How to eat Easter bunnies without guilt.

This is one of my favourite books and, coming up to Easter, I think it is an important recommendation. Reading this will ensure you eat Easter bunnies guilt free.

A Chocolate a Day discusses a range of benefits and nutritious surprises found in chocolate. What makes it so great is that you won't just eat your chocolate without guilt after reading, the book you will feel virtuous devouring it. The key is learning to choose the right type and eating the right amount (and 50 grams is pretty decent).

Authors John and Suzie Ashton are a father and daughter in law who are both involved in nutrition research and the food industry, with John a Fellow of the Royal Australian Chemical Institute. Put simply, they know their science and, fortunately, they write well too.

Now for another bite of that pair of ears on my dark chocolate Lindt bunny.

Vertical gardens

Next month I will be traveling to Melbourne and want to see the Patrick Blanc vertical garden in Melbourne Central shopping centre. Even better, would be to enjoy his creation in the Qantas first class lounge while in transit, but that one is a bigger ask.

Patrick Blanc calls himself a botanist, although other descriptions such as artist appear equally deserved, and the enchanting gardens he designs are smart, requiring minimal upkeep. The eccentric botanist has a definite green thumb, with a large thumbnail painted metallic green visible in most photos and movie clips of him I have viewed.

A description of the process by which the vertical gardens are planned and produced is given in his book, The Vertical Garden: from nature to the city, that also contains beautiful photos of plants growing in this fashion in their natural environment.

Images: MIDF 2008 and dezeen.

Metro mysteries

I have been giggling lately that I have been reading Metro Girl on the train. This book was lent to me by my sister-in-law who introduced me to Janet Evanovich when I was looking for books with sequential titles. Metro Girl is a contemporary fiction. It was a fun and light-hearted mystery, yet still enticing, and reminded me of how I felt reading the Nancy Drew books I loved when was ten. I will definitely be searching the shelves of my local book exchange for the follow up tale, Motor Mouth, about Barney and her NASCAR guy.

From Santa to JRR Tolkien's children

I'm a big fan of JRR Tolkien. Really enjoyed The Hobbit, Lord of the Rings Trilogy and most recently the newly released Children of Hurin. Tolkien really was the first to get me reading novels.

I was mildly shocked to hear that Father Christmas used to write letters with stories and pictures to Tolkien's children every year. In fact they've been published in a book: Letters From Father Christmas.

I've bought the hardcover edition. It could inspire a Scrooge or two as it really captures the spirit of the season.

Things that Scatter

Jeremy returned from a day in Melbourne and returned with some gifts. Oskar received a new book from the Hairy Maclary series, Scattercat, full of cats that scatter.

I received some rochelle adonis nougat containing rose petals. It goes wonderfully with the rose petal black and green teas I have and, of course, a book.

Best places for books

Back from a weekend with my parents where this hammock is one of the best places to read. Which places do you like to read best?

Clean slate, new page, blank canvas, untitled book

Searching through the photos tagged books and ranked most interesting on flickr I found this one of a restaurant wall in Kyiv. While the photographer wonders if the books are white inside and out, I wonder what they would be titled if every customer had to write one describing their own new start.

Bibliochaise

A bibliochaise would mean you always have a book within reach and can conserve on space by not investing in a separate set of bookshelves.

Reading the fine print

I unpacked some of my old toys last weekend and found these tiny books a friend made when we were children. We used to play with Playmobil figures and constructed whole cities, which included libraries, shops and news agents that contained some of the books you see here.

Book treated walls

On Friday I posted about wallpaper bookshelves. Today is the reverse, with books as wallpaper. Although, I have learned the correct term is wall treatment. I imagine this would work best if the pages were from something that matched the occupants style and most artistic if they were poetry or in another language. The pages in the lower image are from Pride and Prejuduce.

Images from fabulously green and Apartment Therapy.

wez luv da bukz

Today's post is purely book-related lol cats humour, from I can has cheezburger. Enjoy the rest of your weekend.

Books to love

These are my top three books for Valentines Day:

Love, love, love by Andy Warhol
Lips in multiple hues and other symbols of love and passion. I love this beautiful selection of simple drawings and paintings from Andy's pre-Pop work.

