Book Round-up

Fried Green Tomatoes at the Whistle Stop Cafe by Fannie Flagg: I've seen the movie, of course, but I had not read the book until it was the April selection for my book club. Unlike the movie, the book follows many more characters than Ruth and Idgie (whose relationship is a lot more obvious), and the depictions of racism, poverty, and addiction in the 1920s and 30s are sometimes heartbreaking. I don't have a lot to say about it, but I enjoyed it.

The Spellshop by Sarah Beth Durst: Durst set out to write the ultimate cozy novel, and it certainly has all the elements -- books, flying cats, talking plants, bakeries, gardens, jam, and a gentle love story. I do wish she had put as much thought into the world-building; I don't need GRRM-levels of detail, but the characters were remarkably incurious about the political revolution happening in the background. On a nit-pickier level, I also wish she had done a little more research into how libraries work (manuscripts, for example, don't have publishers, and in a world apparently without a printing press books would be much scarcer and more expensive than they are now). Props to her, though; Meep the cactus is adorable.

Witch Hat Atelier by Kamome Shirahama: A cozy fantasy manga series about a little girl who accidentally turns her mother into a statue and must attend the titular atelier to learn how to undo the spell. It was cute, but I don't feel the need to read the <checks notes> … next 14 volumes.

Exit Strategy by Martha Wells: I love these novellas so much I've started buying them rather than getting them from the library. This one is as funny, thrilling, and even heartwarming as the previous ones (don't hate me, Murderbot!).

Hellboy v. 1-4 by Mike Mignola: A reread, just because. Love both the unambiguously good (despite his name and appearance) hero and the mix of folklore and horror.

Meet Me in the Moon Room by Ray Vukcevich: A collection of very short, very odd stories. Vukcevich specializes in speculative, almost absurdist fiction. The stories were hit-or-miss for me; some were quite affecting, but others were clinical, sometimes quite cold and cruel. A riff on Frankenstein ("Rejoice") was excellent.

Pussy Willows (a Little out of Season)

 I love decorating with pussy willows late winter/early spring, and I've long admired DusiCrafts's beautiful patterns, so I bit the bullet and bought one. And then I made two ornaments, one for my mom and one for me:

The nice thing about DusiCrafts's patterns is that she offers a lot of options -- several different versions of the pussy willow branches, some with buds and some just with catkins, Easter eggs to add to the design, and different sizes and shapes for the ornaments themselves. I liked being able to customize them a bit!
 

Book Round-Up

The Correspondent by Virginia Evans: An absolutely lovely epistolary novel about an elderly woman looking back on her life, and the wonderful, difficult, troubling relationships she had. It was well worth the months-long wait at my library.

Great Big Beautiful Life by Emily Henry: I’ve only loved Henry’s odd-numbered books, but this (her 6th) broke the pattern. Probably because it was also a departure for her, with a good chunk of the novel devoted to another elderly woman reflecting on her life and relationships (a theme this month, I guess). I know some were put off by that, but I was ok with it, especially because I tend to prefer romances that are secondary, not primary, plots.

Agnes Aubert's Mystical Cat Shelter by Heather Fawcett: Of course I read a book about a woman who runs a cat shelter and her wizard landlord. I'm loving Fawcett's take on romantasies -- fewer assholes, more humor.

Woman Hollering Creek by Sandra Cisneros: I don't know why it took me so long to read Cisneros, but I absolutely loved this collection of vivid, evocative, heartbreaking, and funny stories. My favorite was "Little Miracles, Kept Promises."

Men of Maize by Miguel Angel Asturias: Considered to be possibly the first magical realism novel, it's not nearly as famous as 100 Years of Solitude, probably because the text is quite challenging -- a loose understanding of time, opaque (to me) allusions to Guatemalan political history, extensive references to Mayan folklore and religious beliefs, and an impressionistic approach to language use. I'm so glad I didn't try to read it in the original Spanish, a particular dialect with lots of Mayan vocabulary. This edition was heavily annotated and had several essays on the author, text, and translation, which allowed me to understand much better Asturias's themes of colonialism and the degradation of the environment and left me with a desire to learn more about the Mayans. (Interestingly, there's a section very similar to my favorite Cisneros story.)

 

I Made a Book!

The pattern is from The Barmy Fox, based on a simple folded paper booklet design she used to make for her young students. The embroidery uses a wide variety of stitches, although I made some changes to suit my own preferences. For stability and opacity, I inserted stiff interfacing between the pages.

