What's new in Selfie-help: 6 guides to better living

You know about Pinterest, right? It's the social bookmarking site with visual appeal that is so popular with people planning weddings, DIYers, and those on the never-ending quest for self improvement. Pinterest is basically just one giant crowdsourced self help book, and you know self help is already big business. Take The Life Changing Habit of Tidying Up for instance. That HUGELY popular little book with a simple premise (spoiler alert): get rid of stuff and organize what's left, is making the rounds at the library and on blogs and Facebook and probably Pinterest too.

So here's a DIY Pinterest hack from us to you: Selfie-help. You write your own self help book using Pinterest. All of your chapters are there already laid out as pinboards. You've got crafts, exercises, recipes, home improvement, life changing cleaning hacks, affirming and motivational phrases superimposed upon pleasingly filtered photos of sunsets over water...

Once you get tired of hunching over your laptop, pinning all the crafts, stretch your legs and head over to the library to begin practicing the art of better living through upcycling, organizing, cooking, and positive thinking with these picks fresh off the new books shelf. (But we think you're fine just the way you are.)

Right Size...Right Now!

Regina Leeds wants to help make your impending move not only less stressful, but STRESS-FREE as the cover text emphatically states, through an 8-week plan to organize and declutter. I can suggest right off the top without even opening this book that step one is "Check this book out at your local public library unless you want to pack and move another !@#$% book (why do you have so many books?)!" Along with helpful step-by-step guidance and many different checklists, Leeds also includes a weekly "self care tip" to keep your gears turning smoothly as you process your life and reduce your trappings, an emotionally and physically demanding process for many. So don't pack your yoga mat or smoothie blender just yet! Personally, my approach to moving has always been the "Hefty Method". If you guessed that this involves shoving my entire life into garbage bags, you would be correct. Whatever wouldn't fit in my college hatchback was already prepped for the curb!

Ahem.

Right Size...Right Now! is great for folks too long on the waiting list for The Life Changing Magic of Tidying Up, especially those confronted with a tower of stuff, stuff, and more stuff, to pack and move in 8 weeks or less.

The Little Spark: 30 Ways to Ignite Your Creativity

Don't buy it, make it. But do you feel like you lack the creativity to be part of the DIY revolution currently underway? Are you the only one on your block without a creative hobby? Do you spend hours Pinning crafts onto boards with names like "Maybe Someday!" or "If I ever find the time..." or "Maybe if I spent less time on Pinterest and more time with my glue gun I could make some of these projects"? Do you need an instructional, step-by-step, how-to, illustrated nudge to ignite your creative spark? Then this is definitely the book for you. It's like pre-crafting, with "30 ways to cultivate a creative life and fill your days with a passion for living" you're sure to come away from this book with at least one or two projects started. Feel the rush of inspiration as you "Break your own rules" (Spark # 10). Perhaps you always buy the same vegetables; try buying an eggplant if this is  unusual behavior for you, then look up a recipe on Pinterest for eggplant. The Little Spark begins with attacking your clutter too, so get ready to purge. Getting organized and clearing out your space will give your inspiration room to flourish so you can create...stuff? Well, you can sort all that out later.
.

Clean Slate: a Cookbook and Guide

Your body is cluttered too and that is holding you back. What is it cluttered with? The filthy toxic remnants of your terrible diet. (It's ok, me too.) Wipe your Taco Bell sullied palms on your pants before you pick up this book, then wipe your slate clean with help from the editors of Martha Stewart Living. It isn't enough to feel ok, or even well; one needs to feel their best, if such a thing is possible. How do you know what your best is? You don't. That, my friends, is the purifying Sisyphean struggle of self-actualization: better living through better living. On the surface, Clean Slate is capitalizing on the "detox" trend, but inside a Pinteresting package of attractive grapefruit arrangement and bourgeois "ancient" grains (what grain isn't ancient?) is a simple cookbook. The recipes are mercifully unfussy, the steps are few, and some of the more esoteric ingredients could easily be substituted by more abundant, and equally "clean", farmer's market finds. The emphasis is on fresh, natural, whole foods, and meals centered on vegetables and whole grains, lean meats, and variety. Special diet compatible attributes such as gluten-free, nut-free, meat-free are clearly indicated below the pictures, and there is a picture to accompany every recipe. These are simple, colorful, light dishes that seem easy to prepare, even for cooks like me. A few look to be influenced more by photogeneity than edibility but Instagram is ruining eating by turning every diner into an amateur food photographer so you can expect this trend to continue for the foreseeable future. You want the truth? Salad photos look less gross than burger photos, and your body probably agrees. #realtalk

