categories
Books
14 posts
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Tree Poems
Kinship, a poem by Ursula K. Le Guin, contrasts the slow, deep burning of an ancient forest tree with the restless, blinding warmth of human life — a meditation on what we share with the non-human world.
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A Lucky Find
Prompted by reading John Connell's The Running Book, I remembed a catalogue of moody black-and-white photographs of the Irish landscape by Giles Norman.
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The Anarchists Tool Chest
Christopher Schwarz's Anarchist's Tool Chest is much more than a guide to building a tool chest — it's a philosophy of craft, ownership and self-reliance. An inspiring read that prompted plans to build a chest and invest in quality hand tools.
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A book apart
Just bought a bundle from A Book Apart, excellent value - especially as eBooks. I particularly like their condensed focused works.
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Permaculture ethics
A long engagment with the ideas of Permaculture
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Great bookshops of the world
Fascinating photos of bookshops from around in the world in this article in Salon via Twitter from Mark Bertstein who has been to 3 of them.
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A cabinet makers notebook
James Krenov's A Cabinetmaker's Notebook is cited by many contemporary woodworkers as the book that changed their lives. A meditation on sensitive, considered work — not a manual of techniques, but an invitation to a different relationship with materials and making.
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Drowning in books to read
I love books, i enjoy being given them at this time of the year and I enjoy buying them at any time. Unfortunately I sometimes fall behind with reading them.
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New book - cubicle nation
Pamela Slim's Escape from Cubicle Nation finally makes it to the shops — a book long anticipated after following her blog. A guide for anyone considering trading corporate employment for work that better reflects who they are.
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So long Fourth World Review
A tribute to the Fourth World Review, the fiercely independent journal founded by John Papworth in 1984 in the tradition of Schumacher's Small is Beautiful. A personal account of meeting the inimitable Papworth, and a pointer to the journal's online archives.
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Alan Watts
Reading Alan Watts in my teens I experienced my first taste of eastern thinking which has led to a life long interest. In his essays on Zen and the Tao I could feel deep truths were lurking just beyond the words.
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A very small farm
William Paul Winchester's A Very Small Farm is a memoir of quietly extraordinary simplicity — life on twenty acres, building house and barn, putting in a garden and orchard, taking up beekeeping. It belongs to the tradition of Thoreau's Walden and rewards return visits over the years.
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Guitar zero
I am reading a new book by Gary Marcus a scientist who in his professional life studies languages and cognitive science. In this book he explores the research behind the popular belief that its much more difficult for adults to learn a musical instrument compared to the ease with which children can pick it up.
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Read one book per week
A note on the challenge of keeping up with a growing reading backlog — and a pointer to Joshua Becker's strategy of reading one book per week as a way to make steady, satisfying progress.
