Illustration by Christian Northeast/The New York Times

I’m not a Potter-head, though my husband is¹, and one of our bookshelves holds a Polaroid of us wearing the iconic black-rimmed spectacles at a Barnes & Noble release party for Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix. (Chekhov promptly sat on mine the next day, snapping them in two, possibly to indicate his lack of enthusiasm for J. K. Rowling’s oeuvre.) I do adore these illustrations by Christian Northeast, however, from an article about Harry-mania by an equally unimpressed Christopher Hitchens in The New York Times.

¹And he very thoughtfully keeps me abreast of everything that happens in and outside of Hogwarts, even when I pretend to have been momentarily struck deaf.

Illustration by Christian Northeast/The New York Times

Frugal Luxuries: Simple Pleasures to Enhance Your Life and Comfort Your Soul by Tracey McBride

Someone asked me if Frugal Luxuries, which I quoted from earlier, trod the same ground as Your Money or Your Life—it almost seemed that way in the beginning, but as Tracey McBride began to neatly (and maternally) check off the different aspects of frugal living—from finances to food to your wardrobe—while drawing from her family’s experiences, it became clear that hers was more reminiscent of the housekeeping manuals of the past, updated for our post-Susan B. Anthony era, of course.

Just some of the tips I’m eagerly lapping up from my tattered library copy, in McBride’s own words; her book contains multitudes:

1. To make nonstick cooking spray, combine equal parts vegetable oil and liquid lecithin (available at most health food stores and some drugstores) in a clean pump bottle. Use it as you would the more expensive sprays (at a fraction of the cost.)

2. Save water that vegetables have been cooked in, and use it as a basis for soups and gravies. It is best kept in a large (2 quart) recycled wine bottle, with a cork stopper. Or your can keep a large container in your freezer, and add vegetable broth to it.

3. Transform an ordinary dinner salad into a meal by adding rolls of prosciutto stuffed with sauteed red chard (saute in garlic and olive oil), or herbs and cream cheese; add chopped cucumber and sweet red onions.

4. You may easily sour fresh cream or milk by adding 2 teaspoons of vinegar or lemon juice. … To make a rich sour cream you may mix 1 tablespoon of vinegar into 1 cup of undiluted evaporated milk and let it stand for 5 minutes.

5. Cooked vegetables may be heartily improved by adding a bit of acid. Spinach is a prime example. Ordinary cooked potatoes become sublime by the simplest addition of lemon juice and parsley.

6. Remember the words of Thomas Jefferson: “Never buy what you do not want because it is cheap. It will be dear to you.” In other words, do not acquire a garment simply because the price is so low “you cannot resist” it. Avoid buying an item because it “will do.” Chances are you will not enjoy wearing it, and it will clutter your closet and unnecessarily drain your budget.

7. Make your own lingerie bags by running a ribbon through the casing of pillow cases to create a drawstring. Or attach Velcro on either side with Tacky Glue.

8. Make your own dryer sheets by pouring a tablespoon of liquid fabric softener onto a damp rag (or use a clean sock with a missing mate).

9. Candlelight at the dinner table, in the bath, or simply set strategically about your home (always away from the reach of little hands), used on a regular basis, can add a comfortable, romantic quality to daily life.

10. Always look for beauty in the ordinary. Use time-honored strategies and materials in new ways that suit your personal needs and tastes. When you treat the ordinary objects in your life with artfulness, they will become extraordinary.

99 Ways to Cut, Sew & Deck Out Your Denim by Faith Blakeney, Justina Blakeney, and Ellen Schultz; illustrated by Kira Lillie

Packed with—count ‘em—99 solutions to restyling a pair of worn, retired jeans, 99 Ways to Cut, Sew & Deck Out Your Denim by Faith Blakeney, Justina Blakeney, and Ellen Schultz is a ripping powerhouse of inspiration, especially if you think (like I used to) that old denim can only be remade into A-line skirts and hobo bags. Well, those are in here, too, but so is the gorgeous wrap skirt pictured below the fold, along with clear, easy-to-follow instructions on how to put together a baby dress, a sun hat, a dog jacket, and several styles of purses.