Homemakers

This "domestic handbook for the digital generation" offers "1,000+ creative ideas for the home". Holy cow. That's a lot of ideas. The book cover looks like the Ikea catalog, and Brit Morin is sort of a hybrid of Hello Kitty and Martha Stewart, but with a (rainbow) sprinkling of Emily Post meets Sheryl Sandberg. Homemakers takes the "Maker" movement and applies it to acts of domesticity, so the title is to be read both ways: Homemakers and Home (space) Makers. In the dining room chapter, Morin has 3D printed napkin rings on a page facing origami napkin folding techniques, followed up by table setting tips and towel "hacks", several pages devoted to gadgets and apps related to entertaining in the home, and finally, the crafts. She's got all the hair and nail trends you need, plus duct tape organizers, egg recipes, lots of contact paper ideas, and plenty of visual charts. This book is about celebrating creativity, balancing the digital and analog, and being happy at home. If you read this and thought "Gosh, that sure sounds like the print version of Pinterest" you and I think a lot alike. She has one suitcase packing hack in there that is straight off my "D-I-Why didn't I think of that?!" pinboard (see what I did there?): Pack your dirty shoes in a shower cap! Brill. Of course she packs her cute glitter shoes in a cute polka dotted shower cap and it looks really cute in her cute vintage suitcase.

cute.

Oh Joy!

I am physically incapable of saying "Oh Joy" without sarcasm. Come to think of it, I struggle to breathe without sarcasm. I think there's probably a chapter in one of these books that will address that problem. Oh Joy! is bubbling over with bright and precious whimsical decorating ideas and earnest glittery glee. The book boasts "60 ways to create and give joy", many of which also involve contact paper. I had no idea there were so many colors and varieties of contact paper. Apparently contact paper is the new washi tape which was the duct tape of 2013. Adhesives are kind of having a moment. (Note: you're gonna need to get some contact paper in cheerful colors.) She also has washi tape crafts in case you have some of that hanging around still. Sprinkled among the crafts and decorating ideas you'll find suggestions for ways to create joy in your own life. "Visit fun and inspiring places" like candy shops, "look upside down" at things like ice cream, and "group things in clusters", things like tiny umbrellas on a cake. This books proudly declares that glitter really is forever and that is just swell.

Oh, joy, a card full of glitter. You shouldn't have.

Sustainable Happiness: Live Simply, Live Well, Make a Difference

The staff of Yes! Magazine are really excited about exploring real happiness for you. Real happiness, happiness that one can sustain for long periods, even through those times when you favorite show ends (remember how you felt when The Wire concluded?), comes from making the world a better place for everybody. This collection of short essays doles out some practical and some philosophical advice for ways to improve your existence, moving yourself in the direction of "real" happiness. Meditate on topics such as greeting strangers, meeting your neighbors, buying less and unplugging more, and see just how easy it is to make small changes that can lead to big differences. This is another book that suggests buying less and we couldn't agree more! Check this book out at the library. We bought this one already so you don't have to.

Novel ideas involving books, from books, near books, and with books

Novel Living
Lisa Occhipinti

Quite a useful manual for the nascent book collector, Novel Living begins with a concise introduction to the ins and outs of casual book hoarding with handy tables containing definitions of terms, a book condition guide, and websites for further inquiry. Interspersed throughout this book you will find tidy advice for the care and feeding of books. While some of the book decorating and displaying ideas are a bit impractical (see the head-scratching "book sling" project), overall they will be visually inspiring and appealing to book lovers, and the chapter handling book repair is full of practical and easy to follow instructions for anyone with quality glue and an Exacto knife to take on tipping in, repairing hinges or replacing covers. And if a book just can't be saved, the chapter on conservation is followed by clever crafts to make from the books, and a few that are inspired by books. This book is well-arranged, useful, and to-the-point. Highly recommended for those looking for inspiration, just one more book, or something to liven up the coffee table.

