Necessary Objects

"White, upper-middle-class criminals go to the state college, not the state penitentiary. Then they..."

Wed, 20 Aug 2008 17:48:18 -0400

“White, upper-middle-class criminals go to the state college, not the state penitentiary. Then they join fraternities.”

- Laurie Halse Anderson, Catalyst

Despite the title, the book Problogger: Secrets for Blogging...

Fri, 08 Aug 2008 17:03:23 -0400

Despite the title, the book Problogger: Secrets for Blogging Your Way to a Six-Figure Income by Darren Rowse is not only for bloggers who are looking to make money. While it does have some good tips on ad placement and other ways to make money from blogging, the majority of the book focuses on building and maintaining a successful blog. I have been reading Darren’s blog Problogger that spawned this book for some time now. While some of the things talked about in the book have been mentioned on the website in the past, it has a lot more in depth information and tips. Anyone who is serious about blogging and would like to learn how to hone their skills a little should check this book out.

-Derek

I read this today. It was awesome. The art is beautiful. You...

Thu, 07 Aug 2008 03:57:00 -0400

I read this today. It was awesome. The art is beautiful. You should read it too.

-Eva

So awesome. The voice-over with Harry and Dumbledore at the end...

Thu, 07 Aug 2008 03:55:45 -0400

So awesome. The voice-over with Harry and Dumbledore at the end is so good.

I’ve been considering re-reading the Harry Potter series. It would be my third time for books 1-4, but only my second time for 5-7. Five was when I began reading the books as they came out, and due to the long gaps I feel like I missed a lot of the intricacies of the plot due to hazy memory, especially as the series went on and became more complex and self-referencing.

The problem, though, is re-reading the entire Harry Potter series is making a serious commitment. Either A) It would take at least a couple months or B) I would do nothing but go to school, go to work, and read Harry Potter for a couple weeks (and maybe not go to school or work quite as much as I should). If the past experience is any indicator, the latter is way more likely to be the case. This is why I’ve been putting it off since before the Deathly Hallows came out. I love Harry Potter, like seriously LOVE Harry Potter, but it’s definitely a mixed blessing.

Anyway, if I do decide to make the plunge, I should probably do it before the movie comes out in November.

-Eva

Since moving into the new apartment, our books about been in...

Sun, 03 Aug 2008 01:31:00 -0400

Since moving into the new apartment, our books about been in serious disarray. We had three large book shelves and one medium-sized book shelf in our old apartment, plus random groupings of books around the house. Here, there is only room for one large book shelf.

Upon moving in we got creative, tucking books under desks, on top of dressers, under night stands; all in little mini-shelves made of crates. Still, we had four large boxes of books hiding in the closet and nowhere to put them. Since then, we’ve been purging books like mad. We sold a bunch to friends and the ones we didn’t sell were slowly lugged to Rustbelt Books, a local used book store, and were bought for almost nothing.

While I thought it would be difficult to get rid of so many of my books, in the end I am completely satisfied. I have a much more refined collection and am way less overwhelmed when browsing for something to read. Less is definitely more, especially when living in a small one bedroom.

Tonight, after selling the last batch of 14 books to Rustbelt for $10, we did some major book re-arranging. While we haven’t gotten everything in order, I’m pretty confident saying we now have room for all of our books (outside of the closet). Though, with both of our book-aquiring habits, I’m not sure how long it will last.

Above is a section of the one bookshelf we have left, which towers over our tiny livingroom.

-Eva

Kathy: So, what are you guys up to?

Sun, 03 Aug 2008 01:14:00 -0400

Kathy: So, what are you guys up to?
Eva: We're heading home, we were just at the book store.
Kathy: I love books! Sometimes, books are my only friends.
Eva: That basically sums up my entire childhood.
Kathy: Mine too! I was in the book club!
Eva: I started a book club. With my English teacher.
Kathy: Oh you!
(It is completely necessary to end everything Kathy says in exclamation points.)

My Current Graphic Novel Obsession

Mon, 28 Jul 2008 04:29:10 -0400

I’ve tried to start graphic novel series’ many times, but have never been able to get past the 2nd volume without being bored out of my mind (maybe i’ve just been picking up the wrong graphic novels?) I just finished Vol. 3 of Y: The Last Man and it is by far the best comic series i have EVER read. The writing (done by Brian K. Vaugha n) is some of the best i have ever read in any format. He writes with the perfect mixture of sci-fi, comedy, wit, and suspense that keeps you hooked.

I have seven more volumes to go. I can’t decide whether i want to blow through them because it’s such a good read, or savor it and make them last for a while. Unfortunately, I highly doubt I will be doing the latter.

-Derek

evadanielle: I will not play at tug o’ war. I’d rather play at...

Sun, 27 Jul 2008 21:54:00 -0400

evadanielle:

I will not play at tug o’ war.
I’d rather play at hug o’ war,
Where everyone hugs
Instead of tugs,
Where everyone giggles
And rolls on the rug,
Where everyone kisses,
And everyone grins,
And everyone cuddles,
And everyone wins.

-Shel Silverstein

This poem basically sums up my personal philosophy on life.

Eva posted this in her personal Tumblr, but i think it definitely belongs here as well.

-Derek

"From the outlaw harvests of my childhood, I’ve measured my years by asparagus. I sweated to..."

