Reading Update
Swan: Poems and Prose Poems by Mary Oliver. This one had a couple of things I quite liked, but overall it didn’t resonate that much with me.
Journal Sparks: Fire Up Your Creativity with Spontaneous Art, Wild Writing, and Inventive Thinking by Emily K Neuburger. Very good collection of creative journaling ideas for those times when you need some inspiration. It also includes a section on making your own simple journals, plus has some stickers and artsy paper to use in your own creative journal.
Dare to Sketch: A Guide to Drawing on the Go by Felix Scheinberger. Ok overview of drawing basics with particular tips for urban sketchers. Definitely feels like a variation of other things I’ve read before.
Footnotes from the World’s Greatest Bookstores: True Tales and Lost Moments from Book Buyers, Booksellers, and Book Lovers by Bob Eckstein. A lovely little book highlighting 75 bookstores from around the world, with a watercolor painting and anecdote for each. This is one I’m perfectly fine with reading from the library and not owning.

“FeedMeFeedMeFeedMeFeedMeFeedMeFeedMeFeedMeFeedMeFeedMeFeedMeFeedMeFeedMe!” -Chaos

Reading, Reviewettes

Linkity still thinks titles are hard

February 9, 2018 Chris 4 Comments

Bookity

New releases: Tor.com (scifi, fantasy, genre benders)
Linkity from Smart Bitches.
14 bookish space-themed gifts.
Some language/writing humor.
And some poetry humor.
The very hungry looking bookdrop.
Snoopy’s Little Free Library.

Learn, Make, Think, Do

Three-year timelapse of Seattle.

Cookity

Gluten Free

Artsy Crafty

Knitting linkity from kmkat.

Cool

Cool or Wha…?

“NASA has officially listed Musk’s Tesla Roadster as a celestial object“. (Best comment on Slack at work about the whole thing: “It looks like a bad photoshop, but it’s real.”)
Chocolate-covered cherry tasting Valentine’s drink at Starbucks.
Short scifi film about camping.

Wha…?

LOL

The snowball-dispensing machine that was part of the Super Bowl festivities. The artistic shot. The side view (I love the side view).
The possibly NSFW geode cake – a Minnesota original…
For Iron Man fans.
STTNG, as told by predictive text.

Teh Cute

Black kitty! Penguins and baby! Feathertail gliders! Spotted tail deer and baby! Baby tigers!

Reading Update
Evidence: Poems by Mary Oliver. Lovely. Thanks to Margene for reminding me that the 2nd was Silent Poetry Reading Day!
Horoscopes for the Dead: Poems by Billy Collins. How the heck do you rate and review poetry anyhow?!
Noted: A Journal to Explore How We Shape, Create, and Develop Ideas by Adam Turnball. Great title and look, but – boring. Didn’t find it inspiring, alas. In fact, it’s probably going to get cut up for collage, which I would not do if I’d found it useful.

“…zzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzz…” -Chaos

Linkity linkity link, Reading, Reviewettes

Linkity is 2.5 miles from the stadium in which the Super Bowl will be played on Sunday

February 2, 2018 Chris 7 Comments

Bookity

Think, Learn, Make, Do

Cookity

Gluten Free

Artsy Crafty

Cool

Cool or Wha…?

Wha…?

LOL

Teh Cute

Reading Update
The Merchant’s War (Merchant Princes #4) by Charles Stross. I think I’m going to use my status update from finishing this book as my review: “OMG, another cliffhanger. I have the next two ebooks on hand (bless you, library), but I have to sleep. And these are not short books. But the suspense! At least I know things have to be tied up by the end of the next two books, since that ends the series…
The Revolution Business (Merchant Princes #5) by Charles Stross. How can the intensity just continue to build like this?! Anyway, yeah, another cliffhanger, so make sure you have the next book on hand.
The Trade of Queens (Merchant Princes #6) by Charles Stross. This was a white-knuckle read right until the very end! Whew. It feels like this series was heavily influenced by the way the world turned after 9/11… Also, willful ignorance and refusing to change/adapt can be extraordinarily dangerous to those around you…

