A Book-tree Merry Christmas

Oh, the weather outside is frightful, but the fire is so delightful, and as long as you've got a nice bunch of books that you're ready to stack, you can make yourself a book Christmas tree! I found out about this fun craftiness only minutes before leaving the house to go buy a real Christmas tree, and just for a few moments I considered unloading the bookshelves…but then I gave it some thought, and I figured I'd be happier vacuuming up needles than having to reshelve everything before New Year's.

Misty On The Books

This, to the right, is Misty. She is about as catlike as a cat can get, but she doesn't usually sit on the steamer trunk in the living room. Wifey bought a bunch of children's book at a grade school auction last weekend. In unloading, several books got sat on the corner of the trunk. Shortly thereafter, the cat sat herself on the books, and remained there for a great amount of time, long enough for me to take photos, which is not something she generally sits still for. Note the open windowsill behind her: books were a far better seat than the couch, the windowsill, or even the table (which she's not allowed on). Sure, she can't read, but at least she's enjoying books somehow.

Tiny Book Holder

Need a way to hold a book, while ensuring you can't use both of your hands? Try the 1930 Popular Mechanics solution for supporting a tiny book. With the book clipped, it would be a bit of a chore to turn the pages, requiring both hands, but I suppose specialized people could have a use for such things, needing to use the right hand for something else while having no place to set their booklet.

Library Book Returns Home

It takes some dedication to admit you were in the wrong, no matter how long it's been. Sixty-one years ago, an intrepid sophomore at Holland Hall School for Girls checked out New Word Analysis by William Swinton…but never returned it. Last week, however, the overdue situation was resolved. The book mysteriously returned to Holland Hall's library, with a $250 check to cover any overdue fees. The former student included a note, saying she doesn't know how it ended up never being returned — but isn't that what they all say? The library, however, has no means for handling overdue fines from so long ago: their best bet is to contribute it to the school's scholarship fund.

Non-Design Books For Designers

The question: if you're a designer, what non-graphic-design book has inspired you the most? Some excellent, esoteric, and un-designy picks, but with one subversively-designy book: The Color Kittens, a classic Little Golden Book recommended by Michael Doret:

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The 200-Year-Old Mystery Book

A Londonderry man was cleaning out an attic and discovered a 200-year-old first edition of Thomas Moore's The Odes of Anacreon translation. Some people have all the luck! The mystery is, the finder of the book wants to know how the book ended up in his attic -- in his research, he could find no reason for the book to have ended up in Londonderry, although the bookplate has some clues that it wasn't a new transplant to the area but had been there since the start.

Things Found In Books

AbeBooks has a fun article on things found in books -- when buying an old book, it's like having a birthday and finding buried treasure all in one when something falls out between the pages. I've found stuff in lots of books, too -- my taste in books usually means it's a prayer card or a small pamphlet about how society is going to hell in a handbasket, which is okay, but just last weekend I found a very old Snickers wrapper in a copy of Uncle Josh Weathersby's Punkin Center Stories: