Off The Shelf

I first saw spine poetry a few days ago, when the Strand Bookstore posted a picture of a creation on  their Instagram in celebration of National Poetry Month. Since April 1st, they have been posting a new spine poem everyday. I have since discovered that "spine poetry", a poem made up completely of book titles, is quite a popular thing. They are all over many book blogs, Tumblr, and Pinterest - so I decided to dive into my bookshelf, and try some of my own!     Here Today , If I Stay , Between Shades of Gray Forget Me Not When Broken Glass Floats.   It ended up being harder than I thought, as after throwing a bunch of books that I thought made sense together into a stack, I realized the poem they created made no sense whatsoever! I found myself wanting to cheat a couple of times, thinking if only this book had a "the" in the title, or this one needs a different verb tense. But part of the challenge was making what you ha...

{I can't possibly have a cookie without milk!}   When the forecast promises clouds and a possible thunderstorm, I usually know right away the day will be one dedicated to reading. (Especially when I'm finishing up a book as good as Life: An Exploded Diagram ) But this past Tuesday was a different kind of rainy day. Instead of reading, a friend and I indulged in another hobby: baking.   This recipe for S'mores Cookies was super easy, and absolutely delicious! They are the perfect substitute for when the inclement weather prevents the toasting of marshmallows on an open fire.   I think the baking time for this sweet treat is very dependent on your own oven. We ended up baking ours for quite a bit longer than what was called for because after the instructed time, they were not as golden as we would have liked.   S’mores Cookies Adapted from the blog  Erica's Sweet Tooth 1-3/4 cups all purpose flour 1 cup graham cracker crumbs 1 tsp bakin...

Before writing, find at least five different colors to use. They can be pens, like shown at the left, or colored pencils work fine too. Be sure to designate them a role as well. (For example, important dates may always be written in orange.) The first thing you should do is give your notes a date. This will help you to go back and find them later. Second, give them a title. Make it a simple one, just stating exactly what the notes are about. Examples: The Civil Rights Movement, Pride and Prejudice - Chapter 1. Next, think of a few categories that will help you to organize your notes. In the example shown in these pictures, I am researching Kurt Vonnegut, so some of my categories are Education, World War II, and Career. Make sure these titles are written larger, or are in some way more defined then the bullets beneath them. (Mine are written in pen and then highlighted.) Making note of quotes that relate to plot, or reveal something about a character or theme, is very import...