A Boring, Self-Indulgent Post about Books (but I wanted to store the info somewhere)

Why can’t I find something I enjoy reading?

I tend to inundate myself with non-fiction books, so once in a while I like to break it up with a novel. But I’m having a devil of a time finding something I enjoy.

I took two recommendations from the internet (The Physick Book of Deliverance Dane by Katherine Howe and Dead Witch Walking by Kim Harrison) and hated them both. “What is wrong with me?” I think.

BTW, if I’d have written: “What is wrong with me?” I think to myself.

… isn’t the phrase ‘I think to myself’ redundant? I mean, who else would you be “thinking to”?

Anyway, back to books. There have been things in the past I greatly enjoyed: Mary Stewart, Arthur C. Clarke, Robert Heinlein, Dorothy Gilman, Stephen King, Clive Barker, J.K. Rowling, Agatha Christie, etc.

But I have no desire to re-read anything.

So I went to Amazon to see may or may not be wrong with me. :-) I looked at the reviews of these books.

Although the overwhelming majority of people like or even love “Dead Witch Walking” by Kim Harrison, it’s nice to find some words I am in total agreement with:

Kim Harrison is an author with a lot of good ideas but absolutely no idea how to translate them to the page. If there was ever an author in desperate need of a ghost writer, here she is. The plotting, description, dialogue and action are disasters. The first third of the book goes by with next to nothing happening. And by the time something does happen it's far too late for the reader to care.

That this series has got so much attention is a complete mystery to me. It is no better than most of the obscure fantasy series from emerging authors out there, and yet somehow it has found rather a lot of fame. Why? What makes this dragging, poorly-written story so appealing?

Well, all this talk about fiction and my inability enjoy it anymore still has me wondering if it’s me… like when your taste buds change or something.

Or maybe I’m just one of those people who doesn’t like to read (except that I don’t know it yet).

Let me look back on books I’ve read and really enjoyed.

The very first book I remember reading at all was “The Black Stallion”. I was in sixth grade. I loved the book! But I was eleven, so don’t trust that recommendation for my present age.

The next book I remember reading (and when I say “remember reading”, it means things that I remember… not always an easy task… but certainly doesn’t mean the books I’m mentioning are the only books I’ve ever read) was Moonchild by Aleister Crowley. I don’t recall my opinion of it, so we’ll pass on that.

At fifteen, “The Hobbit” I swallowed practically without breathing… but the following trilogy wasn’t something I could get all the way through. I think I made it to the middle of the middle book… what’s that, The Two Towers?

At sixteen, a friend recommended “The Crystal Cave”. I loved it and read it many times after that, along with it’s three companion books (although I think it should have been two).

Apparently I really liked Mary Stewart’s writing, because as a teen/young adult I also read all her romance novels. At the time I didn’t know they were “romance novels”. Upon learning that, however, I decided to try out other romance novels and gathered the ones with the top recommendations. Hmph! Not my cup of tea.

My sister turned me on to Robert Heinlein. I read his “young adult” novels as a not-really-so-young adult and loved most of them, “The Door Into Summer” particularly. Throughout the years, I’ve read a few more, here and there. Just read “Stranger in a Strange Land” last year, as a matter of fact.

Although I’ve read a several Heinlein novels (The Unpleasant Profession of Jonathan Hoag, Farmer in the Sky, The Puppet Masters, The Door Into Summer, Have Space Suit Will Travel, Starship Troopers, Stranger in a Strange Land, and Podkayne of Mars), there are a ton I haven’t read. Maybe I should look into this.

At 30, I realized I was one of the few adults who’d never read “Catcher in the Rye”. So I read it then but couldn’t tell you one thing the book was about. Apparently it didn’t leave much of an impression on me. I don’t recall fighting my way through it, though… that’s good.

In my early thirties, when I told my dad I loved the short stories of Arthur C. Clarke, he recommended the “Rama” series by Clarke and Gentry Lee. I enjoyed those.

