Reusing and Inktobering all in one

A purchase from Athleta a while back yielded a lovely little tote bag. But, as much as I like my purchases from the company, and as handy as the bag has been, I felt the need to make it my own. Which I did, with the help of my markers and imagination, and a little inktober initiative.

The bonus is, I have another side and a second bag to doodle on. Yay! (For reference sake, here's the unadorned bag, and the note that Athleta put on the inside of the bags, to encourage reuse.)

All the Wind in the World by Samantha Mabry

The world has changed. It's harsh, dry, broken, and life for many is also harsh; they, too, are broken. Yet Sarah Jac and James have found love, even if they have to keep it secret, claiming to be cousins on the maguey farms in the southwest. They work hard to make enough money so they can head east and make their dream a reality. But something goes wrong and they must flee, ending up on another farm where rumors of magic and curses flourish. What confronts them there, is something totally new-- and just as dangerous.

This was a quick read, with an interesting view of the world in the near future. What created the conditions is only alluded to-- but certainly weather had a large piece of it. (There's even illusion to storms drowning the coast of Texas, foreshadowing of our own world's weather for this hurricane season.) The itinerant type of work done on the maguey farms reminded me of what I know of the Dust Bowl times. It's hard work cutting agave, I'm told. When the water is poison and the world is bleak, perhaps mescal and tequila provide more than escape.

PS I appreciated the author's listing of books which had influenced her for this one.

Tags: dystopian-ish, magical-realism, read, rounded-up-in-star-rating, thank-you-charleston-county-library, will-look-for-more-by-this-author, ya-lit

All the Crooked Saints by Maggie Stiefvater

Miracles, magical realism, love, owls, and even a little Elvis. What's not to love? And I have a signed copy, with a very cool owl bookplate. Yay!

From the Publisher:

Here is a thing everyone wants: a miracle.
Here is a thing everyone fears: what it takes to get one.

Any visitor to Bicho Raro, Colorado is likely to find a landscape of dark saints, forbidden love, scientific dreams, miracle-mad owls, estranged affections, one or two orphans, and a sky full of watchful desert stars.

At the heart of this place you will find the Soria family, who all have the ability to perform unusual miracles. And at the heart of this family are three cousins longing to change its future: Beatriz, the girl without feelings, who wants only to be free to examine her thoughts; Daniel, the Saint of Bicho Raro, who performs miracles for everyone but himself; and Joaquin, who spends his nights running a renegade radio station under the name Diablo Diablo.

They are all looking for a miracle. But the miracles of Bicho Raro are never quite what you expect.

What We See in the Stars: An Illustrated Tour of the Night Sky by Kelsey Oseid

What a lovely book! I can't imagine anyone not being in awe of the night sky. It holds beauty and fascination for me. What We See in the Stars helps make the night sky accessible to most ages, offering a visual guide, science, myths, and maps to help understand what that infinite expanse holds. And the art! Did I mention the art?! Kelsey Oseid's chosen color palette fits the subject perfectly. The lines and brush strokes convey the depth and vastness, helping convey the elements the text illuminates. A great introduction for children, a wonderful review for adults, this book is a happy find. 

Thank you to Blogging for Books and the publishers for sending me my copy.

In search of loving hands- claimed!

Many, many years ago, my mother was crocheting an afghan. For one reason or another, she didn't finish it, but packed it up and tucked it into the back of her closet. Many years (see what I did there? I dropped a "many") later, I have the box again in the forefront of my mind and the floor of my own closet. I would love to finish it, but know that my hands aren't up to it, nor do we have a place for one more afghan in our home. I love the colors she chose: a sort of teal/seafoam green and white, only those two colors, but the squares are a variety of patterns. The squares are almost all completed and there's yarn for those that are missing. Even the hook she used is there. All it lacks are hands to complete it, a heart to love it, and a home to keep it. I would love to give this to someone who could do those things. I'd even send it to you, if you can help me out on postage.

Any takers?

Just to report the afghan is in the loving hands of a friend here in Charleston. :)

Sweet Potatoes: Roasted, Loaded, Fried, and Made Into Pie by Mary-Frances Heck

I was really excited to get this book from Blogging for Books. That my enthusiasm wasn't sustained was more a factor of the dietary restrictions in my household than that of the book. (Two people: one with an allergy to wheat, the other with an allergy to eggs, and has dietary restrictions to dairy, garlic, and onions. Cooking for us is a real treat, she lied.)

Anyhow, there are some delicious looking recipes in here, that, unfortunately, are off limits to us. Others also look great, but require either substitutions of ingredients, or trips to specialty stores. I think the weakest section is the one for main courses, because the sweet potato is usually an ingredient in the dish, not the focus. Nevertheless, I shall persist, and try to adapt some of these to fit our quirky needs.

Thank you to Blogging for Books and the publishers for sending a copy my way.

The Jane Austen Project: A Novel by Kathleen A. Flynn

I need to stop reading books that try and use Jane Austen as a character. They just don't work for me (with maybe only one exception). Yet despite that track record, I let this one seduce me because it had time travel as part of the plot-- and purposeful time travel from a far distant time in Earth's history. Maybe I was hopeful because if that was true, 45 and the illustrious leader of North Korea weren't successful in destroying life as we know it, and that Mother Nature was no longer on the warpath. I dunno, but whatever demon whispered to me to read this, I shouldn't have listened. Not that it was a bad book. It's just this subject never works for me. I like my Austen served straight up, no added speculations and circumstances. I did not rate this as I finally realized the previous sentence and stopped reading. It's not the author's fault. Honest.