Inside Charlie’s Chocolate Factory: The Complete Story of Willy Wonka, the Golden Ticket, and Roald Dahl’s Most Famous Creation by Lucy Mangan I’ve always liked Roald Dahl’s children’s books. Like Doctor Seuss, he had a wonderful sense of the absurd along with more than a touch of the macabre. Nonetheless, I hadn’t given him much […]
Wow. Just wow. “The Alluring Art of Margaret Brundage” is a gorgeous, lavishly illustrated history of one of the great, forgotten cover artists of the 1930’s pulp magazines. Artist Margaret Brundage lived an interesting, challenging life but what she is remembered for today are her pulp magazine covers, mainly for Weird Tales. This history reproduces […]
97 Orchard: The Edible History of Five Immigrant Families in One New York Tenement by Jane Ziegelman is a valuable addition to your library if you’re interested in how normal people lived in the past. Not the aristocracy. Real people. Ms. Ziegelman is the director of the Tenement Museum’s culinary center. Her well-researched book covers […]
I spent several years working on the manuscript for “Sew Cloth Grocery Bags: Make Your Own in Quantity for Yourself, for Gifts, or for Sale.” The book gradually got bigger and more complete, particularly when Bill asked “Is there only one way to sew a cloth grocery bag?” As it turns out, there are two […]
I recently published my second book, and I’m really proud of it. “Sew Cloth Grocery Bags: Make Your Own in Quantity for Yourself, for Gifts, and for Sale” took several years of work, sewing and writing down the instructions as I went, learning two styles of grocery bag manufacturing (“boxed” and “tailored”), teaching myself production […]
Yes, this event happened in August. What with one thing and another I never got around to putting up Teresa’s report until now. Romance writing has never gotten much respect in the book industry despite the fact that many, many people adore it. This attitude is strange. Why would a money-making enterprise like book publishing […]
Cupboard Maker Books in Enola has many cats. Squeekie gets most of the attention due to his gregarious nature and charming ways. He wears a little bowtie on a daily basis, since like most cats, he believes in being stylish and fashion-forward. Everyone knows bowties are cool. There are also the constant parade of Castaway […]
It’s been a long time since I posted anything related to “Fed, Safe, and Sheltered” on resilience and sustainability. That’s because the book covers everything I wanted to say about the subject. But over the past winter, thanks to my new writing desk, I learned something new about keeping warm during the winter that I’d […]
We had a busy, long day Saturday. We got up at 7 am for the Kiwanis Club Spring Arts and Crafts Show and did well. That took until 2 pm. Bill’s providing the report for that, so I won’t rehash the day other than to say that, as always, it’s fun to get out and […]
We have the enormous luxury in Central Pennsylvania of having a few independent bookshops to choose from. I have frequently written about Cupboard Maker Books in Enola since we’ve done some signings there. We love that place. But there are other, equally wonderful places! I had the signal pleasure of being asked by Deb Beamer, […]