This week's links. Enjoy.
The Best Books of 2011
NPR list picks their faves of the books of 2011. Lots of great ideas for last minute holiday gifts.
The Town That Became a Garden
Amazingly inspiring profile of the town Todmorden in West Yorkshire, England, that decided to grow all its own food — their goal is to become completely self-sufficient by 2018. As it is, the town is now one big communal vegetable garden, where everyone grows veggies and helps themselves to whatever they need all over town — the police station grows carrots; raspberries, apricots and apples are on the canal towpath; blackcurrants, redcurrants and strawberries thrive beside the doctor’s surgery; beans and peas are outside the college; cherries can be found in the supermarket car park; and mint, rosemary, thyme and fennel are by the health centre, to name a few locations of the 70 gardens there. So wonderful.
Twitter By Post
From the Morning News: "Twitter is the contemporary postcard—social updates that are limited by size, but not imagination. For one month, writer Giles Turnbull moved his tweets from the laptop to the post office, and rediscovered the joy of mail."
Everyday Icon #4 Lipstick
The latest object in the Phaidon blog's Everyday Icon series, lipstick turns out to have a fascinating history — such as the fact that it was worn as an act of defiance by the early women's suffrage movement to symbolize their independence from men, at a time when lipstick was viewed by society as something only used by "fast" women.
Touch of Evil
Video gallery of cinematic villainy, inspired by classic horror films and featuring the best performers from the year in film. Watch Brad Pitt, Rooney Mara, Viola Davis, George Clooney, Gary Oldman and others find their inner creepy.
Through the Isinglass
Christopher Hirst tries out some of the more offbeat recipes from the classic 19th century cookbook by Mrs Beeton, the Book of Household Management.
Take a Photo
Sweet little video project — cameras were left at various locations with a simple sign that said "Take a Photo." If you're feeling down about humanity, this will make you feel instantly better. Via Good.
Cranberry and Almond Upside Down Cakes
A lovely and simple-to-make recipe from the sublime food blog Roost — the accompanying photos are as gorgeous as always.
(photo of living room in copake, new york via undecorate)