Recently someone told me about these 2 books and I got both of them used. How to Build Your Home in the Woods by Bradford Angier (1952) is on building a log cabin (and rustic furniture and details like door latches etc.). The Sunset Cabin Plan Book is a gem from 1938, with drawings and floor plans for very small homes. It’s like the predecessor of Lester Walker’s (also excellent) Tiny Houses. Check out Amazon and also Abebooks (which is often cheaper than Amazon on used books).
-# of copies sold, Builders of the Pacific Coast, by Abraxas Books on Denman Island: 223
Photo at left after show. Mom had me inscribe book to her guitar man here.
Sent from the China Moon B&B on Denman, where I have just had maybe the best breakfast dish ever (yes, I’m given to superlatives) fruit, local organic apple juice, local eggs done hollandaise on cornbread and a croissant. Excellent coffee. This is a great place to stay. Plus good wi-fi out here on this peaceful homestead.
I’m doing a bit of writing now, then heading to Victoria for the next phase of this adventure.
This was a bit like a homecoming. Many of the builders in Builders of the Pacific Coast were on Hornby, plus I got to hang out with good friends for a few days. The Hornby Community Center is a wonderful structure, built by the community in an era of less money, more time. No grant or government $$. It was a good crowd, and a bunch of the Island ladies brought homemade deserts.
The rain didn’t hold back the people. Biggest crowd ever. By the time I started, the aisles were full. About 250 people. I signed books for maybe half an hour. These are my brothers and sisters up here. People kept coming up and telling me how they’d built things, inspired by our books. I was given photos of little homes and house trucks, a rare Bob Marley CD, and a little jar of cayenne pepper. Maybe a dozen people told me they were either building something right now, or about to start. I told them it’s not that everyone has to live in tiny houses, what’s important is going in the direction of smaller. Everyone likes the idea of no mortgage, no exorbitant rents. A definite measure of freedom in these trying times.
I posted this 2-minute video by Jason Sussberg here a few months ago. It’s me showing the process of laying out the Tiny Homes book by hand — using scissors, removable scotch tape, and a cheap color copy machine (Brother DCP-9040CN) — before it enters the digital process.The video has had 23,000 views so far.
Author “Tour” With City Lights last week, I’ve done 6 bookstore appearances and now I have 2 weeks before taking off for Canada, where I’ll be in Vancouver April 19, Hornby Island 4/22, Denman Island 4/23, and Victoria 4/25.
I’ve got a busy May-early June schedule: The North House Folk School for the 1st week of May; the mighty Maker Fair in San Mateo, Calif. May 19-20; the Mother Earth News Fair in Puyallup, Washington on June 2; then directly to NY for the 2102 BookExpo America, and an appearance at the v. cool Spoonbill and Sugartown bookstore in Brooklyn on June 6th, then back to SFO on June 11th. Whooh! I know it’s not as dense a schedule as most on-the-road authors have, but I’ll be glad when it’s over. It’s fun and rewarding to be at these places, but it’s the getting there and back…
I’m at Ritual Roasters on Valencia Street, serious baristahood + good wi-fi. BTW, Valencia between say 18th and 22nd Streets is a vital and hip part of SF these days. Just walk along these blocks and check out the cool shops and cafes.
The City Lights event last night was great. I’m getting overflow crowds. This book has hit a nerve — or nerves. Everyone seems to relate to it. People show it to a friend, and the friend won’t give it back. I feel honored to appear at City Lights, one of the most gutty, independent, and artistic bookstores in the world.
I’m just going to toss out some images from yesterday, all in North Beach except for the surfing:
Only 4 of my Tuesday night running friends showed up in the heavy downpour last night. They took off up the valley, and I dressed in head-to-toe rain gear, with Muck Boots, and headed for the beach. Wow! Wind felt like 40-50mph, driving rain in from the ocean. You know how raindrops might be as big in circumference as say a pea, well, these were the size of cherries. I couldn’t look directly at the churning ocean, I needed swimming goggles. I was in the eye of the storm. Foam from waves was skidding along on the sand. The creek (of the estero) was pounding, sluicing out to the ocean. Good to be alive.
I was struck by the power of the natural world. Maybe the earth IS a living entity, and these worldwide catastrophes are the planet reacting to shoddy treatment by humanoids. Whatever…
The rain is better late than never. The soil in the woods and on the hills is moist and fragrant. Gonna be a lush Spring…
I’m in North Beach in San Francisco right now. BB King was playing Stormy Monday as I drove in along the coast in the pre-dawn darkness.
I’m excited to be doing a Tiny Homes slide show tonight at City Lights, a still vital and relevant independent bookstore.
Yesterday I spent 2 hours at the Northern California Independent Booksellers Association Spring Gathering in San Francisco. I signed and gave away 50 copies of Tiny Homes to various booksellers. It’s wonderful to be in a room completely filled with book people.
This Wednesday I’m doing a slide show/ book signing for Tiny Homes at City Lights Bookstore (7PM, Wed., March 28, 261 Columbus Ave., San Francisco).
Recently someone told me about these 2 books and I got both of them used. How to Build Your Home in the Woods by Bradford Angier (1952) is on building a log cabin (and rustic furniture and details like door latches etc.). The Sunset Cabin Plan Book is a gem from 1938, with drawings and floor plans for very small homes. It’s like the predecessor of Lester Walker’s (also excellent) Tiny Houses. Check out Amazon and also Abebooks (which is often cheaper than Amazon on used books).
