Casaubon's Book

Want to See Something (ok Two Things) Really Cool?

Posted by Sharon Astyk on March 12, 2010
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First of all, I present to you, the cover for my new book (not yet finished, but it will be really soon) forthcoming this fall. I didn’t think it was possible that they could come up with something prettier than the cover for Independence Days (which you can see on the sidebar), but I think they did.

making home 2.png

I admit, I’m pretty impressed by it! Plus it fulfills the maxim that all my covers must have food on them, whether the books are about food or not.

Second of all, if you want to see someone’s impression of me headlocking a fellow science blogger in a free-for-all, I’m in panel three of this very funny comic:

http://ataraxiatheatre.com/2010/03/12/what-erv-really-stands-for/

Clearly, I need to do more direct battle with my fellow science bloggers – and cultivate a better vocabulary in creative name calling.

Sharon

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Comments

  1. #1 Tameson O'Brien
    March 12, 2010

    Awesome! I love it (especailly the pear – drool).

  2. #2 Marina
    March 12, 2010

    Great cover, Sharon. I can’t wait to read your new book.

  3. #3 Susan in Virginia
    March 12, 2010

    Sharon,
    Love the cover and the book title; even if I weren’t all ready introduced to you through this blog, I would still want to buy it. Best Wishes for a successful book launch!

  4. #4 Edward Bryant
    March 12, 2010

    Is it a pear or a quince?

    BTW, you look awesome in superhero tights! Have you selected your superhero name and secret identity? I smell another contest coming on!

  5. #5 Annie
    March 12, 2010

    Sharon, I look forward to your new book! Depletion and Abundance was excellent. I check in to your blog pretty much daily just to get my reality check. Thanks for the fine work.

  6. #6 Jen
    March 12, 2010

    Really great cover. Congrats!

  7. #7 risa b
    March 12, 2010

    I was thinking quince!

  8. #8 Lynne
    March 12, 2010

    So, did you actually call that guy “sustainable produce”? That is pretty lame. But your headlock technique is impressive!

  9. #9 Kirstie
    March 12, 2010

    Definitely a quince :) Can’t wait to see this book on my nightstand.

  10. #10 Keith Farnish
    March 13, 2010

    Very pretty indeed, and wonderfully homey (not “homely”). I notice the subtle inclusion of a beer bottle in the background ;-)

    Yep, it’s a quince.

  11. #11 Lora
    March 13, 2010

    Helpful hint of the day: If you look at the picture and read the comments and think, “well, there’s an Asian pear cultivar that looks like that,” do not Google Images for “Asian pears” with the safe search turned off.

    What’s with the cloth-covered jelly lids? I don’t get it. If my grandmothers had a bit of calico/gingham, it got used in a quilt or something, not put on a jar. It’s pretty and all, I just don’t get it. Is it like decorating a kitchen with pictures of roosters, that sort of thing?

  12. #12 Sue in pacNW
    March 13, 2010

    Lora,

    Gifts of jellies, etc were(are)often done up with a bit of calico/gingham – now we’ve got fancy lids, but I like the look.

    Sharon,
    Can’t wait for the new book! Author friend says a book is like having a baby…glad your “birthing” process will be over before planting/harvesting/putting up season :-)

    sue

  13. #13 Edward Bryant
    March 13, 2010

    Thanks for the tip Lora! I can only guess what you found.

  14. #14 Lora
    March 13, 2010

    Sue: Ah, thanks. So it’s like the decorating with wooden apples and lamps in the shape of roosters. Got it. Thanks for the explanation!

    Now that I think about it, just to clarify: I don’t mean that as a put-down of anyone’s personal aesthetics. My granny likes the rooster pictures and wooden apples herself. I was just wondering if there was a purpose behind it that I should know about–to wipe up drips? Originally had new flour sack-type dishrags tied over the top, like wrapping a washcloth around a fancy soap, and somehow this evolved into gingham?

  15. #15 Greenpa
    March 13, 2010

    Lora: “do not Google Images for “Asian pears” with the safe search turned off.”

    hm. Now, just what were you doing googling around with safe search turned off in the first place?
    :-)

  16. #16 ET
    March 13, 2010

    Too cute, looks like interior decorating book. “How to make your home look good despite collapse”.
    Sharon meets Martha Stewart?

  17. #17 Zuska
    March 14, 2010

    I think you could take down just about anyone on SciBlogs. And “Sustainable Produce!” is a great superhero catchphrase!

  18. #18 Sharon Astyk
    March 14, 2010

    I think the beauty is the point of it – the idea is that these are changes that have widespread applicability, and thus, need to be aestheticized. So yes, Sharon meets Martha ;-) .

    Although she’d blow up my house and start again rather than try and clean it, I suspect ;-) .

    Sharon

  19. #19 Prometheus
    March 14, 2010

    Lora~

    The origin of what is now a decorative flourish was wax capping. A quick and easy way of putting up preserves without messing with caps or rings or to recycle jars without buying new caps. You pour preserves into the jelly jars in the hot water bath and pour a 1/2 inch layer of paraffin or beeswax on top.

    Sealed hot, no air and a hand full of pinking cut, left over cotton quilting squares for wiping up the wax.

    When you were done, the waxed cloth squares acted as flexible wax paper affixed with a bit of string so that when you broke through the wax you could put an airtight bug proof cover back on the jar and leave it on the table or put it back on the shelf.

    You broke the wax plug into as many pieces as you had kids around when the jar was opened or put the pieces in the mousetraps.

    Beeswax and sand plum is still my favorite chewing gum although I haven’t tasted it in thirty years.