<![CDATA[Place of My Own]]>

false 7097667 <![CDATA[Place of My Own]]> http://www.goodreads.com/images/nocover-111x148.jpg A Place of My Own might be suspiciously viewed by some readers as a text begging for interpretation. What is it that causes this man at midlife to attempt to put up a structure, an actual wood and concrete dwelling, where he can work on his own craft away from his domestic life? Arguably, Pollan's intentions are more transparent than a too clever postmodern audience can easily appreciate. The author of this fine, well-crafted book offers an explanation that seems honest and understandable: "Whenever I heard myself described as an 'information service worker' or a 'symbolic analyst,' I wanted to reach for a hammer, or a hoe, and with it make something less virtual than a sentence."

In Pollan's bestselling book Second Nature: A Gardener's Education, he illustrated his facility with both hoe and pen. In A Place of My Own he hefts the hammer and again records with great intelligence how thoroughly thought and reflection can be woven into our common lives and the patterns of a day's work. His book's subtitle, "An Education of an Amateur Builder," captures much of what this book contains: the lessons learned by a diligent student of architecture, design, and construction. The writing contains no gaps or unsightly seams, and it's full of clues to readers who share a similar desire to build something tangible in a world that prizes the evanescent.

]]> 13838 8 1874181 1997 A Place of My Own: The Education of an Amateur Builder total:392|5:100|4:159|3:109|2:22|1:2| 392 1509 947 67 2121 4.16 44464 10713 52842111 695024 4847000 0143114743 9780143114741 4 <![CDATA[A Place of My Own: The Architecture of Daydreams]]> http://photo.goodreads.com/books/1255998359m/4847000.jpg http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/4847000.A_Place_of_My_Own_The_Architecture_of_Daydreams 3.72 29
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.]]> 5 0 false Thu Apr 16 00:00:00 -0700 2009 Wed Apr 15 18:33:17 -0700 2009 Thu Apr 16 17:10:44 -0700 2009
This book, unquestionably was the one standout fro...more...]]> 75034938 2692649 13838 0385319908 9780385319904 62 <![CDATA[A Place of My Own: The Education of an Amateur Builder]]> http://photo.goodreads.com/books/1166573832m/13838.jpg http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/13838.A_Place_of_My_Own_The_Education_of_an_Amateur_Builder 3.85 349 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:

]]> 4 0 false Sun Oct 25 00:00:00 -0700 2009 Mon Oct 19 11:53:03 -0700 2009 Mon Oct 26 19:43:32 -0700 2009 more...]]> 21882398 495804 13838 0385319908 9780385319904 62 <![CDATA[A Place of My Own: The Education of an Amateur Builder]]> http://photo.goodreads.com/books/1166573832m/13838.jpg http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/13838.A_Place_of_My_Own_The_Education_of_an_Amateur_Builder 3.85 349 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.

]]> 4 1 false Tue Apr 01 00:00:00 -0700 2008 Thu May 08 15:45:05 -0700 2008 Thu Sep 11 23:38:31 -0700 2008 more...]]> 34024670 1147841 13838 0385319908 9780385319904 62 <![CDATA[A Place of My Own: The Education of an Amateur Builder]]> http://photo.goodreads.com/books/1166573832m/13838.jpg http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/13838.A_Place_of_My_Own_The_Education_of_an_Amateur_Builder 3.85 349 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.

]]> 5 1 false Sun Sep 28 06:05:44 -0700 2008 Sun Sep 28 06:07:39 -0700 2008 30551571 216786 1873262 0679415327 9780679415329 1 <![CDATA[A Place of My Own: The Education of an Amateur Builder]]> http://photo.goodreads.com/books/1189562153m/1873262.jpg http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/1873262.A_Place_of_My_Own_The_Education_of_an_Amateur_Builder 3.89 9 4 0 false Sat Aug 30 00:00:00 -0700 2008 Tue Aug 19 10:38:08 -0700 2008 Sun Aug 31 13:29:16 -0700 2008 more...]]> 67413131 1270622 13838 0385319908 9780385319904 62 <![CDATA[A Place of My Own: The Education of an Amateur Builder]]> http://photo.goodreads.com/books/1166573832m/13838.jpg http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/13838.A_Place_of_My_Own_The_Education_of_an_Amateur_Builder 3.85 349 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.