This is such a clever but simple way to make a booklet, and I have so many ideas I want to try with it. 

 

Cross Stitch Diary Part 2

 I've been making and reading, just not quite having the energy to post. (Sometimes I post on Instagram or Substack.)

A piece of cranberry pie for Thanksgiving.

Candles for Advent.

A Christmas tree.

A blue SUV because the brakes failed and we had to cancel our trip to see family.

A wedge of cheese because we celebrated New Year’s Eve with a charcuterie board (we are old and/or tired and/or introverted).

A crown for Three Kings’ Day.

A birthday cake for my oldest.

A star for Minnesota, l’Etoile du Nord (so proud of Minneapolis).

A stack of books for the ones I read in January.

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Book Round-Up

 Rogue Protocol by Martha Wells: Still enchanted by the series. I think I'm going to buy them (high praise!)

Winter's Tales by Isak Dinesen: A varied collection of tales, rigid in upholding the class system and morality, but also with sharp insights about the inherent oddness and tragedy of some people. "The Dreaming Child" in particular, about the lies we tell ourselves, has stuck with me.

Claire DeWitt and the City of the Dead by Sara Gran: I joined a book club, and this was the first (for me) pick. And I was one of the only people who liked it, ha. Ostensibly a murder mystery set in New Orleans about a year after the flood, it's by no means a conventional procedural. There are elements of magical realism, not a whole lot of detecting gets done, and Claire is an oddball (to put it mildly). Instead it's about trauma, the lack of control we have over what happens to us, and the ability to rise above it. This is the start of a trilogy and I'm looking forward to the other two.

The Librarians by Sherry Thomas: Of course I was going to read a book about librarians who solve a murder. Unfortunately, it was a bit of a disappointment. I liked the characters and the story, but the whole thing felt engineered, like the author was given a checklist of modern topics, character traumas, and pop cultural references to incorporate.  A more organic version of the story would have been perfect.

English Is not Easy by Luci Gutiérrez: This is a delightful graphic novel that explains the English language to non-native speakers. For a native speaker like me, the value is in the quirky, funny, occasionally bawdy illustrations.

Tuesday Mooney Talks to Ghosts by Kate Racculia: This story has the titular character go on a scavenger hunt arranged by an eccentric millionaire while dealing with the ghosts (figurative and literal) of her past, but it took an unexpectedly dark turn towards the end. Still, it was fun and engrossing, and filled with a number of great characters.

Wild Dark Shore by Charlotte McConaghy: another book club pick, and again I was one of the only ones who liked it. It's a family drama with elements of eco-dystopia and magical realism; normally I avoid dystopian novels at all costs, but gratifyingly this one found hope in human relationships, particularly in those of parents and children. A common reason given today for not having children is the unwillingness to subject them to climate change, but that can lead to a sort of despairing complacency, an excuse to not bother to try to solve the very many problems we are facing. Future generations can and should inspire us to work towards the common good. I think some of my fellow club members were hung up on the lack of explanation for the some phenomena and motives in the novel, whereas I'm more comfortable with unanswered questions. It's a sad novel, but gorgeous in its own way.

Cross Stitch Diary

 Inspired by The Daily Stitchuation, I've started a stitch diary (not my first one). For my own sanity, I'm not forcing myself to stitch every day, or create a motif for each day. 

Part 1:

 A cap, because my Down Syndrome son finished high school.

A strawberry, because I love them.

An evil eye, because I was reading about them.

A resist symbol, because Trump.

The flag of Iceland, because I read Sjon's Codex 1962 (and I want to go someday).

A hospital symbol, because my son had minor surgery.

A school bus, because the privatized bus system in NYC suuuuucks.

A tear, because life is hard.

An apple, pumpkin, and leaf because I love fall.

A witch's hat because I crocheted one a week before Halloween.

Part 2:

 A piece of cranberry pie for Thanksgiving.

Candles for Advent.

A Christmas tree.

A blue SUV because the brakes failed and we had to cancel our trip to see family.

A wedge of cheese because we celebrated New Year's Eve with a charcuterie board (we are old and/or tired and/or introverted).

A crown for Three Kings' Day.

A birthday cake for my oldest.

A star for Minnesota, l'Etoile du Nord (so proud of Minneapolis).

A stack of books for the ones I read in January.