Read Anything Good lately? - Bomb

Non-fiction is not my favorite thing in the world. Perhaps I am scared from years of loathing text book formats and skimming bodies of text looking for vital information. However if you are in an educational field, you are aware that the new common core standards are placing such emphasis on non-fiction in the classroom. I hope text book authors are learning a thing or two from one of their former counterparts, Steve Sheinkin. He is the author the 2013s Newberry Honor book, Bomb: The Race to Build and Steal the World's Most Dangerous Weapon and he is also the author to help me discover a new found appreciation for non-fiction.

Bomb is all about the secret war to build the world's first atomic bomb. The discovery of how to split Uranium atoms launched the arms race between the Allied Forces, Germany and Russia. At the time of this discovery Albert Einstein was vacationing on Long Island (a fact I certainly nerded out on) he immediately sent a letter to FDR stressing the importance of this discovery! A crack team of leading scientists were assembled led by Oppenheimer in a remote lab in Los Alamos. Little did they know there were some spies in their midsts and what does the destruction of a German cold water plant have to do with this? We all know what the result of their work, this is the story we don't know, the unclassified story of the atomic bomb.

Sheinkin took an interesting moment in history and crafting an amazing story. Had this been a history channel special it may have momentarily held my interest, if this same story was written by any other author I probably would not have made it past chapter one. Luckily this story was in the capable hands of Sheikin. He admits that he is a recovering text book writer with a background in film, which explains why the book felt cinematic. In the first chapter we meet poor Harry Gold destroying all of his papers when some federal agents are knocking on his door. I was drawn in immediately! What did this guy do, why is he destroying his stuff? What is the story there? I felt bad for Harry Gold because of the context in which his story was presented. These people were all real people from history but Sheinkin developed these characters and made you feel like you really knew these people. I identified most with Oppenheimer. As leader of the team he was driven to get to the bomb before the enemy did, out of necessity but he also had an intense internal conflict with the realization of the devastation these weapons bring. Another cinematic tool Sheinkin mastered is suspense! As mentioned espionage is a factor in this story there are some tense moments when some spies are nearly discovered. (I'd love to tell you about it however I don't want to spoil it for you!)

If you are into history or just a good story I highly recommend Bomb. Sheinkin has a few other historical works under his belt covering The Notorious Benedict Arnold and the Old West (Which Way to the Wild West?) which I plan to check out! His latest is a work of fiction but based in a historical setting, Lincoln's Grave Robbers.

Sunday Snapshots

This week has been sort of a slow one, here is what I have been up to!

I got some snazzy Star Trek Fabric from Joann's. I am looking forward to the kinds of wackiness I will make with this stuff. I already made an iPad case and I will also make some pot holders for my trekkie father in law. I also got Star Wars fabric but I didn't realize that it was fleece! I can make scarves with it I guess.

I started thinking up some design ideas for our stark dinning room. On a trip to Home Goods I was inspired by their graphic plates. So I started collecting a few which will eventually hang on the wall. I need to add some more to my collection first. We also got this giant peacock picture.

I had read really great reviews for Everyday by David Leviathan. So its been on my reading list. My interest was piqued when my friend Morgan said she read it in a day and cried. I have a few things I need to get off my reading lists first, then I am going to tackle this. Here is the gist of the story: A person goes through life everyday in another persons body then one day falls in love with a hosts girlfriend. It sounds like a romantic Quantum Leap and I look forward to reading it.

Wednesday my partner in craft, Michele, came over and we worked on some more Iron Craft stuff. However before we did that, we had to eat. So we got lunch which ended up being this epic pile of nachos at Moe's. They also had this amazing soda machine!

I began work on some new themes for my upcoming storytime. I found this site called, Storytime Caitie. She has really amazing ideas and book recommendations  Sometimes I get in a funk and I don't know what to do, this helps give me some inspiration. For next week I decided to go with a Fantasy/Fairy Tale theme. So I made some Knights for a flannel board. I think they came out pretty adorable.

