Congratulations, Matt!

So it took me awhile, but I have finally found a winner for the Can-You-Find-A-Website-That-I-Would-Really-Dig contest! Congratulations to Matt Dean of Charleston, SC, who recommended Sloane Crosley’s site that’s all about her brilliant book, I Was Told There’d Be Cake. (sloanecrosley.com)

I want to thank everyone who participated in this contest. Yes, Libba Bray has a most excellent blog. And, yes, keeping track of the Red Sox is highly important. But Matt wins because his entry took both my interest in books and literature into consideration, as well as my deep fascination with crafty things and miniatures. You see, Ms. Crosley creates these crazy dioramas for her wicked-funny essays which appeals to me in all kinds of ways.

Her Diorama Diaries remind me, actually, of a presentation I saw (and was fascinated by) at one of John Hodgman’s Little Gray Book Lectures, years ago. Corinne May Botz was presenting her book The Nutshell Studies of Unexplained Death: a photographic study of the miniature crime scene replicas created by Frances Glessner Lee. Ms. Lee’s obsessively exact dioramas were used to help investigators train for real evidence collection. If you are at all interested in dollhouses, or smart women, or crime studies, I encourage you to explore Ms. Lee’s work (and Ms. Botz’s book, as well).

Dollhouses and good writing? Thanks so much, Matt, for pointing out Ms. Crosley’s site, and thanks to all of you for your great comments and tips!