Linen, Wool, Cotton: 25 Simple Projects to Sew With Natural Fabrics, Mano.
The daughter of clothing manufacturers who fell in love with the simple undyed textures of fabrics presents some gorgeous simple patterns. Not so simple that I feel I could make them all, but I WANT to make them all. I’ll get this book again after I have practiced a while. Four stars.
Grace Kelly Style
A very pretty assortment of Kelly’s outfits in films and as a starlet and princess from an exhibit at the V&A. However, I found myself fuming about the unfairness of monarchy rather than really getting into the fashion. Not aimed at me, I guess. Two stars.
More Last-Minute Knitted Gifts, Hoverson
Like the first volume, a lovely collection of knitting projects arranged by how long they take to complete. Again, a book of things I wouldn’t mind making and wouldn’t mind getting as gifts. Four stars.
Lost States: True Stories of Texlahoma, Transylvania, and Other States That Never Made It, Trinklein
Learning about the states in grade school can make it seem like our current 50 were always destined to be, but many states were proposed on the way, many people want to split off a new state for tax, representation, or highway funding reasons. Many territories don’t become states for reasons of racism or failed conquest. The author also includes some areas of the US that attempted to become separate countries and some separate countries that asked to become part of the US– the approach is more coffee table entertainment than historical nerdery (the author provides fanciful maps and humorous commentary rather than rock-hard research and original documents). Overall, a pretty fun book. Three stars.
The Reluctant Communist: My Desertion, Court-Martial, and Forty-Year Imprisonment in North Korea, Charles Robert Jenkins with Jim Frederick
Jenkins crossed the DMZ into North Korea thinking that he would be sent to the Soviet Union and then swapped back to the US, away from the danger of the front or being sent to Vietnam. The North Koreans were stunned, then disappointed that he didn’t have any strategic intelligence, then pleased to have a trophy imperialist, then pleased to have a foreigner to teach English to military officers, then not sure what the hell to do with him. While they keep him away from any non-minder North Koreans in a fairly privileged existence, that includes no indoor toilet, no running water, often no heat, and “only” having one or two days without food in a row. He and three other deserters are matched up with women to form families, which is how he finds the love of his life, a woman abducted from Japan. If 1984 was a love story and Big Brother was poorly supplied and out of ideas, this would be it. Heartbreaking. Four stars.
The Suspicions of Mr. Whicher: a Shocking Murder and the Undoing of a Great Victorian Detective, Summerscale (audio)
This one was recommended as an audiobook (by Emily on Unshelved.com), and I must agree: the narrator is really good, and does all the voices and accents which I find makes it easier to follow who’s who. The murder happened right after the invention of the mystery story and influenced many British mysteries after that– it’s the origin of the country house murder. The other first? One of the first murders to use a detective, one of the first to be all over the papers (and to inspire armchair detectives), and one of the first where a detective was questioning his social betters (to the horror of all). Lots of detail, lots of intrigue, four stars.
Conservatize Me: How I Tried to Become a Righty With the Help of Richard Nixon, Sean Hannity, Toby Keith & Beef Jerky, Moe (audio)
I was reminded that I had meant to read this by Matthew Baldwin’s review of beef jerky, and when I spotted that the audiobook was read by Moe (who is super great on the radio), I snagged it, even though it’s abridged. Well worth it, very funny, and I was glad it was a bit dated (it reminded me how tiresome those years could be). My only complaint was that I worried about John at the end of the book when his nerves were in tatters– I wished we could hear about his recovery time, too (he’s OK now) Four stars and I may read the book someday.
Simeon’s Story: An Eyewitness Account of the Kidnapping of Emmett Till, Wright
I didn’t think that this book could add much to the story that I’ve read so much about, but I was wrong. The first-hand account (and as the author points out, a primary source that corrects some of the errors in secondary documents) brings more urgency to what happened to Till and even more so what happened to his family, including the author. Most of the way through the book, the author mentions an especially memorable lunch, one where he had tuna fish for the first time. This brought me back to the fact that he was only 12 during all of this horrifying time, just a kid. His very personal experience made the events far more immediate. Five stars.
Carl Warner’s Food Landscapes
Warner makes elaborate miniature landscapes out of food, from vegetable oceans to a salamiscape. It’s pretty neat to see what foods get made into what parts of the picture. There is some information on how he does it. Interesting, but maybe not amazing. Might be a good start for a school art project. Two stars.
Yotsuba&! 9, Azuma
1. I must stop reading these 2. But then how will I know if Jumbo ever finds love?