People!

I was out late last night, and didn’t put the computer on once I did get home, so no post and not much crocheting. (I have finished Syd Rabbit’s tummy, but not attached it yet.)

The books I have to discuss have no unifying theme at all, that I can think of. Any suggestions?

206. Great Lives: Mao Zedong by Fiona MacDonald

This is the point where I wonder at the series being entitled “Great Lives”, when the book ends up being pretty negative about Mao as a person and national leader. I suppose they really meant “Influential Lives” or some such. (I’ve only actually so far read this and the Gandhi one I mentioned a couple of days ago, although I know there’s one on Saladdin, among several others. It’ll be interesting to see what judgement is made on him.)

Anyway, Mao is certainly portrayed as influential in his middle and later career, but also egotistical, domineering and murderous. It’s got pictures, quotes, context and dates, and is an interesting read. I have recently read one or two books about modern Chinese life (although not politics/leadership specifically) but nothing really about the country’s history since Wild Swans, well over a decade ago. Another major topic to explore further!

207. The No. 1 Ladies’ Detective Agency by Alexander McCall Smith

A great fun novel, with thoughtful characters who have interesting and amusing adventures, without shying away from the darker side of life, even in a country apparently as wonderful as Botswana. I have heard episodes of the radio dramatisation of the series before, but I enjoyed the book more, and look forward to getting to the rest of the series.

208. Reaching the Stars by Ruchoma Shain

Shain writes as well about her own life as about her father’s, although this is a quite different book from All For the Boss. This is much more of an anthology of her memories and those of her many students in different contexts and continents, and of very different ages, as well as tips and thoughts on being an educator and guide to life, as well as the timetabled class. I enjoyed it, but would be far more likely to return to her first book than this one.

Another day

I amn’t abandoning Syd Rabbit (or any of my other projects) on purpose, but I still haven’t got around to stuffing his body, and thus can’t easily move on. Which isn’t a very good excuse, really. I doubt I’ll manage to get to the knitting etc group tomorrow, either, unfortunately, as I’ll probably be in work late.

205. The Story of Costume by John Peacock

There’s not much that’s new in this book, but it’s clear and pleasant to peruse, and a very good starting place for children interested in the topic. Text is kept to a reasonable minimum, and there’s an effort to show children’s dress here and there.

Convictions

204. Captains Courageous by Rudyard Kipling

I’ve seen the old film of this a couple of times on television, so was intrigued to find the original tale on Librivox. I hadn’t realised the book was by Kipling; I had only read his The Jungle Book and Just So Stories as a child, so this is a little different, and perhaps even more of its time and place because of its refusal to shy away from the reality of death and danger as a part of daily life.

It is also very much of a bygone era in the lack of communication between the fishing fleet and the land for the months at sea that allow the story to take place (even though the news of the crew member picked up mid-Ocean has travelled around the fleet with no trouble), and we should hope, in the easy use of language which would be entirely unacceptable nowadays, even if Kipling doesn’t seem to mean it derogatorily.

It’s a long time since I last saw the film, but Harvey seems far less of a snotty-nosed pompous brat in this very well-read audio-book than he did in my recollection of the film, but the depictions of life on board a fishing boat are even more realistic and engrossing.

I rather wish all of us could have the opportunity to go to sea, however briefly at some point. I’m certainly glad I did, and reading this has made me miss the sea (however I would access it) again.

Life Expectations

So, another week about to begin. I’m taking a break from my Braille practice to write to you. I was mightily confusing myself on Friday by constantly switching back and forth between the Perkins Brailler and my laptop (which I had directly behind the Brailler), and trying to touch-type both of them almost at once. I managed, fairly well, but both were somewhat slowed down. I think it helps that fewer fingers are used on the Brailler, as it helped my fingers decide which was which!

201. Step-Up History: The Indus Valley Civilisation by Rhona Dick

The Indus Valley Civilisation flourished 4-6,000 years ago in an area around the border of modern-day India and Pakistan, but there is a lot that is unknown about it, and this presentation, aimed at children, is nice and clear for an uninformed adult as well.