My mom turned me on to Dorothy Gilman’s “Mrs. Pollifax” series (along with Agatha Christie and Carlos Castenada). Loved those (the Pollifax books), but now it’s getting kinda… meh for me.

Over the years I’ve read a lot of H.P. Lovecraft, but mostly short stories, I think.

At the recommendation of a co-worker, I read some of the Lilian Jackson Braun’s “Cat Who…” series. I enjoyed them, but just like most series, I tire of them eventually.

Same with Sue Grafton’s alphabet books. Loved the first half a dozen or so, but now… not that interested.

I like the occasional Stephen King novel, but they can be so hit and miss. I liked Insomnia and The Green Mile. Monica swears by “Cujo”, but I can’t fathom the idea of reading a book that is about a woman (and child?) trapped in a car with a rabid dog outside. Then again, the premise of Gerald’s Game wasn’t any more elaborate and I remember enjoying that.

I can’t remember which Agatha Christie books I’ve read, but maybe I should try something along those lines next.

In my twenties, I read some of Carlos Castenada’s books. Fiction… non-fiction… ??? I may revisit those… I really don’t remember in the slightest what they were about.

I remember thinking “East of Eden” by James Steinbeck was brilliant.

Which brings up my list of authors I’ve only read once or twice:

Sight Unseen by Audrey Erskine Lindop (which seems to be the only book she’s ever written)
My Name is Asher Lev by Chaim Potok
The Firm by John Grisham
Shards by Tom Piccirilli
Prey by Michael Crichton
Interview with a Vampire by Anne Rice
The Great and Secret Show by Clive Barker
The Girl Next Door by Jack Ketchum
Intensity by Dean Koontz

When the kids were six and three, I started reading J.K. Rowling’s “Harry Potter” series to them. We’ve all loved those books.

Well, I’m sure there are others, but that’s all I can think of at the moment. Sort of a pathetically thin, way too diverse bunch.

I was considering maybe trying “Illusions” by Richard Bach.

I feel like trying some Ayn Rand, but not just yet… I need something light first.

I think I’m gun shy, though. The last two “light” novels I tried bored me to tears. I’m afraid the trend will continue. And no, this doesn’t mean I need depth to my reading. Ha! Look over my list of previous “likes”… there’s plenty of shallow there for everyone. I do, however, like to be captivated.

I know this isn’t like one of my usual blogs, but it serves a purpose for me. I’m blogging it so I can remember authors I’ve read and enjoyed and maybe revisit.

Etsy Top Sellers, An Unhappy Shopping Experience, Copper Patinas, Gabe's Photos

ETSY TOP SELLERS

So I had a look at a list of Etsy’s top sellers (top sellers in volume, not profit). Not surprised in the least to see it is overrun by sellers of supplies.



Too bad I have no interest in selling supplies.

If you keep scrolling, you eventually get to some who sell jewelry only. The top sellers of jewelry sell massive amounts, of inexpensive, trendy items. The profit for these shops is in the volume, for sure. My hat’s off to them as I’d have to work 80 hours a week and have a couple of assistants to do what they do.


AN UNHAPPY SHOPPING EXPERIENCE

I had put off buying from two large online shopping sites because I don’t find their prices very tempting. One is MonsterSlayer, the other is Thunderbird.

But Thunderbird had a sale weekend a little while ago where you got the volume discount price no matter what volume you bought. Seemed like a good time to try them out.

So I get my order and get to work right away on some bracelets I need to get out for a custom order.

For these bracelets I only needed basic sterling silver ring and bar toggle sets.

I made about four of the bracelets, and on the fifth one I noticed that one side of the bar part of the clasp was very sharp.



Oh, that won’t do. So I get out my file and start to file the sharp point into a something appropriate for jewelry. In doing this, I put a bit of pressure on the clasp and to my shock discover that the soldered ring on the bar has come apart.

