The book, of the website, of the cabins

Way back, pre Instagram, there was a Tumblr site that posted photos of cabins from around the World. That was Cabin Porn. Every so often a small dwelling would pop up in my RSS feed. Could be in a dark forest, or on a weather-blasted moor. They were always captivating to me.

When Zach Klein, who ran the site, announced he was going to gather the photos & stories into a book I added it to my Amazon list. And there it sat for 6 years.

I purchased it this year from Learned Owl and finished this week. It was delightful.

Not a manual

This is a "coffee-table" book. A collection of photos, on thick paper, with a heavy textured cover. Chapters collect a type of cabin; Treehouse, Modern, Salvaged, etc. Each one starts highlighting the story behind one example.

But there are no plans, instructions, or how-to's in this. Instead it gives a glimpse into the builder and their desire to build. Why they chose the plot, how long it took, as well as the highs & lows of building. All of these were long enough to be interesting and short enough to not feel laboured.

Very few of the photos focus on the interiors either. This is very much a surroundings book.

Coming back

I really enjoyed reading this. I can definitely see myself pulling it back off the shelf to spend time thumbing through it, whiskey in hand, when I want to imagine my own quiet place.