ON topic: summer reading

I just finished reading Angry Housewives Eating BonBons by Lorna Landvik, and thought it was really good.

The best book I've read recently is "Three Views of Crystal Water", by Kathleen Govier. It is the story of a young Canadian woman who moves to Japan with her late grandfather's mistress before WWII, and becomes a pearl diver. That description wouldn't grab me either---but it is extraordinary. You are transported. Dawne

"Dawne Peterson" ,in rec.crafts.textiles.needleworkwrote: and entertained us with

I saw those pearl divers working many moons ago, hasten to add though, after WWII. The water was crystal clear and it was totally amazing how long they could stay down gathering the oysters given they were swimming and working as opposed to just looking around and not using up oxygen in their bodies. Not an easy life and most died fairly young.

Thanks for that recommendation. It's available on amazon.com - but neither my library nor Barnes and Noble show it as available. So I'll add it to my "someday" list and see if it ever shows up at the library.

sue

I read "Shadow of the Wind" (author's last name is Zafon, but don't remember the rest of his name) and loved it. If you like books themselves, you will be caught by the bottom of the fifth page & won't want to put it down for the next 488 pages. It takes place in post WWII Barcelona in Spain & has to do with the Cemetary of Forgotten Books. :-)))))

I also just read one called "Bread Alone" by Judith Ryan Hendricks. To quote the book jacket, it is "the uplifting journey of a woman whos entire life changes course when her husband announces onve evening that their marriage no longer works for him." I didn't particularly like the language, but it fit the character (and her situation) so it didn't really detract from my enjoyment of the book.

A fun read for those who enjoy science, is the Periodic Table series by Minichino (can't remember her last name either, but the character is Gloria Lamorino). The main character is a retired physicist who moves back to her home town of Revere Mass. to live in the apartment above her best friend's mortuary. The only problem with these books is that the characters are always indulging in tasty italian desserts & I have to be sure I'm not hungry when I read them. :-) Happy Reading! Liz from Humbug

I finally got around to reading The Da Vinci Code. I figured it would be best to read it before I see the movie. I'm on page 91 and so far it's pretty good. Fast moving and a decent read.

Lucille

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Without spoiling anything, I just read the book as well. I agree with your view, and will be interested in how you view the rest of the book, which I felt went sort of downhill.

With all the publicity given the movie, I doubt you could spoil anything. I really don't expect any surprises and I think they have taken most of the mystery out of the story.

As to my point of view, it would be strictly about whether or not the novel is well written and imaginative. If it entertains me and keeps me interested, it's a good read.

Lucille

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I thought some of you might be interested in reading "Snow Flower and the Secret Fan" by Lisa See.

It is thoroughly engrossing, talking lots about embroidery and how much of it was a part of the lives of women at the turn of the 20th century in China. If you are interested in the culture of China and what women endured, this is a must read. It's a book about female friendship.

Many of you might wince at the foot binding ordeals, which are described brilliantly by the author.

I'm about 2/3 done, but saw this thread and thought I'd recommend it, especially since it includes embroidery in so much of the novel.

Dianne

Oh - that sounds good! I remember reading something that dealt quite a bit about the foot thing eons ago. Not for the squeamish.

Did I ever recommend The Sempteress Tale - lots about surface work d> I thought some of you might be interested in reading "Snow Flower and

I just read "My First Crush" by Linda Kaplan. It's about a middle-aged couple who change their lives by buying a winery in Oregon. Learned a lot about Pinot Noir. Totally enjoyed it.

Donna in Virginia

I remember reading,and liking, a book called Spring Moon by (I think) Betty Lord Bao that described the binding of the feet in great detail. Not a fun thing.

Lucille

I don't remember reading the recommendation, but I'll put it on my list! I love this type of reading that really brings you face to face with an era. Makes me understand better either how far we've come, or how far we need to go.

Unfortunately, "Snow Flower" doesn't describe the stitches, but it does describe the motifs and the hours and hours of practise as young girls make their dowries - enough (including quilts) to last a lifetime. I know that embroidery and sewing was a part of European heritage as well. I wonder why all of that slipped by us as time went on. I realize that many U.S. women no longer think of marriage as a "must", but it's interesting to me how all of this evolved. Certainly dowries weren't a part of my growing up, but I know it was a part of my grandmother's heritage . . . though not as much as previous generations.

Dianne

Dianne

On 6/3/06 7:09 PM, in article snipped-for-privacy@individual.net, "Dianne Lewandowski" wrote: (SNIP) Certainly dowries weren't a

My grandmother was always after the three girls do things for our (nonexistent) hope chests - pillow slips, hankies, aprons (including some pretty glitzy ones) and button pages (filled with "useful" buttons).

Cheryl

Same in my day. My grandmother was always telling me to do that and I actually did have a few things that I did as a kid saved for later use. I found that almost nothing that I made as a kid was appropriate for my then very modern decorating scheme, but I do still have some of the hankies that I crocheted with tatting cotton.

As Dianne keeps telling us, handwork is pretty nearly indestructible and can last for aeons.

Lucille

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I'm working my way, right now, through a couple of books about the Romanovs.

I curtaed and participated in an exhibition i called "Fabrics Remember " All artists worked on Inherited fabrics [table cloths, hankies, a xst canvass etc,,,] one of the displayed items , was a Table cloth from my Pratenal Oma `s dowery. It was saved by neighbours during the time she was in a Threseinstadt Concentration camp. When she got it back she had to patch holes, by srewing over them. One day my Father wrote with a pencil on the vloth , that ther was a loose thread, my Oma embroidered over his words with coloured sewing thread and let other people write on the table cloth as well.... The dissonance between the Strict orderly underlayer , amde when life had ````````rules` of right and wrong, to the layer where names are spread all over like shattered pieces of something ,, shoiw clear the change of her life after the Holocaust. I was proude to display this work amongst the other works of art. you can see it on my site

in the exhibition "Fabrics Remember " the work of Sophia Cohen-Kleermaker In my own work i Took Doilies and little works made by my other Grandma and other people and devoted a page to each `handcraft` and added the name of the makers ,

mirjam

I second Dianne's recommendation--one of the more engaging books I read last year. Dawne