#Love Your Local Library!

[strongbookthoughts]

Notes on Knitting Brioche by Nancy Marchant

Welp, I think I just found the limits of my knitting knowledge, because I'm pretty sure this book actually teaches witchcraft. Actually, no, I had a witchcraft phase. This is perceiving the 7th dimension and making it dance a jig. Dunno how helpful this one will be, but let's give it a go.

Okay, so brioche knitting is kind of a double layered ribbed knit technique that is stunningly beautiful. It can be done in just one color, but I gotta say I adore looking at at the multicolor ones, like on the cover of the book. And it's a great technique to have in your knitting arsenal if you live in a cold climate. Which I do not.

I'm pretty sure that if you're comfortable with color stranded knitting and lace, you'll have a reasonably easy time following the directions in the book. However, I'm literally hoping to learn the first technique this year, and have to look up my increases and decreases every time they come up, so let's just say that I am not a lace master.

I swearsies the pictures in this book are super clear. The author teaches you how to work every needed stitch in a single color, and then the next chapter reviews every single stitch for the double color techniques. It is detailed. It's just that I'm like a middle schooler trying to read a graduate level textbook right now.

There's an entire section on stitch patterns you can do with the basic stitches.

The patterns are fairly basic once you know the brioche techniques. Most of the tops go up to 50+ inches. The few that don't are designed to not meet over the bust. There are masculine AND feminine designs. I'm shocked. This book was published in 2009.

So... in a few years, if I manage to practice my knitting enough, I might hunt this down again. Or might not. I really do live in a warm climate. Now that I understand how thick this stitch pattern is, I'm overheating from just looking at it.

[novella-november]

I saw a random post linking to this now-unrebloggable but very good post about the current state of reading comprehension in the USA amongst learned english majors due to the quite literal scam sold to the US government decades ago that has impacted generations, as many people have no doubt noticed but not been able to give a name to:

and out of sheer curiosity I am, I guess, now going to read "Bleak House" by Charles Dickens once I get through my current To Be Read list?

Anyways, for those unaware, it is Public Domain in the USA, which means you can 100% legally read it online or download to your favorite reading app from Project Gutenberg!

"Bleak House" by Charles Dickens is a novel written in the mid-19th century that explores the themes of social justice, the inefficiencies of the legal system, and the personal struggles of its characters.

The narrative primarily revolves around several characters involved in the interminable court case of Jarndyce and Jarndyce, delving into their lives, relationships, and the pervasive influence of the legal system on their choices and fates.

The story is introduced through the eyes of Esther Summerson, a young woman of uncertain parentage, who finds herself at the center of the unfolding drama.

It actually sounds super interesting from the blurb, too ...

[bottombaron]

you know, i can handle a little bit of fun "Nandor is dumb" talk, but i have a net-zero tolerance for any implication that Nandor is not educated.

Nandor would have been incredibly educated in his lifetime.

even (or especially) as a soldier in the Islamic World. being a soldier was more like getting sent to boarding school that's also a military camp. they weren't just concerned with creating loyal fodder for war. they were building the next government officials, generals, accountants, advisors, etc. it was important that young men knew how to read, write, speak multiple languages, learn philosophy...sometimes even studying art and music was mandatory.

if he was nobility (and its most likely he was), take all that shit and multiply it exponentially. Nandor would have been reading Plato at the same age most people are still potty training. he would have been specifically groomed in such a way to not be just a brilliant strategist and warrior, but also diplomate and ambassador of literally the center of scientific and cultural excellence of the age.

so like yeah, he can be a big dummy sometimes, sure. but that bitch is probably more educated than any of us will ever be.

[gh0st-0f-luke]

lan wangji is the librarian who runs the online reference desk chat. wei wuxian is a patron with a delinquent account and too much time on his hands. what could go wrong? (find out on ao3!)

[thefantasticaldianadiane]

Book people doing hauls and buying books they havent read yet is legitimately insane to me. Like I am not spending my hard-earned money on something without having read it first! Its called a library!

“oh you have to wait too long” bitch good! Sober second-thought might allow you to skip out on a trend that isnt worth it to you! Do you know how many books I have read hyped to the high heavens that were utter trash?

“oh but my library doesnt have the book” request it! Public libraries are use it or lose it services!

“oh but buying this many books supports authors” baby girl, 1) libraries have to buy their books too, and if demand is high they buy more copies. 2) libraries are not piracy 3) if you liked the book, BUY IT AFTER YOU’VE READ IT. If you didnt like the book, that author doesnt deserve your coin!

Anyway fight back against overconsumption,

[softerglow]

Reading will always be one of the most powerful things you can do. Read slowly. Read critically. Learn everything you can about yourself and the world from books.

