While looking for good fodder for our wacky, fun and ever-growing Weird Book Room, I will often come across a book with a title or premise that seems weird at first, but then after a bit of delving, makes perfect sense. And in some cases, like today’s, the book turns out to be fascinating and beautiful, too.

That’s how I came across this book by Shirley Hibberd, first published in 1872. It’s called The Seaweed Collector: A Handy Guide to the Marine Botanist. Purported to be a great introduction to seaweeds, sponges and other plant and animal life under the sea, the book contains numerous black and white illustrations as well as eight tissue-guarded glorious color woodcut plates. It helps identify different varietals by many factors, as well as helping collectors classify and sort their finds. It used to be more common (though they are still seaweed hobbyists and enthusiasts today, apparently) for sea-visitors to collect and press seaweeds as scientific specimens or even souvenirs. Most commonly, they dried and pressed specimens were kept as objects of beauty, kept under glass or even framed and hung as art.

I’ve posted before about how I love the upcycling and repurposing of old books. I understand how some people feel taken aback or even hurt when they see books turned into art, or furniture, or decor, but the reality is that those books, once decided they are no longer of value for their original purpose, would be going to live on a farm, where they would have plenty of room to chase rabbits and roll in the clover.

…actually, they would be pulped.

Finding new uses for books saves them from a fate in which they are gone forever to the world, in any recognizable form. These new uses, when they preserve the book in whole or part of its original form, constitute a positive to me. It celebrates books and recognizes that those of us who are passionate about books want to have them around us, and admire their form, shape, and object beauty as much as the ideas and words inside.

I also tend to associate sitting with reading. If I am sitting on a cloth and metal chair in the dentist’s waiting room, a molded plastic seat in an airport, or my own lumpy, squashy couch at home, chances are, there is a book in my hand. So I feel this list of 20 bookish seats is all too beautiful and appropriate. There are book benches, book chairs, and I even saw a few book beds – all kinds of book furniture. Some are made from books, some are a decorative homage to books, and some are simply designed as pieces to house books, but all celebrate the love of reading. Enjoy!

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Kingsolver has primarily written fiction (some of her best-known include The Bean Trees, The Poisonwood Bible, and The Lacuna, though Prodigal Summer might be my favorite), but is also no stranger to non-fiction. One of the books for which she received a lot of attention was her 2008 book Animal, Vegetable, Miracle, an exploration of her family’s attempts to eat more locally and environmentally sustainably.

The new title, Flight Behavior, is fiction again. The novel is a Tennessee-based story of love, science and spirituality. Kingsolver says the spark of inspiration for the tale came to her all of a sudden, in a dreamlike vision, and all went smoothly from there.

“Often there is a moment when I can see the novel sort of unrolling like a carpet in front of me and that did happen with this book. I think the novel is very much about how we understand and process what we see and how very true it is how we decide first what we believe and then collect evidence to support it, rather than the reverse. When you look at the conversation about climate change it’s baffling that everyone is presented with the same facts but people come away with very different convictions about what’s going on.”

Has anyone read this book? Share your thoughts in the comments.

One of our booksellers, Oldimprints from Portland, Oregon, is listing some vintage seed packets for sale and, frankly, they are beautiful. The seed packets come from the Card Seed Company in Fredonia, N.Y. and are circa 1910. The bookseller writes:

The similarity of package design of these seed packets and those of another New York firm led to these packets never being used, due to the possibility of litigation. They were warehoused prior to World War I. The vividness of the colors is typical of chromolithography, a pre-photographic method of printing, now seldom used in commercial publication.

The seller is right, those colors are vivid. Today’s seed packets don’t compare. Seed packets have a long history crossing horticulture, retail and art as this Independent article shows.

Now here is a piece of seed packet trivia – did you know that the 1951 first edition of The Day of the Triffids by John Wyndham came with a seed packet attached? Now that’s Mad Men-style marketing.

I wonder what the seeds were – I hope they were sunflowers because they’d at least give the illusion of ‘Triffidness’ for a few weeks before blooming.