The Man with the Dancing Eyes by Sophie Dahl
A simple yet enchanting tale with whimsical illustrations that accompany the story perfectly.

Goatperson and Other Tales by Michael Leunig
Odd, yet heat-warming humour. I first met Jeremy in Italy and sent him this book for Valentine's Day after I returned home. He opened it and realised I knew him so well he would have to migrate across the globe for me.

Books in two dimensions

Having children means compromise. I have been lucky with Oskar only continuously removing The Container Garden from our shelves during his first year. However, I am aware other parents have had to pack up their lower shelves until they are sans toddlers.

If you are without books due to circumstances and not choice, this may be a solution to keep your environment feeling homely.

Wallpaper by Deborah Bowness. Image from Cookie.

Lit. service

Share the love of literature by wearing one of these t-shirts, "Reading is sexy" from Sarah Utter or "Reading is for awesome people" from NerdyShirts.

The library of human imagination

Does surrounding yourself with discovery inspire your creativity? Jay Walker thinks so and I agree, even having only looked at the photos. The entrepreneur, who has twice been listed in TIME magazine's list of the "50 most influential business leaders in the digital age", has created an amazing library.

Here books are not just collected for collections sake, but for the how they changed the way people think. Robert Hook's Micrographica, from 1665, containing images seen through a microscope there. And the theme of the books is strengthened by the inspiring objects that surround them, such as Sputnik.

The elegant and traditional library look is highlighted by intricately etched glasswork along the library's walkways that glow with representations of history. The spectacular displays often include seemingly juxtaposed works that Walker uses to highlight possibilities.

The movie is a presentation by Jay about his library, delivered for TED in 2008. Images and much information about the library was obtained from Wired.

In transit

Today I finished Shopaholic and Baby by Sophie Kinsella, from the series about Rebecca Bloomwood. In short, if you have been entertained by any of the other books in this series, you will love this one too.

I have previously mentioned that I class these books in this genre of Airport Fiction and I have spent hours in the air consuming them. Only this time I wasn't in transit. Although, for a good part I was rocking in a hammock.


In case you hadn't heard, the Shopaholic movie starring Isla Fisher movie is only days away. Have no idea what the fuss is about? Read the special movie tie in release on the book that started it all, Confessions of a Shopaholic. Why? There are times when your mind needs to be kept occupied while still having a rest, jetlag defines one of those times and this weekend I was in another (after a week of editing a Biochemistry course manual).

Trends

I used Wordle and entered the titles and authors of the books I have read over the last two years. The verdict: I am a John Grisham tragic. Consistent with this, the last book I read in January was The Appeal.

Image source

Try doing the same using Wordle to see your reading trends. You could also add the genre of the books, such as fiction, biography, sci fi or chick lit.

I Spied

This week I went back to the second-hand bookstores I recently visited and found these ten books for 50 cents each. All were in excellent condition. I was excited to find some Ladybird books on sale, including one with the treehouse picture I mentioned, in an earlier post, that I wished for.

I love these "I Spy" books and have often spent hours looking at them. These books contain amazing photograph over each double page with a riddle underneath listing the items you have to find.

The Gold Challenger book I bought contains the amazing set up shown below, and I was surprised to find out it took two weeks to set up and actually worked to pop a balloon, which you can see in the movie I included.

More behind the scenes images from the books can be found here.

Always judge a handbag by its cover

Obviously, I love books. I am also a handbag girl. I could never have too many. So when I found Rebound Designs which constructs these gorgeous handbags from books I was ecstatic. Particularly, when I saw there were a hundred to choose from. You can also send in a book to have the bag made from.

Each bag offered for sale has multiple photos available, dimensions given and a cute description, such as "Celebrate 100 years of Lucy Maud Montgomery's feisty redhead with this charming purse."

The only issue may be, if you are like me and often carry a book around to read on the train, you may will be limited to smaller-sized books or maybe its a good excuse to try using the Kindle.

This was a girl post, but if you are a guy, the site will soon offer manly clocks made from books too.

