The Facebook of Living and Dying

In the past couple of years, two of my closest friends, both in their twenties, have died. They were both people whom I saw on an almost daily basis, and both left behind various physical reminders of themselves scattered about my apartment: a length of prayer flags, articles of clothing, books, handwritten letters, photographs, a rusting bike still locked to my front porch. Sometimes I look to these things for comfort. Sometimes I’d rather not look at them at all. Read More ... Read More

The Book as Art in the Age of Digital Reproduction

For those of us who love the printed word, and tend to view each new sign of its decline in apocalyptic terms, Penelope Green’s article in the New York Times last month had a real Book of Revelations vibe. Green’s piece describes a hot new trend in home design: filling vast interior spaces with “decorative book solutions.” Read More  Read More