The Summer with Books, part 3

Yes! There's still more - reading really did dominate this summer. Don't worry though, my jewellery classes have resumed and I'll be posting something shiny and metallic as soon as there's some good progress. And, there may even be a special feature from a very important guest, but more about that in due course...

In my ear - audiobooks from Audible:

Charlotte Street by Danny Wallace (read by Mackenzie Crook)
When it comes to audiobooks I like to keep it light, as I may well be doing something else at the same time - jogging, cleaning etc. Charlotte Street fitted the bill perfectly. It's a sweet, amusing tale about an everyday boy-girl encounter which leads to an obsession with life changing consequences.

Read / listen if... You're looking for a modern everyman love story. You want some light escapism.

A Tiny Bit Marvellous by Dawn French (read by Dawn French)
:) this was one of my guilty pleasure reads. I love comedy, whether high brow and 'adult' like The Thick of It or cheesy and old school like the Vicar of Dibley, and my passion for hbo's 'Girls' requires its own separate blog post. So, I indulged in sampling Dawn French's writing and was not disappointed. It's a beautifully observed and very funny story of a contemporary 2.4 family with lots of stress, heart-ache and swearing! You get to hear the story through the voices of each of the family members and the language used conjures them up perfectly.

Read / listen if... You grew up with French & Saunders, The Vicar of Dibley et al. You fondly identify with middle class British family stereotypes. You don't mind some excessive swearyness and are up for a bit of a giggle.

The Summer with Books, part deux

Continuing my 2012 summer book report (my Kindle reads):

The Summer Without Men by Siri Hustvedt
Could not put this down - read it in two sittings - on the Eurostar to Paris and on the Eurostar back to London. Pardon French countryside! I find Hustvedt a fascinating author. Had only read 'What I loved' previously and was keen to sample some more of her work. In this book the heroine, Mia, has suffered a nervous breakdown following her husband's adultery. She takes herself off to her mother's town in order to convalesce. Whilst there she leads a writing workshop for young adults and develops relationships with the girls in the course, her mothers' elderly friends and her neighbour. But what about the errant Boris... read it and find out!

Read if... You enjoyed 'The Marriage Plot' by Jeffrey Eugenides. You are interested in the female psyche and relationships. You loved 'Reading Lolita in Tehran' by Azar Nafisi. You've had enough of men!

The Unlikely Pilgrimage of Harold Fry by Rachel Joyce
Take an unexpected and emotional journey with Harold. It will reward you with a fresh perspective on belief, a charming tale of rambling and some heart warming/wrenching twists and turns. Ordinary, extraordinary and very touching - a really unusual story.

Read if... You have lost faith in mankind! You enjoy quintessentially British things. You like films such as 'The Straight Story' or 'The World's Fastest Indian'.

The Summer with Books!

Ok - time to take you all completely off piste with some non-craft posts. As you may have gathered, my creative activities have somewhat dried up with the summer cessation of classes. In their stead the gap seems to have been crammed absolutely full of words, text, narrative and tales. Yes, that's right, I've been doing a lot of summer reading!

As it has been epic, I'm breaking this down into print, ebook, audio, in progress and on the shelf (for autumn reading!)

So, here's my summer 2012 booklist (part 1)...

In glorious ye olde fashioned print (that's proper books):

The Hours by Michael Cunningham
Book-club choice. I'm afraid to report that to date this was my least enjoyed of the summer reads. Beautifully written, but not my thing. A tale interwoven with the book Mrs Dalloway and the life of Virginia Woolf. Neither of which I am well acquainted with, so this probably coloured my judgement. Current book club list is based on film adaptations, I have the film sat on the shelf, but as yet unwatched.

Read if... You simply cannot get enough of Virginia Woolf. You love beautifully crafted and subtle personal melodrama.

I have a bit of a cover design crush on this one!

A Scanner Darkly by Philip K Dick
My own book club choice, based on my love of the recent film. Visually stunning, very stylish, highly recommended in the 'Silversmith' household. So, would I love the book equally, without being able to watch Robert Downey Jnr?! Yes! Most definitely. I absolutely loved reading the book. I must say, I am glad I'd seen the film first as the writing style and 'plot' may have been a challenge otherwise. Our book club meeting for this title seemed to revolve more around discussions of what was actually going on rather than literary analysis and it certainly provoked a mixed reception. Please don't be put off by the notion of it being 'sci fi', if anything it feels like a period piece now since the slang is dated and we are ahead of its setting.