Click here for more »

Photo by Bill Ballantyne, under a Creative Commons license

From Frugal Luxuries: Simple Pleasures to Enhance Your Life and Comfort Your Soul by Tracey McBride, on frugality versus miserliness:

There is a vast difference between practicing frugality and being miserly. To be frugal is to set higher standards for your thoughts, behavior, activities, surroundings, and possessions. A frugalite (a word of my own making) is one who enjoys comfortable, attractive surroundings and endeavors to transform the simplest foods into a feast. You exult in keeping the bonds of family and friendship alive through simple and elegant entertaining. You enjoy quality accoutrements to daily living, although many frugalites have a (sometimes stringent) limit to their income. Frugalites prefer to make wise decisions on how to spend money and time … They know that money, saved by wise spending, can be used to enhance their lifestyle, contribute to worthwhile charities, or both.

Born from the Latin word for “wretched,” miserliness is the absence of generosity. A miserly person will spend money reluctantly and deprive himself of all but the barest of essentials, for the sole purpose of hoarding money. In my humble opinion, to live a miserly existence would truly be wretched. To wait for “someday” is the ultimate futile exercise.

Related article:
1. Money Quote: Joy vs. Stuff

Felt Frenzy by Heather Brack and Shannon Okey

If Shannon Okey (of Knitgrrl fame) and Heather Brack haven’t written the definitive primer to unraveling the alchemy behind felting, they’ve come exceptionally close. With Felt Frenzy, the two fiber enthusiasts—they live for the needle arts, and it shows—will induct you into the mysteries of shrink felting, welt felting, and needle (”dry”) felting, as well as more-advanced techniques such incorporating beads into felt, Shibori textile dyeing, and quilting felted fabrics.

Among the 26 projects are 5 devoted to recycled felt, or what the authors define as “repurposed knits (such as old sweaters) that are felted, sewn, embroidered, knitted onto, or otherwise manipulated into new items.” (One of the tips they provide: Accumulate lots of thrift-store sweaters in the spring and summer when they’re cheap. Make sure you check out the clothing tag to determine fiber content, however.)

You’ll get to tackle an embroidered felted needle case, a stained-glass sweater pillow, a camera case for your point-and-shoot, a French-press cozy, and a patchwork felted jacket.

The brief note on vegan felting—think soysilk batts, my herbivorous compatriots—was a thoughtful touch. ($21.95, paper)

This review refers to a first American paperback edition, courtesy of Interweave Publishing. Felt Frenzy can be found in stores now.

A Slice of Organic Life by Sheherezade Goldsmith (Ed.)

Novices taking their first toddling steps toward a more sustainable lifestyle should look elsewhere for a reassuring hand and the soft coo of encouragement. A Slice of Organic Life, edited by Sheherezade Goldsmith, dives headlong into the often baffling business of eco-friendly living by rattling off a series of instructions, without framing them in any kind of context that might make sense to a greenie-to-be.

A foreword by acclaimed chef, author, and food activist Alice Waters is followed by an introduction by Goldsmith. But just when you think you’re on solid, navigable terrain, the ground suddenly opens up below your feet and you find yourself inexplicably rushing past an edict to “Grow Salad Leaves in a Window Box.” Immediately after, you’re asked to “Save Energy the Easy Way,” and then to “Shop Ethically,” as if you were flipping through a stack of flash cards, each bearing little relation to its neighbors.

It would be unfair, however, to say that no effort at organization has been made—the book is ostensibly split into three sections based on your living situation: 1. No Need for a Yard, 2. Roof Terrace, Patio, or Tiny Yard, and 3. Yard, Community Garden, or Field. It might be easier to think of Slice as a collection of homesteading projects, from making and freezing baby foods to—I kid you not—raising a couple of young pigs.

The large type, vibrant and generously laid-out photographs are certainly appealing, and so this is the kind of glossy picture book you could strategically place on your coffee table to pique the curiosity of non-environmentally inclined guests. Slice makes for an easy, non-threatening read—and you really do emerge from its pages believing that yes! you could grow sweet peas on a teepee or become a bee keeper—but the book also tries to toss too many balls in the air at the same time, and keeping track of all them can leave you feeling dizzy. ($25, cloth)

Want to snag my free copy of the book? Comment below about something you never thought you’d DIY, but you did. I’ll pick a winner at random on August 1.

This review refers to a first American hardcover edition, courtesy of DK Publishing. A Slice of Organic Life can be found in stores now.