Hello world? How ya been? Here is what I have been up to this past week. 

Despite not feeling so great this past week I had managed to get some stuff done! Whoo hoo! I was able to finish up some bags and list those bad boys in my Etsy shop. My biggest hurdle with listing an item is the picture. I have taken photography 1 and 2 in high school and study film so I have at least have a grasp on a few concepts like composition. Other than that, I am not the greatest of photographers. Also its hard to take photos of stuff when you are just one person! Luckily Timbo is more handy with a camera than I. He took these shots, and I gotta say they came out great, better than any of my other listing pictures. In the past I just took pictures of bags lying down on a stark white background, not the most appealing. So hopefully these work.

I also posted some bow-tie pins! I have some cuff bracelets as well but I am still honing my technique with those, so they aren't listed just yet. 

For a limited time I am offering a free shipping discount! So take advantage and browse my shop! Use  the coupon code: YAYNEWITEMS 

Speaking of Etsy shops, friend Michele (Short Girl, Long Island) started one! Stop by and check it out! I myself ordered some headbands and there are also come custom made coasters! 

Aside from the Etsy shop I have recently been exploring a few more craftacular techniques. I recently got some shrink plastic and testing it out. Depending on how old you are, did you ever have shrinky dinks? I loved them and thought they were the coolest things! They came in all sorts of designs like ALF and Scooby Doo, you colored them in and stuck them in the toaster oven and they shrank down to a hard plastic. Well now they are back and perhaps just as cool. This time around they come in blank sheets so you can do whatever on them. There are even printer friendly sheets, that work with any ink jet printer. I opted for the blank sheets and have been conjuring up some design ideas. The designs are staying in the realm of all that is nerdy, and is for something big I am doing at the end of October. (I can't tell you about it yet, but I will in do time) Here is my first adventure in shrink plastic, and of course its a TARDIS. I plan on gluing a pinback to it to make a brooch. 

In other news, there are still plenty of spots open in my digital book discussion, Read & Rant. We are going to read and discuss the Graveyard Book. So check it out and sign up! 

- Sarina

Net galley

This one is for all of my librarian/bibliophile friends, but can also relate to my craft friends. Read on for further details!

In the library world a big part of the job is collection development. This involves painstakingly combing through review journal after review journal looking for the best upcoming titles. It's hard to blindly order something based on a 200 word review. We often order some titles based on a starred review. When title come in, they often do not live up to the hype. Another problem in the library world is recommendations or reader's advisory. No matter how much of an avid reader you are, it is impossible for librarians to read every single book in the collection. When new books come in we will get them slightly in advanced in order to process them (put labels and catalog them). It doesn't really give us enough time to suggest it to patrons right away.

Net Galley is here to help! It is a free service that allows you to browse their various titles and preview a book before its publication date. It's simple to navigate and they have a great selection of books! For my crafty friends they have craft and art books ready to be viewed!

How does it work? Log on to Net Galley and sign up for an account. Browse by keyword or by genre, then download a copy. This requires you to download Adobe Digital Editions, but don't worry that is also free. Many of the galley copies are also available for e-reader devices so you can read it on the go. After you are done reading a book you can write a review through Net Galley and it is sent to the publisher. Net Galley lets the reviewer keep the rights to any review you have written. So you can publish that review on your own. A little caveat to that, some publishers will email you and ask you to not publish you review until the book comes out.

You may also notice that titles will have an expiration date, which is usually 60 days. Its similar to Over Drive and e-book lending services, you only have the book for a certain amount of time before the file is removed. Hopefully you aren't a slow reader because 60 days is plenty of time.

I am signed up for it and currently reading two books from there. One is a crafty book called Knits for Nerds and the other is a graphic novel called the Coldest City. I think its such a neat idea and more librarians should take advantage! So if ya sign up and read something good I'd love to hear about it!

Sarina