Read if... You loved the film. You are a sci-fi newcomer or sceptic. You like edgy environs and psychologically disturbed characters.

I found this beautiful illustrated edition of Harper Lee in my local Oxfam - result!

To Kill A Mockingbird by Harper Lee
Another book club title! What a read! I seem to be one of the few who didn't read this at school and had been immune to its long lived popularity. I am so grateful that my book club gave me the chance to overcome any bizarre misgivings and give this a go. A fantastic book in which I was immersed from start to end. A brilliant and gripping good old fashioned story.

Read if... You haven't already - it really does live up to its reputation.

Next up - E-Books including Siri Hustvedt & Rachel Joyce!

ps. Yes, the jars in the background do contain hand made origami cranes, familiar to those who attended the Silversmith wedding ;)

Workshop Wishlist

What is up with the academic year and evening classes? The one time of the year when evenings are lighter folk have more energy, and time (depending on career/ family status) and... nothing doing. I get it - we all need a break. Lots of (normal) people go on holiday. Courses run at educational venues (schools and colleges) need access. But, as I am yet to make my fortune and own a well stocked studio/forge/shed brimming with tools, I find myself dreaming of hammering, pickling, sawing and blowtorching happily away once more.

So, I thought I'd use a little bit of this down time to work up a crafty appetite. Here are my top 10 most lusted after workshops. Hopefully, down the line (fortune somewhat dependent), I'll be reporting back on just how awesome they actually are!

1. Ferric Fusion, Blacksmithing Course. Aka the Welsh, non-jewellery, non-silver one
http://www.ferricfusion.co.uk/blacksmithing-courses-carmarthenshire-wales-uk.html
Yes, so a meandering away from silver and jewellery, but still metal working, and much desired by both myself and Mr Silversmith since I read this here Guardian article: http://www.guardian.co.uk/travel/2012/jan/27/emma-kennedy-blacksmithing-carmarthenshire-wales

2. Colourful Aluminium Jewellery with Lindsey Mann, Sussex Jewellery School. Aka the colourful one of course!
http://sussexjewelleryschool.com/products/25955--colourful-aluminium-jewellery-with-lindsey-mann-13-14-oct-2012.aspx
I really fancy having a play with all the wonderful colours that can be manipulated when anodizing aluminium. Sadly, this particular date won't be happening, because I'll be overseas!

3. Narrative Jewellery, a Personal Story, West Dean College. Aka the one that ties up my love of jewellery making, books and stories.
https://www.westdean.org.uk/WestDeanBooking/CourseDescription.aspx?rid=5D_3189.htm

4. Architectural Jewellery, West Dean College. Aka the one that appeals to my figurative approach to jewellery making.
https://www.westdean.org.uk/WestDeanBooking/CourseDescription.aspx?rid=5D_3077.htm

5. Stone Setting, London Jewellery School. Aka the one that I should do!
http://www.londonjewelleryschool.co.uk/silver-jewellery/stone-setting-in-silver-2-days/
Because people like shiny stones in jewellery, and making them stay there is... a challenge!

6. Intermediate Stone Setting. London Jewellery School. Aka, the one I should do next.
http://www.londonjewelleryschool.co.uk/silver-jewellery/intermediate-stone-setting/
So that I can set stones with confidence, and ease (!)

7. Celtic Chasing, Brian Clarke. Aka the themed location workshop
http://www.silversmithingworkshop.com/Celtic%20Chasing-2012.html
One week in Ireland to play with metals - yes please!

8. Julie Arkell Creature Workshop, Loop. Aka the random one!
http://www.loopknitting.com/classes/juliearkell_class.html#
Just because this looks like SO much fun. Didn't promise they would all be smithing workshops. Also in order to do it I would need to take something like...

9. Moving on with Knitting, The Sheep Shop. Aka the one where I finally get to grips with knitting something other than a scarf.
http://www.sheepshopcambridge.co.uk/learn-with-us.php

10. A jewellery degree! Aka the life changing, dream of committing to learning a skill and obtaining a practical art qualification one. Ok, so this probably stretches most folks definition of 'workshop' somewhat, but it would most definitely be awesome.

Anyone been on any of the above and want to share the love? Or, any fabulous workshops/courses to add?

Ps. Perhaps this post would not have come to light, were it not for UK weather conditions, summer 2012, read...

Oh we all want to be... Hold on! Where is everyone.

happy summer - wherever, whatever the weather :) x