Cover of Hip Tranquil Chick: A Guide to Life On and Off the Yoga Mat by Kimberly Wilson

I never realized how much the practice of yoga aligned with sustainable living until I flipped through my reviewer’s copy of Hip Tranquil Chick: A Guide to Life On and Off the Yoga Mat. Yoga, according to author Kimberly Wilson, is all about balance, not abstinence. The hip tranquil chick lives passionately and mindfully, seeks to simplify rather than accumulate, and gives graciously of herself and her resources—all while spreading tranquility and exuding what Wilson calls “a chic consciousness.”

Here’s what Wilson says about contentment (samtosha), one of the five foundation yogic dos:

The hip tranquil chick views challenges as opportunities and cultivates a sense of gratitude for lessons learned. Being content does not equal complacency. It does mean, however, that you savor the present moment and accept situations and people for what they are. By being in the present moment, you will be able to let go of past regrets and future worries by focusing on the here and now. Living in a state of contentment means that you don’t lose sight of the big picture, but that you allow yourself to revel in where you are at this moment. The satisfied state ensures freedom from the struggle to keep up with the Joneses.
Modern girl scenario: When bombarded by the media’s idea of what clothes, car, or beverage you need to be happy, reflect upon all you have with a sense of gratitude and satisfaction.

And here’s the 101 on a yogic don’t, the lack of moderation (brahmacharya):

Even though the hip tranquil chick has a devout love of passion and a desire for succulence, she knows when enough is enough. Avoid overindulgence, recognize that all good things can become a crutch, and constantly seek the middle path. When practicing yoga, both on and off the mat, seek balance, simple indulgences, and surrender the “addiction” when a problem is detected.
Modern girl scenario: Seek moderation by indulging in small doses, especially in sensual cravings such as chocolate mousse, soy chai lattes, sex, shopping, and yoga.

Part yoga how-to guide, part self-help manual, Hip Tranquil Chick is a breezy read that shows us how we can take care of ourselves and our planet with style and panache. (Spiritual centering and physical toning optional.)

It doesn’t hurt that you can look cute doing it, either. I feel more relaxed already.

Cover of Get a Hobby! by Tina Barseghian

I recently had the privilege of chatting with Tina Barseghian, author of Get a Hobby!: 101 All-Consuming Diversions for Any Lifestyle; the book is exactly that—a most-excellent compendium of 101 different hobbies you can take up, from mushroom hunting to Polaroid transfers. Tina explains it far better than I do, below the fold.

Want to snag my free copy of the book? Comment below and let me know how a hobby (or two, or three) has impacted your life. I’ll pick a winner at random on June 5.

Update: Dustywheat is our randomly picked winner!

Click here for more »

Yes, please!

The fabulous Felicia Sullivan reviews The Omnivore’s Dilemma

Read this book only if you really, really like rocks.

Okay, that’s not quite fair. It’s not that the subject matter doesn’t interest me—quite the contrary, actually, considering my lifelong obsession with paleontology—but Peter D. Ward’s thesis would have far better digested if it had been condensed into a magazine feature, so you’re not forced to trudge alongside him as he polishes off every ammonite and trilobite, or squints at every petrified sedimentary strata, while all you want is for him to hurry up and get to the point, already. And though eloquent, he’s not a terribly engaging writer, and his attempts to come off as more personable are obtrusive and trite.

But if you do like rocks? Boy, have I got a book for you.

Click here for more »

The major earth-rattling revelation in Your Money or Your Life: Transforming Your Relationship with Money and Achieving Financial Independence by Joe Dominguez and Vicki Robin is that money is something we choose to trade our very finite life energy for, i.e.:

Money = Life Energy

I know it sounds like a lot of hippy-dippy, new-agey pablum, but the authors back up their thesis in the pages that follow. They also ask you to calculate your real hourly wage vs. what’s written on paper:

Most people look at this life-energy/earnings ration in an unrealistic and inadequate way: “I earn $440 a week, I work 40 hours a week, so I trade one hour of life energy for $11.”

It’s not likely to be that simple.

Think of all the ways you use your life energy that are directly related to your money-earning employment. Think of all the monetary expenses that are directly associated with the job. In other words, if you didn’t need the money-earning job, what time expenditures and monetary expenses would disappear from your life?

Subtracting the costs of commuting, “costuming” (i.e. your work clothes), meals, recreational activities for you to decompress from work, vacations and expensive playthings, job-related illness, and other job-related expenses from your usual pay, your real hourly wage is likely to be a lot lower than what you think you are getting. So you might be selling an hour of your life energy for $4, rather than the apparent $11.

