The Art of Books, Part 2

Do I want a bookcase made out of books? Yes, yes I do.

Jim Rosenau makes bookcases and bookshelves, and I want to be his apprentice and have him teach me everything he knows.

Right after my last post, I stumbled upon a New York Times article on creative new uses for books, since we will soon be all reading novels on various screens, and after that they'll just projected directly into our brains. Hopefully plants won't be obsolete, too, because I want this to sit on top of my book-bookcase:
Check out Inhabitat.com for a video on how to make your own. And I promise I'll be back with cute dresses and skirts shortly!

The Art of Books

My love of pretty books and the shelves they sit on is well documented. This past year, I've started collecting the prettiest books in all the land: the Penguin Hardcover Classics, designed by Coralie Bickford-Smith.I will admit, there's something a bit tacky to me about buying a book for display purposes--a book is to be read, not looked at! But then I think, book publishers and bookstores need all the sales they can get, and they don't care if you're buying it to stick under a wobbly table leg. So if I can support an important industry and make my shelves a little classier, then there's no reason to feel guilty. And who knows--these are books to collect and save, and perhaps in 25 years I'll have a yen to read Cranford, or I'll have a son or daughter who is assigned Cranford in school (that seems more likely. Does anyone read Cranford for fun?).

So I've been slowing collecting these books, one at a time. I almost have the full first set, BUT I'm absolutely tortured by my inability to get Crime and Punishment and Madame Bovary. They are two of the most gorgeous designs, but because Penguin US doesn't own the rights to the translation, you can't buy them in America. I want to plan a trip to Canada or England just to get copies, but from what I can tell, they're sold out there too. Occassionally, a copy will pop up on Ebay, but for way too much money--$99 for a book with a $20 list price? Boo, no fair.

So 8 of the first series and 5 of the second are available right now, and another 7 will be released in September (although I did get Shakespeare's Sonnets and a Lover's Complaint this past weekend at Anthropologie, and Amazon has it only available for pre-order). Some kind soul put together this Amazon list for easy reference. The books are available online, at Anthropologie, and major bookstores (which you should support!).

Say that you disagree with my statement that buying books for display is a little tacky, and you think books should be displayed only. Anthropologie has the solution!
The Stacked Paperback Wallpaper, $198 for 18 square feet, is adorable but a bit claustrophobia-inducing. Can you imagine a whole room wallpapered in this? I'd have nightmares about all those stacks toppling down on me! My other misgiving is that many of the titles are in French, thus unrecognizable to me. It's like when you go to Ikea and all the fake books in those carefully designed bedrooms and living rooms are in Swedish. There are some familiar titles in this wallpaper--Lolita, Tropic of Capricorn, Looking for Mr. Goodbar. But if you want book-based art, wouldn't you prefer to have your favorite titles on display?

Which brings me to artist Jane Mount, who was recently featured on the National Post's book blog. Her website is called Ideal Bookshelf, and here's an example of her work:
In her own words:

"I paint "ideal bookshelves": people's favorites of all time, within a genre or from a particular period in their lives.

We show off our books on shelves like merit badges, because we're proud of the ideas we've ingested to make us who we are, and we hope to connect with others. I think this is endearing and charming. When I paint someone else's bookshelf and they have the same book I do, I feel inordinately joyful about it, and about them.

I'm also fascinated by the design of books spines. It's such a small place for a lot of information, with very little room for distinct characteristics, even though it's exactly what you use to identify books first. As someone who does a lot of design work, I enjoy the process of turning graphics into "art". And I love that a book is something created very personally and then mass-produced in order to affect many other people very personally. I group and paint them to turn them back into something very personal and intimate."

As someone who always scans the bookshelves when I enter a new room, it would be terribly convenient to have a person's favorites artfully displayed in a painting, so I could know up front whether the owner of said painting will be a friend. A 9x12 inch custom painting costs around $225--so perhaps it might be more cost effective to just get some nice floating shelves and display your favorites yourself.

Magic!
Ok, not really. But close enough. Put your Harry Potter books on these and you can make Wingardium Leviosa jokes every day! The pictured shelves are $9.76 from Barnes and Noble, but you can get them at Home Depot, The Container Store, Amazon, etc.

And if you still have an appetite for those lovely objects we call books (and which we occasionally open up and read the less pretty insides of), check out the Bookshelf Porn tumblr. It's exactly what it sounds like.

Don't Tempt Me, Urban

Ok, so I tried to put these pieces into a Polyvore set, but I couldn't quite make it work. So instead, I'm bringing you 4 covetable things from Urban Outfitters in a lazy list form.

Silence and Noise Faux Leather Biker Jacket, $128
How long have I been wanting a leather jacket? A really long time. The other weekend I borrowed my friend's badass leather motorcycle jacket, and I felt totally unstoppable all night. If there had been a bar fight, or a particularly competitive dance battle, I would have jumped right in. I love the asymmetrical zipper on this jacket, and that the leather is a little broken in.

Kimchi Blue Suede Boot, $88
It's strange--when it comes to leather boots, I can't stay away from cognac brown, but when it comes to suede boots, I'm all about grey.

Chain Knot Cloche, $28
A girl would need a certain amount of joie de vivre to pull this off--the saturated blue, the gold rope, the old-fashioned cloche shape--but I'd like to think I'm up to the challenge. The color would look killer with my blonde hair, too.

byCorpus Long Sleeve Wrap Dress, $39.99
I've always wanted to be a ballerina! This veers a little close to American Apparel, but I think with some classic accessories (and no lame leggings) you can avoid looking like a victim of corporate hipsterism.

