Wild Thing

Knitted Wild Animals: 15 Adorable, Easy-To-Knit Toys

by Sarah Keen

Words can't do this book justice, but I'm going to try anyway.  I confess I haven't made anything from the book, but my daughter has already selected the rhino for my next project.  What I love about these patterns is that the animals look like real stuffed (is that an oxymoron?) animals, not those oddly shaped creatures that look like you were on drugs when you made them.  The pictures in the book are clear, close-up and cute.  The patterns read as easy-to-understand.  There even is information about the real animals.  Best of all, it really doesn't matter if you have the correct weight yarn or knit to the correct gauge -- the only difference at the end of the day will be the size of the animal you create!  Sounds just like the ideal project for the knitter who wants to move on from making rectangles of various sizes (shawls, scarfs, blankets).

I told a friend of mine that I was going to buy this book.  She asked me to order a copy for her.  As she put it, "If I start now, by the time I have grandchildren [her oldest is 20 with no spouse in sight], I may have one animal done."

Your Morning Metaphor | American Libraries Magazine

Your Morning Metaphor American Libraries Magazine

For all the poetry and Cheerios lovers, an article you shouldn't miss.

Are You Savvy?

I confess -- I am one of those people that have to finish a book once they've started it.  I actually can name the books I haven't finished (Twilight by Stephenie Meyer and What Happened Before He Shot Her by Linda George).  I even finished Patton for a class after the teacher had told us we could stop.  I thought I had overcome this trait.  But then I forced myself to read 296 pages of a mystery hoping with the turn of every page that it would "get better".  It didn't.

Now, finally, a book that justifies this flaw. Savvy, Ingrid Law's first book, is a true gem.  And if I hadn't forced myself to continue reading it until after the first 90 pages, I might have missed it.  At first, the book seems to follow a tried and true formula, making for very little in the way of an interesting plot.  But then the book soars.  It is full of twists and turns and wonderful fully developed characters.  And messages good for readers of all ages, although we older readers will see them more easily.

The only bad thing about this is that I may have to give Twilight another shot - I only got through the first 16 pages the first time.  Do I think it's another Savvy?  Not by a long shot.  But doesn't every book deserve a second chance?

Creating versus Consuming

The Director of the Westport Public Library, Maxine Bleiweis, often speaks of how libraries have changed and how they must continue to change if libraries are going to continue to serve their patrons.  One point she has made is how people now no longer simply consume information; with various web 2.0 tools at their disposal, they also create information.  Anyone who blogs understands this.  After all, we are blogging so others can read our thoughts.

But this point was truly brought home to me over the Christmas break from school.  I created a Goodreads account about a year ago.  For those of you unfamiliar with Goodreads, it is a Web 2.0 cite for books, just as Ravelry is a web 2.0 tool for yarn.  I had been using LibraryThing to catalog the books I read, but when I got over a certain number (one or two hundred), it was going to cost me money!  So I abandoned LibraryThing and moved to Goodreads.

I like these cites.  They help me to recommend books for friends, keep track of books I plan on reading (no more little slips of paper!) and avoid those horrible times when I get 200 pages into a book to realize I read it a few years ago.  Goodreads gives you the option of adding your own review.  Sometimes I do that - particularly if I want to remember what I liked or disliked about a book.  I never never thought of that as "creating content", it was a memory aid only.  Yet over the winter break I got 3 emails from Goodreads about 3 different books I had reviewed, notifying me that other Goodreads members had marked that review as one that they liked.

So yes, Maxine, we are creators of content.  Whether we know it or not!