The corollary figure is also interesting. In this example, every dollar you spend represents 15 minutes of your life. Think of that figure next time you’re shelling out your money for yet another gazingus pin¹. Ask: Is this item worth 120 minutes of my life energy?

And, if you’re one of the millions of people who are merely “making a dying,” as Dominguez and Robin put it, and the amount of money you’re spending is inversely proportional to how fulfilled you feel, then it’s time to reevaluate the time and expenses incurred to maintaining a lifestyle that consumer culture says matches your job. Another question to ask: Are you willing to accept a job that pays $4 per hour (or whatever you’ve calculated in that last step)? Could pursuing your real desires and goals actually SAVE you money, while improving your health, sense of well-being, and relationships with others?

Then, to evaluate your spending, the authors suggest asking three questions:

1. Did I receive fulfillment, satisfaction, and value in proportion to life energy spent?
2. Is this expenditure of life energy in alignment with my values and life purpose?
3. How might this expenditure change if I didn’t have to work for a living?

These steps, and the others listed in the book (which, if you haven’t already guessed, I heartily recommend reading), may lead you to conclude that spending money in ways that might bring superficial happiness, but don’t contribute to lasting fulfillment or support your values, is actually frittering your finite life energy. Questioning whether your actions are in line with your values will also help you clarify your life’s purpose and lead to a greater sense of satisfaction, wholeness, and integrity. Cavorting with goats and other assorted livestock on a kibbutz in Utah fit in better with your overarching purpose in life? Trade in your briefcase for a feed sack and more power to you.

Okay, so the book can get a little kumbaya-ya on you, but you’ll find very little in it that isn’t the God’s honest truth about the way we live, work, and most importantly, spend.

Goats, regretfully, are not included.

¹A “gazingus pin,” according to the authors, is anything that you can’t pass by without buying. They’re usually the little tchotchkes placed closest to the cash registers, from “pocket calculators and tiny screwdrivers to pens and chocolate kisses.”

Dear Strand Books,

Last evening I went to your main store to pick up a book I had reserved on your Web site. The person working the register I walked up to could not have radiated more loathing for his current duties or the unequivocal sense that he did not want to be there. He tossed my credit card back at me without so much as glancing up, and did the same with the credit-card receipt I had to sign. (To mix things up, he impassively rolled the pen towards me.) I thanked him. He did not so much as grunt in response.

Now I don’t expect a great deal in terms of customer service, but I do expect not to be treated like one of the great unwashed by staff reveling in apathetic, hipper-than-thou complacency. Above all, shopping is an experience, from the second a customer enters the store, to the moment he or she leaves. And while I’d prefer to support an independent bookstore such as yours, if paying more at Barnes & Noble or Borders means I’m extended the most basic of courtesies, then I’d rather take my chances with the chainstore.

Regards,
Jasmin

Update: Boy were they fast with their apology! They’re going to send me a gift card to make up for it, which I accepted, because I have no shame.

Photo by James Strachan/Getty Images

Ganked from Green LA Girl, who didn’t tag me but whose party I’m crashing anyway.

A book that changed my life
The Solitaire Mystery by Jostein Gaarder, when I was 16. It also made me crave sticky buns.

A book I’ve read more than once
Anne of Green Gables by Lucy Maud Montgomery.

A book I’d take with me if I were stuck on a desert island
Or rescue from a burning building: The Neverending Story by Michael Ende. I still remember scanning the opening chapter in my cold elementary-school library, flipping through the pages of alternately red and green text, delicious shivers skimming down my back like water off a bathing duck.

Maybe Survive on a Desert Island by Claire Llewellyn would be a smarter choice, though.

A book that made me laugh
God, all of the Discworld books by Terry Pratchett.

Just an example:

All dwarfs are by nature dutiful, serious, literate, obedient and thoughtful people whose only minor failing is a tendency, after one drink, to rush at enemies screaming “Arrrrrrgh!” and axing their legs off at the knee. —Guards! Guards!

A book that made me cry
I’m not the overtly sentimental type—Titanic made me roll my eyes in agony while a girlfriend tore through the Kleenex beside me—but The Time Traveler’s Wife by Audrey Niffenegger did make me tear up.

A book that I wish had been written
(I just realized I misread this as “a book I wish I had written.” The ego has landed, folks.)
I was underwhelmed by Jasper Fforde’s debut, The Eyre Affair, but his current literary outing about nursery-rhyme crimes? I had that idea when I was 10 (e.g., did Humpty Dumpty fall or was he pushed?) Also, the Griffen & Sabine series by Nick Bantock.

