Non-fiction book reviews part 2

Non-fiction book reviews part 2 - music

This is part two of a series where you learn more about me, based on the NetGalley review books I request and review. (Part 1 here.) Today we are talking about music. I'm not the biggest music fan. I listen to music, but it's more a "lets put something on while I cook dinner" than a "$1200 for Taylor Swift tickets, seems like a bargain" kind of thing. Recently two books about artists I like (and occasionally listen to) came up on Negalley:

Dolly Parton: 100 Remarkable Moments in an Extraordinary Life by Tracey Laird (publishing 10/10/2023)

This is a measured, well researched and comprehensive scan across Dolly's whole career. It has lots of information, photos of Dolly across her career and an informative, factual and easy to read tone and layout. It uses a wide range of secondary sources to provide this information. What this book does not do (or try to do) is provide any new or controversial material. It would make a great coffee table book, and I'd recommend putting on a Dolly album, pouring your beverage of choice, sitting back in a comfy chair and enjoying.

David Bowie Rainbowman 1967-1980 by Jerome Soligny (publishing 5 September 2023)

This book is the exact opposite of Dolly Parton, with loads of original research, lots of original interviews and many pages without pictures, which is not surprising, givben this book is more than 700 pages long.

Oddly this book is written in the present tense (in 1969 Bowie is living in...) which I found peculiar. It's full of interviews "with the musicians, producers and friends who knew Bowie best" almost all of whom are men. I don't know if this is a reflection on Bowie and his life or on Soligny. This biography is very, very detailed and gets very technical at times. This is not a volume for the casual fan, but for those who want to take a deep dive into the music of David Bowie.

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Linky Wednesday - the one with the pause

In meditation it's said that the pause between the in breath and the out breath is a gap, a space to rest. Well, I'm in that in-between space for reading, listening and knitting. This is a random photo of a highlight of my week - I filled up my lolly jar. These are just supermarket party mix. During the lockdowns, we sources a great pick-and-mix delivery service, but at some point they started sending from the UK, which is a bit silly. Rachey messaged me a new one she found, and I impulsed purchased a kilo of mixed lollies, and then she sent me a link to the biggest lolly shop in Melbourne, which also delivers sweets by the kilogram, so i think I'm sorted for the rest of the year! In reading I've just finished The Beckoning Lady by Margery Allingham . It's the second last book in the Summer of Mystery, and I have to admit, having now read nine Margery Allingham books, that they are OK. I wouldn't have read them if they were not connected to this club, but on...

Why Andrea Mowry, why? (A rant and a rather nice finished object)

As mentioned, prior to our hiking trip I suddenly, and rather randomly, decided to knit Andrea Morwy's Traveler Shell . It's basically an open fronted rectangle in a knit purl pattern. The pattern is FOURTEEN pages long. Why is the pattern 14 pages long? Because, instead of explaining the ten row repeat and then putting the shaping on top of that (e.g. decrease while continuing to knit in pattern), she writes out the entire ten row knit purl sequence every time something changes. Additionally, most of the time she starts with even number being the right side and wrong numbers being the right side,which is just plain odd. It's confusing and it's like she wants to keep you looking at the pattern for every row, rathe than following the very intuitive stitch pattern, which I had memorised after one repeat. The instructions for the band just say 'pick up x number of stitches'. No ratios, no acjnowledgement that different bits of the band have different ratios. Afte...

Geogradiant MKAL Part 1 - that was unexpected (spoilers)

Stephen West released the first MKAL clue on Thursday night. I started knitting it without looking at spoilers. When I got up on Friday he had sent through an "alternative" clue one. I then went and had a look at the spoiler thread to try to work out what was going on. Which was that some people thought the pattern looked like a "German hate symbol". I knit on anyway, since I was half-way through. Then he took down the original clue, replacing it with a mitred square in garter stitch. The Ravelry forums and Instagram are a complete shit-show, even though Rav is being moderated. It's been a bit disheartening, having something that is usually quite light and fun weighed down with all this. I admire Stephen's quick and sensitive response to this drama. I also feel that anything can look like anything if you squint. To me this looks like a Celtic knot. I think mine is pretty, and I'll knit on through all crises.

What I made, by Sharon

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