Bibliocraft
Jessica Pigza

Jessica Pigza, NYPL librarian and venerate crafter, has created a "modern crafter's guide to using library resources to jumpstart creative projects." I love this idea and am consumed by sadness at her beating me to it. I am constantly being inspired to start projects while browsing the shelves, though perhaps less inspired to actually finish them...
Anyhow, Ms. Pigza has assembled incredibly inventive projects from her own work and that of other artists which draw inspiration from unusual resources that many folks would probably overlook. Take for instance the "Soil Profile Growth Chart" project which finds its roots in illustrations from a 19th-century geology textbook, and her darling embroidered "Cuts of Meat" table runner inspired by butcher diagrams in Mrs. Owens' New Cook Book and Complete Household Manual.

She even gives great tips on how to use the library, which is invaluable information for anyone, really.
And check her out at www.handmadelibrarian.com

Novel Interiors
Lisa Borgnes Giramonti

Interiors described in the pages of your favorite books as inspiration: cool idea, right? Imagine your home looking straight out of West Egg. Picture enjoying a little Brideshead Revisited in your very own Brideshead mansion. A Dickensian home? The chapter titled "Shall I put the kettle on?" goes ahead with that idea, apparently with zero irony. The designs are very loosely inspired by literature, appearing more to allude to the time and taste of the authors, rather than any specific setting.

Armed with only this book and probably a lot of new furniture, paint, hardware, blood, sweat, and tears, you'll be transported to the home of your favorite author's imagination, provided all of your favorite authors are late 19th- and early 20th-century English and American novelists. Or you can check the book out and flip through the pages on your futon, next to your milk crate bookshelves and dream.

The Novel: A Biography
Michael Schmidt

Pop some legs on it and picture this handsome 1172 page tome as your next coffee table. The Novel: A Biography traces the 700 year life so far of the novel in English (though the actual first novel is widely considered to be the 11th-century Japanese work, The Tale of the Genji, a bit more than 700 years ago). Michael Schmidt, a poet and professor of poetry at the University of Glasgow, has created a "bildungsroman" (defined as dealing with one person's formative years or spiritual education) of sorts of the English language novel, from its birth up to now, I suppose at whatever stage of life 700 years would be for a thing like a novel. Puberty? It seems to be in pretty good shape still so I would count on a few more years of robust health.

A 1200 page biography? If you were around for 700 years, give or take, your life might cover many pages as well. And as far as interior decorating with books goes, this one has a pretty snazzy cover.

It's almost Mother's Day! (Did you make a present for your mom yet?)

It's almost Mother's Day!  Mom loves handmade gifts that come from the heart, right?  You could bake her some fantastic cookies, invent some ridiculous new mimosa to serve at your Mother's Day brunch, sew her a darling new apron from a vintage Hawaiian shirt...yeah, I'm on this.  You know where you can find scads of books, resources, and even classes on everything from container gardening to crafting to crochet to cooking?

I think you know where.

Anyway, there are some scrumptious looking new finds for would-be and committed crafters on the shelves this Spring.  Allow me to introduce you to a few.

Upcycling

by Danny Seo

Mom hates waste.  There are starving children somewhere and finishing your peas matters.  Danny Seo also hates wasting things, including things you may still be using for their intended purpose.  He wants you to make pretty, functional wares and decorations out of "stuff you already have".  For some of the projects, "stuff you already have" only applies if you happen to live in an Ace Hardware, but in a craft book of 200 pages with nearly a craft per page, one can forgive a little stretching of the made-up term "upcycle".  I mean, there has to be some filler, like the crafts that are less "trash to treasure" and more "trip to Lowe's to trash".  I personally LOVE the faux bear skin rug made from another, non bear-shaped, rug (is this just "cycling"?) and the *darling* bird cage chandelier made out of fake birds, a cannibalized IKEA paper lantern and chicken wire. Namely, stuff I definitely do not already have (except a bunch of fake birds--of those I have plenty).  The Starry-Sky Artwork project is a really cool way to make your collection of ugly hotel landscape paintings really *pop* (yes, I'm serious). He even has a 10 second project to use that tangled wad of Christmas lights you swore you'd store neatly this time but didn't. Hoarding mason jars and river rocks?  Mom, I'm looking at you.  Danny Seo has a project for that and you only need strong glue.