]]> 3 0 false Sat Aug 01 00:00:00 -0700 2009 Fri Aug 14 14:12:45 -0700 2009 Wed Aug 26 05:53:23 -0700 2009 more...]]> 51918016 2102135 4847000 0143114743 9780143114741 4 <![CDATA[A Place of My Own: The Architecture of Daydreams]]> http://photo.goodreads.com/books/1255998359m/4847000.jpg http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/4847000.A_Place_of_My_Own_The_Architecture_of_Daydreams 3.72 29
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.]]> 5 0 false Sun Mar 08 00:00:00 -0800 2009 Wed Apr 08 06:07:06 -0700 2009 Wed Apr 08 06:51:32 -0700 2009 more...]]> 54965780 2253520 13838 0385319908 9780385319904 62 <![CDATA[A Place of My Own: The Education of an Amateur Builder]]> http://photo.goodreads.com/books/1166573832m/13838.jpg http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/13838.A_Place_of_My_Own_The_Education_of_an_Amateur_Builder 3.85 349 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.

]]> 5 0 false Thu Jan 01 00:00:00 -0800 2004 Mon May 04 18:43:15 -0700 2009 Mon May 04 18:48:49 -0700 2009 more...]]> 50911224 979991 13838 0385319908 9780385319904 62 <![CDATA[A Place of My Own: The Education of an Amateur Builder]]> http://photo.goodreads.com/books/1166573832m/13838.jpg http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/13838.A_Place_of_My_Own_The_Education_of_an_Amateur_Builder 3.85 349 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.

]]> 4 0 false Thu Mar 19 00:00:00 -0700 2009 Mon Mar 30 08:20:15 -0700 2009 Mon Mar 30 08:22:04 -0700 2009 8169081 30851 13838 0385319908 9780385319904 62 <![CDATA[A Place of My Own: The Education of an Amateur Builder]]> http://photo.goodreads.com/books/1166573832m/13838.jpg http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/13838.A_Place_of_My_Own_The_Education_of_an_Amateur_Builder 3.85 349 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.

]]> 2 0 false Thu Nov 01 00:00:00 -0700 2007 Wed Oct 24 04:17:09 -0700 2007 Wed Dec 05 06:38:03 -0800 2007 more...]]> 48425637 28203 13838 0385319908 9780385319904 62 <![CDATA[A Place of My Own: The Education of an Amateur Builder]]> http://photo.goodreads.com/books/1166573832m/13838.jpg http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/13838.A_Place_of_My_Own_The_Education_of_an_Amateur_Builder 3.85 349 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.

]]> 4 0 false Sun Mar 01 00:00:00 -0800 2009 Fri Mar 06 10:08:31 -0800 2009 Fri Mar 20 06:48:17 -0700 2009 more...]]> 39025816 945050 13838 0385319908 9780385319904 62 <![CDATA[A Place of My Own: The Education of an Amateur Builder]]> http://photo.goodreads.com/books/1166573832m/13838.jpg http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/13838.A_Place_of_My_Own_The_Education_of_an_Amateur_Builder 3.85 349 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.

]]> 4 0 false Sat Nov 21 00:00:00 -0800 2009 Mon Dec 01 09:10:36 -0800 2008 Sun Nov 22 05:47:16 -0800 2009
Also, I think that I'm simply less interested in architecture than all the other topic...more...]]> 66004315 207735 13838 0385319908 9780385319904 62 <![CDATA[A Place of My Own: The Education of an Amateur Builder]]> http://photo.goodreads.com/books/1166573832m/13838.jpg http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/13838.A_Place_of_My_Own_The_Education_of_an_Amateur_Builder 3.85 349 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.

]]> 0 0 false Thu Jun 18 00:00:00 -0700 2009 Mon Aug 03 09:59:05 -0700 2009 Mon Aug 03 10:01:25 -0700 2009 50739710 662145 13838 0385319908 9780385319904 62 <![CDATA[A Place of My Own: The Education of an Amateur Builder]]> http://photo.goodreads.com/books/1166573832m/13838.jpg http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/13838.A_Place_of_My_Own_The_Education_of_an_Amateur_Builder 3.85 349 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.

