Books

Archive for Books

Halloween Countdown: The Victorian Book of the Dead

Posted in Books, death, halloween, undead with tags Books, death, halloween, macabre, undead, victorian on October 23, 2016 by shewalkssoftly

I just added this perfect piece of October reading to my wish list. It looks fantastic!

Chris Woodyard, author of the The Ghosts of the Past series, digs through long-buried newspapers and journals, for this fascinating look at the 19th-century obsession with the culture of death. The Victorian Book of the Dead unearths extraordinary tales of Victorian funeral fads and fancies, ghost stories, bizarre deaths, mourning novelties, gallows humor, premature burial, post-mortem photographs, death omens, and funeral disasters. Resurrected from original sources, these accounts reveal the oddities and eccentricities of Victorian mourning. Packed with macabre anecdotes, this diverting, yet gruesome collection presents tales ranging from the paranormal and shocking to the heartbreaking.

I took the liberty of grabbing screen shots of the table of contents.

Is this something you could see yourself reading?

The Victorian Book of the Dead

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Desktop Goodies 8/24

Posted in absurd, anthropomorphic, Books, cats, comics, humor, illustration, nature, puppets, robots, sci-fi with tags absurd, anthropomorphic, antiques, Books, cats, comics, creatures, humor, illustration, monsters, nature, pulp, puppets, robots, sci-fi, sea on August 24, 2016 by shewalkssoftly

I’ve been looking at a lot of historical nautical maps lately. What maps lacked in accuracy 500 years ago, they sure made up for with extravagant design. I’d be pretty thrilled if this guy showed up on my GPS.

Sadly, it’s pretty clear that “solitudes” has a double meaning here.

I don’t think this is what she meant by “Calgon, take me away!”

Actually, he said you guys were more like acquaintances. Just sayin’.

Breathtaking…

DY-NO-MITE! Actual mites, I mean.

You mean cats can saw wood and build things while mine have been eating and sleeping all day? Freaking freeloaders.

Speaking of cats…

That new fertilizer did wonders for the harvest.

Ugh. One of those evenings.

This requires careful planning.

I stared at this for like five minutes in a futile attempt to decide which one is creepier.

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Desktop Goodies 7/27

Posted in 70's, absurd, Books, death, fashion, horror, humor, illustration, retro, retrofuturism, sci-fi, skulls and skeletons, undead, vintage with tags 70's, absurd, Books, cats, death, fashion, horror, humor, illustration, retro, retrofuturism, sci-fi, skulls and skeletons, undead, vintage on July 27, 2016 by shewalkssoftly

I think this pairs nicely with the book above.

Gotta have standards.

I love how engaged Death is with his book.

Strangest strike banner ever. Unless you’ve seen a stranger one, in which case I really hope you share it with me.

Thank you Rachel, for showing me that Saran wrap and Bubble wrap are the fashion of the (retro) future. (Seriously ladies, would you be into a guy who confidently sauntered over to you in bubble wrap thigh highs?)

70’s fashion

I sense a seemingly incorrigible child and a maudlin, happy ending.

I can forgive the obvious impracticality of having a giant tube directly in the driver’s field of vision, because it’s clearly inspired by atomic structure.

A wonder what qualifies as a “good” or “mediocre” decapitation.

“Did anyone notice Grandma looked a little unwell today?

This could be a poster to promote neutering (PSA: countless healthy animals are put down in shelters due to overpopulation. Have your pet spayed/neutered!)

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Bizarre Celebrity Cookbook Megapost

Posted in absurd, Books, food, humor, retro with tags absurd, Books, celebrity, cookbook, food, humor, retro on June 19, 2016 by shewalkssoftly

I’ve had these kicking around my hard drive for years. Why not share some bizarre, retro and/or otherwise laughable celebrity culinary publication efforts.

I really want to see what’s in this one!

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The Anatomical Venus: Wax, God, Death & the Ecstatic

Posted in anatomy, antiques, Books, wish list with tags anatomy, antiques, Books, wish list on May 26, 2016 by shewalkssoftly

The inimitable Joana Ebenstein of The Morbid Anatomy Museum has just published a remarkable book on the subject of the Anatomical Venus.

Of all the artifacts from the history of medicine, the Anatomical Venus―with its heady mixture of beauty, eroticism and death―is the most seductive. These life-sized dissectible wax women reclining on moth-eaten velvet cushions―with glass eyes, strings of pearls, and golden tiaras crowning their real human hair―were created in eighteenth-century Florence as the centerpiece of the first truly public science museum.

Conceived as a means to teach human anatomy, the Venus also tacitly communicated the relationship between the human body and a divinely created cosmos; between art and science, nature and mankind. Today, she both intrigues and confounds, troubling our neat categorical divides between life and death, body and soul, effigy and pedagogy, entertainment and education, kitsch and art.

