i can't really sing, so

I usually look forward to the summer because I feel like I get to read more often than during the semester. Well, that did not happen this year. I blame mostly these two things: I started reading a non-fiction book called The Natural Kitchen by Deborah Eden Tull   which is an amazing, revolutionary attempt to get its readers to cut down on waste and maximize the potential of an organic kitchen. I spent a lot of my summer weekends working on a kitchen on a hay farm, where we feed 100+ people daily. The book and that volunteer gig were NOT compatible, and before I began being the annoying person who says things like "wait, don't peel that sticker off of that nectarine-- I need to read the code to see if its organic" or "we could probably use these scraps in a broth or something..." or "what do you mean we don't recycle this?!" etc. Now that the semester is about to start, I will be picking it back up and using it to help make my life more green. ...

I've been wanting to, for awhile now, talk about things I've watched on Netflix Instant. I have a huge queue, but it's not always helpful in deciding what to watch next. These short writings about what I've watched may be interesting for people who've seen the same things, are wondering what to check out themselves, or who care to read about what I've been watching. I may make a regular post of this. FILM: Sleeping Beauty This movie was totally weird and sometimes uncomfortable. It's by the same guy who made the 2011 film Melancholia , which is also on my queue, and at times I wished I were watching it alone. Sometimes when films are creepy/slightly disturbing, and I am still enjoying them, I feel embarrassed while I'm watching them because I feel like I should express some sort of distaste for a film's tastelessness. In this film's case, the narrator's life decisions are consistent with that of someone who I probably would not befriend-- ...

Not too much read in June due to one book being a big ol' tome. Enjoy my thoughts as follows. Mission:  to read 52 books in 2012 Status : 36/52 Books Read, June:  4 Notes on Books Read: 33) Skippy Dies  by Paul Murray I read this book for my book club this month. My only complaint about this book was that there were too many big words. I noted something like this on my book club page at one point, "if one more character is described or described AGAIN as 'avuncular', I am going to throw this book at the wall." The novel was really long, and I was annoyed because not a lot of people read the whole thing/posted about where they were in the book, etc. This is the problem with having an "online" book club-- no one is really dependable. Dependability is dead. But I digress-- I think I was most mad because I really enjoyed this book and had a lot about it that I wanted to discuss, but I wound up not really...

Soon, you will be able to PRE-ORDER Gigantic Sequins 3.2! How excited are you? HOW EXCITED AM I? Very excited. So close, so soon. But not yet... OKAY, so NOW you can pre-order Gigantic Sequins 3.2 . We haven't made the official announcement yet, but you can. The official announcement: COMING SOON. Meanwhile, visit the Gigantic Sequins Store and be one of our first pre-orders! We are also open for submissions , and we have our very first contest going on! Dig this flyer. I think it's one of the best flyers I've ever made. I am usually not gifted in the "flyer-making" area, but, well, I am pretty proud of this one.

I always wait too long to do a post like this. Too many exciting things have come. Art of Fermentation by Sandor Ellix Katz This came yesterday, and we opened it today. I ordered it after listening to an interview with him on the Radio Times show via WHYY. He spoke that night at the Free Library of Philadelphia, but I had a previous engagement ( Partyknife and others book release party at L'etage!) Geoff and I (and by "Geoff and I" I mean "Geoff") brew our own kombucha via a kit I got him for Christmas. Really, you don't need a kit. All you need is a decent sized jar, rubber band, and a piece of a cloth. Oh, and a SCOBY/mother. We had some trouble at first because our house wasn't warm enough for it in the winter, but we've been drinking kombucha regularly now. As soon as we opened the book, I read the section on kombucha, and I'm excited to try some of the tips/ideas that Katz has. I also would like to ferment some of the many othe...

When tallying my books for this month, because I read a number of shorter books, I counted four of them as half books. Luckily, two of each of the four were put out by the same publishing companies, so it felt "right" to count them together as half a book with another book by the same publishing company. I also found myself reading along a "theme", at first my accident and then on purpose. I read a good number of books of modern short stories by women. Part of this was because these books were what friends gave to me for my Birthday Club, which in itself is interesting. I am past my halfway mark as of the end of this month, and I think that's a good sign. Mission:  to read 52 books in 2012 Status : 32/52 Books Read, May:  8  Notes on Books Read: 25) Ender's Game  by Orson Scott Card I read this book without realizing that they are making it into a film starring the adorable kid who played Hugo in the Scorsese film of th...

More poetry than usual this month! It WAS National Poetry Month in April, so that makes sense! Mission:  to read 52 books in 2012 Status : 24/52 Books Read, April:  7 Notes on Books Read: 18) Threats by Amelia Gray We read this for book club and everyone liked it. It had short, short chapters, something that I think appeals to modern readers. It's like-- if I am reading something with longer chapters, I am more inclined to stop once I reach the end of a chapter because then I won't have to worry about getting caught in the middle of one. Short chapters, however, do not pose the same threat, so I read more nonstop. The zany world that this book builds in-or-around (who knows!) the reality we live in is both believable and unbelievable at the same time. This novel will make you feel slightly insane and is worth reading. It just came out this year from FSG. 19) Culture of One  by Alice Notley I heard Notley read from this novel-in-verse at AWP in Chica...