{"id":10627,"date":"2010-10-12T12:48:19","date_gmt":"2010-10-12T19:48:19","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/lesliedinaberg.com\/wordpress\/?p=10627"},"modified":"2020-10-12T13:15:54","modified_gmt":"2020-10-12T20:15:54","slug":"top-shelf-works-from-local-authors","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/lesliedinaberg.com\/wordpress\/?p=10627","title":{"rendered":"Top Shelf \u2014 Works From Local Authors"},"content":{"rendered":"
\"Top<\/a>

Top Shelf \u2014 Works by Local Authors, originally published in Santa Barbara Seasons, Fall 2010.<\/p><\/div>\n

THIS FALL\u2019S HARVEST from our homegrown authors is\u00a0every bit as interesting and eclectic as Santa Barbara Farmers\u2019 Markets<\/a>. Here\u2019s a peek at what some of our local\u00a0scribes will have on the bookstore shelves this season.<\/p>\n

Travel back in time with Joan Tapper<\/a> to a time when\u00a0it was possible to tour The Wild West on 5 Bits a Day<\/em><\/a>\u00a0(Thames & Hudson). Part travel\u00a0guide, part historical journey, this\u00a0clever tome invites readers to\u00a0climb onboard a horse or a stagecoach\u00a0and enter the world of\u00a0colorful characters like Wyatt Earp\u00a0and Buffalo Bill Cody. The book is written\u00a0like an 1880 guide to traveling, eating,
\ndrinking and surviving in frontier\u00a0America, but with a fast-paced style to
\nsatisfy today\u2019s readers.<\/p>\n

\u00a0<\/span>While Tapper\u2019s book is rooted in\u00a0the past, former Santa Barbara\u00a0Writers Conference<\/a> director\u00a0Marcia Meier<\/a>\u2019s\u00a0<\/span> book, Navigating\u00a0the Rough Waters of Today\u2019s\u00a0Publishing World: Critical Advice\u00a0for Writers from Industry Insiders<\/em><\/a>\u00a0<\/span>(Quill Driver), casts its view firmly toward\u00a0the future, setting an investigative\u00a0reporter\u2019s eye on the book publishing\u00a0industry, now \u201cgoing through a revolution\u00a0unlike anything since Gutenberg.\u201d Meier\u00a0interviews some of the top figures in the\u00a0industry to provide an insider\u2019s gaze into\u00a0the crystal ball of the future of books.<\/p>\n

Celeste Varner<\/a>,\u00a0<\/span>owner of the charming yarn and fiber\u00a0store Loop & Leaf recently\u00a0published Shibui Baby<\/em><\/a>\u00a0<\/span>(Shibui Knits), a so-cute-it\u2019s-hardto-resist book of sweet, yet practical, baby patterns for knitters,\u00a0designed especially to work well with the unique fiber and\u00a0<\/span>texture combinations in\u00a0the Shibui Knits<\/a>\u00a0(Japanese translation:\u00a0\u201celegant with a touch of bitterness\u201d) lines of yarn.<\/p>\n

\"Top<\/a>

Top Shelf \u2014 Works by Local Authors, originally published in Santa Barbara Seasons, Fall 2010.<\/p><\/div>\n

Architects Russell Shubin and Robin Donaldson,\u00a0<\/span>whose partnership\u00a0comprises the award-winning Shubin + Donaldson\u00a0Architects<\/a>, explore the inspirations and influences behind a\u00a0number of local dwellings in their gorgeously glossy book Live +\u00a0Work: Modern Homes and Offices: The Southern California\u00a0Architecture of Shubin + Donaldson<\/em><\/a>\u00a0 <\/span>(ORO Editions), which\u00a0showcases modern homes in Montecito, the Riviera and Toro\u00a0Canyon, among others.<\/p>\n

Inspiration often springs from unexpected sources, an idea\u00a0psychotherapist Jennifer Freed<\/a>\u00a0<\/span>explores with affectionate humor\u00a0and surprising depth in her book Lessons from Stanley the Cat:\u00a0Nine Lives of Everyday Wisdom<\/em><\/a>\u00a0 <\/span>(Penguin Group). Freed, who is\u00a0best known locally as a marriage and family counselor, professor\u00a0at Pacifica Graduate Institute and co-founder of the teen program\u00a0AHA! (Academy of the Healing Arts)<\/a>, \u201ctranslates\u201d her beloved\u00a0feline companion\u2019s wit and wisdom into life lessons such as\u00a0\u201cTrust your instincts and stay away from people or creatures who\u00a0smell like bad things or bad moods\u201d and \u201cWalk proud in the body\u00a0you have and all will find you appealing,\u201d then elaborates on\u00a0these simple ideas with a professional\u2019s insight and wisdom.<\/p>\n

Dr. Maria Chesley Fisk<\/a>, an educational consultant who specializes\u00a0in training adults to work with children, takes almost the\u00a0opposite approach of Dr. Freed. Fisk\u2019s book Teach Your Kids to\u00a0Think: Simple Tools You Can Use Every Day<\/em><\/a> (That\u2019s Good\u00a0Thinking) dissects the complexities of the latest research on\u00a0intelligence and converts it into a series of easy-to-use tools for\u00a0parents to use in everyday conversations with their children.<\/p>\n

Local artist Cathy Feldman<\/a> of Blue Point Books has designed the\u00a0book as a fast read for busy parents, while Fisk has stuffed it full\u00a0of immediately useful takeaway\u00a0tips on how to converse with\u00a0your child, and at the same time,\u00a0strategically develop their analytical,\u00a0creative, social\/emotional and\u00a0practical thinking skills.<\/p>\n

\"Originally<\/a>

Cover photo by Jim Bartsch.<\/p><\/div>\n

Originally published in Santa Barbara Seasons Magazine<\/em><\/a>, Fall 2010. Cover photo by Jim Bartsch<\/a>.<\/p>\n

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