Boise author Anthony Doerr’s short story “The Shell Collector” made excellent beach reading in Ambergris Caye, Belize. The story is featured in an anthology, The Beach Book, made out of waterproof synthetic paper that is upcyclable.

My memorable first encounter with waterproof DuraBooks took place in a Book Arts class at BSU, when late professor and bibliophile Tom Trusky opened an evening’s class session by showing us a copy of Cradle to Cradle. He stood at the front of the classroom and, without saying a word, poured an entire glass of water directly onto its open pages. The class was shocked and confused. We knew how he cherished his books, how careful he was with them. It was like watching an Apple fanatic light their new iPhone on fire.

The convenience and novelty of a book so durable it resisted ripping, water damage, dirt and grime seemed like a technological marvel at the time. This was all before e-book readers, of course. Digital readers and tablets take book convenience to a whole new level. There are even floating, watertight cases for Kindles, iPads and Nooks that effectively make every book in your collection a waterproof book.

Just think: next summer you could be reading The Cabin's upcoming digital anthology Writers in the Attic while you float the Boise River!

_ For our first Writers in the Attic anthology, we’ve asked you to write about a room. It could be your kitchen, a room you know so well you barely see it anymore; or it could be an imaginary room in an imaginary mansion on an island you've never seen before. The room could even be an eggshell or a computer screen, a drawing, a dance, an emotion. What’s important is that it means something to you, the writer. It’s not just a room to you. Show us why. Let the room help you tell the story.

The following excerpt is from a column on WritersDigest.com, “‘The How of Where’—The Importance of Setting in Your Fiction,” by novelist David Rocklin. The author talks about how to transform a room into a character in your writing, and offers this prompt:

Find a room you’ve never seen. It has no meaning to you and holds nothing of your past life. You don’t know its contours, or how it looks on a cloudy morning. You can literally find one and occupy it, or find a picture and imagine yourself into it. Describe it. Tell the readers what we see. What we could touch, if only we were really there.

Now, describe the same room a second time. This time, give the room a story. This is where someone died. That chair was where a husband sat as his wife told him that she was leaving him. Out that window, a single mother watched a moving van pull up after losing the house to foreclosure.

What just happened? The room’s physical description changed, didn’t it? That’s not merely a bed. That’s not simply a street outside. The walls and their peeled paint have something akin to a voice. This setting isn’t just an edifice or a space anymore. It bears witness.

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Our Idaho Writing Camps anthology, Words Work Wonders, is back from Caxton Press and looking fabulous! There’s one free copy for every student who attended camps this year, and extra copies are available for $12 each. Stop by The Cabin anytime (Mon-Fri 9-5) to pick them up, or come to our anthology release party at Barnes & Noble this Saturday, December 10:

_ We have a whole day of free events planned to go along with the anthology release, featuring a gift wrapping table, three one-hour Writing Workshops at 11am, 1pm and 3pm, and three one-hour Camper Readings at 12pm, 2pm and 4pm. You can order extra copies of the anthology by calling The Cabin at 208.340.2233 and we’ll have them reserved for you at the event.

_ In addition to the anthology release, December 10 is The Cabin’s Bookfair at Barnes & Noble, where 15% of every purchase will go to The Cabin. Just be sure to have your Cabin vouchers, or ask a volunteer for one at the event. Can’t make it to the store that day? You can make purchases online from December 10-15 by going to BN.com/bookfairs and entering Bookfair ID # 10602829 at checkout.