Friday, March 24, 2006

Eat Your Books

The "Prairie Book Collective" (a group that, disappointingly, has no web presence), is announcing the launch of their new book "Two", with a creatively furnished snack bar. Various treats (like the one to the right) are edible tiny versions of classic works of literature. While I do not doubt the talents of the bookbinders, I suspect that only the exteriors of the books are presented, since I would think it difficult to reproduce every page in chocolate and almond bark.

This begs the question: what do classic works of literature taste like? Granted, one should trust the knowledge from Grey's Anatomy and avoid the mercury-laden pages of modern books, but is the otherwise creamy filling as various as those in a box of chocolates? Is Great Expectations musty and bitter like its female leads, is 1984 harsh and oppresive, is A Million Little Pieces so artificially tasty that people can't stop devouring it even though it tastes just a little 'off'? Would poetry be a smoother, richer chocolate, while Stephen King bears the flavor of an americanized version, the taste slightly altered for a broad audience? Is the taste of Naked Lunch or Ulysses too much for the general palate, appealing to conniseurs of great taste, like an aged cheese or fine wine? It's getting to be dinnertime around the house: on our menu tonight is smoked ham, cheddar noodles and green peas. Something kinda like a Thurber short.

Monday, March 20, 2006

A Cute BookBinding Tutorial

Somebody named "Hugh" (presumably "Hugh Sparks", given the domain name) has a cute, quick, and accurate tutorial on how to bind a book. His example is actually bind tiny, tiny books 1/4 the size of a sheet of typing paper, but the steps are sufficient for books of any size.