Second Person Singular (Weekend Reads)

There comes that moment in a book store when you hold a few books in your hand and all look good, but you need to pick something for the mood or moment you'll have. It feels like so much opportunity, so much pressure. Pick the wrong book and your bedtime reading is too intense or so boring you have no choice but to sleep. Pick the right one and you are entertained and engaged but not dumbed down. Pick the wrong vacation book and you've got serious problems.

Confession: I grabbed this book entirely because of the cover. But we all know you can't judge a book that way so I took the time to read the first few pages before buying. In those first few pages I was drawn into the character and the writing. I thought I was drawn into the story then, but oh how things changed. After a long build up of character the story really begins. And it was worth reading to get there.

Second Person Singular by Sayud Kashua is an incredible compelling story of two men. They are both Arabs living in Israel and their lives intersect in a completely unexpected way. That being said, they both have insecurities and identity conflicts that should drive the reader to annoyance. But the writing is so eloquent, funny, and captivating that you can't help but root for these men. At least for them to find the peace they seek. It isn't a political novel full of statements about settlements and Palestine, but it would not be the story it is without the men being Arab in Israel. The commentary provided but this fact is integral to the characters. And for the reader whose never been to this part of the world and knows most of what she knows from the news it was fascinating.

I had the fortune to read most of this book on a recent vacation. There I am on a beach in Mexico completely engrossed in a story about men in Jerusalem. With a mystery to the story and such characters it was the perfect book. My bookstore moment, unlike the one that kicks the mystery into gear in the story, was fortuitous.

Paris: A Love Story (Weekend Reads)

Oh, all those decorating magazine that tell you to leave books, lotions, and treats in your guest room. My guest room is also the studio, so you're lucky if I vacuum to pick up any errant pins. But my SIL's Mama hosted me back in October for Quilt Market. She is such a generous person that of course she had all that stuff in her guest room for me. And for the second time ever I actually picked up the book on the night stand.

Paris: A Love Story is a memoir by journalist Kati Marton. With the backdrop of her marriages and love affairs with Peter Jennings and Richard Holbrooke she captivates with the story of Paris in her life. Paris was where her living and her grieving happened. Where she became a woman is Paris, where she meets her last love, where she retreats.

Now, I must admit that I didn't know the name Kati Marton when I picked up the book. I finally figured out who she was when I came to the picture section. I didn't feel the need to Google her because I just wanted to read the story. She is a wonderful writer, knowing well how to tell a story to capture her audience and hold them. So while the people in her story are real and almost all famous, I was interested in them as characters in her story. But if you know her world of American journalism and even the politics then it must be rather fascinating to have this behind the scenes look.

After three late nights spent reading I finished the book hours before I got on my plane home. And was able to leave the book behind for the next guest.

Jane Austen Update (Weekend Reads)

So... it's been two and a half years since I confessed that I hadn't read any Jane Austen. I thought I would give you an update.

I've read three now - Sense and Sensibility, Pride and Prejudice, and Mansfield Park. Phew.

Here is the next shocking confession: I didn't particularly like them. Now, I didn't hate them, but I certainly didn't love them. And I expected to love them. When faced with an evening alone and the TV to myself I search for a period drama. I love Downton as much as as anyone else (and boy are there plenty of parallels between Downton and Austen). I adored all the Bronte books when I read them. But, at times, these three Austen books were a bit of a slog to get through. I finished Mansfield Park at some point last winter and decided to take a break from Austen.

I'm not dismissing their value as literature of the the English language, nor the enormity of their story and the fact that they were written by a woman. There were, however, many, many times that the detail was intense and the plot very, very slow. More than once I wished the BBC had done a miniseries on all of the books.

(As an aside, I do totally get the Colin Firth thing now.)

You know what? I think I would have loved these if I read them in my 20s. When I had a romantic view of romance and still thought drama in a relationship was admirable. I too was daydreaming of marriage and that being an end result as opposed to a beginning. Now, approaching 40, I consider it romantic when my Hubby empties the dishwasher and drama means The Evil Genius thinks the world is out to get her again.

Don't worry, I'm not giving up. I will finish the other three, maybe even this year. I've got lots of tea on hand.

Brave New Quilts (Weekend Reads)

Brave New Quilts is the latest and last book by Kathreen Ricketson. Inspired by Twentieth Century Art movements it speaks to inspiration and translating that inspiration to a quilt.

Kathreen died earlier this year. I woke up to the news one morning during Quilt Market. I'd woken early to actually answer some emails for her, only to get the news. Many others had the same story. And we all walked around in shock. And we were just fellow quilters and writers, colleagues and friends from online, not her family reeling from the tragedy.

Now, her book is out and travelling the world without her. A final legacy to her work.

Kathreen and I were working on our books at the same time, clearly with very similar deadlines. We would exchange tweets and emails about our status on the work. We knew what the other was going through. So, even though our books are quite different from a content perspective, they parallel each other in the timeline of my mind. That leads me to what I want to talk about today on this last stop on her Legacy Tour.

For all the book reviews, Amazon reviews, and social media comments it is important to remember two things. One, there are people behind these books. And two, these books are a creative enterprise as much as a quilt is, they are a work of art too.

The author of any book pretty much gets all the credit, or critique. But they are team efforts (unless self published). But for any and all credit and critiques you have to remember that these are real people. They have feelings, thick or thin skin, and real emotions. It seems easy to think of the book as an independent entity, free from its creator. That makes it easier to dismiss or criticize. I get that, it is a part of human nature to complain. But it is important to remember that these books do not exist without the people behind it.

That leads me to the second point: these books are a creative expression of the author and designers. When someone is writing a book they aren't just thinking, "Hey, I'm going to make a bunch of quilts and someone else will take pictures and we'll put them all together in a book and then people will read it." No, we think about themes, and details like illustration style, layout, styling of each quilt photo. We agonize over fabric selection more than you ever have, we tinker and run out of ink on red pens, we obsess over a block that won't lay flat. For the authors and designers, the quilts and their patterns are only just a part of the book, not the be all and end all.

Every author has a different reason for writing a book. Some want to translate their teaching to the written page, some want to share inspiration, some are looking to collate patterns, some love to write. All of them are coming to the book as a form of creative expression. Writing the book is as much that as designing and making a quilt.

Now I'm not saying that we authors are immune to critique and I, personally, welcome comments and constructive criticism. But when you make any comments on a book - good or bad - remember that there are people behind it and we put a lot of personality and creativity into that book. (Keep all this in mind as well if you are contemplating writing a book.)

That's why, when I read Brave New Quilts, I think of Kathreen. I think of her frantically sewing to make deadlines, photo shoot styling flying through her head as the stitches go in. I think of her cleaning and organizing just so for the shot to be exactly as she wants. I think of her spending an hour on a single paragraph to make sure her intentions and directions are as clear as they can be. I think of her anxiously anticipating the Pages for review to see how the designer put together everything.

Perhaps I am projecting my own experience onto Kathreen's, I will admit that. But we did speak of the process together. And now that I see her book I have a bigger picture of her own process. More importantly, I have a picture of Kathreen, a glimpse of her inspiration and translation, and of her creativity that goes beyond 12 quilts and beyond the emails and tweets we shared. I'm glad to have this bit of her in the world. A legacy to her creativity indeed.

To read more about the book and other takes on it, make sure you visit the other stops on the Legacy Tour for Brave New Quilts.

Stash Books
Heather Jones
Kristin Link
Maya Donenfeld
Alexandra Smith
Sonya Philip
Ellen Luckett Baker
Andrea Jenkins
Shannon Cook
Mimi Kirchner