Category: Reviews

  • Two Book Reviews

    The Pillars of the Earth, by Ken Follett I finally finished reading this behemoth of a book this weekend, after several months’ labor. And no, it didn’t take me so long to finish because of the length of the book; I could only bear to read it for so long before getting bored or annoyed,…

  • Knittin’ and Readin’

    I have been reluctant to post pictures recently because there were some photos of Loki still on our digital camera that I couldn’t bear to look at yet. This weekend I finally got it over with, and took some photos of a few current and finished knitting projects. You Guessed It… …more sock news. I…

  • Book Review: An Instance of the Fingerpost

    All I can say is, wow. Actually, I can say a lot more than that, but will try to hold my praise to an appropriate length. An Instance of the Fingerpost was a masterpiece of historical fiction, masquerading at first glance in the more humble guise of murder mystery. I first picked it up having…

  • The End of Film

    I try to avoid superlatives. I do not believe that we are living at the peak of human civilization or understanding. I understand that the time when painting held sway over the hearts and minds of masses has passed. Art still holds sway over the masses; it is just that the art form of the…

  • Lessons in Bookbinding

    Some of you may know that I have become very interested in bookbinding and repair in recent months, thanks to the opportunity I have had since spring of doing bookmending for Hatfield Library. I took a basic repair workshop at Portland State University this past August, and have read several books on the subject, but…

  • Book Review: Sir Charles Grandison, Volume 5

    The saga of Sir Charles and Harriet Byron proceeds in the fifth volume much in the same vein as those previous, though things definitely begin to go Harriet’s way. The beginning of the volume sees Sir Charles in Italy, reunited with Clementina and Jeronymo, beginning the mental healing process of the former, and the physical…

  • Book Review: Alias Grace

    Alias Grace is the third Margaret Atwood book I have read. After loving The Handmaid’s Tale and hating The Robber Bride, I was uncertain whether I wanted to venture further into Atwood’s oeuvre, but Alias Grace fell into my hands used and with a high recommendation. I decided to give it a try, and I…

  • Book Review: Sir Charles Grandison, Volume 4

    In order to write a review, or even a summary of this volume, I was forced to look back through the contents to recall what important events happened. I was relieved to discover that I was not mistaken in thinking that not much really happened over the course of these 350-odd pages. It begins with…

  • Book Review: Sir Charles Grandison, Volume 3

    In finishing the third volume of Sir Charles, I have only a few notes to make. First of all, I was fortunate to be directed to another online version of Sir Charles Grandison, at Blackmask. This version does seem to be somewhat different than the version I am using, but it has saved me some…

  • Book Review: The Club Dumas

    I recently finished reading The Club Dumas, my second foray into the intellectual mysteries of Arturo Perez-Reverte. While The Flanders Panel, another book of his, delved into the world of art restoration, The Club Dumas introduces us to that of rare book collecting, through the character of Lucas Corso, a book detective or mercenary of…

  • Book Review: Sir Charles Grandison, Volume 2

    Today I finished typing the second volume of Sir Charles Grandison. It hasn’t been published to Project Gutenberg yet, but should be soon… I’ll keep you notified. In the meantime, a short review of Vol. 2: This volume continues the saga of Sir Charles Grandison’s life, as narrated almost exclusively by the eternally grateful and…

  • Knitting Update and Et Cetera

    R.I.P. Progressive Gloves (December 20, 2003-September 12, 2004) This weekend I dug in and finished some gloves for Jeremy that I started way back last winter. They are based on the Progressive Glove recipe in the winter 2004 IK, with asymmetrical gussets, in black superwash wool. They got stalled out because he wanted some fancy…