Upcycling has a bunch of really cool projects, and a few head-scratchers, but everything is well styled and photographed, and there are some cute crafts for kids to do too.  Definitely worth checking out if you love projects and hate throwing things away.

Eat & Make

by Paul Lowe

Sweet Paul is sweet. And I mean sweet. My mom would love him. This book is just charming! Cover, styling, author, and all.  What is it about those Northern Europeans that they have such photogenic homes?  I am admittedly a sucker for vintage clothing, vintage linens, vintage dishes, etc, but for some reason when I put it together it looks more like Wes Anderson got drunk and went blindfolded to a flea market and then got into a fist fight with Rachel Ashwell (of Shabby Chic--the original upcycler) over the perfect ashtray. *Ahem*  Eat & Make is primarily a cookbook but with complimentary crafts, mostly for table settings, thrown in.  The book is divided by time of day with a slant toward brunch-y foods and lighting, the recipes being a sort of "quick Swedish fusion" that goes well with vintage speckled enamel crocks and quirky "upcycled" aprons. I literally can't get enough of the creamy, yummy photography, the clean and bright white interiors, and just the general, Scandinavian-wooden-wheel barrow-natural-farmer's market-ness of it.   And I can't wait to make his Morning Biscuits, Snug Eggs, and Merry Marys.  I don't even care if his idea of "upcycled" candlesticks are just tapers crammed haphazardly (fire hazardly!) into big metal nuts.  They look so off-beat romantic when photographed in extreme close-up on his rough-hewn barn door table!  Check this book out for the menus and the pictures.  Don't make any of his candles unless you want to burn down your kitchen.  Mom would NOT approve.  She will however approve of the gorgeous grapefruit, red cabbage, and goat cheese salad on the cover.  She thinks you should eat more fruits and veggies.

Freakin' Fabulous on a Budget
Clinton Kelly

This book is a kick.  It provides simple instructions about how to quickly and cheaply transform your boring life into an instant cocktail party. Picture this: Anne Hathaway starring in a romantic comedy about a girl who has to pretend to be the sort of ad executive who throws effortlessly fabulous cocktail parties all the time when in fact she is a temp who can barely afford her communal studio apartment, ramen noodle dinners, and 4 cats. "Sally", played by Ms. Hathaway, frantically dashes around her 200 square foot apartment wearing curlers in a montage of dip-dyeing her grubby white bathmat into a designer ombre masterpiece and whipping up some goat cheese and red pepper mousse (on a budget), wrapping her drab, white lampshades with burlap, and altering her ill-fitting thrift store rags into hot off the runway looks tailored to her perfect body. Hilarity and romance ensues. Roll credits. That's the upcoming film adaptation of Clinton Kelly's Freakin' Fabulous on a Budget.  Don't believe me?  Check it out.  You'll see.  And mom loves to be fabulous.  You know what else mom loves?  Thrift.


What we take away from most craft books now is "NEVER. THROW. ANYTHING. AWAY." What they don't tell you is what to do with the stuff you mustn't ever throw away until you have enough (fill in the blanks) to fashion into a new thing.  To answer this question I propose a pre-craft interior decorating book.  I'll call it "decor-cycle" and it will be nothing but well-styled, super close-up photographs of vintage-modern interiors decorated *tastefully* with old tires painted white and filled with wine corks--wine corks just hanging out *tastefully* until I have enough for a bulletin board, trivet, dog bed, bathmat, and miniature refrigerator magnet succulent gardens.  And if I never happen to get around to the bulletin board, trivet, dog bed, bathmat, and miniature refrigerator magnet succulent gardens, I still have a *totally chic and tasteful* arrangement of wine corks in my living room.  I am *not*, however, sitting on my charming vintage sofa (old futon) sipping wine and chucking the corks into an old tire. I will *not* end up on Hoarders. To all the moms out there, including my own mom who taught me to love making stuff out of other stuff and took me to the library every week to check out craft books, Happy Mother's Day!

How do you DIY?

Teen Tech Week is all about DIY @ YOUR Library this year!  RPL has LOTS of great books to get you on your way to finally make some of those crafts you've been pinning on Pinterest but never quite seem to get around to (you know who you are)!

