Books with title A Place Of My Own

Michael Pollan’s unmatched ability to draw lines of connection between our everyday experiences—whether eating, gardening, or building—and the natural world has been the basis for the popular success of his many works of nonfiction, including the genre-defining bestsellers, The Botany of Desire, The Omnivore’s Dilemma, and In Defense of Food. With this updated edition of his earlier book A Place of My Own, listeners can revisit the inspired, intelligent, and often hilarious story of Pollan’s realization of a room of his own—a small, wooden hut, his “shelter for daydreams”—built with his admittedly unhandy hands. Inspired by both Thoreau and Mr. Blandings, A Place of My Own not only works to convey the history and meaning of all human building, it also marks the connections between our bodies, our minds, and the natural world.“[A]n inspired meditation on the complex relationship between space, the human body, and the human spirit.” —Francine du Plessix Gray

Is your child asking for a pet? Do you need a simple, but fun method to showcase all of the hard work that will be involved if you do decide to introduce a new pet to the family? Or perhaps it not an ideal time to add a furry friend to the family, and you need a way to introduce your little one to other options. “A Pet of My Own” is a book to read along with your child that will help ease them into the reality of getting a new pet. And, if you’re not in a position add a pet to your family, this book might just be the key to help guide your child in another (furry) direction.

"A room of one's own: is there anybody who hasn't at one time or another wished for such a place, hasn't turned those soft words over until they'd assumed a habitable shape?"When writer Michael Pollan decided to plant a garden, the result was an award-winning treatise on the borders between nature and contemporary life, the acclaimed bestseller Second Nature. Now Pollan turns his sharp insight to the craft of building, as he recounts the process of designing and constructing a small one-room structure on his rural Connecticut property--a place in which he hoped to read, write and daydream, built with his two own unhandy hands.Invoking the titans of architecture, literature and philosophy, from Vitrivius to Thoreau, from the Chinese masters of feng shui to the revolutionary Frank Lloyd Wright, Pollan brilliantly chronicles a realm of blueprints, joints and trusses as he peers into the ephemeral nature of "houseness" itself. From the spark of an idea to the search for a perfect site to the raising of a ridgepole, Pollan revels in the infinitely detailed, complex process of creating a finished structure. At once superbly written, informative and enormously entertaining, A Place of My Own is for anyone who has ever wondered how the walls around us take shape--and how we might shape them ourselves.A Place of My Own recounts his two-and-a-half-year journey of discovery in an absorbing narrative that deftly weaves the day-to-day work of design and building--from siting to blueprint, from the pouring of foundations to finish carpentry--with reflections on everything form the power of place to shape our lives to the question of what constitutes "real work" in a technological society.A book about craft that is itself beautifully crafted, linking the world of the body and material things with the realm of mind, heart, and spirit, A Place of My Own has received extraordinary praise: -->From the Trade Paperback edition.

"I’m so glad Joshunda is telling our stories." ―Jacqueline WoodsonIn summertime, intrepid eight-year-old journalist Ava Murray and her best friend, Marisol, love to play hopscotch and double Dutch. But the hot asphalt of the sidewalk in their neighborhood makes them sweaty and burns their feet through their sneakers. When Ava’s mother, Kim, tells her that the New York City Parks Department is building a new park in her neighborhood, she wants to make her voice and opinions heard.Her mother takes her to a city council planning meeting, and Ava is given the chance to present her impassioned plea for shady trees, cool grass, and safe spaces for her and her friends to enjoy. And she’s not going to stop there: Ava wants to write a story about the neighborhood children’s needs for her local newspaper. She wants to talk about it on television and on the radio. She wants to gather the kids to make signs for a demonstration. And more!Ava shows that being a journalist means not only reporting on her world, but also advocating for what she believes is right. In A Place of Our Own, Ava helps reveal to children the power of their own voices.