Bookfinder reports that The Principles of Knitting by June Hiatt, a “Voluminous reference on knitting techniques”, is the tenth-most-requested out of print book of 2004: BookFinder.com Journal: Top 10 out of print books of 2004.
(thanks to H2Oboro library blog.)
Fabulous post at Velveteen Rabbi that could have been written about Quakers.
I haven’t posted about knitting in a long time. Earlier this fall I made a pumpkin cap for my nephew Russell. It’s quite a cute hat, and I learned a nice technique in the way the little brim is made. I’m adapting it for a Christmas hat I put on the needles yesterday. Here we are visiting Walden Pond.
Gene Wolfe. It may be sword-and-sorcery fantasy with a teen protagonist, but that doesn’t make it young adult fiction. It’s a challenging, multi-layered world Wolfe has created (with clear borrowings from Christian and Norse mythologies, at a minimum). The second volume has just been published, and I look forward to reading it.
Susanna Clarke. A magnificent 782-page read. Twists and turns abound in a magical (literally) history of England. A wonderful, early passage has an interesting take on book reviews:
“Besides,” said Mr Norrell, “I really have no desire to write reviews of other people’s books. Modern publications upon magic are the most pernicious things in the world, full of misinformation and wrong opinions.”
“Then sir, you may say so. The ruder you are, the more the editors will be delighted.”
“But it is my own opinions which I wish to make better known, not other people’s.”
“Ah, but, sir,” said Lascelles, “it is precisely by passing judgements upon other people’s work and pointing out their errors that readers can be made to understand your own opinions better. It is the easiest thing in the world to turn a review to one’s own ends. One only need mention the book once or twice and for the rest of the article one may develop one’s theme just as one chuses. It is, I assure you, what every body else does.”
Interesting summary of an article on the now-adult children of gay and lesbian couples over at SRV.
It ends with this wonderfully ironic gem:
The children of lesbian parents can be just as mean as any other’s: “A well-worn anecdote circulates in Park Slope, Brooklyn, a progressive neighborhood, about two gay men who were concerned when a little boy teased their child for having no mommy — only to discover later that the little boy in question had two mommies.”
You go Lillian! At 89, after a lifetime of peace activism and nonviolence organizing, my friend Lillian is in federal prison for a week in lieu of paying a $250 fine for blocking the federal building in Philadelphia the day before the current war in Iraq began.
Great article at American Prospect Online:
“. . . when judged by his deeds, an entirely different picture emerges: Bush does not demonstrate a life of faith by his actions, and neither Methodists, evangelicals, nor fundamentalists can rightly call him brother. In fact, the available evidence raises serious questions about whether Bush is really a Christian at all.”
Carrie Bickner. There are some annoying little quirks in the writing and editing, but otherwise chock-full of helpful ideas, advice, and warnings.
Steve Smith. Pendle Hill Pamphlet 370. The juxtaposition of the pamphlet’s title reflects both Steve’s life and the text. Steve describes his journey from birthright Quakerism to the zendo in very personal terms, but most of the pamphlet is a deep meditation on Quakerism and the wisdom of early Friends. Apropos of a conversation over on Beppeblog (sparked by Joe’s review of another very good PHP, Members One of Another), here’s what Steve Smith has to say about discipline:
Books of Quaker Faith and Practice are traditionally called Books of Discipline, another word I had passed over too readily. In an age of instant gratification and comfort, “discipline” often rings merely of punishment for wrongdoing, with no resonance of the straitening pleasures of self-transcendence through submission to an exacting regime. Significant accomplishment in most walks of life requires a paradoxical combination of strenuous application and surrender of self-will. In challenging educational endeavors, in high-level athletic performance, in skilled artistic expression and elsewhere, I recognized a demanding path to excellence, even when I was loath to walk onit. But in spiritual matters I favored an easier, more comfortable route, sitting myself each week in meeting for worship and hoping that without any risk or commitment, lightening would strike.
I look forward to rereading this. Steve unpacks some familiar Quaker quotes in a way that is very helpful to me in my own spiritual work.