Well, that makes that clasp useless for me. I don’t use open jumprings with beading wire… the wire can slip right out of the opening.

But as I’m dismantling the bracelet I make a discovery… every single ring and every single bar that I purchased in that design (yes, the bars and rings were sold separately) actually has an open ring rather than a soldered closed ring to attach to the body of the bracelet.

Now, I’m not saying there’s no use for such a thing. But *I* have no use for such a thing and feel the listing could be clearer about the open rings… like maybe even mentioning them.

The item description never mentions that the rings are open and the item photo is too blurry to discern at a glance the possibility that the rings are not soldered. Going back now, I can see the split in the ring… if I look closely at the enlarged photo and if I am looking for it.

But I do wonder why the photo doesn’t show the sharp point of the bar… each of my ten bars was identical. The photo in the listing has two smooth edges. I find that disturbing.

In over a dozen years of buying findings online, I have never seen an open ring not stated as such. If ring is not soldered closed, the photo makes it very clear… not by a ½ millimeter twist, but an actual separation of the two sides of the ring so the customer knows what they’re buying. I’m not saying Thuderbird is out to deceive anyone; but I do think the listing is careless.

Anyway, either one of those is enough to turn me off (maybe I’m too harsh, whatever). But look at this sharp bar… would you really want your customer wearing that? All ten bars were cut like that.



Now here’s a photo that is blown up to about twice the size of reality. In this blown-up photo, can you tell that these rings are open, without scrutinizing?



Well, maybe I *am* too picky, too harsh… but still… it’s like going to a restaurant and getting a bad meal… kinda puts you off that place, know what I mean?


COPPER PATINAS

Well, it was actually a three-day weekend (again). Our office building was closed Friday due to Thursday night’s riots (after the Mehserle verdict).

I started a couple of completely different projects on Friday… continued them today… was disappointed with the progress, but am not giving up.

I’ll show you pics when I’m done.

Today was “creative day”… so I’m not happy that the fruits of my labor didn’t ripen, but that’s how things go sometimes when you’re an experimentalist.

Part of one of my projects involved copper. I decided I might want patina’d copper… which got me to thinking about all the different patinas I have (I had spent some of Friday sorting out my “things”).

So I decided to do something that may also help future projects. I lined up all my patinas, cut six pieces of 22g copper sheet, cleaned them, added texture, then put a different patina on each one, brushing off half the surface patina for comparison, drilled a hole in each piece and hung it onto its corresponding bottle.





The fifth bottle has a soaking time of 24-48 hours, so I don’t have a photo of that one yet, and the six bottle turned out to be a primer and sealant, not a patina at all.


UPCOMING

Well, tomorrow’s clean the apartment day and photo day… hopefully I’ll have photos of something new to show you.

That’s it for now.

Oh, except that I started to put some of Gabe’s photos up… it’s only a small start (compared with how many photos he’s taken over the last year or two) and there are no explanatory labels yet because Gabe’s not here this weekend, but one step at a time (otherwise I never do anything).

Gabe’s photos

TTYL!


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Mehserle Verdict

Just a quick note to say I'm fine, holed up in my apartment, staying off the streets until the unrest... rests.

I'd like to thank everyone who texted and called to make sure we were okay. :-)

The July Sale Items, Scams Targeting Jewelry Makers, Quiet Holiday Weekend

I think I forgot to show you the four 30% off JULY items (first come, first serve and sale prices end on July 31st!).



I also added some more necklaces (click a photo for details):




SCAM

If you get an email from Veronica Smith (smithveronica@live.com) keep your wits about you.