Sew subversive : 

down & dirty DIY for the fabulous fashionista

Nails, nails, nails! : 25 creative DIY nail art projects

DIY Projects for the self-sufficient homeowner : 
25 ways to build a self-reliant lifestyle

DIY solar projects : 

how to put the sun to work in your home

Planet Yumthing do-it-yourself : 
create, design, reinvent, and make it yours!

Improv sewing : 101 fast, fun, and fearless projects

This week @ YOUR library:

Get SEW fabulous at Ginter Park's fab-lab this week!  Sew tired threads into fresh looks and stop by on Thursday for a special DIY bow tie lab.  Everyday this week, March 10-14th @ 4 pm.

North Avenue is celebrating Teen Tech Week with DIY-YA labs @ 3pm this week, the 10th-13th.

Upcycle those old floppy disks and CDs @ the Main Library on Wed @ 4pm!

And MORE!

DIY-YA: Teen Tech Week @ RPL

Richmond Public Library is celebrating Teen Tech Week again, and we are really excited because we have more branches involved. The theme for Teen Tech Week for this year is "DIY @ your library". Richmond Public Library always encourages their teen patrons to be expressive and creative by using upcycled materials to make re-purposed items. We have creative librarians and library staff who are welling to share their creative skills for awesome Teen Tech Week programs.  Here are our activities down below.

A lot of our programs have been geared towards career development for teens. It all started with our Teen Recyclable Craft Sale, which is held at Main in December and it has been very successful. This year we are working with the YA staff and teens at other branches to make the craft sale system wide.


We are setting a new trend for our teen programs and it is called "DIY-YA". If you are the type of teen who likes to be creative and explore new trends, check us out at RPL!

52 Ways to Use Your Library Card: Week Fourteen

Week Fourteen: Celebrating the Holidays with RPL 

There's so much to do at the Richmond Public Library in the month of December. We have an assortment of programs for all ages, as well as children's story times with special holiday themes. Pick up a copy of our holiday-inspired flyer for information about programs at our branches. All programs are free and open to the public. Spaces for most programs are limited, so call to register.

Here are some highlighted holiday programs

December 6 - Thursday-Main Library - 2-6 pm - Foraged with Tara Morand - join Tara Morand as she collects things from our natural urban environment and then turns her foraged objects into beauty for your home. As part of our "Out of the Box" series at Main, we will make ornaments, wreaths, and garlands for all the December holidays from Tara's urban natural finds. Join us!

December 6 - Thursday - Ginter Park Library - 7-9 pm - Holiday Fete - take a break from the holiday rush to attend Ginter Park Library’s annual fundraiser with food provided by local restaurants, door prizes provided by local merchants, and live music!

December 7 - Friday - Main Library - 7-9 pm - First Friday - join us for our artists' opening night reception.

December 8 - Saturday - Main Library - 11 am - Spend the Morning with Charles Dickens! Dr. Eric Douglass will present a dramatic reading of A Christmas Carol, dressed in period costume and using stage notes from Dickens's actual performance.

December 8 - Saturday - West End Library- 4:30 pm - The Magical Gingerbread Man Special Story Time
 - join us for Gingerbread Day fun! We will have a magical gingerbread story, craft, gingerbread manhunt and cookies! The program is best for ages 3-5 with an adult.

December 11 and 13 - Tuesday & Thursday - Westover Hills Library - Holiday Story time & Craft - join us for holiday stories, songs, and make an ornament to keep! 

December 15 - Saturday - North Avenue Library - 11 am - 4 pm- Festivals of Lights-come discover a new tradition and make a craft to take along.

December 15 - Saturday - Main Library - 2 pm - Gellman Room Concert: Richmond Boys Choir- become festive with the Richmond Boys Choir  at their 16th annual performance at RPL.

December 17- Monday - Hull Street Library-11 am-1 pm- Kwanzaa Ceremony and African Food Tasting - Dr. Aminah Waajid, Professor at Virginia State University will facilitate the culturally significant Kwanzaa Ceremony and Libations as she explains the meaning and significance of Kwanzaa to all Americans.  Following the ceremony we will have a chance to taste authentic African dishes prepared by MaMusu's West African Restaurant. All are welcome to join in. 

