Thursday, June 19, 2008
Book talk
Did you know my sister has a blog? It is the delicious, summery, fruity cocktail of the internets. Please, visit and encourage her to write more, because it makes me laugh (and wish we lived closer, sigh).
Books, yo!
The Glass Key by Dashiell Hammett
Ah, Dashiell, you really know how to confuse me with multiple characters, anonymous cities, and double-crossers. But fun! Everything is speakeasy sleazy. (Speakeasy Sleazy is going to be the name of my band of chipper girls who who sing songs in ABCB rhyme.) Anyway, there are lots of broads and bad guys. Good stuff.
An Arsonist's Guide to Writers' Homes in New England by Brock Clarke
1) More apostrophes in the title than any other book you'll read this year.
2) Doesn't Brock Clarke sound like the name of a 1950s-era quarterback?
3) There is little actual guidance in the arts of arson in this book.
4) I wanted to like this more than I did.
5) The main character was goofy and quirky. This could hypothetically indicate an original character. In execution, though, this person is tiresome and unaware of basic social norms. I can find that at work. I don't need it in my novels.
Buddies by Barbara Park
An oldie and a goodie. The story of a somewhat dorky girl, Dinah, who goes to camp and decides to fit in with the cool girls, only to be shadowed by Fern Wadley. Fern Wadley. (What a great name, right?) Fern picks her teeth with barrettes and hangs on to Dinah's shirt tail. Literally. The dilemma of how to shake someone unpleasant without being unpleasant oneself is rarely this funny in real life.
Books, yo!
The Glass Key by Dashiell Hammett
Ah, Dashiell, you really know how to confuse me with multiple characters, anonymous cities, and double-crossers. But fun! Everything is speakeasy sleazy. (Speakeasy Sleazy is going to be the name of my band of chipper girls who who sing songs in ABCB rhyme.) Anyway, there are lots of broads and bad guys. Good stuff.
An Arsonist's Guide to Writers' Homes in New England by Brock Clarke
1) More apostrophes in the title than any other book you'll read this year.
2) Doesn't Brock Clarke sound like the name of a 1950s-era quarterback?
3) There is little actual guidance in the arts of arson in this book.
4) I wanted to like this more than I did.
5) The main character was goofy and quirky. This could hypothetically indicate an original character. In execution, though, this person is tiresome and unaware of basic social norms. I can find that at work. I don't need it in my novels.
Buddies by Barbara Park
An oldie and a goodie. The story of a somewhat dorky girl, Dinah, who goes to camp and decides to fit in with the cool girls, only to be shadowed by Fern Wadley. Fern Wadley. (What a great name, right?) Fern picks her teeth with barrettes and hangs on to Dinah's shirt tail. Literally. The dilemma of how to shake someone unpleasant without being unpleasant oneself is rarely this funny in real life.
Saturday, May 26, 2007
Blankie
My sister has had a blankie for as long as I can remember. It is (well, was) white with a tiny pink flower pattern on it. Now it is a washed-out gray with frayed edges. It was cut up (with surgical precision by Mom) so she could take part of it with her when she studied abroad in London. It is, truly, a great blanket.
But I think it might be lonely. It might need a pal.
I'm working on a wedding blanket for Laura and Anil, using an old Victorian pattern. The color is not accurate here; it's really a deep, winey red.
I wanted something that could be assembled in small pieces, so I didn't have a heavy blanket draped over my lap during steamy Connecticut River valley heat waves.
It is so pretty in Deerfield, with its baby alpaca and silk.
I have decided to make 30 squares, and use Nicky Epstein's Knitting on the Edge to create a botanically-themed edging . . . maybe leaves, maybe floral, maybe just an interesting scallop.
I hope Blankie will make some room on the bed! And I hope I can finish this in fewer than eleventy million years.
But I think it might be lonely. It might need a pal.
I'm working on a wedding blanket for Laura and Anil, using an old Victorian pattern. The color is not accurate here; it's really a deep, winey red.
I wanted something that could be assembled in small pieces, so I didn't have a heavy blanket draped over my lap during steamy Connecticut River valley heat waves.
It is so pretty in Deerfield, with its baby alpaca and silk.
I have decided to make 30 squares, and use Nicky Epstein's Knitting on the Edge to create a botanically-themed edging . . . maybe leaves, maybe floral, maybe just an interesting scallop.I hope Blankie will make some room on the bed! And I hope I can finish this in fewer than eleventy million years.
Labels: sister, wedding blanket, yarn
