100 People at Bookshop Santa Cruz Last Night

Each time I walk into Bookshop Santa Cruz,I get this happy feeling. It’s a wonderland of books (and magazines), tons of books face-out. A great aspect of a great bookstore is the discovery of unanticipated treasures…

Over 100 people showed up for the slide show. Mostly young, maybe 80% in the 20-30 yr.-old category. Preaching to the choir: everyone loved the book, so we were in tune, good vibes. They’ve sold about 100 books in the bookstore. One guy came up and said “I want to thank you for my 38 years of building.” He’d been inspired by Shelter. I just can’t convey how many people’s lives were changed by that book; I hear it all the time these days. Another guy came up and said he’d been a student at MIT in 1972 when I’d attacked domes and plastics at a conference titled “Responsive Housebuilding Technology.” (As a result of the conference I ended up writing an essay, “Smart, But Not Wise.”

Next Wednesday I’m doing an appearance in San Francisco at City Lights. (I’m giving out tons of mini-books at these appearances, encouraging people to give them to friends, and especially to children.)

About Lloyd Kahn

Lloyd Kahn started building his own home in the early '60s and went on to publish books showing homeowners how they could build their own homes with their own hands. He got his start in publishing by working as the shelter editor of the Whole Earth Catalog with Stewart Brand in the late '60s. He has since authored six highly-graphic books on homemade building, all of which are interrelated. The books, "The Shelter Library Of Building Books," include Shelter, Shelter II (1978), Home Work (2004), Builders of the Pacific Coast (2008), Tiny Homes (2012), and Tiny Homes on the Move (2014). Lloyd operates from Northern California studio built of recycled lumber, set in the midst of a vegetable garden, and hooked into the world via five Mac computers. You can check out videos (one with over 450,000 views) on Lloyd by doing a search on YouTube:

3 Responses to 100 People at Bookshop Santa Cruz Last Night

  1. I can't say that "Shelter" changed my life but it certainly influenced it. My dogeared copy is still perused from time to time for inspiration.
    As for "Smart But Not Wise" it was a relief. I knew I was not as smart as Buckminster Fuller but I did not think the dome was practical for slip shod dumbshits like me.

  2. Hi Lloyd! Are the mini books for sale? I would love to get one for my son. I have all your other books and have found them wonderful. Its totally changed our way of life! Thank-You!!! Rachel T.

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