few tasty beers in our basement (yep, I was totally skeptical at first, but seriously, they’re good!)

This book looks rad – Ian says the content is really good, and I love the design.  It was written/created by a couple – he’s a beer critic, and she’s a designer.  How awesome is that?  I think we need this book at our house, so I’m adding it to my online shopping cart right now…

The Jones Library is my Magazine Stand

Public libraries are such a good idea. I know that sounds simplistic and kind of obvious, but think about it. If libraries (and the infrastructure for them) didn’t already exist, it would be nearly impossible to start up today, don’t you think?

Anyway, on to the point of the post. We have some really good public library branches in Toronto (S. Walter Stewart is my personal fave), and some that are just so-so. I used to think the Jones library (my local branch) wasn’t anything special, since it’s so small.

At first I would just go there to pick up my holds, and then leave. But then I noticed the magazine section at the Jones library. It’s as well stocked as a Chapters store. You can get the current issue of many titles, and you can actually check them out. I currently have the latest issue of Style At Home, and Ian has the latest Popular Mechanics. You can get House and Home, Toronto Life, Oprah, Real Simple, National Geographic, the New Yorker, the Atlantic, GQ… The list goes on and on.

The Jones library has become my personal magazine stand. I know I’m spoiling the secret by sharing it. So go have a look, but don’t take out too many issues, or I’ll have to fight you for them.

Matchbook Magazine

The design blog world is all a-flutter with Matchbook Magazine – the latest in a steady stream of shelter/lifestyle mags (seems everyone’s still trying to fill the void left by Domino).

I’ll admit, I was a bit skeptical about Matchbook.  I only have so many hours in the day, and as much as I love wasting time online, a magazine has to be really great to hold my attention.  So I checked it out, thinking I’d give up after reading a few pages.

But then I stumbled on this page:

I want just about EVERYTHING here.  Look, there’s a bookplate that says “This book belongs to Avery”!

And then I kept reading, and saw articles about Anna Bond (of Rifle Paper Co), Peggy Guggenheim, Princess Margaret (who knew she was an “it girl”?), Burberry, Jemma Kidd, Warby Parker… and that’s just in the first half of the magazine.

Matchbook Magazine, you’ve won me over.

Books for the Kid

As Ian and I start to make the long list of stuff we need to get for the tadpole, I want to make sure we don’t forget to build a great library for the kid.  Of course, we’ll be visiting the actual library often, but there are some books that are so good, I want to have our own copies.

On the must have list:

Goodnight Moon
Where the Wild Things Are
The Very Hungry Caterpillar (and anything and everything else by Eric Carle)
Eloise
This is New York (and the rest of the “This Is” series)
Moxie, The Daschund of Fallingwater
The Secret Garden (I’ll have to read that one to the kid for a while until they’re older)

What other books would you recommend for our kid?

Ultimate Book Collection


I guess as a final way to celebrate their 75th anniversary, Penguin Books has released The Penguin Classics Library Complete Collection: More than 1000 of the Greatest Classics.  And if you have a spare $13,413.30 it can be yours!  [sidenote – if it costs that much money, is the 30 cents really necessary?  Couldn’t they have rounded it up or down?]

Consisting of 1,082 titles, this really is the ultimate book collection. Wouldn’t it be lovely to have a private library with all of those books at your fingertips?  I guess that already exists, and it’s called an e-reader… but if you love the printed page, this is the way to do it.

[via kottke.org]

Jonathan Safran Foer’s “Unmakeable” Book

I happen to like Jonathan Safran Foer and his books.  Ian thinks he’s a pretentious dork (and Ian hasn’t read anything by him, so to me, his opinion on this subject is useless).  Regardless of how you feel about the author, you have to admit, his new book is amazing.

Called Tree of Codes, it’s actually another book (Bruno Schulz’s The Street of Crocodiles) with a bunch of the words cut out, so it makes its own story.  More about the book and the printing process can be found here.  Forget your e-reader… I think you have to see this in actual book form to appreciate it.  Can’t wait until it’s released on January 11.

[via Fast Company Design]

New Magazine: Anthology

Ooooooh something new to drool over.  Since Blueprint and Domino folded, I’ve missed getting a quirky design/interiors print magazine.  The online blogs are great, but I do love having something I can actually hold in my hands.  Enter Anthology, a new quarterly print mag that “takes a narrative approach to its coverage of home décor, travel, design, entertaining, and culture.”  Meg Mateo Illasco (of Craft Inc and Creative Inc book fame) is the creative director, so you know it’s gonna look gorgeous.  You can order the first issue for $14, or get all 4 for $45.  Wanna see more?  You can preview the issue online here.

[via Design*Sponge]