Rabia Gale

alchemical fantasy

reviews

reading roundup

In January I read:

Hmm, I think I know why I didn’t get much writing done this month. Granted, five of these books came from the children’s section of the library and were quick reads. I especially enjoyed the Garth Nix books, the first of The Keys of the Kingdom series. It looks like six out of the seven books have been published. Good. I hate having to wait a year or more between books. I wish publishers would wait until they have most of a series, then bring the books out at six-month intervals. It probably doesn’t work from a financial standpoint (authors like to be paid and publishers want to guage how a series will do before committing to it), but I wonder how many readers are lost because they won’t pick up a series unless it’s complete or forget about it altogether because it’s been too long between books?

Cod, I was predisposed to like because I enjoy books that trace the impact of a commodity on history and culture. Though short, it did drag towards the end, and I found the “fish that changed the world” epithet far too grandiose for the reality (I’m from Asia and I failed to glean how cod changed my corner of the world). What made the book fascinating for me were the details that I could see using in a novel; fishing techniques, or the use of clay/cod oil mixture to protect coastal buildings from the salt, or wars over fishing grounds. I also skipped the appendix of cod recipes. Just not a big fan of old-style European cookery.

I do plan to pick up the Kurlansky’s Salt: A World History.

What have you been reading?

the creative family

a leaf? or a tree? created by the Firstborn

You may have already noticed that we do a lot of messy art projects around here, involving glue (sticky!), paint (staining!) and scissors (risky!). I am also far too ready to display the kids’ creations on the blog and on my walls (you should see my living room–it displays everything from the Husband’s cross-stitch, to his grandmother’s paintings, to collages and drawings by the kids. Come to think of it, everything up on those walls was created by a family member). I’m big into encouraging creativity, and my hope is that as I continue to write and draw and crochet (yeah, I’m taking that up again–long story!) and experiment with new ways to express myself, the little ones will follow right along. I want to give them the skills and the space to work on their art–whatever form that might take–so that the words “I’m bored” will be heard very rarely in my house.

And, incidentally, if they’re busy with their projects, I’ll be free to pursue mine.

I like the idea of kids and adults learning together, of pursuing interests side by side, so when I saw The Creative Family by Amanda Soule (of the blog SouleMama), I went posthaste to my library’s website to put a hold on a copy.

This is a gentle book, stressing a simple life filled with art, nature, play and imagination. It is like warm apple cider drunk near a fire on a winter night, something sweet, hint of spice, going down easy. Within its pages are some simple cloth-and-yarn crafts (like finger knitting which is awesome!); tips for making room for the creative life (supplies, finding space, making time); an emphasis on handmade, reusing and tradition; calls to go out into nature; simple props for child’s play. Some of the ideas that I’m planning on incorporating are family drawing time, putting together a box of dress-up clothes, clothesline and pegs for picture display, beginning embroidery with burlap and tapestry needle. It satisfies my fantasy for family harmony, comfortable silences, a simple life.

And there is, for me, the downside of this book. The writer portrays her family life as idyllic and by contrast, my life seems full of cross squabbling children, tired short-tempered parents, an overwhelmingly messy and cluttered house. Giving my kids free rein with art supplies leads to broken and ground crayons, drifts of half-drawn-on papers, paint all over my daughter’s clothes and face and hair. Sometimes, the kids’ creativity leads them to scribble on the walls or bang on homemade with drums right in my ear while I’m cooking dinner. Sometimes, in spite of my encouragement, they’d rather be whacking each other on the head with Tinkertoy swords than do art or put on plays or go for a walk.

But thanks to this book, I have additional ideas in my arsenal to help me create that “perfect” home life *g*.

what I’ve been doing instead of writing

Reading Sherwood Smith’s The Fox, sequel to Inda, that’s what.

Here’s another reason why I’m reading so much more non-fiction these days: non-fiction is a lot easier to put down than a really good novel is. Non-fiction does not have me staying up past midnight, or have me pick reading over ensuring that everyone has clean underwear, or cause extended nursing sessions where the baby falls asleep because I’m reading “just one more chapter”.

As you can tell, this book is pretty good.

If you like complex and detailed and juicy worldbuilding, lots of political intrigue, and adventures on the high seas, you’ll like these books. My big complaint is that there are too many characters and cultures and languages (some of which have similar-sounding names) to keep track of sometimes. I read Inda in January and I’d forgotten many of the secondary characters by the time I started reading The Fox (I think I’m up to speed now). When people have at least three names; first names, nicknames and family names (with the latter names all ending in Vayir), it can get confusing. Oh, and there are too many references to pleasure houses and what goes on in them for my taste. But then, I’m more of a prude than most people, so your mileage may vary. Aside from those bits, the story is immensely engaging (and not very graphic).

I can’t wait for the next book to come out in paperback (and by the time it does, I’ll have forgotten those secondary charcaters again). I’m going to interlibrary loan it. 😀