I've been known to occasionally do some painting. I'm not especially skilled, but when I'm inspired it's kind of fun. I had a small canvas in my supplies and some acrylic paints that I used to make this little close-up of Toothless from How to Train Your Dragon.
This book combines the adventure and playful nature of The Wind in the Willows with the more serious societal themes of Watership Down. Add in an element of mystery and that could easily become too much to follow. Lloyd handles it well. We have a complex society of different kinds of dogs. There is no big info dump, just a slow meting out of information as it is necessary for the plot. The art is a bit rustic but it works well with this plot.
Advanced Reader Copy provided by NetGalley
Like most people I took a chemistry class. But it never meant much to me. While I could understand in broad strokes that chemistry helps us understand the world, it didn't seem particularly applicable. Maybe I'd have felt differently if I'd had books like this one. Duckhwan and Wonkyung break down the science behind everyday things. We learn the chemistry of receptors and hormones, of how different chemicals interact with our bodies. The text is easily understood and can be read in big chunks or in small doses.
Advanced Reader Copy provided by NetGalley
What are you currently reading?
Escape Room by Maren Stoffels - Four teens keeping secrets attempt to survive a killer escape room.
What did you recently finish reading?
Bittersweet in the Hollow by Kate Pearsal- When a girl turns up dead in the forest, Linden gets caught up in finding out what happened to her and how her death connects to town legend, a years old missing persons case, and her own family's magical abilities.
What do you think you'll read next?
Gaslit by Megan Davidhizar
When it comes to understanding the science behind basically everything, it's hard to go wrong with the Science Comics series. While each volume takes a different approach information is always central. I'm especially fond of this one. For one thing, it doesn't try too hard to create a narrative. The science of computers is intimidating and trying to force it into a story would be too much. Instead we have a dynamic narrator who is simply focused on teaching us the science. Each concept is carefully relayed with plenty of real life examples to reinforce concepts. While the information remains dense it's more digestible in this format.
Advanced Reader Copy provided by NetGalley
I've been trying to use up some of my yarn stash so I collected three balls of cotton yarn to make this knot bag. I used dice to determine a random stripe pattern. The overall effect is almost tropical. It reminds me a little of rainbow sherbet.
The last stand at the Christmas Market is the Manger Scene. It's my reminder to myself to keep my focus not on the material but the eternal at Christmas.