Penguin Classic Mugs

I had to buy about 25 books--mostly novels--for my classes this semester, and many of them are Penguin Classics. I recently confessed to a fellow English major that I couldn't wait until the end of the semester, when I could put all the Penguin books together on my shelf (now I have them stacked in piles according to class), and she said, "Oh my god, me too!"

If you know that feeling, you'll probably also like these Penguin Classic Mugs, £8.76 (I think that's around 15 American dollars?), from Art Meets Matter. I want the whole set, although, to be honest, I haven't read most of the titles, I think because these are made for British readers who have a slightly different canon (who's ever heard of Hotel Splendide, by Ludwig Bemelmans? Although the cup is a nice turquoise color). And for most of the titles I have read, I don't have particularly warm feelings. I like and The Great GatsbyPride and Prejudice, but I wish there was an Age of Innocence mug or anything Henry James. I do, however, really like the Agatha Christie mugs, because she has fun titles like Murder at the Vicarage and The Body in the Library, so maybe I'll just read those books and try to really, really love them, just so I can buy the mugs.

Holiday Gift Ideas

Mindy Kaling, our patron saint of shopping and blogging, wrote about holiday gift ideas in her latest post. I really wanted to make her line, "To be even be considered a tastemaker in any small sense is a great compliment to a vapid person whose priorities are all wrong" my officer status in the Mindy Kaling Facebook group, but it was too long. So I had to settle for making it my FB status, but then I got called a douche by one of my roommates. He interpreted the quote as me criticizing vapid people whose priorities are all wrong, when I am OBVIOUSLY one of those vapid people whose priorities are all wrong, and proud of it. So, in conclusion, I'm sharing some of my picks for great holiday gifts in hopes that someone will consider me a tastemaker.

I'm a huge advocate of giving books as gifts, and not only because my future livelihood depends on the continuing relevance of the publishing industry. Besides that, giving books to friends and loved ones makes both the giver and receiver feel smart, like you're feeding their mind in addition to their insatiable desire for free shit.

If I was participating in an office Secret Santa or Yankee Swap, I'd get Malcolm Gladwell's new book, Outliers: The Story of Success, $15.39 on Amazon. Blink and The Tipping Point were phenomenons, and this book, which examines why some people become successful while others never reach their full potential, will undoubtedly be a bestseller as well. Outliers is one of those books that you could give to just about anyone over the age of 25 (who graduated from college and has a job, probably) and they'll say, "Oh, I've heard about this book! Thanks!" It's a great generic present for someone you don't know very well, or dads who are practically impossible to shop for.

For the younger or hipper person on your Christmas list, I'd recommend John Roston's Sleeveface, $11.16. This really cool book features photos of people holding record covers over their faces and trying to recreate the world of the album with their clothes, pose, and surroundings. I guarantee, give this to someone and everyone else will ask, "Can I see it for a second?" and then spend the next thirty minutes flipping through each page.

This next book is a tie-in of How I Met Your Mother, but I swear it's hilarious even if the giftee has never seen the show (maybe you should give them DVDs of the first and second season as well!). The Bro Code, by Barney Stinson, lists the rules all Bros must live their lives by, such as "Should a Bro pick up a guitar at a party and commence playing, another Bro shall point out that he is a tool" and "A Bro must always post bail for another Bro, unless it's out of state or, like, crazy expensive: Crazy expensive bail >(Years You've Been Bros) x $100." A Bro gave this to me for my birthday, and I make sure to study it every day to ensure that my status as a female bro isn't revoked by doing something laughing when a guy gets hit in the groin (exception: if I don't know the guy). Also: "A Bro is under no obligation to open a door for anyone. If women insist on having their own professional basketball league, then they can open their own doors. Honestly, they're not that heavy."

If you're giving gifts to anyone who has their life together to have matching dishware, then disregard this next suggestion. If you're giving gifts to a young person who is no longer living with their parents but has yet to experience the bliss of a wedding gift registry, then they'll undoubtedly be thrilled to receive some cool plates or glasses. Check out these hyper-classy InsideOut Champagne Flutes, $60, from Charles & Marie. No more drinking champagne out of paper cups! Perfect present for whoever is hosting your New Year's Eve party. There are also martini and liqueur versions that are equally badass.

If you take a more irreverent view of drinking, try these Slang Pint Glasses from Urban Outfitters, $8 each. Both the "Hot Mess" and "Lush" glasses would be particularly appropriate if you're wondering what to get me for Crunk-mas.

And if you really wanted to give a theme gift, throw in this Garter and Flask set, $28 and ring bottle opener, $8.

Plates are fantastic gifts for college students as well, because it allows them to put off doing the dishes. These UO 8 inch porcelain plates feature artsy prints and patterns, and for $6 a piece I'm tempted to get all seven designs.


I'm not sure why, but I'm sort of obsessed with passport covers. I really wish I had gotten one for myself before I studied abroad, because now if I get one for myself I'll just get depressed at how local my life is. But if you have a friend with a big trip in her future and an appreciation for M.I.A., give her the Paper Airplane Passport Wallet, $16 at Fred Flare.

More gift ideas to come in the next few days! Stay tuned.