Tuesday, January 13, 2009

Garden of Readin'

Like to read? We do, too. Books offer a whole new way of looking at the world for a brief period of time. Some book induced moods stick around like a dream; some like the plague, where you wish you could wash that funk right off (think: something depressingly bleak like High Maintenance or The Washingtonienne) but it's the kind that doesn't wash off with soap. How odd, we're digressing. We've found some intriguing and fun finds on Etsy from independent writers. Those of us addicted to words (and shopping on Etsy) can marry the two addictions oh so pleasantly. Win. Winny win win!

Epitaph for my Heart zine collection by Tiny Paper Hearts. "A survival guide to being social" is quite possibly the most hilarious title we've read all week, only trumped by her description of the work as "handy hints and stories for those who, like me, find horror in everyday social situations." This is must-read material for us introverts.

And we HAD to add the cover of Epitaph n. 4, as it was what got us into her shop in the first place and offers such insights as, "hints on how to tell an insult from a compliment; what do to if people pretend not to remember your name and much more!" And we fall in love, yet again, with a string of words.

Things that float, by Parapluie Press. Inspired by The Science of Sleep, this zine features 16 pages of poetry centered around dreamscapes and the sometimes blurred line between the imagined and reality. We don't know why, but we're fascinated by the cover alone.

Hidden Jewels, a zine of poetry which has been letter pressed using hand-set type and bound in wallpaper. This zine contains 16 poems that deal with the little and large things that make up a life and deal with themes of nostalgia and discontent. Interesting stuff.

Lady Pandora Laslow, by Fabricated Family. What happens when a young suicidal scullery maid decides to plummet head-first into the Thames? Why, true love of course! Written by Lori Bragg, this is one of her various Victorian-era inspired short stories that are anything but stuffy.

Another hilarious title, Rufus McGraw, Spy, chronicles the adventures of Rufus McGraw, a small man who masquerades as a woman in order to retrieve more than 5,000 bottles of rare, vintage wine for the SS of Vine (Secret Society For the Preservation & Salvation of Vintage Southern Wine). With a pistol in his garter and 6 feet of rope in his petticoat (not to mention a pocket knife), Rufus is a 5ft tall force of nature.

So there you have them, my dears, a good reason to dust off those reading glasses! Check out these shops and read something off of the beaten path!

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