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A Valentine’s Day Book Roundup


It’s Valentine’s Day, and to celebrate the holiday of the famous epistolary saint, we have a round-up of Blurb books about love. But we like to think these books are a little bit different from your average ode to l’amour.



Flower Love is composed of Instagram photos of the word “love” spelled out in leftovers from the natural world. Flower petals, grass, ferns, even a butterfly form the loops and lines of letters. It’s amazingly inventive, as each page reveals a startlingly new arrangement.



LOVE YOU BECAUSE is a deconstructed love note in book form. Combining bold graphic design and a fill-in-the-blank style of writing, it’s a love letter for anyone, to anyone.



Love is… is a collection of drawings and words about love, straight from Mrs. Duncan’s third graders. And really, these kids know a lot about love.

Happy Valentine’s Day from us to you and your books (and your loved ones too).

By Kent   Posted in Spotlight   February 14, 2012 – 10:40 am
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Cows and Wet Plate Photography: John Coffer Opts for the Rustic Life

Ever long for a simpler life? I know I do, particularly on Monday mornings. Today, The Atlantic has a story about a man who gave up on his comfortable suburban life 25 years ago to go live off the grid (sort of – the self-styled 19th-century man does have his own website, and a laptop he runs off of solar panels). John Coffer found some land, took up farming, and started taking photographs using a technique that’s over 100 years old.

Check out the video below – it’s six minutes of bucolic bliss – then get back to work.

By Kent   Posted in Random Goodness   February 13, 2012 – 12:39 pm
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Book of the Week: ‘Alt Design Summit – 2012’

After a spectacular event, there’s nothing like reveling in the photos to help keep those good times rolling.

Just a few weeks after attending ALT Design Summit, I was thrilled to discover the book put together by the official ALT photographer, Justin Hackworth, in our bookstore. Of course, I’d already pored over everything in the Flickr sets, but Justin did a lovely job of curating all of those images into a smaller compilation that really summed up the best and brightest bits of ALT.

Foot fashion

The ladies of ALT gave compelling evidence:  what you wear can be a fantastic form of creativity and expression. Revisiting the scene reminds me that it’s a pretty easy way to make yourself feel spry, especially when you happen to have a drawer full of brightly colored tights at home.

Speakers and Listeners

Even better than feeling inspired by my legwear, is being inspired by what’s going on in my head. These photos of panels and sessions at Alt bring me back to sitting in those conference rooms, loving the sense of esprit de corps and basking in the words of wisdom. Some of my favorite include:

“When something is challenging to you, it’s interesting for other people to watch.†– Lisa Congdon “There’s something to be said for really embracing the fire in you and letting it take over sometimes.†– Anne Sage “If I cram my life full of the things I love, there is no room for the things I don’t love.†– Gretchen Rubin “Discovering things about the world helps you discover things about who you are.†– Ben Silbermann “When you fall out of love with it, so does everyone else.†– Kelly Beal

And if I’m ever in need of a day that’s just magic, I’ll simply ask everyone to dress-up in white – as the ALT attendees did for the Winter Wonderland party.

Diner En Blanc

If you never knew about the world of design and lifestyle bloggers, take a look at this book to get a taste of the fun, inspiration, and creativity that these women (and a few men) ooze from their carefully powdered pores.

 

Looking for more goodness? Check out ALT’s best up and coming blogs from 2011.

And of course, there’s always next year!

 

By Maggie   Posted in Book of the Week   February 9, 2012 – 4:48 pm
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A Blurb Marriage Proposal

This week we have incontrovertible truth that romance is not dead. Travis Hines wanted to ask his girlfriend to marry him. He wanted an original way to do it. So he asked her in a Blurb book. Here’s his story, plus pictures captured surreptitiously by a photographer friend during the proposal:

This past December 26 marked the third year since Rachel and I began dating. A little over a month prior to that date, I kicked off my surprise planning. While simultaneously Christmas shopping and scouring the city for the perfect engagement ring, I wanted to do something special for the big moment.

So I spent a couple weeks digging up every picture we had taken while together over the past three years – rummaging through our cell phones, old computers, Facebook and Twitter accounts. I had over 500 pictures to work with and I managed to design a chronological, full-page photo book capturing many of the wonderful moments where we were together.

The book was absolutely perfect. With not a moment to spare, the engagement ring was ready two days before Christmas, and my countdown timer was set. We went out for dinner and drinks, and I then had to silently coerce her towards Union Station in Toronto, where one of our first dates had ended.

We took a seat at the end of the building, where Rachel gave me my anniversary gift, and I handed her the wrapped book. The glow on her face was mesmerizing as we laughed at every picture I had managed to squeeze into the hardcover, all while trying to contain the shaking of my legs.

Then she hit the last photo. A blank page came after that, then a few pages of text I had written. One of those pages had a question on it, at which time I dropped to my knee and reached into my pocket.

The photos captured the race of emotions from that point on better than I could ever describe. Noticing a camera pointed at us well after the fact only added to the nature of the moment. Our Blurb book has been shared and loved by just about all of our family and friends, and will be a part of our memories of that evening forever.

We’re proud a Blurb book was part of this moment, and wish them all the best! Check out more of the engagement photos, and post your own congratulatory message in our comments section.

By Kent   Posted in Spotlight   February 8, 2012 – 10:53 am
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