January's Why-I-Love-Books Roundup
This January I discovered 8 new reasons to fall in love with books, all over again.
1. Cooked Books. I have read books about famous cooks. I have referenced books while cooking. I saw Julie & Julia. This is different. Well Done is a book that appears empty…until you BAKE IT IN THE OVEN. I know. For book nerds by book nerds. Check it out.
2. Fan Fiction. Speaking of book nerds, this site, called The Ultra-Condensed Classic Books, breaks down the plots of all those arduous classics into something more manageable for us common people.
For example, The Great Gatsby:
Gatsby: Daisy, I made all this money for you, because I love you.
Daisy: I cannot reciprocate, because I represent the American Dream.
Gatsby: Now I must die, because I also represent the American Dream. (Gatsby DIES.)
Nick: I hate New Yorkers.
THE END
3. The Personal Shopper. I hate that feeling you get after finishing a truly amazing book. You mope and eat peanut butter and stare out the window like it’s raining (even though it’s not). But now those days are over! Just tell The Book Seer what you finished reading and he will divine what your next read should be. Brilliant! And so scientific, too!
4. Book Care. It’s important to respect your books. That said, check out this website that teaches you to hollow books so you can hide things in them! Your kids will never figure out where you put your chocolate stash…or your Will.
5. Hidden Treasure. Even if you choose not to deface your books, you can still hide things between the pages. The owners of Unnameable Books, in Brooklyn, have found a lot of crazy things over the years, stashed in used books. Read the article here.
6. Bomb Bookcases. Run out of room for all your books? So did this guy. Building a bookcase into your stairs is a stylish way of saying, “No. I won’t donate the books I don’t really need to The Salvation Army.” We book addicts need to stick together.
7. Book Exchange. When you do run out of room for new books, there’s this neat site called BookMooch where you can trade books you’ve read for books you’d like to read. I mean, I love the smell of a new book as much as the next guy, but this is a good way to read a lot of books on the cheap (also see: LIBRARY).
8. LIBRARIES! Libraries are magic. You get that free little piece of plastic and then a huge building full of books is suddenly at your disposal. Check out these beautiful libraries and then go visit your own. It misses you.
Hope you had a happy and book-filled January!
-Susannah
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LOVED this entry! Susannah, you just took the Why-I-Love-Books column to a whole ‘nother level!! Looking forward to seeing more from you =)
This is truly enlightening! As an avid book-reading, recycle-minded, craft-oriented kind of person I can’t wait to get busy hollowing and stashing fun things in the pages of my favorite reads. I appreciate your insight Susannah, thanks to your charmingly informative entry I’ve also planned on reuniting with my good friend the library!
The Book Seer is my new best friend.
The Ultra-Condensed Classics site is absolutely hilarious. I’m only looking at the summaries of books I’ve already read though, because it would spoil any others.