Cabin Porn by Beaver Brook
Cabin Porn by Beaver Brook is a book written by Zach Klein. It is a compendium of stories and images meant to inspire readers to move to nature.
The book is about the idyllic dreams of living a simpler life in the woods, and the clarifying power of nature, which have been a theme in American life since we left those woods for cities.
Klein’s genius was distilling it down to a simple phrase: Cabin Porn. The tech exec’s Tumblr, a perfect and precise portrait of society’s obsession over tiny places in the great outdoors, has been a huge hit since the former co-founder of Vimeo started publishing cabin pics in 2010.
The book also talks about Klein’s own cabin construction in Beaver Brook, New York, which has become the inspiration for the book. It reflects Beaver Brook and Cabin Porn in at least two ways:
1) Its modest proportions. Each building is 1200 square feet and the floor plans are cozy.
2) The dependency on the outdoors. Key functions are spread between the two buildings, bedrooms primarily in one, office and living space in the other, connected by a garden that serves both as a passage and a cloister.
The book is about the journey of Klein’s earliest inklings that he’d like to build an off-the-grid retreat, which is characterized in this piece as indicative of a “back to the woods movement,” in which today’s busiest bodies eject themselves from the torments of social feeds, strangers, and smoking, smelly traffic, to live outside for just enough time to feel good about going back.
The main themes of the book are about the joys of building something with your friends, the importance of humility and delight in encountering issues, and the clarifying power of nature. The book also emphasizes the need to look beyond the exterior of cabins and focus on what’s inside.
What I Liked
This is a beautiful little library checkout for browsing. There is something timelessly American about a cabin in the woods….even if the idea of it is completely different than reality.
I liked how this book captured so many different types of cabins and varying contexts. The photography is amazing.
What I Did Not Like
Why is all the photography so dark?
