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When I was at the library last week I was looking around at the knitting books (which of course is in the general section of crafting stuff) and I ended up coming across this fantastic book Artful Paper Dolls. The author discusses all manner of detail on the subject of paper dolls. The affection one has for them, famous paper dolls, (and creators) idea of ones you can create for yourself and everything in between. The author talks to some really interesting people. From Tom Tierney who describes himself as a frustrated historian. (I think many people are familiar with his Dover paper dolls) to Eleanor Peace Bailey, who is a very colorful figure in the doll-making world. The book has done its job in re-awakening my life-long love of paper dolls. When I was growing up I had a pretty extensive collection (I would cruise garage sales with my Mother in hopes of finding some and I would often get some for my birthday) and I liked to create my own and come up with all kinds of dresses for the dolls. I think some of this love was born out of a set of Gingham's paper dolls my Mother gave me as a gift when I was about four or five years old. I remember getting another set of them one Christmas as well. I had them for years and years. They were pretty fragile near the end. As for the book, I think I need my own copy. It is so inspirational and just plain fun to look at. They have a lot of photographs of different kinds of sets. It makes me want to make my own dolls again and when Miss Biscuit is older -introduce her to them as well.
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Right now I am reading Provincial Lady in America. This is the third Provincial Lady book by E.M. Delafield. Her work is always a scream and as it is written like a diary but with much more humor and insight; it reads like a really terrific LJ. What gets me is that while this was written in the thirties there is something so timeless about what this character writes about. Dealing with people you really don't want to and thinking of a smart retort after the fact. The hilarity in the mundane and how everyone interacts with each other. It is equal parts funny and soothing. I sometimes think of![[livejournal.com profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/external/lj-userinfo.gif)
mockduck or land_girl when I am reading these books. There is such a familiarity about them and one feels sympathetic in so many moments.
Great bath-time reading.
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I recently finished reading The Mysterious Benedict Society and the Perilous Journey which is the second book in this children's series. I don't work in books anymore but I like to see what is going on even if it will be a few years before Senor Onion will be getting into this stuff. It wasn't as good as the first but it seems more like a transition piece. I still thought it was a great book and well-written. It has a great sense of adventure and intrigue. I like the fact that the children aren't all goody goody. They mess up, they argue and have their faults. But the kids have personality and abilities that are useful in different ways. I keep thinking that this series could make a great set of movies or mini-series. It might work better if it was animated. For some reason I think Stephen Fry would make a great Mr. Benedict. I love doing imaginary castings for books as movies.
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Right now I am reading Provincial Lady in America. This is the third Provincial Lady book by E.M. Delafield. Her work is always a scream and as it is written like a diary but with much more humor and insight; it reads like a really terrific LJ. What gets me is that while this was written in the thirties there is something so timeless about what this character writes about. Dealing with people you really don't want to and thinking of a smart retort after the fact. The hilarity in the mundane and how everyone interacts with each other. It is equal parts funny and soothing. I sometimes think of
mockduck or land_girl when I am reading these books. There is such a familiarity about them and one feels sympathetic in so many moments.Great bath-time reading.
...
I recently finished reading The Mysterious Benedict Society and the Perilous Journey which is the second book in this children's series. I don't work in books anymore but I like to see what is going on even if it will be a few years before Senor Onion will be getting into this stuff. It wasn't as good as the first but it seems more like a transition piece. I still thought it was a great book and well-written. It has a great sense of adventure and intrigue. I like the fact that the children aren't all goody goody. They mess up, they argue and have their faults. But the kids have personality and abilities that are useful in different ways. I keep thinking that this series could make a great set of movies or mini-series. It might work better if it was animated. For some reason I think Stephen Fry would make a great Mr. Benedict. I love doing imaginary castings for books as movies.