Also, also, Neverwhere by Neil Gaiman, which felt like home. I made the hub read it because if he didn’t love the book, he could not possibly love me. Does that make sense? He was probably thinking, “Woman, couldn’t you just make me a damn MIX TAPE?”

A book that I wish had never been written
I get just one? Grimm Memorials by R. Patrick Gates. Complete, irredeemable offal. An absolute waste of paper and ink.

A book I’ve been meaning to read
My to-read list could embalm several mummies. Proust is somewhere therein.

I’m currently reading
Sonya Taaffe’s short-story collection, Singing Innocence and Experience, which I might attempt to explicate later.

The time has come, the Walrus said, to tag … Felicia Sullivan.

Due in stores in September, Lunch Lessons: Changing the Way We Feed Our Children by Ann Cooper and Lisa Holmes starts off with several startling statistics: 30 to 40 percent of children born in the year 2000 will develop diabetes, while a good percentage of them will face problems stemming from obesity. These children, according to research the authors uncovered, will be the first in the history of the U.S. to die at a younger age than their parents.

More than 35 percent of our nation’s children are overweight. 25 percent are obese, and 14 percent have type 2 diabetes, a condition previously seen in adults. Processed foods favored by schools and busy moms for their convenience not only contribute to obesity, they also contain additives and preservatives and are tainted with herbicide and pesticide residues that are believed to cause a variety of illnesses, including cancer. In fact, current research shows that 40 percent of all cancers are attributable to diet. Many hundreds of thousands of Americans die of diet-related illnesses each year. People in America today simply do not know how to eat properly, and they don’t seem to have time to figure out how—so fast food, home meal replacements, and processed foods take the place of good, healthy cooking.

Although the narrative can get disjointed in places, Lunch Lessons adroitly stitches the basics of proper nutrition (and how to instill healthy eating habits in your children) together with examples of revolutionary programs pushing for change in lunchrooms across the nation—an invaluable resource for parents, parents-to-be, and anyone interested in advocating for children’s nutritional health, which has obviously suffered in a climate where kids are being subjected to about $15 billion a year worth of marketing engineered to sway them and their parents into believing they need their own special kind of food. “Once you understand that this is marketing that is designed to undermine parental controls it loses that ‘isn’t-that-cute’ factor,” says respected nutritionist and food author Marion Nestle. “That’s the complete explanation of Lunchables. It isn’t cute at all, it’s quite subversive.”

From an article in the New York Times:

“Historically, there was no such thing as children’s food,” said Andrew F. Smith, who teaches culinary history at the New School in New York. “Babies would eat what adults ate, chopped up, until Gerber created baby food in 1927.” “Children’s meals” didn’t exist until the McDonald’s Happy Meal came along in the late 1970’s, Smith said, and only when snack-food producers concluded that their real market was children did they start sponsoring events and advertising in the 1950’s.

“Beyond the Lunch Pail” encourages sustainable living, from using eco-friendly cleaning products to composting, as a way of extending good health beyond good nutrition, and making “your child’s world a richer, healthier place.” A generous portion of the book is dedicated to healthful and balanced, yet tasty, recipes. The authors demystify what counts as a serving of calcium or healthy fats, while breaking down the dangers of mercury in seafood and trans fatty acids. You’ll also find factoids peppered throughout the pages, such as the one that informs us that a McDonald’s hamburger in the 1960s was 250 calories, while a Big Extra today weighs in at 810 calories.

My favorite part of the book is the case studies of successful food programs, such as the decade-old Edible Schoolyard at King Middle School in Berkeley California. Children of all grade levels work in the garden, cook in the kitchens, and receive the kind of sensory experiences a traditional classroom could never have afforded them.

Overhauling school lunch programs, where ketchup is considered a “vegetable” and Taco Bell and Pizza Hut options are available on cafeteria menus, though challenging, has resulted in quantifiable improvements, including increased concentration, increased cognitive development, fewer health complaints, increased attendance, fewer disciplinary referrals, less moodiness and more calmness—even an increase in the practice of good nutrition outside of school. A group of sixth graders at the Ross School in East Hampton, New York, where food is part of a fully integrated curriculum, effused about the timing of the spice tasting when the class was learning about India. When asked why, they replied, “Because our palates have grown so much since last year. We can taste so much better now.”