The Word Made Flesh: Literary Tattoos from Bookworms Worldwide

Tattoos sometimes look neat on other people, but I’ve never wanted one for myself.  Add to that the fact I’m 100% too chicken to get a tattoo and there’s no chance of me ever getting inked.

But I’ve always liked looking at tattoos, wondering about the stories behind them, asking myself what could be so important that a person wanted to walk around with a reminder of it for the rest of their life.

Books + Tattoos?

An intriguing concept, to be sure.

The Word Made Flesh: Literary Tattoos from Bookworms Worldwide by Eva Talmadge and Justin Taylor shares photos and stories from dozens of people whose ink was inspired by a poet, a book, an author, etc.

Literary Tattoos doesn’t just share tattooed quotes, as one might think.  There are people who get book covers, images representing the story, and even an author’s face (!) imprinted on themselves.

Darn near fascinating is what this book is.  It’s the kind to be pored over multiple times.  I read Literary Tattoos straight through, but it’s the kind of book that can be picked up at random.  Each tattoo and accompanying story takes up no more than two pages.

If books were rated similar to movies, Literary Tattoos would be PG-13.  A couple pictures show a woman with no shirt, a hand over her breast, to showcase a tattoo directly underneath.  Another shows a woman with underwear slung low on her hips to show a tattoo running down her sides.

The majority of pictures feature tattoos in far more innocent places, though: arms, legs, back.

If you’d like a taste of what the book has to offer, visit TattooLit.com.

Are you inked?

The $100 Startup by Chris Guillebeau

• often failures
• expensive to begin
• difficult to get funding for
• fail often (Did I mention that already?)

Talk about disheartening.

When I heard about Chris Guillebeau’s book which talks about businesses that are cheap to start and succeed, I was beyond curious.

The $100 Startup entwines studies done on successful businesses that fit the small startup cost model with a play by play of how to start your own business.

Overall, it’s incredibly useful and inspiring.  But I do have one big problem with it.

In the beginning chapters of the book, Chris Guillebeau makes the point that one’s passion must be able to be shaped into a viable, profitable business.  It makes sense, of course, but Guillebeau offers no tips for people who don’t believe their passion is a viable course.  If you can’t figure out how doing what you love could make a decent business, you’re sunk within the first few chapters.  Footnotes are prevalent throughout the book and one was desperately needed at this point.  Simply recommending another read would have helped fill this gaping hole.

Oversight aside, The $100 Startup is an incredibly helpful book.  The studies Guillebeau has done offer great insights and were my favorite parts of the book.  In fact, after finishing, I’ve spent a bit of time looking into the online businesses shared, like Designs by Reese.  These “real-life” stories, including the author’s own, give the book credibility.  This isn’t just one man’s lucky break but many people’s reality.

The $100 Startup left me with a plethora of ideas and a thirst for more.  Conducting my own $100 Startup experiment is something I definitely see in my future.

Matched by Ally Condie

Take the idea behind eHarmony, add in a controlling government and hormonal teenagers.

That’s Matchedin a nutshell.

In case you’re seeking something a bit more formal, here’s the official summary of Matched by Ally Condie:

In the Society, Officials decide.

Who you love. Where you work. When you die.

Cassia has always trusted their choices. It’s hardly any price to pay for a long life, the perfect job, the ideal mate. So when her best friend appears on the Matching screen, Cassia knows with complete certainty that he is the one… until she sees another face flash for an instant before the screen fades to black. Now Cassia is faced with impossible choices: between Xander and Ky, between the only life she’s known and a path no one else has ever dared follow — between perfection and passion.

On the final day of National Poetry Month, I thought it would be fitting to review a book featuring poetry. Matched fits this description, just a little. The main poem in Matched is “Do Not Go Gentle into that Good Night,” by Dylan Thomas. It’s a forbidden poem in the world Cassie lives in, at times a thorn in her side yet sometimes fuel for her fire.

The amount of control government has in Cassie’s world is terrifying. People are given just enough to make them feel comfortable. On the surface, it’s a little restrictive but nearly all of the inhabitants are well fed and living in homes. The people have been lulled into submission.

Yes, Cassie is a fairly interesting character, but I found myself wanting to get inside the brains of others, especially Xander and Ky. Alternating viewpoints would have been nice, since the two male leads don’t go around spilling their emotional guts out. Their respective feelings for Cassie are hard to make out, and I thought once or twice that Cassie was reading the situation incorrectly but couldn’t be sure. Is everyone being truly sincere?

As for the Xander/Ky debate, I’m still not sure where I stand. This is a rare and pleasant surprise for me. Generally, I pick a side and stick to it till the bitter end. But I can honestly say I don’t know who would be better for Cassie. Or who Cassie would be better for.

Ally Condie’s Matched trilogy is one I intend on pursuing. In fact, I have a copy of Crossed ready and waiting.

Matched is available in hardcover, paperback, and audiobook format.