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I was going to write a general piece on some of the notebooks I've bought, so I decided to have a look for some images on Google when I stumbled upon an interesting related website. I go through paper like you wouldn't believe, the house is filled with old versions of chapters which I can't bring myself to throw away - partly out of sentimentality and partly out of copyright paranoia (ha) - and I don't want to imagine how much shredding I'd have to do. I buy standard A4 paper, Asda's Smart Price version for general use and a heavier weighted one for sending out - but I tend to be a bit Scrooge-like over prices, although I will pay more for green products. I also buy quite a few notebooks especially when starting a new project. I prefer to write in school exercise books or A5 notebooks - I find ring-bound ones easier to use, especially when I'm forever flicking back and to checking my plotting etc is consistent. Well here's some notebooks with a difference - they are made from bananas. They are made by 'The Banana Paper Company' which based in Costa Rica and they make paper from - as you've probably guessed - banana fibres along with coffee and tobacco fibres. Their notebooks look fabulous especially the bright yellow funky monkey one and they also make A4 paper and envelopes and they are all good value - although there is an extra charge for shipping. I'm tempted I can tell you. The company use agro-industrial fibres from the waste of processing common agricultural products which is then mixed with a base fibre made of recycled paper including office paper, tetra pack containers, magazines and newspapers. The Banana Paper Company explains: "Packing of bananas: as a result of pulling apart the bunches of bananas from the main stem, we have the pinzote left over and it contains 5% of usable fibre to manufacture paper. "Processing coffee: peels, leaves and small beans are separated from the coffee that will be processed, all this are used to manufacture our coffee paper. "By-products of tobacco: the leaves are separated from their veins during the processes involved in the tobacco industry, and they are used to make our tobacco paper." Their Research and Development Department is also studying new fibres from pineapple, orange and palm hearts. The full paper-making process is detailed on the company's website - www.ecopapers.com - is really interesting and of course you can order their products there too.

Today's book recommendation is Roxaboxen by Alice McLerran, illustrated by Barbara Cooney. Here's a book that's close to my heart from my childhood. If you were one of those kids who loved making forts and huts as a child, this book will bring back memories for you. It's the story of a group of childrens' adventures in a make-believe town they built in the desert. The detailed illustrations bring the story to life. You can get this book in paperback which is always good for those of us on a budget.

Are you the kind of artist that loves to listen to a book on tape while you work? If you are this section of CBBFI is for you!
Today’s Book

Fly By Night
By Frances Hardinge



This adventure is so much fun. It takes place in an alternate version of 18 century England. Mosca and her goose are on the run after burning down her uncles mill. But who can she trust? If you, the reader, can't tell who the bad guys are, (and you'll have no idea) how will she?

This is one of my favorite books, the story is great fun. For more information about the plot follow the amazon link. If you are starving for a new book to listen to or read, try this one. You won't be disappointed.

The book recommendation for the day is Scott Gustafson's"Classic Fairy Tales." Scott Gustafson's work is a definite must see. Beautiful colors and textures and great characters. His work is reminiscent of great illustrators like N.C. Wyeth, Norman Rockwell and Maxfield Parrish. The other great thing is that the fairy tales are written in the old style instead of new modernized versions. But the illustrations alone are definitely reason enough to check out this book. Highly recommended.

Just a side note, the one found here on Amazon is a large format collector's edition which is why it costs more. You can find the trade edition in other stores for around $20.