Pulp Fiction meets George Orwell's Animal Farm

Pulp fiction meets George Orwell's Animal Farm. The Australian author O'Neill superbly weaves a violent cat-and-dog crime novel that constantly throws the reader off the scent. Fast paced, in The Unscrathables you get to know a furry society, poke a stick at its flaws and embrace their virtues. Once into the rhythm of animal puns, pets merge indistinguishably with identifiable humanity. What emerges is a looking glass for gazing at the animal society and its gritty flaws without sniffing to close to home.

Don't be fooled by its cuddly outer coat, the book has bite. It takes aim at behavioural programming and social engineering; tackling sociology whilst explaining a theory on public consciousness and becoming your own master. It plays on racial themes, media influence and asks "who are we?". The last book I read before this one was Outliers by Malcolm Gladwell. Upon reflection I now see these two books are tackling the same questions in different ways, trying to define how society shapes us. These may just be the question of this century, as we form a global tribe that's connected like never before.

A Style Statement

Flicking magazines at the hairstylists a couple of years ago I read about Carrie and Danielle and their style statement concept. Essentially, they conduct a one hour consultation that is ultimately scribed in two words. One noun and one adjective. Think genuine elegance, refined creative, sacred dramatic. These words are your style statement.

"Your Style Statement is the two words that define the true you. It’s a touchstone for making more powerful choices in your life – from your wardrobe to your living room, your relationships to your career plans. Your Style Statement is where your essence meets your expression."

Image and quote from C&D.

After reading the article I couldn't help thinking if I spent $500 on the consultation I would never again have a dilemma over what to wear or the furniture to buy for the bedroom. My definition would instantly tell me how to style my office and how to only have one perfect handbag.

Unfortunately, I never remembered the duos names to look them up and, even if I had, probably would have been too worried about being labeled something like messy procrastinator when I would want to be something like organised creative or modern glamour.

Then last night I rediscovered them and found there is a book. The pages are full of questions, descriptions and profiles of different people and how their statement echos their like. The writing is simple and poetic, and the image and graphic design superb. I am sure this book is the answer to my life. Hopefully, it will be more useful than the number 42.

By Me, Myself and Dr Seuss

I was always jealous growing up that both my sisters had a copy of My Book About Me by Dr. Seuss and Roy McKie.

This simple child's biography contains lots of questions to be answered, boxes to be ticked and items to be counted. The book is illustrated in captivating Dr. Seuss style.

These are some pictures from one of my sister's pages she completed when she was eight. Although I didn't have a copy, as my mother could not find one on sale when I was a similar age, I recently saw them back in print and recommend them if you are looking for a birthday gift for a school-age child.

This last image is especially appropriate for Booktagger as she answered she'd read about 100 books.

James Patterson is Looking for 28 Co-Authors

James Patterson and Random House are looking for writers to participate in the worlds first online chain story: Air Borne.

Competition details:

Random House and Borders are offering you the chance to join Australia’s biggest-selling crime author, James Patterson in this world-first online chain story that takes place over 30 days.

James Patterson will write the first and last chapters in this 30-chapter thriller and we are looking for 28 writers to complete the rest. In true Patterson style, each chapter must be fast-paced, thrilling and under 750 words.

Each of the winning 28 authors will receive a copy of the finished book, with one lucky author to receive a chance of a lifetime one-on-one master class in the form of a telephone call with James Patterson himself.

Click here to enter the competition.

Timeline Tutorial

Booktagger now includes a timeline feature. When you look at your bookshelves, you will see "Timeline" written next to each bookshelf. I have just used it to view the books I read in January.

Once you have clicked on the timeline text, you will see some of the books you have added. You can click on the titles to see and change information. In the image above I clicked on "The Appeal".

When you click on a book title, a window opens. You can use the scroll bar to see information about the book or click on one of the dates to change when you started or finished reading the book. Here I clicked on the box corresponding to "Date finished on this shelf."

When you click to change a date, a small calendar appears. Here I selected January 31 as the date I finished reading the book.

Make sure you click to save!

Close the window by clicking on the X in the top right corner.

You can select different view levels to see how your reading has tracked by week, month or year, and can scroll backwards and forwards to see across time.

Enjoy playing with this new function and expect to see more updates on my timelines.