For those of you who like to make lists of ways to improve yourself* in the New Year, here is the perfect book.

101 Things I hate about your house, by James Swan, is a delightfully opinionated view of how your home décor is sliding off the rails and all the ways he would fix it. It’s a book that will have you yelling, “YES!” in agreement one minute and screaming, “Are you crazy?” the next.

Here are two things my colleague, Kate Kasinski, loved and hated.

Loved: Swan sneers at a bathroom with a dish full of mucky soap.

“YES!” says Kate who can’t imagine anyone with a family having anything but a soap pump.

Hated: Swan wants you to cover your bedroom floors with the thickest, most luxurious carpet you can find.

“Are you crazy?” asks Kate who knows that bedding produces an excessive amount of dust, hair from pillows and other unmentionables. Whoa, think of the dust mites.

I’m with Kate on both counts and we’re thinking that he probably doesn’t do his own cleaning.

I really enjoyed his riff on open kitchens which I agree are overrated. Some cooking styles benefit from a discreet wall between the grease and clutter and the guests. And some of us can no longer perform simple cooking tasks and carry on a conversation.

You know, like walking and chewing gum.

*I have attained such a level of perfection (AKA common-sense grip of reality) that I would never dream of doing this.

Today's blog comes from Dave Ramsey, Central Staff:

Home is nice, but what if you want to get out and about? As Gino Vannelli sang,”People gotta move”. My favourite vehicle for moving about is the bicycle.

Now that cycle-friendly weather is morphing into ski-friendly, I think back to summer. I was in Vienna and had a day off from playing music, so spent the afternoon in the Technical Museum. The collections there included everything from locomotives to musical instruments and the antique bicycles pictured here.

A recent addition to our collection at Central reminded me of them. Cyclepedia – a century of iconic bicycle design by Michael Embacher shows old bikes that have very modern features, such as suspension, exotic materials and innovative, graceful designs. Some of these features didn’t catch on because the ideas couldn’t be supported by materials available at the time.

It’s amazing to see such innovation appear as early as 1922; however, this book is not just for historical interest. There are examples as recent as 2009.

At first glance, some bikes appear ordinary while others are obviously different from your average ride. There are recumbents, tandems, folding bikes, and one made from magnesium (but the manufacturing process made for a flammable workplace!)

Embacher has gathered a collection of elegant, odd and innovative cycles (not all have two wheels) – including novelty bikes like the one designed to fall from the sky and another that becomes a suitcase. He gives the reader a fascinating documentation of the science and art of bike design.

Dave R.

Shabby Chic is the well-known brand of Rachel Ashwell who opened her first shop in Santa Monica in 1989. Now, two decades on, there are stores in Los Angeles, New York, Texas, and London.

This well-known label describes a “look” that incorporates vintage and battered furnishings with lots of white paint and pastel colours. There are floral fabrics, frills and a touch of glitz in crystal and silver. Romantic rooms are styled like stage sets where it looks like the wistfully lovely heroine has left a trail of petals or a book of poetry.

Ashwell’s latest book in the franchise, called Shabby Chic Inspirations and Beautiful Spaces, shows her homes in Texas, Malibu and Knotting Hill, as well as the homes of friends and business associates.

The most bizarre (but fascinating) arrangement is the “shabby shack” created from a hunter’s cabin in the Catskill Mountains. Entirely white, it is draped with volumes of lace and accessorized with white china, books and elaborate chandeliers.

This girlish confection is the retreat of a young woman who lives with a burly husband in a trailer on the other side of the stream. The trailer is not bohemian edgy. We’re talking 70’s-style avocado and gold, plaid sofa, dark wood paneling with an American flag draped between the propane tanks.

Don’t believe me? Check it out.

Romantic cottage style is a perennial favourite that is most often featured in the shelter magazines in the spring and summer. If you like it, have a look at several other new titles in the collection.

Romantic prairie style: homes inspired by traditional Country Life by Fifi O’Neill prospects the same vein. No sod huts on this prairie; but it’s all quite charming.

New Cottage Style: a Sunset design guide is another one that features rehabbed vintage furnishings set in pale and pretty rooms.

Paper Garden, by Molly Peacock, has been on my reading list for almost a year and I am very glad that I finally got to it. It’s a non-fiction story of an artist that is as engaging as a good novel - a good choice for your book club or gift list.

In 1700, Mary Granville was born into an obscure branch of an aristocratic family that was struggling to maintain and advance its position in English society. As a child, she was trained in social graces that would equip her for a position at court.

At 17 she married an oppressive, alcoholic squire aged 61 in a bid by her family to improve their fortunes. But that didn’t happen. When she was widowed at age 25, she was left with just a modest pension.

Mary spent the next two decades of her life on the fringes of court society with pals like Jonathan Swift and Handel. She was wooed by a succession of impressive suitors, but remained resolutely single until her marriage to Irish clergyman, Patrick Delany, in middle age. Together, they enjoyed a gentle country life for a very happy 23 years.

At age 72, following the death of her beloved husband, Mary developed a new art form and created an amazing 985, botanically correct, floral collages which are housed today in the British museum.

Poet Molly Peacock tells the story, based on information from a wealth of letters that Mary exchanged with family and friends. Along the way, Peacock explores the issues of women’s independence, the sustaining nature of good marriages, the trials of economic uncertainty and the unexpected blossoming of creativity in old age.