December 18 - Tuesday - East End Library -11 am-2 pm - East End Annual Christmas Celebration
 - join the East End Library Wednesday, December 18th at 11 am for the sounds and smells of Christmas, meet old friends and say good-bye as we prepare to close for renovations. Refreshments are provided.

December 19 - Wednesday - Belmont Library- 3 pm - Make Cut Out Snowflakes Day- help decorate the library with snowflakes as we enjoy Snowflake Day.

December 20 - Thursday - Broad Rock Library - 10 am - Special Christmas Craft Program - for preschool and up– you are invited to create a Christmas ornament. 

Teen Craft Sale!!

Also in this month, the Main Library Teen Advisory Group is having its first annual Craft and Bake Sale. Most of the materials are made resourcefully from recyclable materials. The purpose of the recyclable craft programs at Main is to show teens the importance of reusing materials while also encouraging creativity by making new and interesting stuff. We have had teens and volunteers helping us with several programs throughout the year in order to get ready for this sale. The money from the sale will be used to fund programs and services for teens at the Main Library.

Saturday Events@ Main

If you are out and about this weekend and looking for something to do, the Main Library is the perfect place to be. Come join us for these programs.

The Chamber Music for the River City will be having a free concert, Legends, in the Gellman Room at 12 noon. The concert will be depicting watery tales of beauty and mystery told through the music of Debussy, Szymanowski and Richard Strauss.









As part of the event series, Why Children's Books, Anita Silvey, author of Everything I Need to Know I Learned From a Children's Book, will be here Saturday at 2 pm. This will be the last program for the event.


 

"Why Children's Books" Events

"WHY CHILDREN'S BOOKS: Inspiring Generations" is an exhibit on display now at the Main Library. It explores the power of children's books through stories shared by notable Richmonders. If you want more information on the exhibit and the people involved, you might enjoy reading this article written by Bill Lohmann for the Richmond Times-Dispatch.

The "Why Children's Books" exhibit will be on display through May 29th. If you enjoy reading the stories and hearing about the experiences of the Richmonders featured, you might like to attend some of the events associated with the exhibit.

On Tuesday, April 24th at 6:30 and on Tuesday, May 8th at noon, Dr. Leila Christenbury will be in the Main Library's Special Collections Room to lead a community discussion about favorite children's books and the future of children's literature in the digital age.

On Saturday, May 12th from 10:30 to 2:30, we'll be holding "Children's Day" at the Main Library. Celebrate Children's Book Week and the exhibit with authors Meg Medina and Gigi Amateau, Megan Hicks and her storytelling magic show, crafts with the Children's Museum of Richmond, readings from the exhibit, and more. This event promises to be fun for the whole family.

Anita Silvey, author of Everything I Need to Know I Learned From a Children's Book, will be at the Main Library on Saturday, May 19th at 2 pm. Silvey's book is what inspired the Friends of the Library to sponsor the "Why Children's Books" exhibit, and we can't wait to hear her discuss the topic of children's literature.
 

Welcome to Hogwarts!

 

Join the Main Library children's department for some Harry Potter fun!

Find out which house you will be in from the Sorting Hat.

Create your cape and wand.

Make a potion.

Play some fun Hogwarts games.

You'll even get to enjoy some "magical" snacks!

 

Wednesday, July 13th

3:00 pm

RPL at the Harvest Festival

Photos from the Harvest Festival held at the Siegel Center on Friday, October 30th can now be viewed in the RPL's Flickr photo stream. Simply click on the photo badge toward the bottom right of this page to view the photos!



Thanks to all who volunteered and attended the event. It looks like everyone had a fantastic time trick-or-treating and making crafts and masks. We hope to see you again next year!

Crocheting for Adults

Crocheting for adults. Join us!

North Avenue Library

Fridays

10:00am - 11:00am

Crocheting with Sandra

Join us on Saturdays to crochet blankets and hats for premature babies in the Newborn Intensive Care Unit of MCV Hospital. Don't know how to crochet? Instructor Sandy Scott will teach you basic stitches. Age 10 and up.

East End Branch

Saturdays, September 8, 15, 22, and 29

Call 646-4474 for detail & to register