690-699: The Building Trades. How to Build Your Own Tiny House

 You guys, I could have read about how to prevent water damage in my home, or manage contractors, or use paint to create 26 fabulous effects, but I am tired, and I just didn't want to. Instead I wanted to fantasize about a project I would never in a million years actually attempt: building a tiny house, courtesy of author Roger Marshall. 

Reason number one I would never build myself a tiny house: The permits! So many permits you need! If you build it on land, you have to think about things like zoning and septic and "soil perc," which I guess I was already supposed to know about. If you want to build it on wheels, there are regulations and laws of physics governing where you can drive and park the thing. Too much!

Reason number two: building a whole entire house is no joke. I have built a bookshelf; I have built a "buffet" (a.k.a. a giant plywood box with legs screwed on the bottom and butcher block screwed on the top); but to build a whole entire house that you would actually be able to live in without freezing to death? Come on, that should be left to the professionals.

So why look at the book at all? Because I have always been intrigued by maximum use of small spaces. Cruise ship cabins, boat interiors, sleeper cars on trains, and three-bedroom houses for 6 people all are so delightfully ingenious! After all, we are hard-wired to think tiny things are cute, whether they are picnic tables for squirrels or Cape Cod cottages barely big enough to sleep in.

That said, I think there might be a better book if your purpose is just to admire the ingenuity of a living space that's bigger on the inside. This book just had too many pictures of how to caulk a window and not enough of how to grow plants and store a wardrobe in 256 square feet.

680-689: Manufacturing for specific uses: Stop Stealing Sheep and learn how type works!

 Would you like this book?

The easiest way to answer that question may be to look at the extensive sample available here. My guess is that you will either instantly fall in love with the sharp graphics, bright colors and varied typefaces featured, or you'll just be left cold. 

I loved it, but that might be because I was a calligrapher for about 20 years, starting at age 14, so I have been thinking about letterforms most of my life. Kerning, ligatures, ascenders and descenders and serifs were a big part of my life for a long time and are still something I can get excited about. Then there's the whole beautiful range of things one typeface family can do. Bold, italic, condensed, extra condensed, the same typeface can grab your attention or fade into the background, anchor a concept or dance across the page. Readability can be enhanced-- you can even cue the reader's speed-- by line length and spacing. And when it comes right down to it... letterforms are just beautiful!

This post was set using the Saira font family, one of the few available in Blogger that has a wide variety of weights. When it comes to fonts, you always have choices-- choose wisely-- and have fun!