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Sharon moved to Portland from central Pennsylvania at the turn of the millennium. She came seeking fame and fortune, but instead has found love and the City of Books — where she works in the Internet customer service department. She’s always looking for former Svoboda's Books (R.I.P.) customers who've found Powell's.
  The
Structure of the Visual Bookby Keith A. Smith  This book was my introduction to the Book Arts. While I had worked in a bookstore for several years, and knew the satisfaction of a well designed and crafted book, it wasn't until reading this that I started to think of the book as experience. Smith writes about the book as performance and the book as completed by an active reader. Never before had I put so much thought into simply turning pages. Smith fills these with examples of artist's books. They're enjoyable to look at, even if you have no intention of making them yourself. They will certainly make you look at books and reading, in a whole new way.  Solviva:
How to Grow $500,000 on One Acre, and Peace on Earthby Anna Edey Solviva's subtitle goes on even more — "Revealing the Truth about how we can provide electricity, heating, cooling, transportation, food, solid waste and wastewater management in ways that reduce pollution and depletion of resources by 80 percent or more and that at the same time reduce the cost of living and improve the quality of life." It's quite a long title, but it certainly gives you the idea. Anna Edey is an inspiration; she gathered a community of people around her through the force of her vision and innovative green house designs. In this book, she recounts her experience, and describes her ideas for the future, including plans for a "green White House," and green schools, community centers, and public transportation. The book includes beautiful color photographs of her farm and greenhouse, and many of her designs. She also includes a "collection of powerful quotes." Some of her ideas for wastewater management may seem pretty radical — including using what she calls "Urine Power" or "you're-in charge" — but they only add to what is really a great read. (If these ideas are interesting to you, I'd also recommend The Humanure Handbook by J. C. Jenkins "If you can't flush it (or don't want to), what can you do with it?")  Stretchingby Bob Anderson It doesn't require equipment, it's not fancy or exotic, and it feels so good; learn what your cat already knows. This book is the easiest, most accessible guide to stretching I've found. Even sitting at a desk all day can put all sorts of kinks and knots in you. Especially combined with bad posture and some tension. Anderson moves through each muscle group, then offers routines tailored to all sorts of activities. Morning stretches, night stretches, sports stretches, waiting for the bus stretches — even riding in airplane stretches. I've made the most use of his suggestions for stretches at my desk. The line drawings in this book are engaging and easy to follow. Whether you get the new anniversary edition or the original edition, you'll enjoy picking up an activity that is often enhanced by a few "ooohs" and "aaahs."
 Tokyo:
A Certain Styleby Kyoichi Tsuzuki Imagine tiptoeing down the hall in your apartment building to peek into a half-opened door. No one appears to be home. Who might live here? So maybe not everyone has these kinds of snooping fantasies. But if you're even mildly interested in how other people really live, this is a great book to pore through. This isn't a book about decorating. It's kind of about "stuff" and "space," especially when there's a whole bunch of one trying to fit into not-too-much of the other. The Tokyo homes Tsuzuki photographed are some of the smallest quarters I've seen outside of dorm rooms. Having lived in several studio apartments, a "grandma" cottage, a one-room school house, and a converted chicken coop, small spaces appeal to me. It's fun to peer into this other world, completely emptied of people, and imagine living there too.
 The
Rodale Herb Book: How to Use, Grow, and Buy Nature's Miracle Plantsby The Rodale Staff I love finding Rodale books, especially the older ones. Rodale publishing is based in Emmaus, Pennsylvania so perhaps I have a soft spot for them, also being a PA native. Rodale has used organic gardening techniques for decades. Their guides are full of practical tidbits and fascinating details. I love this guide to herbs — it covers their uses in healing, cooking, scenting, coloring, and companion planting. There is an encyclopedia in the back, which lists every herb you're likely to find. Search for Rodale garden books; I don't think you'll be disappointed.
by Barbara G. Walker The Woman's Dictionary of Symbols and Sacred Objects by Barbara G. Walker One of my favorite ways of reading is to pull a book off the shelf and open it at random. That's the great thing about reference books like dictionaries or encyclopedias. These books are treasure troves — dip in anywhere, let chance take you, lead you off. Where did that come from? What is that old saying? Which god or goddess was that? These books have been a jump-start many times when I'm stuck for an idea. I can see them inspiring poetry, stories, or songs in others, too. Each contains many brief entries and some longer articles. For instance, from Walker's Myths and Secrets: "Fly: popular soul-symbol in many ancient religions, due to a belief that women could conceive children by swallowing a fly bearing the soul of a previously deceased person." Other entries discuss holidays, historical figures, tall tales, and origins of folk songs such as "Turkey in the Straw."
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