202. The Book Thief by Markus Zusak

Books narrated by Death make me think of Terry Pratchett’s Discworld character, but this book really isn’t so much like the few of Pratchett’s books I’ve read (the flatmate is more keen). Or perhaps it is, in some ways, but at the same time this has to be so much more serious, as set in the Germany of the 1940s in this world, and no other. I cried, but I did laugh, too, in some places, and I could accept the characters, in a setting more messed up for being real than any fiction.

203. My Life in My Hands by Alison Lapper with Guy Feldman

This is a very open and honest autobiography of a woman who is a prestigious enough artist in her own right to have received an MBE for services to art, and yet who is far better known as the subject of a controversial sculpture, and as a participant (with her son Parys) in the BBC’s series Child of Our Time. This book is more about her life as a disabled woman than specifically as an artist, although since much of her art is to do with her body shape and people’s reaction to it, that is in no way ignored. I would heartily recommend this to those in art, disability, or just in biography in general.

Syd

A picture of where I’m up to with Syd, as described in the last post, which I have expanded and put links in, if you were interested. A few hours sleep really do wonders to my coherency level! (I think I actually managed to remove the complete gibberish before I posted last night, thankfully.)

Two hundred books and all’s well

A pretty satisfying day, all things considered.

I have nearly finished the body of Syd Rabbit, and I have begun his tummy cover. This was on the way home, when I didn’t have his stuffing with me, of course, so went on to another part without closing the body up. I meant to finish the body this evening, but other things came up, and it’s a bit late now, as I keep my toy stuffing materials in a drawer in my flatmate’s room. There are plenty of other bits for me to get on with while commuting tomorrow, so I amn’t troubled.

Talking of toys, I’ve just today signed up for TT#2 in the new Travelling Teddy group on Ravelry, and Teddy’s Travels are due to begin in just over a week, so we’ll see how long it takes him(?) to get to me, and then how long he’ll stay. I’ve never done anything like this before, so we’ll see how it goes. My group is all in North America or Australia apart from me, so if he gets here before any of my summer travels (presuming I ever get around to arranging them) he can come some of the way with me before going on.

And speaking of white bears (as apparently TT#2 is), it’s time for us to get to book 200 this year, which I think is cause for a very small celebration. A lot of them are fairly thin books, but I’ve actually read them, so I think they count. (I don’t count the ones I just skim, to get a general idea of the content with.) I amn’t convinced I’m awake enough to say very much in sense, so it might be worth checking back tomorrow if you think you’d want to know more about any of them.

194. Step-Up History: The Great Famine by Feargal Brougham and Caroline Farrell

The Great Famine in Ireland is an important topic, and this book addresses it well. The impact lasts. This book simply reinforced the shock and horror brought home to me last year, when we visited Kilmainham Gaol (which hadn’t been to in years). They have an exhibition about the history of the place, including a chart of the number of inmates every year. Up to the early 1840s in was a few hundred each year, during the famine it shot up to many thousands, and then after the famine it went right back down again. People were imprisoned for vagrancy and ‘minor’ theft of food, not just to get the immediate food, but because they knew they would be fed something in the prison and so put themselves in a position to be placed there.

195. Step-Up History: Children in Victorian Times by Jill Barber

Rich and poor children’s lives were very very different from each other. I can’t get over the idea of children climbing up and down chimneys as small as 23cm x 23cm to clean them. (That’s less than the size of an A4 page, while purposely bringing down soot on top of you.) The rich certainly didn’t live as we do nowadays, but in better off families children went to school all year, were looked after, had food, clothing, shelter and toys. Things did change for poorer people - working conditions were ameliorated, at least officially; education became more available, then free, then compulsory, at least at primary level, but would remain very hard for many.

196. Great Lives: Gandhi by Philip Wilkinson

This is mostly an overview, as it must be at this length, but there is some interesting detail I hadn’t known/thought about before. It is clearly laid out, with pictures that inform and are interesting. The book covers Gandhi’s entire life, including the significant periods before the struggle for Home Rule/Independence for India.

197. Look Inside: A Victorian House by Richard Wood

In this one the children are practically invisible, but its interest continues. The book in many ways focusses on the servants, as the ones who actually keep the house going.

