Chick Lit?

A few years ago in Portland I went to a lecture at McMenamin's Kennedy School by Whitney Otto, who wrote How to Make an American Quilt. (There was also another female author lecturing but I don't remember who she was). I had seen Whitney the year before at Wordstock and she was funny so Lizzy and I went to see her again. Well, the discussion turned to books by female authors that are most often read by women. The question - Is Chick Lit a derisive term? They wondered why there wasn't a similar term for books most often read by men? If there were a term, what would it be? Dear blog readers, will you be offended if I tell you that the best suggestion was for calling it dick lit?  Or is it that most books are either read by both genders or women only.  Does the category read mostly by men only already have a name - comic books?

Anyway, I just read Austenland, by Shannon Hale. It's about a girl obsessed with Mr Darcy to the detriment of her own love life. Her grandmother sends her to a "camp"in England where you get to spend 3 weeks acting and dressing like the Regency period. The book was cute and if you too are obsessed with Mr Darcy, Colin Firth, Pride and Prejudice, or Pride & Prejudice, it's worth reading. But here's something interesting I noticed in the front of the book, in the Library of Congress info where they categorize the book, did you know there is a category for Chick Lit?

P.S. HAPPY NEW YEAR!!!

More Homemade Ideas

I just finished my current work assignment yesterday and don't have a job until Jan7. I do still have to pack up and drive to SC. Lots to do, lots of gifts to still figure out. So here are a few more ideas for homemade gifts, these are quick and easy.

A mix CD/tape
The mix tape was such a high school/college endeavor. Nowadays, I love my iPod and the ease of click-and-drag mixes, that the space is relatively unlimited, that it's so easy to skip a song or set it to random. But there is something to be said for a tangible mix CD/tape. Thinking back on mix tapes, more thought had to be given to them. A mix tape, with only about 20 song choices had to be concise and each song had to have a purpose. Taking time to choose each song, did it say enough, did it reveal too much? Then trying to put the songs in the right order and give the mix a cool name. Well, thanks to Chelsea at {frolic!} you can have the best of both worlds, digital music with attention to detail of a mix tape.

Make necklaces or bracelets for people. These necklaces are OK but they are fairly generic. I really like idea of using cross-stich thread or something like that and finding charms and writing cards that are specific to my friends and their loves/needs/dreams. Like this cute eyeglass charm to help someone better see their future. An acorn to remember what can grow from a small seed. Lots of options! And depending on what type of friends you have, there are other charms like bedpans and spark plugs.

Still looking for more ideas, check out buyhandmade, where people pledge to buy handmade (duh) and share ideas.

Need Some Design Ideas?

I love this image of a tree made of books. I wouldn't mind finding lots of books uner my tree this year. For this images, other great Christmas images and other amazing design ideas, check out this Dutch site.

WARNING: But don't click unless you have several hours to go through all the images they have because the temptation and beauty will be too great.