Binding, folding, and decorating techniques to create beautiful artists’ books and more From heirloom memories to unique journals, albums, and altered books—or simple tag books for your kids—Bookcraft contains all the skills you will ever need. Books are a central part of life, and have been with us for around 2,000 years. Although most books we use are produced commercially, many of us are drawn to the book form in its various guises, and are interested in exploring how to make books of our own, whether as a vehicle for telling stories, as scrapbooks, or as notebooks and journals. This guide provides the essential ingredients for designing and making your own books, from simple binding and finishing techniques to complex complete products. Projects are designed to suit a variety of skill levels from beginner to advanced, and use a step-by-step approach to learning the necessary skills. Each project begins with basic techniques and progresses through to thought-provoking applications of those techniques. Each technique includes an example of a finished book that fully and beautifully utilizes the methods described by the techniques. This book explores more experimental binding and page treatment techniques, and has a comprehensive gallery of ideas outlining the skills and materials needed to apply techniques often reserved for professionals.
From high-end magazines and design-inspiration websites to stores big and small, bar carts are a must-have piece of furniture. This book provides all the answers to the question—how can I get that look at home? The Art of the Bar Cart features 20 different styled bar setups—from tricked-out vintage carts to a collection of bottles tucked into a cabinet—themed around favorite libations, personal style, or upcoming occasions. Readers can choose from the warm and inviting Whiskey Cart, the fun and fresh Punch Cart, or mix and match to suit any style. With easy tips to re-create each look as well as recipes for the perfect drinks to pair with each cart, this beautifully photographed guide is an inspiration to anyone looking to create a unique décor statement, and a drink to serve alongside.
Everybody wants to write a book, but most authors fall short. If only there was a clear, systematic, structured approach to crafting bestsellers that would... help you organize your creative ideas unravel the messy writing process save months of editing and revision increase engagement and get more book reviews keep readers glued to each page with dramatic tension impress your mom (and everyone else) with your genius When I started out as an author, I read every book on craft, plotting and writing techniques I could find - but they left me more confused than ever. I ended up quitting, and spent a decade as a developmental editor while earning my PhD in literature. I was terrified to publish. What if nobody likes it? What if I'm a failure? How do I know a book is good before I publish? I needed a way to identify weak, amateur writing, and replace it with prose that enthralled readers. I wanted to take a good story, and turn it into a riveting manuscript. Rather than give up the quest forever, positing Great Writing up to some mysterious, invisible source I could never achieve, I developed my own framework for writing, which has allowed me to write and publish several dozen books over the past few years. What began as a simple guide to plotting became a detailed, chapter-by-chapter cheatsheet, and some brand new techniques on adding intrigue, suspense and conflict to cast a spell over readers. The truth is, there are things that great books have in common - and even more informative, there are definitely signs of weak or bad writing, which can be easily identified and avoided. Based on the lessons I've learned from editing over a hundred books and studying nearly universal writing mistakes, as well as feedback on my writing tutorials (with over 2 million views), I've reverse-engineered a structured approach to writing that will help you quickly map out your book, write it well the first time, and avoid months of painful revision. These simple, easy to follow rules, tactics and cheatsheets to help you easly improve your writing craft and unleash your inner genius, without a nervous breakdown or a drinking problem. You'll end up with a deeper understanding of the craft, and a more marketable book that readers can't put down. This book will help you to... Write compelling books readers love Create dynamic characters readers will root for Plot your book without stifling your creativity Hit crucial turning points to keep readers engaged Improve pacing & backstory without info-dumps Increase stakes, drama and conflict Double your word count and stay motivated Avoid common amateur mistakes & lazy writing Heighten intrigue & suspense to keep readers invested How to know your book will sell before you write it 3 types of conflict you need in every scene Why readers stop reading and how to fix it Simple plotting and outlining strategies so you can write faster with less procrastination Revise and edit your first draft and identify problems fast Save thousands of dollars on editing and increase book sales Ready to move from the slush pile to the bookshelf? Take your writing... ✓ from contrived to compelling ✓ from rubbish to riveting ✓ from mediocre to masterful Scroll up and improve your writing today! ★ BONUSES INCLUDED: a guided 12-week plan to writing your best book yet!
This is the journal of Joe Necchi, a junkie living on a barge that plies the rivers and bays of New York. Joe's world is the half-world of drugs and addicts -- the world of furtive fixes in sordid Harlem apartments, of police pursuits down deserted subway stations. Junk for Necchi, however, is a tool, freely chosen and fully justified; he is Cain, the malcontent, the profligate, the rebel who lives by no one's rules but his own. Like DeQuincey and Baudelaire before him, Trocchi's muse was drugs. But unlike his literary predecessors, in his roman a clef, Trocchi never romanticizes the source of his inspiration. If the experience of heroin, of the "fix," is central to Cain's Book, both its destructive force and the possibilities for creativity it creates are recognized and accepted without apology. "Cain's Book is the classic late-1950s account of heroin addiction. . . . An un-self-forgiving existentialism, rendered with writerly exactness and muscularity, set this novel apart from all others of the genre." -- William S. Burroughs
An award-winning journalist and literacy advocate provides a clear, step-by-step guide to helping your child thrive as a reader and a learner. When her child went off to school, Maya Smart was shocked to discover that a good education in America is a long shot, in ways that few parents fully appreciate. Our current approach to literacy offers too little, too late, and attempting to play catch-up when our kids get to kindergarten can no longer be our default strategy. We have to start at the top. The brain architecture for reading develops rapidly during infancy, and early language experiences are critical to building it. That means parents’ work as children’s first teachers begins from day one too—and we need deeper knowledge to play our positions. Reading for Our Lives challenges the bath-book-bed mantra and the idea that reading aloud to our kids is enough to ensure school readiness. Instead, it gives parents easy, immediate, and accessible ways to nurture language and literacy development from the start. Through personal stories, historical accounts, scholarly research, and practical tips, this book presents the life-and-death urgency of literacy, investigates inequity in reading achievement, and illuminates a path to a true, transformative education for all.
New York Times Book Review Editors' Choice A groundbreaking and endlessly surprising history of how artisans created America, from the nation's origins to the present day. At the center of the United States' economic and social development, according to conventional wisdom, are industry and technology-while craftspeople and handmade objects are relegated to a bygone past. Renowned historian Glenn Adamson turns that narrative on its head in this innovative account, revealing makers' central role in shaping America's identity. Examine any phase of the nation's struggle to define itself, and artisans are there-from the silversmith Paul Revere and the revolutionary carpenters and blacksmiths who hurled tea into Boston Harbor, to today's “maker movement.” From Mother Jones to Rosie the Riveter. From Betsy Ross to Rosa Parks. From suffrage banners to the AIDS Quilt. Adamson shows that craft has long been implicated in debates around equality, education, and class. Artisanship has often been a site of resistance for oppressed people, such as enslaved African-Americans whose skilled labor might confer hard-won agency under bondage, or the Native American makers who adapted traditional arts into statements of modernity. Theirs are among the array of memorable portraits of Americans both celebrated and unfamiliar in this richly peopled book. As Adamson argues, these artisans' stories speak to our collective striving toward a more perfect union. From the beginning, America had to be-and still remains to be-crafted.
In this introduction to the techniques of bookbinding, Franz Zeier guides readers step-by-step through projects for making a variety of boxes, portfolios, book covers, photograph albums, mats, and sewn and adhesive