There were probably 20 – 30 books neatly stacked with a variety of genres including some self-help books, fiction, a handful of romance novels and a couple of classics. My daughter wondered why there weren’t any children’s books available to borrow and asked if we could set up our own book lending box in our front yard.

Do you have something like this in your neighbourhood? If yes, what’s the best book you’ve borrowed? Send us a picture of your local book lending box. Would you consider setting up book lending box? I love this idea and will soon be making another visit to the Blackwood Book Exchange.

In our line of business, sustainability comes from used books – we love the idea of a book passing from one owner to another. A book should serve several generations of readers, so enjoy our selection of ‘Green Books.’

Discussions stem from Michale Pollan’s book, In Defense of Food: An Eater’s Manifesto which the university handed out for free to all incoming freshmen. Professors have also been encouraged by school officials to use the book in their classes.

While students are excited about how the book has fuelled debate which in turn has served to connect students to one another, local dairy farmers are none-too-pleased.  They see Pollan’s call to action—Eat food. Not too much. Mostly plants.- as an attack on modern farming and are seeking an opportunity to present their side of the story to students.

Pollan’s blaming of scientists for the preservatives in food and the replacement of true nutrition with ‘food’, has also drawn criticism from at least one UW-Madison professor.  John Lucey, who is a  food scientist as well as a professor wrote on a university web site that scientists have helped preserve foods longer, improved food safety and cut meal preparation time for busy parents.

In Defense of Food was chosed by UW-Madison Chancellor Biddy Martin who started the “Go Big Read” program where the campus is asked to read the same book. She said she chose Pollan’s book because of its coverage of several topical national issues.

“This is our core business at the university — taking something that interests a significant number of people and let people talk about it from every conceivable point of view,” Martin said. “I love this give and take. That’s what a university is about.”

Colin Beavan’s  family on the other hand, did go a year without toilet paper. Or a car. Or TV. Or electricity. And nothing new other than food. Oh, did I mention the family included a two-year-old?

It all sounds pretty extreme but the Beavans survived their year-long experiment and as toddlers usually do, the two-year-old  adapted easily to the new lifestyle.  They experienced  year of appreciating what they had and their relationships with people rather than things.

Colin Beavan documented his year in his “green printed” book, No Impact Man: The Adventures of a Guilty Liberal Who Attempts to Save the Planet and the Discoveries He Makes About Himself and Our Way of Life in the Process.  His intention was to bring attention to the problem of global warming and to discover how necessary life’s necessities really are.

I’ll admit, I don’t think that I could do what the Beavans did but I am wanting to live a little greener and perhaps his book would give me some insight on how to live without the things I couldn’t possibly live without.

Watch an interview with Colin Beavan.

See a promo for the No Impact Man documentary:

Kermit-the-Frog warned us that it’s not easy being green so this Earth Day, we decided to lend a hand. Take a look through our list of Ten books to help you live a greener life:

