Man Made DIY

Last weekend, in an effort to reorganize my media collection to make space for new books, I sorted through at least three hundred CDs and a hundred DVDs and cut my collection by at least seventy-five percent.

The collection which I, on the day before, had understood to have been already pared down to the bare minimum. Every year of my post-college life, I've forced myself to go through and get rid of records and movies and books that I simply don't use anymore. Everytime, it's hard and sad, and I feel better afterwards, but I imagine: okay...that's it. These are my essential collection. And the next time, I'm able to cut back even more.

So, I'm curious: In the era of streaming media and the cloud and huge hard drives, what's the status of physical entertainment in your home? Do you still buy CDs and DVDs, or only digital downloads? Have you made the switch from paper books to an eReader? Do you find it easier to get rid of newer purchases, or things you've owned for… read more

Mary and Holly are public librarians in Michigan, and as part of their jobs, regularly weed out bizarre, odd, outdated, or "should be reconsidered" books to maintain a "current and relevant collection." They publish their findings on Awful Library Books, and my friends, it's awesome.

Awkward title, I know, but it's kinda difficult to actually describe what's happening here. The World Woods Library is an effort to help folks collect a diverse catalog of wood species, a xylarium, in the form of wooden books.

Each species gets its own edition, with the English name carved into the spine, and the Latin genus and species on the… read more

The best books are those that aren't in display condition - cause they've actually been read, loved, and well-worn. But, of course, showing off the books you don't like is, just, well...weird.

So, get hip to this cool trick from OhDeeOh - recovering your favorite paperbacks with custom-designed artwork, which is, as we see it,… read more