There has been a lot of knitting going on here, but not a lot of finishing. I'm racing on the baptismal gown, because it looks like the date is soon to come. I swatched and re-swatched (and re-swatched) for one of the designs coming out in November, and working on a sample for that same collection. It seems like I'm not making a lot of progress at the moment, however. I did get two patterns written, graphed, and sent to my tech editor and a sample knitter (who did finish one and is working on the other), and have started three other patterns in the template. All five patterns need to be written and edited by the end of the summer, two and a half have been written, one and a half have notes and graphs, and two have been edited so far. So, that is also going on in my life.

I still haven't made much progress in Milk: The Surprising Story of Milk Through the Ages, mostly because the library keeps reminding me of books that are due soon. However, I still have it in my stack, and I did finish quite a few fluffy, brain candy books, and one memoir.

I've been reading two memoir type books from the same author, actually. I like the idea of autobiographical writing, because it is directly from the person who is the subject of the writing, but I often find them insipid and infuriating. Meanwhile, biographers often take liberties with the character of the person they are describing, for political or social reasons, or perhaps out of misunderstanding. I'm finding that I like reading the letters and diaries of the person better than reading about that person - either from that person or another. However, I also find that memoirs and autobiographies tend to reveal things about the authors that I'm not sure they intend.

This particular book, Life without a Recipe was interesting to me, because I share the Arab American experience, but also because her book seems to imply a longing for two things that she doesn't explicitly name (though one is referenced tangentially - not the aspect of it I picked up on from the writing): A connection to the spiritual, and a sense of respect for traditional motherhood and children. There is a statement from her third husband's grandmother about being a mother that can be read cynically, but it is also an aspect of the truth of having children, but the statement from the Jordanian cab driver is just as much the truth, without the cynicism, and is often missing as a perspective in the west. Likewise, their teaching their daughter to say grace, but not really having a framework within which to explain it showed a longing to connect to the divine, but an empty toolbox to do so. Although she and I have different religious, political, and social views, I did enjoy the writing and story, with one exception. There is a reference to "evangelicals" who are anti-@bortion (this is to reduce the number of spammy comments), who hold a view that is also anti-adoption. This is presented as though it were prevalent and common. It is not. Frequently, I tell people that we can disagree with people without lying about them. I have some real disagreements with the modern Evangelical Protestant movement and theology, but this is simply a lie. While I'm sure someone out there holds this view, it is not common, promoted, or identifiably Evangelical. I don't know if the lie was told to her by the social worker, and she accepted it because she has no real experience with Evangelicals, or if she did not have any other way to identify Christians who hold this view. It made reading parts of the last part of the book rather annoying, though. I would still recommend the book.

It feels like I am only giving negative reviews lately. That's not the whole truth. I have enjoyed the books I've given hesitant reviews to, but they have all felt like they were lacking a little or put in something that marred the otherwise good read. Unfortunately, I actually have another one, too! I read The Art of Cake, thinking it would be a little history of the major cake types, and I have now come to the conclusion that people in Australia do not know what cake is. While I expected to see Boston Cream Pie, I was not expecting Key lime pie, banoffee pie, two kinds of fruit tarts, éclairs, cookies, and a sandwich. Each blurb was minimal, and looked like the teaser text on an online search. In fact, that Boston Cream pie included information that it was a common variation on a popular cake type of its time, and the name of the chef who popularized this version, but not the year (mid 1800s), and then said that it was named after it's location (the restaurant and chef's) in the post-war fashion. But didn't mention which war (WWII). A five minute search gave me this information, but she didn't bother to include it. Rich has told me I need to write the book I was expecting, on the history and particularities of the types of cake and the specific popular versions we know. A friend suggested I start a kickstarter to fund my travels and tasting research. I might do this one day. However, while the little blurbs were interesting, they were written like a school kid who waited until the night before an assignment was due, and in at least a few cases, she got the information wrong (the original type of base for shortcake in the US, that it is common for Americans to put oatmeal (!) in gingerbread, and a couple others I can't remember right now). The book had juvenile illustrations. Both Rich and Nejat, separately, asked if it were a child's picture book, and it was just not quite enough. If it were to be such a light overview, it needed grand photographs, but if it were to have simple drawings, it needed much more information and history.

Linking to Unraveled Wednesday.

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Labels: Books, Design, Governor Inslee Needs a Frozen Fish to the Forehead, Homemaking, Knitting, WIP, Yarn Along

// posted by Ranee @ Arabian Knits @ 3:41 PM