The book is extensively researched and features over 250 images. It looks absolutely amazing. I’m sure many readers of this blog will want to pick up a copy. Let me know what you think!

The Anatomical Venus: Wax, God, Death & the Ecstatic

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Egle Art & Design: Coloring Books

Posted in art, Books with tags art, Books on April 16, 2016 by shewalkssoftly

Adult coloring books are all the rage these days. Egle Art & Design makes a number of detailed nature and mandala coloring books with beautiful pages.

I’m a big fan of the notebooks and planners, which allow for coloring on the cover and on select pages inside.

Unfortunately, the Etsy shop doesn’t carry all items at all times, but perhaps the artist takes requests.

Egle Art & Design

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Christine McConnell: Deceptive Desserts

Posted in Books, cake, food with tags Books, cake, food on April 9, 2016 by shewalkssoftly

Deceptive Desserts is a new book by the amazing Christine McConnell.

Look at this nice, healthy bowl of fruit:

PSYCH! It’s cake! Sweet, delicious cake. It still counts as healthy because it looks just like fruit though, right?

Check out McConnell’s amazing images (including sneak peeks into the book) here.

Deceptive Desserts

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Desktop Goodies 3/10

Posted in absurd, architecture, Books, candy coated nightmares, cats, humor, illustration, monsters, nature, photography, sci-fi, skulls and skeletons, space, vintage with tags absurd, architecture, Books, candy coated nightmares, cats, humor, illustration, monsters, nature, photography, sci-fi, skulls and skeletons, space, vintage on March 9, 2016 by shewalkssoftly

Let’s take a moment to ogle the beauty of nature…

For some reason, people feel slightly uneasy in this chair.

A tad crass…but definitely my favorite faux Rand McNally cover:

Couldn’t they have thought of more appetizing adjectives than “semi-liquids?” I suppose it beats “lumpy, congealed and vomitous.”

Dana, Don’t make a joke about this car being cheesy…Don’t make a joke about this car being cheesy…Resist!

Did anyone have this as a kid? It looks awesome.

How can I get my hands on this book? This woman absolutely has life figured out.

Incredible building of unknown origin.

Gorgeous modern interpretation of Danse Macabre!

The old one was no fun at all…

A children’s book illustration. I’m sure no one had nightmares or anything.

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Desktop Goodies 2/2

Posted in absurd, advertising, Books, comics, craft, food, humor, music, photography, sci-fi, thrift horror, toys, vintage with tags absurd, advertising, Books, comics, craft, food, humor, music, photography, sci-fi, thrift horror, toys, vintage on February 2, 2016 by shewalkssoftly

You realize what happened here: this bird was killed, only to be zoomorphized into a bastardized version of itself in a stupid hat. Talk about adding insult to injury.

Debatable:

Terrifying:

I’m completely entranced by this piece, yet can’t find an artist credit anywhere. Ideas? If no one knows…it’s obviously an alien cell phone.

Parenthetical note:

Excellent…I like strong coffee; strong enough to make my head blast clear off my body.

I almost cropped out the caption because it’s so clear that this thing originated from a very unholy place that it just seems redundant.

Isn’t this all our monsters ever really want? (No really, think about it.)

I searched, in gleeful hope, for a vintage TV commercial featuring Drippy the Runny Nose Kid. But alas, no record of one exists. Sorry I couldn’t deliver this thing in action (or maybe I should be saying “you’re welcome”).

1) Reading books about death becomes considerably more difficult.

I find this photo incredibly haunting. It actually stirs up a visceral unease.

Yes, some might consider the following a deal breaker. She seems open minded. The horse (or…man-horse?), not so much.

Your fist becomes a real face.

The truth of how brains really work, unveiled. SCIENCE!

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Alexander Korzer-Robinson

Posted in anatomy, antiques, art, Books, craft, ephemera, nature with tags anatomy, antiques, art, Books, craft, ephemera, nature on January 3, 2016 by shewalkssoftly

Alexander Korzer-Robinson transforms antiquarian encyclopedias into stunning shadow boxes, as if to three dimensionally vivify the rich content between the pages.

His use of vintage materials and handpicked images is akin to the process of memory itself; simultaneously selective and reconstructive.

From the artist statement:
By using pre-existing media as a starting point, certain boundaries are set by the material, which I aim to transform through my process. Thus, an encyclopedia can become a window into an alternate world, much like lived reality becomes its alternate in remembered experience.

These books, having been stripped of their utilitarian value by the passage of time, regain new purpose. They are no longer tools to learn about the world, but rather a means to gain insight about oneself.