Synopsis:
Subtitled: “Two Women, Fifty Sheep, and Enough Wool to Save the Planet.”
Review:
Sheepish is simply adorable, a sweet memoir that will delight and please anyone who loves knitting, women, candor, humor, and sheep. There’s even a meditation on the environmental pros and cons of wool vs. artificial fibers. My only wish is that it came with patterns and pictures, but maybe someday she’ll feature some on her website.
Synopsis:
A full color introduction to the craft of crochet, with 30 patterns.
Review:
I am a dedicated knitter and have never really understood the appeal of crochet–until I started thumbing through the Chicks With Sticks: Guide to Crochet. The patterns are gorgeous and I found at least four things I want to make immediately. I’m particularly drawn to the flower-shaped washcloths, which would be perfect for using some cotton yarn in my stash.
The illustrations make the stitches very easy to understand. The patterns are arranged in order of complexity, with each one chosen to teach you a new technique. The sidebars are filled with really useful tips. And each pattern comes with modification recommendations to help develop you as a designer as well as a crafter.
I can’t believe I’m saying this, but this book might just lure me to the dark side of crochet. Crazy, I know, but I like to live on the edge. Now, if you’ll excuse me, I’ve got to get back to watching So You Think You Can Dance.
This is a total PSA for 2 new photography books from Watson-Guptill. They publish great books on knitting & crafting that I adore reviewing, and they also send me review copies of photography books that my husband says are really awesome. I am not equipped to comment so this is just a shameless plug in the hopes that you’ll click through to buy the from Amazon.
Mastering HDR Photography by Michael Freeman
Use HDR technology to create dramatic images that meld photography and art
High dynamic range imaging, or HDR, is the latest challenge for those who are serious about digital photography. But with that challenge comes an opportunity to expand skills and repertoire into exciting new areas. HDR, originally developed for use with computer-generated images, captures the full range of tones in a scene, reproducing human perception down to the finest detail without lens flare, burnout, or underexposure. Mastering HDR Photography explains exactly how to shoot specifically for HDR, and how to use the new software that lets the photographer combine several images into one glowingly accurate final photo. Step-by-step instructions and sample photographs reveal how to apply these techniques to many different genres, producing results that are part photograph, part work of art.
Understanding Shutter Speed by Bryan Peterson
The first book in the Understanding Photography series, Understanding Exposure, was a runaway best-seller, with more than 250,000 copies sold. Now author Bryan Peterson brings his signature style to another important photography topic: shutter speed. With clear, jargon-free explanations of terms and techniques, plus compelling “before-and-after” photos that pair a mediocre image (created using the wrong shutter speed) with a great image (created using the right shutter speed), this is the definitive practical guide to mastering an often-confusing subject. Topics include freezing and implying motion, panning, zooming, exposure, Bogen Super Clamps, and rendering motion effects with Photoshop, all with helpful guidance for both digital and film formats. Great for beginners and serious amateurs, Understanding Shutter Speed is the definitive handy guide to mastering shutter speed for superb results.
I’m late getting to Gautami’s Non Fiction Meme.
* a) What issues/topic interests you most in non-fiction, i.e, cooking, knitting, stitching, there are infinite topics that have nothing to do with novels? Books about food, books that explain scientific topics for general readers, biography, memoir, history, travelogues.
I love reading books about my hobbies, particularly knitting and cooking. My library is filled with books of film history, criticism, and theory. I like some books on Christianity by authors like CS Lewis and Dan Allender.
Lately I’ve been reading books on natural family living and breastfeeding because I’m interested in becoming a post-partum doula. I also enjoy reading about natural childbirth and the politics of childbirth and breastfeeding.
I went through a true crime phase in my 20s, but I can’t stomach them now. Small Sacrifices was a particular favorite.
I also like a good muckraking read, like Eric Schlosser’s Fast Food Nation.
* b) Would you like to review books concerning those?
I’ve been reviewing some crafting books here, and I’d love to review some cookbooks!
* c) Would you like to be paid or do it as interest or hobby? Tell reasons for what ever you choose.
I have fantasies about reviewing for the New York Times, but right now it’s just a hobby. I’ve done film reviewing professionally, however, and enjoyed it.
* d) Would you recommend those to your friends and how?
I’m the queen of recommending books–it’s a big reason why I blog!
* e) If you have already done something like this, link it to your post.
Browse the tags below-
* f) Please don’t forget to link back here or whoever tags you.
I found it at Shelf Life, A Reader’s Journal, and Framed and Booked.
Synopsis:
A compendium of stitches and techniques for crochet.