1. Biking to Work (The Chelsea Green Guides) by Rory McMullan
   A complete guide to make cycling to work a reality, and safe, for the beginning cyclist. For those who live within cycling distance to commute to work, this book offers simple safety, bike buying, and gear buying tips, as well as ways to best plan your route to and from the office.
2. Don’t Throw It Out: Recycle, Renew and Reuse to Make Things Last by Lori Baird
   Draws on traditional Yankee ingenuity and thrift in an ingenious guide that presents more than one thousand ways to help extend the life and value of household objects, from furniture and fishing reels to cell phones, lawn mowers, linens, and jewelry, with fix-it-fast tips for making simple repairs, money-saving ideas for making things last longer, and new uses for worn-out items.
3. How to Grow Fresh Air: 50 House Plants that Purify Your Home or Office by B.C. Wolverton
   In research designed to create a breathable environment for a NASA lunar habitat noted scientist Dr. B. C. Wolverton discovered that houseplants are the best filters of common pollutants such as ammonia, formaldehyde, and benzene. Hundreds of these poisonous chemicals can be released by furniture, carpets, and building material, and then trapped by closed ventilation systems, leading to the host of respiratory and allergic reactions now called Sick Building Syndrome. In this full-color, easy-to-follow guide, Dr. Wolverton shows you how to grow and nurture 50 plants as accessible and trouble-free as the tulip and the Boston fern, and includes many beautiful but commonly found varieties not generally thought of as indoor plants. He also rates each plant for its effectiveness in removing various pollutants, and its ease of growth and maintenance.
4. Eco Craft: Recycle Recraft Restyle by Susan Wasinger
   Who knew taking care of the planet could look so good? Eco Craft shows how, with 30 truly beautiful home décor projects that elevate environmental consciousness to stylish new heights. Every idea is amazingly clever: who would ever have imagined that plastic six-pack can holders could become a chic Moorish-inspired filigree tri-fold screen? Or that glass baby food jars would make a charming candle chandelier? Every project features at least one beauty shot in a modern home setting, easy-to-follow instructions, and step-by-step color photos, while handy icons spotlight the key techniques, materials, and the estimated time to complete each project.
5. The Bag Book: Over 500 Great Uses and Reuses for Paper, Plastic and Other Bags to Organize and Enhance Your Life by Vicki Lansky
   Readers get over 500 ideas for using and reusing all kinds of bags to organize and enhance their lives. Tools, toys, and even art are among the crafts that make use of paper, plastic, and other kinds of bags.
6. Weekend Furniture Facelifts: 70 Great Ways to Update Your Furnishings by Helen Carey
   Everyone gets the urge to redecorate–but often there’s little money or time to spare. Now there’s a way to renovate furnishings quickly, even on the tightest budget. More than 20 step-by-step projects–from pretty pastel chairs and divine lampshades to sparkling bathroom storage and an instant home office–are explained and illustrated with detailed photographs. A glass tabletop becomes a focal point with the help of a stenciled floral design. A bed radiates luxury with the addition of a fabric-covered headboard. Incredible color and texture effects are achieved using the latest paint and craft products. And each one of the eye-catching projects can be completed in a weekend or less.
7. 99 Ways to Cut, Sew & Deck Out Your Denim by Faith Blakeney, Justina Blakeney, Ellen Schultz
   How many pairs of old jeans do you have in your closet? Everyone from the sewing novice to the fashion guru can appreciate the 99 ingenious projects that will reincarnate your denim has-beens into fashion must-haves. The techniques are simple, the supplies are easy-to-find, and every project takes ninety minutes or less, from start to finish.
8. Baking Soda: Over 500 Fabulous, Fun, and Frugal Uses You’ve Probably Never Thought Of by Vicki Lansky
   Ecologically safe, inexpensive, and found in nearly every home, baking soda is one of America’s most trusted products. Hundreds of practical tips are divided into categories that cover uses in cooking, gardening, cleaning, health maintenance, first aid and much more. Includes a brief history of the product and an explanation of how it works.
9. Junk Beautiful: Room by Room Makeovers with Junkmarket Style by Sue Whitney, Ki Nassauer
   Using a recycle and reuse approach to home decorating, a richly illustrated manual explains how to transform trash and junk into one-of-a-kind furnishings and accessories for every room in the house, with tips on searching and shopping for recycled materials, design and construction, adding personal touches, and more.
10. Sewing Green: 25 Projects Made with Repurposed & Organic Materials by Betz White
    By its nature, do-it-yourself sewing is environmentally friendly. In Sewing Green, Betz White takes stitching to an even higher level of sustainability, presenting 25 projects made from repurposed thrift-store and back-of-the-closet finds and organic fabrics.  White’s whimsical yet practical designs include an apron constructed from men’s dress shirts (and a wallet from the shirt’s cuffs!), a soft blanket pieced from secondhand cashmere sweaters, and even a tote bag refashioned from used Tyvek envelopes. Along the way, White dispenses tips on everything from how to deconstruct old garments for reuse in new creations to how to wrap gifts with reusable fabric scraps instead of paper. Inspiring profiles about well-known leaders in the eco-stitching movement are sprinkled throughout, and a complete resources section helps crafters make eco-smart choices. With Sewing Green, today’s sewers will be fashioning handmade heirlooms and sustaining traditions for generations to come.