I no sooner finished typing an email complaining that the last year had been rather sparse in the good reads region, and a dear friend linked this by the incomparable samantha irby.

See if you can spot which line's my fave.

From the "I don't know if I know them -- what kind of bike do they ride?" files ( Read more... )

I spent a really amazing amount of time cocking around trying to find a pattern for the semifitted Burgundian gown that followed the houppelande, so in case it helps anyone else, here it is.

Go. Note that you will need a muslin (here called a "block") and a basic idea of how patterns work. It may not be totally period, but I've tried both and my ( Read more... )

The Moor's Account, by Laila Lalami. Wonderfully vivid, meticulously detailed first-person travelogue of the first black man to cross North America, as part of the Narvaez expeditionThis was another one off the "writers you should know" list, but it's brilliant -- none of this trudging through a classic because it's a classic and therefore good ( Read more... )

In Praise of Hatred, by Khaled Khalifa. Was this my kind of title, or what? This was off one of those "authors you should know" lists. Set in 1980s Syria, and banned -- I was hoping for some kind of context or background on the current conflict ( Read more... )

Foxlowe, by Eleanor Wasserberg. What if you didn't realize your family was weird? What if your weird world was all you knew? What happens if you want out? This one is still with me.

Slade House: A Novel, by David Mitchell. Creepy door-in-the-wall story, as told by different characters. I would place this among the books of the year, just for ( Read more... )

Margaret the First, by Danielle Dutton ( Read more... )

London Fog: The Biography, by Christine L. Corton ( Read more... )

After a dramatic incident from your past, you're spending retirement living under witness protection. You're questioned daily, by people you dislike, for your involvement in the targeting and removal of a public figure who was considered a threat to both church and state ( Read more... )

Twenty Snobs and Mao, by Colette Modiano. Purchased without flip-test, back when a good friend and I were kicking around political theory on alternate Wednesdays -- I had hoped it would lend some insights into that period of history under that particular leader in that particular country ( Read more... )