If you are inspired by Mary’s collages, have a look at New Creative Collage Techniques: How to make original art using paper, color and texture. Author Nita Leland demonstrates the collage process, including design principles, working with ready-made papers and creating your own. She also offers instruction on mixed media collage and making textured supports.

If you are a fan of Mad Men’s Bryan Batt, you will enjoy his new book: Big, Easy Style: Creating Rooms You Love to Live in. Batt is the co-owner of a New Orleans store called Hazelnut and brings a theatrical approach to home décor. And his flamboyant enthusiasm is catching. With Batt leading the band, decorating is a lot of fun.

The use of colour is a main theme of the book: “Don’t be Afraid of Color,” he says. “Honestly, what did color ever do to you?” A living room with lacquered, peacock-blue walls positively sings.

Batt shares his emotional response to colour and offers a list of his favourites from well-known sources like Benjamin Moore, Sherwin-Williams and Ralph Lauren. You can bet that I’m adding this book to our reading list on the topic.

Style: Easy Updates, Room-by-Room Guide, Inspired Design Ideas published by Southern Living features lushly decorated rooms with lots of stuff.

As well as glorious collections, see details like monogrammed linens and slipcovers, billowy draperies, and antiques and portraits that reflect a “penchant for the past”.

Rooms bring in the garden with furnishings in wicker, rattan, cane and bamboo.

The book has a good section of DIY projects that include photo arrangements, gallery-style art walls and furniture face-lifts.

If you want a soundtrack while you’re flipping pages, try the keyword search, “New Orleans jazz” in our catalogue for an interesting list. At the top is For True, the newest release by Trombone Shorty. “Grammy nominee Trombone Shorty follows up the success of the critically acclaimed Backatown with a new album that showcases his mix of jazz, funk, and rock.”

I remembered an older, eponymous CD by Po’ Girl with a sly and languid bonus track of “Do you know what it means to miss New Orleans”. Good stuff.

Today's blog comes from Linda Bolstad, staff Central Library:

I used to really like decorating my home for Christmas. But the kids have grown, I have grown older and it no longer seems to be a priority. Indeed, along with many of you, I’m trying to simplify my life and this applies to the hoopla around Christmas too.

Last year I looked through the boxes of decorations I had accumulated over the years and gave away a good portion of it. But I still want to participate in the festive spirit and a few seasonal items placed around the house sure help to set the tone.

Other years, I have cut boughs from our overgrown junipers and arranged them in containers at our front and back doors; but this year I’ve decided to just hang a large metal star on each door.

Inside I know the feeling that I want to create – I would like a cozy, mellow atmosphere (totally reflective of my personality—not!)

I’ve seen and like the idea of a glass bowl filled with silver balls—probably on my dining room table. I’m planning on placing two silver star-shaped dishes on the sofa table, and two white mini Christmas trees on the living room credenza. Maybe a bowl of pinecones near the front door. I think that might be about it.

For inspiration I’ve been perusing a few of the Christmas books and magazines in the arts collection.

Christmas Details by Mary Norden -- simple, easy-to -make, attractive decorations. I like the small bags made from remnants of elegant fabrics.

Merry & Bright from the Editors of Country Living –lots of decorating ideas, including crafts, cookie recipes, and gift wrapping ideas. Check out the stockings made from old sweaters.

Style At Home 100+ Favorite Holiday Ideas (Special Issue magazine) – I think the silver and glass ornaments hung with ribbons from the banister look lovely, and very easy to do.

Now I just might have to add a few more items to my decorating list.

Linda

The Perfectly Imperfect Home: How to Decorate & Live Well is a new decorating book by Deborah Needleman who was a founding editor of Domino magazine. Domino, a Condé Nast publication, folded in 2009 with the recession.

Needleman sets the tone of the book with a quote from the late, great decorator, Billy Baldwin: “Any house or room remembered with pleasure has the look of being loved by those who live in it.”

“I have come to realize,” writes Needleman, “that the soul of a house needs attention.” The point of decorating, she says, is to create the background for the best life you can have.

Her topics include Places for chatting, A Bit of Quirk, Cozifications and Spots for Books, Drinks & Feet - in other words, those things that bring comfort and personality to a home.

For those who appreciate decorating formulas, some are provided with wit, for example:

Insta-Cozy Couch = (1 blanket centered over back + 2 matching square pillows in corners + 1 rectangular pillow in center)

In place of the usual lavish photos of beautiful rooms, the book is illustrated with watercolour pictures. They add considerable charm while at the same time focusing the reader’s attention on the ideas in the text which are often an afterthought in decorating books.

Sometimes imperfection is carefully crafted, for example, introducing a drab or “ugly” colour as a foil to a roomful of pretty, girly hues. This was a practice endorsed by prominent English decorator John Fowler of Colefax & Fowler.

Does all this sound familiar? Embracing imperfection is a theme running through many books I have blogged about in the last few months. I have added a new tag to identify them.

This theme pops up in the shelter magazines too. In the December/January issue of House Beautiful (p.96): the New Modern: Embracing the Japanese Aesthetic of Wabi-Sabi: Imperfect, weathered, organic.

Happily, most of us don’t have to work to attain imperfection. It's just a gift.