My new book, The Urban Bestiary, hits shelves today. I look forward to seeing its pretty, sky-blue cover tracking its way into the world, and into your hands. Every one of you has my never-ending gratitude for your support during the writing and release of this book. Thank you, thank you, thank you. Now let’s […]
Category: books
It’s Darwin’s Birthday: Celebrate Fiercely
I love Charles Darwin. I love his sweet, flawed humanity; his affection for his family; his books, his quirky letters, his diaries. Most of all, I love his innate, constant wonder in the face of the natural world. Join me in celebrating Darwin’s birthday. Here are some of my favorite ways to conjure the spirit […]
If You Want to Write by Brenda Ueland: A beautiful book (and an apology)
Brenda Ueland is the author of If You Want to Write, penned 75 years ago, and one of my most beloved books on the creative process. Who else will tell us that aimless wandering walking, staring out the window, and “moodling” all count as doing our work? So I was aghast to realize that when […]
Off the Shelf: Cookbook of the Month
I confess to having a slight cookbook addiction, one I have no intention of giving up. I keep cookbooks by my bed and read them like novels. My kitchen bookshelves are overflowing, and whenever someone wants to buy me something for my birthday, somehow I just can’t keep from asking for a cookbook. My cookbooks […]
Kelly and Erik From Root Simple: Bees, Bread, And Radical Home Economics
A guest post from Tom: In a perfect storm of mismatched calendars, Lyanda was doing a reading in Portland this week while Kelly and Erik of the blog Root Simple (formerly Homegrown Evolution) were in the Seattle area, doing events in support of their great new book Making It: Radical Home Ec for a Post-Consumer […]
Slow Time (a book) / Chicken Time (a thought)
As we move deeper into this season of darkness, I have observed that my own impulse to cozy down into an early bedtime is mirrored by the mood of the chickens. Starting in late summer, the girls put themselves to bed earlier and earlier every night, following the earlier sunsets, and these dark autumn mornings […]