]]> 5 0 false Sat Mar 28 14:45:09 -0700 2009 Sat Mar 28 14:49:11 -0700 2009 plus several poignant/hilarious accounts of architect vs. carpenter observations.]]> 3892477 86639 13838 0385319908 9780385319904 62 <![CDATA[A Place of My Own: The Education of an Amateur Builder]]> http://photo.goodreads.com/books/1166573832m/13838.jpg http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/13838.A_Place_of_My_Own_The_Education_of_an_Amateur_Builder 3.85 349 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.

]]> 5 0 false Sun Jul 01 00:00:00 -0700 2007 Wed Aug 01 04:36:10 -0700 2007 Thu Dec 17 03:09:46 -0800 2009
I like that formula.

The biggest complement I can give ...more...]]> 39588015 1777174 13838 0385319908 9780385319904 62 <![CDATA[A Place of My Own: The Education of an Amateur Builder]]> http://photo.goodreads.com/books/1166573832m/13838.jpg http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/13838.A_Place_of_My_Own_The_Education_of_an_Amateur_Builder 3.85 349 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.

]]> 2 0 false Mon Dec 08 07:15:45 -0800 2008 Mon Dec 08 07:18:44 -0800 2008 38952813 291746 13838 0385319908 9780385319904 62 <![CDATA[A Place of My Own: The Education of an Amateur Builder]]> http://photo.goodreads.com/books/1166573832m/13838.jpg http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/13838.A_Place_of_My_Own_The_Education_of_an_Amateur_Builder 3.85 349 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.

]]> 3 0 false Mon Dec 01 00:00:00 -0800 2008 Sun Nov 30 12:18:52 -0800 2008 Sun Dec 07 18:15:04 -0800 2008 38203692 1438982 13838 0385319908 9780385319904 62 <![CDATA[A Place of My Own: The Education of an Amateur Builder]]> http://photo.goodreads.com/books/1166573832m/13838.jpg http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/13838.A_Place_of_My_Own_The_Education_of_an_Amateur_Builder 3.85 349 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.

]]> 3 0 false Tue Aug 18 00:00:00 -0700 2009 Thu Nov 20 01:31:18 -0800 2008 Fri Sep 04 14:22:43 -0700 2009 more...]]> 54605978 1547480 13838 0385319908 9780385319904 62 <![CDATA[A Place of My Own: The Education of an Amateur Builder]]> http://photo.goodreads.com/books/1166573832m/13838.jpg http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/13838.A_Place_of_My_Own_The_Education_of_an_Amateur_Builder 3.85 349 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.

]]> 5 0 false Thu May 21 00:00:00 -0700 2009 Fri May 01 11:46:22 -0700 2009 Thu May 21 17:25:26 -0700 2009 more...]]> 47084645 964670 13838 0385319908 9780385319904 62 <![CDATA[A Place of My Own: The Education of an Amateur Builder]]> http://photo.goodreads.com/books/1166573832m/13838.jpg http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/13838.A_Place_of_My_Own_The_Education_of_an_Amateur_Builder 3.85 349 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.

]]> 4 0 false Sun Apr 26 00:00:00 -0700 2009 Sat Feb 21 15:53:04 -0800 2009 Sun Apr 26 17:49:45 -0700 2009
I found myself falling in love with wood, tools, architecture, the attitudes of the construction workers I grew up around and a sense of place. The dreams I h...more...]]> 1 http://www.goodreads.com/book_link/follow/1?book_id=7097667 3 http://www.goodreads.com/book_link/follow/3?book_id=7097667 2 http://www.goodreads.com/book_link/follow/2?book_id=7097667 8 http://www.goodreads.com/book_link/follow/8?book_id=7097667 4 http://www.goodreads.com/book_link/follow/4?book_id=7097667 5 http://www.goodreads.com/book_link/follow/5?book_id=7097667 6 http://www.goodreads.com/book_link/follow/6?book_id=7097667 7 http://www.goodreads.com/book_link/follow/7?book_id=7097667 9 http://www.goodreads.com/book_link/follow/9?book_id=7097667 10 http://www.goodreads.com/book_link/follow/10?book_id=7097667