“It’s your fault he’s like this, Mom.” -Mayhem

“What’s a cat gotta do to get fed around here?!?!??????” -Chaos

Linkity linkity link, Reading, Reviewettes

Linkity was not emotionally prepared for a foot of snow

January 26, 2018 Chris 7 Comments

Also, very dawdly during my linkity time, so you get a hot mess o’ linkity again. 😀

Reading Update
Picture This: The Near-Sighted Monkey Book by Lynda Barry. Another good illustrated book from Lynda Barry – this one focuses mostly on drawing.
The Bloodline Feud (The Merchant Princes #1-#2) by Charles Stross. I kept tripping over the language a bit at the beginning (it seemed overly descriptive), but I got completely sucked into the story anyway and stayed up too late to finish it. So!
The Clan Corporate (The Merchant Princes #3) by Charles Stross. Make sure you have the next book on hand, because this ends on a really evil cliffhanger!

*BLAAAAAAAAANK* -Chaos (totally alive – I checked)

Linkity linkity link, Reading, Reviewettes

In which linkity got paged during linkity time…

January 19, 2018 Chris 7 Comments

So you get a whole mess o’ linkity! 🙂

Reading Update
CreativeGIRL: Mixed Media Techniques for an Artful Life by Danielle Donaldson. Ok book with some techniques for using watercolor and sewn paper in your mixed media projects. Definitely one I’m glad I borrowed from the library – not close to a keeper.
Dot Journaling – A Practical Guide: How to Start and Keep the Planner, To-Do List, and Diary Thatâ€™ll Actually Help You Get Your Life Together by Rachel Wilkerson Miller. Yes, you can get all of this content hither and thither online, but – I just really like having it all in a single place. The book is fairly bristling with sticky tape flags marking things I want to remember or reference.

“…zzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzz…” -Chaos, creepily sleeping with his eyes open (Yes, I’m sure he was asleep – he was snoring!)

Linkity linkity link, Reading, Reviewettes

Linkity agrees with Calvin

January 12, 2018 Chris 8 Comments

Bookity

tRump sent a cease and desist to the publisher of Fire and Fury: Inside tRump’s White House. The publisher responded.
Linkity from Smart Bitches.
Linkity from Inkophile.
Linkity from Bookwyrm Knits.
“A brief history of the Big Dumb Object story in science fiction“.
Beowulf goes to the movies.
“Pamela Dean’s Tam Lin changed my life“. (Hmm, might be time for a reread.)
“How to build a reading nook“.
Songs about bookstores.
There’s allegedly a Starbuck’s secret Harry Potter menu.

Make, Think, Learn, Do

Cookity

Gluten Free

Artsy Crafty

Cool

Cool or Wha…?

Wha…?

You might live in Northeast Minneapolis if this is something you’ve seen. (Yes, that IS a unicycle with either an all-terrain or a snow tire on it…)
A printer that can turn paper into fake leather, wood, alligator skin, etc.
“Guardians of the Galaxy is leading the unlikely cassette tape revival“.

LOL

Teh Cute

Canoeing kitty! Baby mountain lion! Baby leopards! Baby panda!

Reading Update
What It Is by Lynda Barry. Very good book about how to get started writing, presented in Lynda Barry’s inimitable style of illustration. This older book covers some of the same ground as Syllabus: Notes from an Accidental Professor, but with less drawing involved. If I had to pick just one, I would definitely go for Syllabus. (Even though Syllabus doesn’t have the helpful Magic and Creative Cephalopod.)

“Whoa.” -Mayhem

May’s mind is apparently blown from whatever she’s absorbing from The Master and His Emissary there…

Linkity linkity link, Reading, Reviewettes

Linkity curses polar vortices everywhere

January 5, 2018 Chris 9 Comments

Bookity

New releases: Tor.com (scifi, fantasy, genre-benders) and Smart Bitches (romance)
Some free scifi stores you can read online.
Linkity from Smart Bitches.
President Obama’s lists of best books and favorite songs from 2017.
“Five weird books for the jaded reader“.
Untranslatable words, illustrated.
Some tips/ideas for setting up a bullet journal.
If you’re ever stuck for journaling prompts, check out these 730 prompts from journaling-junkie.
Some of Diana Trout’s favorite bookbinding books.
Reading pillows.
A few bookmarks from etsy.
Literary quotes.
“…the alphabet now ends at Y.“
Neil Gaiman’s words for the new year.