It will most likely read something like this:

Hello,
I am Veronica smith, an American but I live and work here in AustraliaThis message is to make inquiry on the below question.1- Do you carry overseas? (though i already know of a freight forwarder thatwill pick my packages from you,since they ship lesser than any other courierand they are so effective in shipping my goods to me here inQueensland,Australia is estimated to be 3-4days) I have used their servicesin the past and it was splendid.2- Do you accept credit card for payment(my U.S.A Master and Visa card to beprecise)? Kindly let me know your comments on these, before i send theitems i am interested in purchasing from you.
Veronica.

And then there’s the continued warning about scam spammer Kevin Sanderson too… ugh.


JUST HOME NEWS

Had a nice weekend with the kids. Monica and I found a gift card with money on it so we went to the movies Sunday morning. There weren’t any fireworks at Jack London this year… I’m sure that’s fine with Bear.

Today we hiked a couple trails in Redwood Regional Park… Bear too.

Gabe thinks his car needs a new starter. I’m assuming he’ll try to take care of that this week.

The kids are off to play tennis tonight (at 9pm). I think they do that so they won’t have to bother with sun screen.

Well, I’m going to finish editing my jewelry photos, then I’ll start on Gabe’s vacation photos.

Talk later!


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New Jewelry Listings, Tools and Supplies Sales, Sleep... is it underated?

NEW JEWELRY LISTINGS

Got some listings up. Already sold four before I even had a chance to show you. This amazes me seeing as how much I struggled with my photography this past week. Ugh! It was like pulling teeth and I still didn’t get any really good shots.

Here are some of the listings so far (click a pic for more info):













I also put a couple on my eBay that I may or may not list on my website (it’s all so time-consuming)…

I made (and sold) my first steampunk/industrial piece. Cold rivet connections!



And I sold both of the necklaces in that style I like that’s “over the head, no clasp”. I’ll probably make more of those this week.






SLEEP

My new thing… getting eight hours of sleep each night. I’ve done it three nights in a row now. I hope I can continue even when the kids return.

Did you know: It's impossible to tell if someone is really awake without close medical supervision. People can take cat naps with their eyes open without even being aware of it.

Did you know: Scientists have not been able to explain a 1998 study showing a bright light shone on the backs of human knees can reset the brain's sleep-wake clock.

Did you know: Seventeen hours of sustained wakefulness leads to a decrease in performance equivalent to a blood alcohol-level of 0.05%.

Did you know: The NRMA estimates fatigue is involved in one in 6 fatal road accidents.

Did you know: Teenagers need as much sleep as small children (about 10 hrs) while those over 65 need the least of all (about six hours). For the average adult aged 25-55, eight hours is considered optimal

Did you know: According to a December 2004 University of Chicago study published in the Annals of Internal Medicine, partial sleep deprivation alters your level of hunger hormones, making you not only hungrier all day, but seriously jonesing for calorie-dense, high-carbohydrate fare.

Figured I’d give it a try.


SALES

Who shops at Harbor Freight? Here’s a 20% off coupon good until July 16th.

Also, if you sign up for their newsletter, you get coupons (constantly… is that good or bad?). Like this Benchgrinder with Flexshaft for $29.99. Keep in mind, however, that heavy duty work may require high quality tools.

This is NOT the coupon… click on the above link for the coupon


Oooh, how about a tumbler?

This is NOT the coupon… click on the above link for the coupon


ArtBeads is having a 4th of July Sale. You can also get exclusive coupons and specials if you sign up for their newsletter.

Speaking of ArtBeads… they have a page of ideas called “Mommy and Me” featuring different craft projects y’all might want to do over the summer.

OttoFrei has a sale that ends tonight at midnight (sorry for the late notice). 5% of your entire order by using the word “SHOW” in the coupon code section at checkout.

They have Foredom FlexShaft kits at pretty low prices (ends tonight at midnight, though).



Their low price on the Pepe Jump Ring Maker also ends soon.



Fetpak is a place I’ve used several times in the past for purchasing packing supplies in bulk. Free shipping within the 48 contiguous U.S. states!

They have a lot of goodies in their closeout section, too.

And check out the spotlight specials.


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