Swimming Studies by Leanne Shapton

Shapton's book is part autobiography part art. As a young girl she followed her brother into swimming and became an elite swimmer, her career culminating in taking part in the 1988 and 1992 Canadian Olympic Trials. Although her time as an athlete is over she speaks in her book of how her dreams are still of the endless round of land and water training, trials, competitions, training camps, early mornings and long distance journeys, of teammates, coaches, food and the sights and sounds of the pool. She speaks with eloquent sadness of her memories of that obsessional driven time and her life in the present day still driven by the urge to swim. 

Shapton illustrates her text with pictures which achingly express the weave of her life in ways text cannot. Fourteen blobs of colour are fourteen odours expressing the scents of her life: a teammates hair, parka hem, pillow and coach. There are obsessive dark outlines of the pools Shapton has swum in, photographs of every swimsuit she has ever owned and where they were worn, her father's collection of Studebaker cars, and watercolour portraits of swimmers and teammates. Shapton has idiosyncratically chronicled a lifetime relationship with the water in a unique way.

Granta #63: Beasts

An interesting Granta anthology, ostensibly on the subject of beasts but only the first 5 stories are directly about animals.  My favourite was Paul Auster's 'Mr Bones', a story about a homeless man's dog accompanying him on his dying pilgrimage to his former English teacher's home. 'Mr Bones' is written with such elegance and sadness without ever becoming pathetic, as the dog reflects on what he knows of his person's life and how he came to be a homeless wanderer.  Hilary Mantel writes about the family's dogs, Gary Ennsa powerful piece about a crow that he and another boy teach to speak, Gordon Grice on bats and Sam Toperoff a story written from a tarantula's point of view.  All are thought provoking.

The rest of the anthology contains stories by Jackie Kay, Deborah Levy, T Coraghessan Boyle, John Barth, Joyce Carol Oates, Anwar Iqbal, Martin Amis and Hans Magnes Enzenberger, with a reportage piece by Simon Norfolk and Michael Ignatieff on the Rwandan massacre.

Stitch, Cloth, Shimmer & Shine by Sarah Lawrence

Search Press and Sarah Lawrence come together with a book as full of inspiration as stunning pictures. Lawrence generously shares her techniques for using fabrics, gilding, mica, metals, adhesives, heat, fusible web, paints, markers, inks, stencils, stamps, stitching, embellishments, and crayons to make stunning pieces which can be displayed in their own right or used further as fabrics for projects. She shows us how to create fabrics, beads, embellishments, cords, trims and jewellery. 

Lawrence's book is in two parts, the first and by far the largest a series of workshops with step by step instructions and photographs on using materials and techniques. These are clear, well written and illustrated, although a little knowledge of fabric craft is needed in some instances.

A beautiful book, a piece of exuberant creativity I will continue to enjoy and learn from.

Snake Bite by Scott Hancock (AUDIO)

The Doctor and Rory decide to steal a march on Amy and race out of the TARDIS into their next unknown world without her. You would think after accidentally condemning Amy to 36 years on Apalapucia with the handbots they would know better. They find themselves in a steel lined room, the Doctor's sonic screwdriver gets them out into the laboratory of Doctors Elehri Mussurana and Ernst Wharner. But as Amy emerges she and the TARDIS are sucked into the wormhole created within the chamber and finds herself on a dying world under three red suns. And she's not alone. As Rory and the Doctor try to get back to Amy a terrible truth comes to light.

Read well and rather disturbingly by Madame Kouvarian herself, Frances Barber, a good sparky adventure.

Simple Crochet by Sara Sinaguglia

I was a little disappointed in this book as I'd been pleasantly surprised by Simple Sewing with Lola Nova by Alexandra Smith which is in the same series. As I said with that, you can tell much of the worth of a craft book by its introduction, and the crochet instructions in this one were too short and not at all clear, I have seen far better.

The writing, is, however, clear and the projects well laid out. There are six sections of craft projects divided up by location: Kitchen, Living Room, Bedroom Bathroom, Children's Rooms and Out and About. They are themed by colour scheme and the feel of the projects but each of the projects could be made up in a different fabric for a completely different effect. Projects comprise: apple and egg cosies, pot holders, table linen, edgings for shelves, pillows and knickers (!), a crochet hook roll, coasters, artwork, cushions, a bookmark, slippers, face cloths, bowls, a blanket, a pencil pot, a toy bunny, a steering wheel cover, a bag, smartphone case, scarves, beret and wrist warmers.

Each project has a header page like a recipe showing everything you will need to complete the project, tension, finished size and skill level along with a good picture of the finished article. Clear crocheting instructions follow.

It is a shame about the instructions because the projects are very pretty, and if you know how to crochet already the book is worth it for them alone.

Hollow Earth by John and Carole E Barrowman

13 year old twins Matt and Emily Calder are in the National Gallery in London and they are bored, it's summer, it's hot, their mother is talking to someone and they just want to go swimming.  Seurat's Bathers at Asnieres is tormenting with them with it's vision of people dozing in the sun on the banks of the Seine.  They take out a drawing pad to entertain themselves, but these children are extraordinary.  As they draw their picture it comes to life and they get the swim they wanted, and a world of grief from their mother.

The incident sets in motion a series of consequences and before long the family are fleeing for Scotland and the home of their grandfather, their father's father: the ancient Monastery of Era Mina on a tiny island off the coast at Largs.  Here they meet others who can do what they do and the people who guard them, a new friend Zach and find out more about the mysterious disappearance of their father and the Hollow Earth and the history of Era Mina.

Brilliantly paced and written, the Barrowmans' book carried me through and left me eager for the next instalment. The characters are well delineated and vibrant, setting and descriptions so clear that the magic could really be real.

Simple Sewing with Lola Nova by Alexandra Smith

This is a good book, you can often measure the worth of a craft book by the quality of the introductory pages and Smith's are well written.  She speaks of her own creative journey and her passion for handmaking is infectious.  Her listing of tools, materials and basic techniques is comprehensive,  well written and easy to follow.

Then there are four sections of craft projects divided up by theme: Boho, Natural, Vintage and Eclectic.  They are themed by colour scheme and the feel of the projects but each of the projects could be made up in a different fabric for a completely different effect.  Projects comprise: bags, children's clothes, a tent (which me and my 9 year old daughter will be making!), storage, mats, artwork, cushions, pencil case and tool roll, a book cover, a tool belt, badges, patches, a toy bunny and all templates for the projects.

Each project has a header page like a recipe showing what you will need and the skill level along with a good picture of the finished article.  Instructions follow, clear well written step by step instructions with full colour photographs.

A delight to look at and I can't wait to try out some of the projects.