[grungeouttakesabstracts]

Perspective in the library

Cambridge, Massachusetts -- 11/30/17

[ritz-regrezzez]

25 days of moodboards day twelve! (nostalgia)

[theenemiestoloversclub]

*opens libby* *searches the book i want to read* *sees it is immediately available to borrow a copy*

[hawnks]

Logging out for a while, love you miss you <3

[goodnightbirdy]

VISIT YOUR LOCAL LIBRARY. YOU DONT NEED TO OWN EVERY BOOK YOU READ. TALK TO LIBRARIANS. BARROW BOOKS YOU DONT THINK YOU WILL REREAD MORE THAN ONCE.

VISIT YOUR LOCAL ARCHIVE. I PROMISE THE ARCHIVISTS WANT TO TALK TO YOU. THEY WANT TO SHOW YOU PHOTOS. THEY WANT YOU TO READ NEWSPAPERS.

SUPPORT LOCAL INSTITUTIONS THAT EXIST FOR YOUR BENEFIT BC WHEN YOU DONT THEY LOSE FUNDING, THE LOSE SUPPORT, AND THEY CLOSE.

One day you might need a newspaper article from 1973 and nobody is gonna have it except your local archives. One day you might need a book that they’ve taken out of print and your library might have a copy. Support them so they are there when you need them.

[strongbookthoughts]

Notes on Well Worn by Skye Pennant

So I've looked up a lot about mending in the last few years, but what I really like about this book is how it's organized.

I know I opened with something else, but first, a HUGE shout out to the author on having a section on when it's time to say a garment can't be mended. Some mending resources get painfully optimistic about it, so the realism is greatly appreciated.

Okay, so this book is sorted by garment, and then further broken down by what part of the garment needs mending. So the section on socks talks about different stitches for the toe vs, the heel. The book also talks really nicely about woven vs. knit garments.

So yeah, this is a nice resource with good pics and explanations for why you want to know different techniques for different parts of clothing.

And also, if you don't want super visible mending? Some of the tricks in here are pretty subtle if you match colors. Not all of them, but the book can get you moving in that direction if that's more to your taste.

[asteracaea]

MY BEST FRIEND'S SAPPHIC YA NOVEL IS OUT TODAY

[ellierenae]

Shoutout to the Friends of the Library, a type of bookstore attached to almost every public library in USAmerica!

Yesterday I found thse 16 DVDs and 15 books and booklets for $2. Not per item, for everything you see here.

31 items for $2 total, including a physical copy of The Sims 3.

I used to be shy about taking books off the free shelf or taking advantage of sales like "8 discs for a dollar" but the volunteers have reiterated to me a thousand times that they need more shelf space for donations and it really helps them for you to grab as much as your little arms can carry.

If you want to own the books you read and still support your local libraries, this is the absolute best way I know to do it, and your shelves will be so, so full.

[theroyalsavage]

Hi, your writing is so beautifully expressive & lyrical! Do you pull inspiration from anywhere in particular, like in your reading? I’d love to hear about any of your favourite authors/writers/genres

hello, and thank you so much! that's so so kind of you to say!!

i'm absolutely a HUGE reader. my biggest advice to anyone who wants to improve as a writer is to read as much as you can and think about the craft/style that personally speaks to you. pull quotes you love!! make notes about character and theme and tools like foreshadowing when they're well done!!! i write/highlight in my books. don't be afraid. it's a sign of love and respect

i'll read pretty much anything i can get my hands on, but fantasy is definitely my go-to genre. i'd attribute a lot of my early writing inspo to maggie stiefvater's the raven cycle and leigh bardugo's six of crows duology. i read and loved both of those series as a teenager, when i was still very much discovering my "voice" and signature as a writer. they both have a way of constructing a sentence that just 🤌🤌🤌🤌 sticks in my brain. the dialogue in six of crows especially sings in a way that i really really adore

an abridged list of some other authors i love!!

erin morgenstern's worlds are so magical. i love love love the starless sea so much. my copy is annotated like i'm prepping for a pop quiz about it

tj klune has a way of introducing the most bonkers concept ever and then making me ache for the characters with my whole heart. under the whispering door is my fave of his, i cried like a baby

i find the unapologetic strangeness of tamsyn muir's the locked tomb series SO inspirational. her commitment to the bit is unparalleled. i read tlt and think "man i have GOT to get weirder"

also right now i think about brandon sanderson like at least 2 hours per day every day. my best friend jokes that i'm doing a phd in sanderson. tress of the emerald sea is soooo lovely and a great place to dip your toe in if you're not ready to commit to a series with an average page count in the quadruple digits

[blueskittlesart]

i am trying so so so hard to wait and watch nimona with my friends but i keep seeing gifs and. idk if i can willingly let myself cry that hard in front of other people