Think, Learn, Make, Do

Cookity

Artsy Crafty

Create 365 Somethings in 2018. I’m doing index card collages. What are you going to do?! 🙂
How to start/commit to an art journal.
Knitting linkity from kmkat.

Cool

It’s been very cold here. Some examples: Walking on a frozen lake. Biking on a frozen creek.
Minneapolis skyline at night.
Where embroidery meets math.
Where The Brady Bunch meets Star Wars.
Hmm. The perfect coffee mug?
Indeed, it is so.
The danger scale. Alternate version.
Dogs herding sheep in New Zealand.
“Relive the climactic moments of Star Wars: The Last Jedi in LEGO“.
Linkity from kmkat.

Wha…?

The whole “raw water” thing… :facepalm: Edit: The graphic on this article is PERFECTION!

LOL

Teh Cute

Cheetah and babies!

Reading Update
Syllabus: Notes from an Accidental Professor by Lynda Barry. Excellent book about creativity and writing and drawing, presented in Barry’s signature style of illustration. I’ve tried some of the exercises and am continuing to work on the 4-minute daily diary. Definitely one I’ll be referring to in the future!
Spouse on Haunted Hill (Haunted Guesthouse #8) by EJ Copperman. After skipping the seventh book, I quite enjoyed this one. It’s possible this was the last book in the series – it sure felt like things were being tidied up that way at the end. (Ok, apparently there are more books on the way – so now I’m wondering if the series was in limbo for a bit and the tidying was just in case.)

“…zzzzzzz…” -Chaos

Linkity linkity link, Reading, Reviewettes

Linkity wishes you a brave new year

December 29, 2017 Chris 9 Comments

Bookity

Think, Make, Do, Learn

Cookity

Gluten Free

Artsy Crafty

Quick cross stitch bookmarks.

Cool

Cool or Wha…?

A LEGO crane that can move furniture.

Wha…?

LOL

Happy liminal spacemas!
Happy black kitty-mas!
The intersection of Spock and Dr Seuss.
Phone security. (Hover cursor/long-press for caption.)
That rider on a pale horse doesn’t look so scary…

Teh Cute

The cat and the cracker! Tiger and babies!

Reading Update
An Open Spook (Haunted Guesthouse #4.5) by EJ Copperman. This one’s from the POV of Alison’s mom.
The Thrill of the Haunt (Haunted Guesthouse #5) and Inspector Specter (Haunted Guesthouse #6) by EJ Copperman. Less than a week later and I remember nothing about these. 😀
Ghost in the Wind (Haunted Guesthouse #7) by EJ Copperman. DNF because second-hand embarrassment.

“What? Obviously it’s a new cat bed!” -Mayhem

Linkity linkity link, Reading, Reviewettes

Hot mess o’ linkity, take two

December 22, 2017 Chris 8 Comments

I am not even sure where my linkity time went this evening. If you find it, would you send it back, please?!?!

Reading Update
Nerdy, Shy, and Socially Inappropriate: A User Guide to an Asperger Life by Cynthia Kim. reread. This is probably one I’ll reread every few years.
Night of the Living Deed (Haunted Guesthouse #1) by EJ Copperman. Good mystery in which Alison discovers, while converting her Victorian mansion into a guesthouse, that she she can see ghosts – ghosts who want her to help them figure out who killed them.
An Uninvited Guest (Haunted Guesthouse #2) by EJ Copperman. Good continuation of the series – Alison now has her PI license, but she didn’t really intend to actually use it…
Old Haunts (Haunted Guesthouse #3) by EJ Copperman. Alison’s ex husband shows up unexpectedly, and the two resident ghosts turn out to have unfinished business of their own.
A Wild Ghost Chase (Haunted Guesthouse #3.5) by EJ Copperman. Ok short – told from PI ghost Paul’s perspective for a change.
Chance of a Ghost (Haunted Guesthouse #4) by EJ Copperman. Alison’s (living) mother asks her to help a dramatic ghost of her acquaintance figure out who killed him.