Sun, 27 Jul 2008 17:18:50 -0400

“From the outlaw harvests of my childhood, I’ve measured my years by asparagus. I sweated to dig it into countless yards I was destined to leave behind, for no better reason than that I believe in vegetables in general, and this one is particular. Gardeners are widely known and mocked for this sort of fanaticism. But other people fast or walk long pilgrimages to honor the spirit of what they believe makes our world whole and lovely. If we gardeners can, in the same spirit, put our heels to the shovel, kneel before a trench holding tender roots, and then wait three years for an edible incarnation of the spring equinox, who’s to make the call between ridiculous and reverent?”

- from Animal, Vegetable, Miracle by Barbara Kingsolver

Wishlist

Sat, 26 Jul 2008 13:43:00 -0400

Ani’s Raw Food Kitchen: Easy, Delectable Living Foods Recipes

Atmospheric Disturbances by Rivka Galchen

Theodosia and the Serpents of Chaos by R.L. Lafevers

Woman on the Edge of Time by Marge Piercy

White Death: The Blizzard of ‘77 by Erno Rossi

-Eva

Today I got two new books: The Urban Homestead: Your Guide to...

Sat, 26 Jul 2008 01:51:00 -0400

Today I got two new books: The Urban Homestead: Your Guide to Self-Sufficient Living in the Heart of the City, the title of which is pretty self-explanatory, and The Clouds Above, a graphic novel about the adventures of a boy and his cat. I’m incredibly excited to read both.

I also finally found my copy of Animal, Vegetable, Miracle, and will probably finish it tomorrow. It’s one of the best books I’ve read all year and somehow managing to misplace it for weeks was seriously painful. In its absence I began reading Plenty: Eating Locally on the 100-Mile Diet, which I thought would be a suitable replacement. I was very wrong. So far, it’s totally dull, overwritten, and more about privilege and the guilt that comes along with it than a sustainable local diet. Maybe it gets better, but I don’t think I’m going to stick around and find out.

I’m also currently in the middle of Watchmen, which I’ve been meaning to read for years. When I saw the awesome trailer before The Dark Knight I decided it’s probably time to get on that. I’m not very far into it (by “in the middle of” I actually mean, “I began reading it last night and fell asleep 30 pages in”), so I don’t have much of an opinion yet, other than the 80s were not a great time for comic book art. On a related note, Derek, Alex, and I made plans to attend next year’s Comic-Con in San Diego. I’m pretty excited about this, especially since Alex is the type of dude who actually follows through with crazy plans.

-Eva

Brave New World by Aldous Huxley

Thu, 24 Jul 2008 15:19:04 -0400

Brave New World by Aldous Huxley:

The entire text of the first edition printing of Brave New World

(via brilliantology)

THE SISTER CITIES OF LOS ALAMOS, NEW MEXICO,AND HIROSHIMA, JAPAN It was snowing hard when we...

Wed, 16 Jul 2008 00:50:00 -0400

THE SISTER CITIES OF LOS ALAMOS, NEW MEXICO,
AND HIROSHIMA, JAPAN

It was snowing hard when we drove
into Los Alamos. There was a clinical feeling
to the town as if every man, woman and child
were a doctor. We shopped at the Safeway
and got a bag of groceries. A toddler
looked like a brain surgeon. He carefully
watched us shop at the exact place where he would
make his first incision

-Ricahrd Brautigan

via This Recording - In Which We Pass Along The Poetry Of One Richard Brautigan We Are Bringing It Back

(via: withwanderlust)

Tue, 15 Jul 2008 18:13:00 -0400

(via: withwanderlust)

evadanielle: I wanted to read this book anyway, but the...

Sun, 13 Jul 2008 15:01:00 -0400

evadanielle:

I wanted to read this book anyway, but the beautiful marketing definitely doesn’t hurt.

I posted this in my tumblr earlier in the week, and just realized it probably bleongs here :)

-Eva

"The truly cultured are capable of owning thousands of unread books without losing their composure or..."

Thu, 10 Jul 2008 16:54:40 -0400

“The truly cultured are capable of owning thousands of unread books without losing their composure or desire for more.”

- Gabriel Zaid (via scout)

Every book Art Garfunkel has read since 1968

Thu, 10 Jul 2008 15:25:18 -0400

Every book Art Garfunkel has read since 1968:

Over 1000 books in 40 years seems like a lot, but it averages out to around 25 books a year, which is reasonable for your average avid reader. I wish I had the ambition to keep track of every book I read and when I read them. There’s no time like the present right?

-Derek

The End, The End, The End: A look at the post-catastrophic novel

Thu, 10 Jul 2008 14:12:00 -0400

The End, The End, The End: A look at the post-catastrophic novel:

(via clampants)

“The problem with the post-catastrophic novel, in the end, is that it enforces a false distinction between what is and what will be; between what we’re doing and what we might someday do. Why bother dreaming up a devastated world when you live in one?”

-Eva

Selling Books: The Big Dilemma

Thu, 10 Jul 2008 00:44:00 -0400

Eva and I just listed about 100 books for sale on craigslist. It feels good to purge a mass amount of books every once in a while. The criteria we generally use when going through books is:

1.Have we read it before? If we have, do we see ourselves re-reading it anytime soon?

2.How easy is it to come by? If we can easily find it again at any used book store, we usually part with it.

3.Do we have any personal attachment to it? It would take a lot to me to part with my 33 1/3 books, and i’m sure the same goes for Eva and her Harry Potter books.

Do you ever sell/donate books? What criteria do you use when going through your collection?

-Derek

Why burn the books if no one reads them anyway?

Wed, 09 Jul 2008 00:18:00 -0400

Why burn the books if no one reads them anyway?:

Some songs about books and reading.

♥ Eva & Derek