Review:
As with Super Stitches Knitting, Super Stitches Crochet is packed full of gorgeous photos and easy-to-follow instructions. Any beginner could easily pick up this book and begin to crochet immediately. And expert crafters are sure to be smitten with all the possibilities presented by the stitch pattern dictionary.
Personally, I much prefer knitting to crochet, though I learned to crochet first. It always makes my wrist ache, and I’ve never felt confident enough to do it without looking, like I can when I knit. Additionally, knitting is way more versatile. I’d rather make sweaters than afghans.
Not that I have much time for any kind of crafting these days, what with Superfast Baby being a world-champion mama’s girl. Even reading has fallen by the wayside, but I don’t mind. She is a joy and a delight and I love spending time with her. Happy 3 month birthday, little bean!!
Merry Christmas, everyone! The Superfast Three are snuggled up in our apartment with my parents and my younger brother watching Fargo and waiting to get hungry for round 2 of the Irish ham we enjoyed last night.
I got a few books for Christmas this year, fewer than usual because I asked for clothes to accommodate my postpartum body. So the stack was small, but noteworthy:
From my dad: An Exaltation of Larks by James Lipton. It’s a compendium of the specific term to refer to more than two of just about anything. Should be fun to discover and a great source of inspiration for my writing.
My brother got me the first two books in Joe Abercrombie’s acclaimed new series: The Blade Itself and Before They Are Hanged, as well as One Skein, a gorgeous knitting book by Leigh Radford.
Lastly, some family friends got us the latest edition of the Dr. Spock baby book. It looks like a good resource, with complementary advice to my beloved Sears Baby Book. Plus, it’s featured prominently in a movie that Superfast Husband and I both love: Raising Arizona. Discovering our shared affection for HI McDonough was definitely a bonding moment for us.
We are active members of our church, but since we don’t own our building (we rent from the 7th Day Adventists), we sadly can’t go to a Christmas service with our community. We’ve tried other churches in New York City the few years that we’ve been here, but have been disappointed. So we don’t do church on Christmas, which is a little weird. Our church does a wonderful Advent and has a Christmas service on the Sunday before Christmas, but we missed all of those because of not wanting to bring the new baby out during cold and flu season. It’s been an oddly un-religious Christmas, but Jesus knows that we’re very thankful.
Hope all of you who celebrate Christmas have had a wonderful day, and I want to wish all my readers many blessings this holiday season. Thanks for making Reading is my Superpower such a fun pastime!
Synopsis:
18 original designs that illustrate different techniques for knitting with beads.
Review:
Gorgeous, gorgeous, gorgeous. I am now dying to get my hands on some beads and work with Scarlet Taylor’s fabulous patterns in Knit With Beads. It’s the follow-up to a book I have not read, but these aren’t advanced techniques, as far as I can tell. Anyone proficient in intermediate knitting techniques like cabling and lace will be able to follow the lesson segments and pick up beading techniques quickly and easily. Continue reading
Reading is only one of my many loves. I also enjoy knitting, cooking, and running. I am not superfast at any of those. In fact, when it comes to running, I’m superslow.
I received review copies of three DIY books from the publisher Watson-Guptill, and I’m going to my best to let you know whether or not they will bring crafting goodness into your life.
Super Stitches Knitting
The first is Super Stitches Knitting by Karen Hemingway. It opens with the requisite “Knitting Basics,” covering the basic knitting techniques needed to execute the patterns. I’m not sure that a beginning knitter would really be able to learn from the pictures and descriptions alone, even though are perfectly serviceable. I’ve yet to see a 2-dimensional knitting diagram that can accurately represent the physical actions of knitting. However, they are ideal for a knitter whose skills are rusty. Continue reading
This morning’s work read was depressing, but well-plotted. No blogging on work books–read here to find out why.
You can’t run and read at the same time. Believe me, if somebody told me how, I’d be all over that action like unsupervised kids at my local YMCA. Ever since I started running, I realized that most of the time I’m in pursuit of distraction. Reading is a noble pursuit, but there are many times when I’ve chosen to read because I don’t want to just sit still and think. My brain is always buzzing with so many thoughts and anxieties and ideas that it gets to be too much, and I need an escape. With running, I can’t escape (oh, the irony!). I just have to be. At first I thought I’d never survive a run without an iPod, but then I joined a running class where iPods were verboten. I was nervous, but the first time was okay and then I stopped worrying about it. I like how running puts my brain into subconscious percolation mode. At the end of a run, more often than not I have some realization about something I’ve been trying to figure out. Even with the iPod on I find myself drifting away into my thoughts, but not in my usual neurotic way. I go zen. If you know me, you know how extraordinary that is. Continue reading