198. Animal Story: Gorilla Mountain by Dougal Dixon
199. Animal Story: Orang-Utan Rescue by Dougal Dixon
200. Animal Story: Polar Bear in the City by Dougal Dixon

A great but hard-hitting series for fairly young children and up. The Orang-utan book was the saddest by far, for me. Each follows the life of a particular young example of the species, born in the wild and growing up with its mother/family, including the natural growth and experiences experienced together, as well as various interactions with humanity, for both good and evil.

What I’ve been playing at

Not all that much of interest, but I have got reinspired to make some amigurumi toys, largely because I’ve been sorting through stuff after the move, and found lots and lots of stuffing material that I really should use!

I’ve begun Syd Rabbit from Vintage Crochet, and have further ideas of what to do after him. I haven’t planned what to do with the toys once I’ve made them, but I’m quite sure homes will not be lacking. It’s not beyond a small bowl shape yet, so no pictures I’m afraid.

192. All For The Boss by Ruchoma Shain

This is just as good as people have been telling me for years it is; I amn’t really sure why I never got around to reading it before. Shain never pretends to be anyone other than a loving daughter writing about her revered father, but she writes very well, and gives a meaningful sense of what it was like to have such a father.

R’ Yaakov Yosef Herman led and supported the establishment of much of the infrastructure of Orthodox Jewish life in New York and elsewhere in the United States in the first half of the twentieth century (CE). He and his family worked to this end on both the communal and individual levels, and are inspiring figures. I strongly recommend the book in my turn.

193. The Danger Zone: Avoid Working in a Victorian Mill by John Malam

This book is excitingly laid out, and well researched, written and illustrated. I thought I would know most of the information, but I learned a lot.

Greenery

It’s been a quiet (read unmemorable) but nice weekend. The weather has been fairly stormy today, so I only went out in the evening, but caught up on some things at home. I continue to work my way through thick books and large crochet projects, so there’s little to report, I’m afraid.

191. All About Compost: Recycling household and garden waste by Pauline Pears

I grew up with a small bin in the kitchen for compostable waste, which got emptied once (or more) each day onto the compost heap(s) at the end of the garden, so it’s been a big relief to have one of those small bins again in the flat. We don’t have our own compost heap, living in an upstairs flat, but we do have a green bin for food and garden waste that the council collects each week.

I really dislike throwing vegetable peelings and the like in the rubbish. I didn’t have the choice before, but putting that kind of thing into landfill (or incineration) makes absolutely no sense, as it makes the rubbish smell while still in the house, and then simply bulks out the waste, often contaminating what might be recyclable.

As this book clearly and graphically shows, food and garden waste should, and can easily be, fed back into the cycle of growth, providing fertility, moisture retention and added nutrition to more produce. The book is, of course, aimed at those who will do the composting in their own gardens, for their own use, and shows a variety of techniques for managing and taking advantage of the chosen system, but I found it of interest both in terms of how my family manages theirs, and also how our fruit peel and hedge trimmings (etc.) decompose and become part of a more industrialised version.

Hm, my borough (which I won’t be identifying) explains exactly how they process what comes out of the bins to make it into rich compost, but not what they do with that compost! Presumably they use some in the parks and green spaces, but does that take all of it? Do they sell some to other institutions, or to the public? I have no idea.

Production line

Being offline for two days that included lots and lots of bus travel means we now have some pot-holders/dishcloths. I might do some in blue, but the pink and green were most urgent (and the colours I had with me on my travels…)

Please ignore the water mark on the tablecloth. It was too dark to see that without the flash.

Cover-up

A nice combination of things I thought I really should do came together in this fun little project.

I bought Vintage Crochet at Loop a few weeks ago, and wanted to use it; I’ve been threading hundreds of beads; and I wanted something little to offer to a friend I think would appreciate it.

The pattern (for a sugar bowl cover) calls for buttons, or a heavier bead would work well too. These little ones will help the cover hang down the side of the cup or bowl, but mightn’t be enough if used somewhere windy.

I still amn’t very skilled with beads, although I like the idea of working with them. I just amn’t very good about wearing them!

190. Beginner’s Guide to Bead Netting by Madeleine Rollason

This book does anticipate rather more enthusiasm than I brought to it today, but it still showcases some really beautiful beaded items (in all methods), mostly from the past, although the guided projects are pretty too. Search Press really do bring out very good books.